@@Juva_o for me the fuel would last about a week and a half. You can buy shit loads of the stuff cheap though so it’s just a little annoying. Pretty quick to rejuice it
It's basically a fancy bic now. A Bicco. For a locked switch I think they could make it so the button has two stages and the second stage requires a harder press which activates a latch that catches and holds the button down, then for safety and accident prevention, closing the lid would release the latch and stop releasing fuel.
@@joshklenke7041the problem with those is that the spring attached to the cam always will go bad eventually then it leaks fuel. to me the whole reason to buy a butane insert is so it doesn’t leak fuel.
I just purchased one of these Zippo inserts to add to my collection (of only a few!) I love it because it reminds me of the traditional lighter with a yellow flame. The problem, as stated, with the liquid version is the loss of fuel via evaporation. I don't smoke but I like the idea of having a flame available plus, let's face it, it's just "neat." Thanks for the video.
I figured out how to make the flame stay lit without having to hold the button down. When you press the button down there is a small gap between the button and the metal frame. I cut a little strip of plastic and slid it in the gap. I originally tried cutting a piece of an old credit card but it was slightly too thick so I ended up using a cheap laminated card and it fit perfectly. I slid the plastic far enough down that you cant see it unless you shine a flashlight in the gap. I was honestly shocked at how well this worked little trick worked. The ignition button still has the same feel when pressed it just stays down when you release it. The only downside is you have to manually push the ignition button back to its original position else the gas will keep flowing. A couple times I forgot and I drained my fuel tank haha. After a few days I got use to pushing the button back up and it's been fantastic. I was worried that this mod might cause the fuel to slowly leak but I did this to both my inserts and after 2 weeks both fuel tanks were still full. Also the Mod is completely reversable I just used a set of tweezers and pulled the plastic out of the gap and it went back to normal. This is a great trick for anyone who hates having to hold the iginiton button.
Wow I might give this a try if I ever get a Zippo and the insert. Still, having no adjustment on a butane lighter is just non sense though. That's the only reason I'm hesitant to get them. My Dupont immitation lighter does everything right but Zippo....
@@evandeland6867 Yes sir. I had one. Unfortunately, It seemed to irritate my throat and made everything in the pipe taste like lighter fluid. It worked, but I only used it in a pinch. Thanks for the heads up though.
I have the single torch flame and the yellow flame insert. The yellow flame does produce a bigger flame. Very cool for someone who doesn’t smoke but wants to carry a zippo.
@@djukic921 yeah i know brother i almost always carry a zippo lighter on me even though I don’t smoke but I do start a lot of campfires while camping which I do quite often
If they made the inserts in America they wouldn't cost triple! We've seen it time and time again when companies bring manufacturing back to America the cost is only 10-15% more and the improvement in quality more than makes up for the difference in cost. Look at Origin who makes boots and jeans, they're not that much more expensive. Zippo should absolutely make these here.
The Thunderbird version I received uses the lid cam as the gas valve, so the gas keeps flowing until the lid is closed, allowing the flame to continue without holding down a button. The issue I have with that model and the Zippo inserts I’ve received to date is that the chimneys are not as wide as those of the liquid fuel inserts, so the lid rattles back and forth. The only solution is to deform the lid by squeezing it, which I have not been willing to do, so the inserts are back in their boxes and I’m back to liquid fuel.
I LOVE the new butane insert from zippo. I swapped over from my bics to zippo after years of wanting to edc my zippos but hating the zippo fuel itself. I like the flavor of my smoke and I could never get past the way zippo fuel would taste.. I had never gotten a thunderbird or any of the off brand stuff because I guess I am a bit of a brand snob, but probably more laziness than anything else. Anyhow, I am super satisfied with the product and cannot understate how happy I am zippo has their own. 4.99999/5 stars. Here's my couple gripes to stop it from being a 5 after using for some time: 1. The cam. Maybe mine is a bit fault but the cam on mine doesn't always go all the way down, making me have to push it down manually the rest of the way with my finger to keep the lid from closing on me while using the lighter. 2. Not being able to adjust flame size, resulting in a very large flame that is not very fuel efficient. This turns to a pro outside in the wind because the flame is still relatively wind resistant. Will be ordering another one to see if the cam is better. Thanks for the years of zippo content. Still remember watching your zippo trick videos at the dawn of youtube.
