Great job Doyen! When you're ready for the new Transitions Gen S, let me know so we can have an addition to your reviews - I think you'll love them! :)
Excellent comparison, the most useful on the platform. It would be nice to see if the Transitions Polarized work well enough at polarizing light to be worthwhile.
Super helpful video! I was worried if the transitions would get dark enough for my sensitive eyes. Your side-by-side comparison helped a lot. Thank you for posting.
The generic photochromics might be, but Zenni Optical doesn't say what they are. They don't seem to have great performance. I suspect they are not any generation of Transitions.
No, although the Xtractives always have a very slight tint indoor--they are not completely clear. You won't notice this, but other people looking at your glasses might.
i wish this video existed sooner lol. hey, can you also compare the anti-reflective coatings between the clear glasses, xtractive, xtractive polarized and the zenni photochromic glasses? i have high end Seiko frames with Clear Zeiss lenses and when i compare the anti-reflective coating of my Seiko's to my new pair of Zenni photochromic the difference is night and day. almost as if the Zenni's don't even have anti-reflective coating at all (i mean they do have AR coating, there is a green hue to the reflections but it basically reflects everything around you where the Zeiss glasses barely show any sign of reflections at all) at first i didn't really think much about this because i figured maybe they just have to apply poor anti-reflective coatings to allow more light to go through the photochromic paint inside the lens, but since you actually have 3 different types of photochromic and a pair of clear glasses (presumably also from zenni?) that would be really nice if you could compare between them all and see which type of lens has the better anti-reflective coating
You should definitely try the transparent thunderbird g insert, it really is a good learning experience on refilling a butane lighter since I can see the fuel. It's really great for whenever you have a tricky butane adapter that just doesn't fit entirely as I can see whether it works or not.
Yes, the flame is slightly different every time. So many variables change slightly each time you light an original Zippo. It makes the flame mesmerizing, to me, actually. Like a wood fire in a fireplace or stove. Also, it is really reliable in cold weather and wind. It still has a lot over some modern lighters. I kept going back to it. I kept trying modern torch lighters and flame lighters but last winter I just faced the facts. The original is less frustrating, if you use a lighter every day, than modern lighters are. The original Zippo is again my favorite after ten years of cigar smoking and a couple of years of Dynavap vaping.
There's something I do not understand: what happens if you leave the flame on the butane softflame for a long time? Normal zippo is not pressurized, so the worst may happen is it will go on fire but I don't think it may explode. The butane tank is pressurized and plastic... I know that zippos are not lanterns but in the case I really don't trust pressurized tanks...
Zippo needs to manufacture a soft flame butane insert using the flint striker. They'd make a killing. Its all they need to reinvent the classic zippo and make a reliable lighter for the first time lol the classic zippo is very "cool" but its not a lighter you can actually rely on, I'd put my faith in a bic or clipper before a zippo but now's their chance to fix it.
Why the fuck would you buy a Zippo a petrol lighter and convert it into a butane or torch lighter.. son doesn't make sense at all. Literally just buy a fucking butane or torch lighter in the first place dude
Nice comparison, thx. Zippo should offer the butane and jet inserts them selfes. With the original chimney and flint. 2019 and we dont get more than toxic fuel :/ (got a 2 Week chemicalburn, from a slightly overfiled zippo)
I only have experience with one of these soft flame thunderbird inserts but I couldn’t get it to open and close with nearly the same authority as the actual zippo insert. I tried adjusting the tab that catches the hinge on the insert but I could never find the sweet spot. It would either open pretty well but not close all of the way or close nice and tight but be annoying to open. It could just be an issue with the example that I received but either way, I didn’t really like that. After putting the original zippo insert back into the case, you realize how well it flicks open and slams closed compared to the thunderbird. I might buy one more thunderbird just to see if that issue is a fluke because without that, I would absolutely love it. I love zippos but I have essentially no use for them. The only time I ever really need a lighter is to smoke a cigar and butane is obviously far superior to lighter fluid.
One advantage of gas is unlike a Zippo when the wind blows it won't take your eyebrows off lol. No I love my standard Zippo but then again I'm an old fart.
So for the non jet butane insert, is the cam the on/off switch that releases the gas? It looked like the gas only turned on when the lid was open so it would make sense
Thunderbird makes a butane insert that starts as a torch flame and becomes a soft flame if the button is released slowly. I use it myself and find it very reliable.
If you don't smoke or light candles all day butane is more economical -- however, I have an aversion to butane lighters. I worked in a church for 10 years and I hated those standard issue things: Rod-shaped refillable butane lighters with a piezo mechanism, a mechanism that would wear out by the time the lighter was refilled two or three times. On the list of things we were allowed to buy for church purposes were cans of butane for refueling, but I hated those, too. Before you realized it, you had that stuff all over your hands because the tank was full. Next thing would be that the lighter still refused to fire up because there was an air bubble in the tank. Also, those things wouldn't light up when it was cold, you had to rub them all the time. The priest didn't want us to buy disposable butane lighters with a flint wheel, he wanted refillable ones, and inexpensive refillable ones only come with a piezo mechanism. Most of the time, I preferred an wax-covered wick to light all the candles in the church to save butane. You could by those things in large coils and they would last you forever if you held them in a vertical position. You could also attach those to that ring-thing that you use to extinguish candles by sucking away their air and there would be no need anymore for the portable ladder to light the Apostle lights. (12 lights that line the nave of a Catholic Church.) To indulge the smoking habit, I think the original Zippo setup is great.
I always loved Zippos. Until the lighter fluid leaked out in my pocket which really stings your skin. I recently found the butane insert and now I'm back to loving Zippos.
Man it's annoying reading all this about, how much better the butane insert is.. People should start taking a look at the ideas behind a Zippo. For example look at the windresistance, semi rainresistanc e and the idea of a lighter with a lifetime warranty! I mean.. the style, the idea of fuel, the options and everything!
I hate that flickering flame! I even grinded the holes of the chimney bigger to prevent the gasping for air. Was too careful about it and should maybe work some more… I have had a cheap copy that had perfect flame, so shame on Zippo! But they probably chose to invest in windproofness rather than stable flame. I have the Thunderbird soft flame too and i like it! Now i wish there was a version that had options whether you want torch or soft flame out of it, but i don't know about the technology is that possible. These being said, i still use the original Zippo the most. I like simplicity, old fashion and filling with fluid.