I also miss the opportunity to store an extra flint below the insert. Maybe you can open up the insert and see what is inside. Possibly there will be a flame adjustment at the stem of the nozzle. You'd think Zippo would like to be able to adjust the flame as quality control.
Jeff! Simple design for the continuous flame hinge lid lighter, use the hinge of the insert to actuate the flow of butane from closed to open. I bet zippo considered it tbh. I picked up a lighter in Thailand with this design years ago!
Thats actually a very old design and tons of vintage lighters utilize that especially japanese lighters from the 50's and 60's im not sure how it would work with this application though since this insert goes into a standard case and in that design the case hinge is what opens and closes the gas to let it out, but im sure it could be designed within the insert somehow...
Have an off brand zippo soft flame butane insert. The lid presses down on a switch and opens a fountain when the lighter is open. A simple spin on the wheel and it lights the gas passively coming out. This is almost perfect if that chimney just like the regular zippo chimney didn’t help keeping the flame and even allows too much air both making it difficult to start and keep the flame.
Ive had bad luck with these. Ive bought two and both the valves broke off and got stuck in my butane can. I wana buy another one but im afraid its gonna do the same thing;.
I had to return mine as well. The lack of flame adjustment is straight up unacceptable just like it was on the BLU line. The one I received had a 4 inch flame, literally unusable for anything practical, and even taking off the bottom plate there’s no easy way to disassemble it to fix the issue. Very disappointed in the product, the knockoffs (or originals and Zippo copied them) are way better.
Thunderbird also has a butane insert for Zippos, the way they worked it out to keep it lit the cam is attached to the butane. So when you open the lid the cam switches the gas on then the flint lights it traditionally. Holding the button down might as well not even use a Zippo anymore in my opinion, kind of ruins the whole idea of owning a Zippo at all. Might as well flick a bic.
Zoro and zoro inserts save fuel ! But winter is coming and Zippo fluid rules when under 32 F use a freezer bag corner on the bottom of the insert it saves fuel Zippo Fanatic Outdoors bag trick really works !
I'd rather pay the $60 and have it made here in America, giving American people jobs. The company started here, has a rich history, and should stay here. Just my opinion only. Nice video, thanks for sharing this.
I share your opinion. Unfortunately Zippo is a big business and China was probably the better choice to try and sell to the mass market. It's a shame that people want to save money and get cheap products now instead of spending a little more for someone quality and not made with child / slave labor.
the thing is to make a new plant just to make inserts may have costed them millions they dont have to start...my assumption on price is a guess maybe it would have to cost $60-0 each for them to make money lol who knows...plus since its only an accessory it may not be worth making it themselves its easy to have another company make them to even see if people want them if theres a HUGE demand perhaps they would start making them in house...
@@cutlerylover I'm sure the price would go up, but i would think their current factory that makes the regular inserts has more than one press to make them. Not sure what the cost of retro-fitting one of those machines would be, but I imagine less than a million dollars. And still made in America. But as you said would there be a demand to make it worth while? Take care my friend. John
Its honestly a mind f*ck cuz i would have a few complaints ab it but would still prefer it over the origonal because i smoke and i dont like refilling it all the time. Only thing stopping me is the fact that as Americans growing upk seeing china on all of our products it feels good to have an American product that china cant touch or so i thought.
maybe safety issues for people who drop it and start fires, lol then again they've sold millions of regular zippos that can do just that, so who knows..
your welcome this is my job and has been for years so I make time each day to test gear and make new videos, ive posted everyday for almost 15 years now its certainly not easy but it could be harder too, lol
i was about to grab a couple of those until i found out they dont stay lit by theyre self its basically a bic when you have to hold down a button to keep it going lets hope zippo works on that and changes it in future production.
I feel like there is a way to use the cam and spring for the lid to trigger gas like the button so it burns hands free while the lid is open. Might change the feel though.
When I was in my 20’s I smoked and I never left the house without my brass Zippo. Using butane, does it still cause the red square on your leg from the lighter fluid leaking? Anyone who has carried a zippo knows what I am talking about.
The cam... when the lid opens it needs to open the valve. Then it can stay lit like a zippo close the lid and the valve shuts. Idk if it works in real world but that would make it more like classic zippo. U don't even need the case for these. Just carry the insert in your pocket
Which of the butane flame inserts would you recommend the most? It sounds like you like this in house one quite a bit but I'd love to see a comparison to its competition.
@@cutlerylover Thanks for the reply! I've been meaning to get one of these butane inserts for a while so I think I'll go ahead and try out the Zippo brand one.
Have you tried fitting this in an armor case? Wanted to pick up an armor zippo to go with this new insert but have heard mixed reports from people about the fit
How about using rubberbands to hold down the switch? I would like a traditional zippo but the smell, not a big problem but it evaporates. So it's a last option after the matches, bic lighters, candles, isopropyl alcohol dies out
I have an old off brand butane pipe insert. The fuel turns on when the spring is in the open position and it has a spark wheel. No button to hold down. However if it isn't lit you can't leave it open without closing the spring mechanism
I prefer a soft flame over torch, and I prefer Butane over Lighter fluid. I use lighter fluid in my hand warmers up here in the Northern cold though. FOR ME....Hiker, backpacker, camping a soft flame is better for campfire ignition. The torch just turns my tinder into carbon before ignition......wind, well the torch is best but no campfire so a torch is useless.
Why is everyone so fussy about refueling a Zippo. I've had Zippo's for years and only filled mine once a week. It takes all of 30 seconds. And the fuel and flints aren't that expensive. I mean this is fine if that's what you want. I'll just keep using mine the traditional way.
Looks much more reliable than the jet ones I tried. I tried two of the zippo twin jet inserts and could get one to barely work. Fit up was much nicer but reliability was garbage.
@@Rikhardi That only sort of works. The flame is still flickering and lets itself out quite often. I have both the twin jet and single jet version. And they have the same problem. Which tells me. That either the design is bad or the quality controll is bad. Either way I am sticking with the regular zippo for now.
@@Rikhardi That is one of the first things I removed. By turning it quite high. It will sort of work for a short time with an unecesarly big jet flame. But I find that to not work for long. Meaning I find myself constantly tveaking the amount of butane it emits. To make it "work" In my opinion if you have to alter the design (removing the limiter) just to make it sort of work. The design is flawed. In comparrison I used a vector thunderbird jet insert for a while. And that was the most reliable butane insert I have used. Required no tveaking just fill it up and play.
Firebird makes an insert that releases gas when the top is flipped open. It's what I have been using for a few years now. Flame stays lit when the wheel is struck
@@cutlerylover i accidentally got the pipe version but I still use it even those I don’t smoke but if I ever get into the hobby aka to old to die young I will use it to lite a churchwarden
I like Thunderbird because they fit some of the tighter titanium shells from China. That said, I bought titanium shells from China because Zippo doesn't make them. They did once but those are now legendary and almost impossible to find. You make a good point about retooling and costs. That's why they outsourced on this one. It's a shame that affordable products are so difficult to make here but a lot of that is due to the actions of government over time. I'd say that people need to think about that kind of stuff when they vote but candidates that care about this kind of stuff seem almost as rare as the titanium Zippo...
The tank on those will crack when exposed to rubbing alcohol and probably other solvents. I clean gear frequently with alcohol so that may be your issue.
I wonder if it's still windproof being soft flame butane. I assume that's why they made a butane torch insert before making one of these being that a torch butane is decently windproof.
I prefer the Thunderbird insert because it works like a traditional Zippo in that you don't need to hold down a button, just spin the wheel and it stays lit. I'm not sure why Zippo went that route.
I REALLY wish Zippo would make a high quality version of this with the valve controlled by the hinge instead of a button so it would stay lit and have the exact same feel and controls as the original. There are several aftermarket versions out there and they're all terrible
This I would consider as well as the other inserts with use of quintuple refined butane, the wheel is getting it closer, the only way to fix the liquid fuel problem is Maratac XL or EXOTAC Titan light and buy Coleman fuel. Zippo lighter fluid is $100 a gallon now and I simply refuse to pay that for it...as far as Chinese made inserts etc. Every last flint and any Ferro rod you use in an outdoor survival or camping setting is sourced in China...yes even the LMF Swedish material now...its just life. It sux but that's the way it is
He has an older video on this by using a cut piece of a plastic bag. It cuts the evaporation rate in half (your lighter fuel lasts about twice as long) and I have used this with my Zippos for over 2 years and it works great and is easy to do. You can also keep the Zippo in a zip-lock baggie to keep the evaporation down. If you want a larger solution Pelican makes small airtight cases which could be used for the same thing. A Mason jar will also work.
