But really do you want to be that guy with his hand cupped around his lighter sparking and sparking with an ugly lighter to light his cigarette? No, and when you light a cigarette with a zippo it looks cooler and is much easier. And girls like it too.
Ronsons were better made than Zippos, years ago. Ronson also used to make high end lighters. Even in this vid the Chinese Ronson is clearly more robust !
Rainstorm R have my Dads variflame lite guard. He bought it in '64. Flint wheel is a bit worn but it still lights 5/6 first time and stays lit I pretty stiff wind.
Dude, you hit the nail on the head. I went to Walgreens, and i saw a $20 Zippo, and the Ronson JetLite for $4.99. I honestly love it. its damn good, though I didnt look to see it was made in china. But still, A butane one is better for me, as i dont use lighters often, and this one is quite nice.
being a welder the first thing i notice when he turns the lighters on their side i say, "hmm.. the ronson has four spot welds and the zippo only has two. surely he wont notice that" 'and we have the quad weld on the side.... oh my goodness. that gave me a chuckle. Good eye for detail jeff. thanks for the videos!
Used to be Zippo was great lighter but Zippo flint and Zippo fluid sucked.Ronson had crappy lighters but Ronsonol and Ronson flints worked best in Zippo lighters.I still use Ronsonol but I take the flints out of used up Bic lighter for the flints.
The jetlight is the best tirch lighter I ever had. Used one for 3cand a half years, before I quit smoking and it still works. I love it so much, I bought 3 more and keep them in different stash spots.
Just bought a ronson windii (oil lighter) a few days back for like $15. I find it weird here in Calgary, AB that except for zippos no other oil lighters are ever found in local shops. Im pretty sure they are legal but no one sells them, my guess is zippo pays to have their product on the shelves.
Demonic Darkness Oh they sell zippos everywhere but no other brands are commonly available. Im sure they are legal but zippo probably pays a royalty to the stores to only keep their lighter in most stores. Cause when I check online they have like tons of different zippo style and other unique looking oil lighters but I never saw any of these cheap but nice lighters in store even smoke shops. At most smoke shops i have been to, they might sell zippo and some other way too expensive lighters like dunhill, colibri, xikar, etc. None of the cheap chinese stuff.
Asad the great very late answer but Phillip Morris and Zippo have a known historic relationship starting with ads. People from phillip morris has gone on to work for zippo. Phillip Morris cigarettes and their approved wick lighter brand, zippo make it an easy monopoly.
Ronson is made in China, Zippo is made in the USA is the difference. It makes sense with prices. Zippo will never go away though because it is such a American icon.
the jet lites are good. i've carried my current one in my pocket for over a year and it still works ok. i had one before that but it broke after i was pushed into a lake with it in my pocket. as for the ronson wind lite, they don't work as well as zippos. the flame tends to hover a lot and they don't light as easily, usually requiring more flicks. the wick seems to blacken faster than a zippo's, too.
Sure, you can get the lighters in the drug store or 5 & 10, but try finding the fluid and flints. I just bought a new Zippo and couldn't find fluid and flints anywhere. I finally found Ronson fluid and flints in an Ace Hardware store. They had a ton of dust on them. Gees, the Zippo's lid opening sound is iconic!
The hardest Zippo to find, and my favorite Zippo is a classic all chrome Zoppo. Nothing else. You can collect as many Zippos as you want, but the classic all chrome and nothing else on it will never be beat in my opinion.
The Ronson building in Woodbridge NJ is closed down. I would say it's been two or three years now. They took down the water tower that resembled a can of lighter fluid. I love my Ronsons and Zippos!!
cutlerylover hey, just wanted to get a hold of you, to see if you still have the ronson lighter, i am a lighter enthusiast, and would like to add the to my collection
I have a Zippo Lighter which is made in 1989 and I got a new one which is made in 2012. They work perfectly. So just forget about other lighters. Zippo for life.
Watching these videos, I had to dig out my old brass Zippo. Girlfriend gave it to me 20 years ago, according to the date code. "Hey You Guys!" Was quoted in Goonies, but Sloth got it from the Electric Company intro.
I just bought the ronson jetlite and i LOVE it!!! I took out the safety spring cuz it's really annoying, and the only problem i have is that if you set it to smallest flame size it doesn't stay lit more than a second.
i used to have a ronson jetlite.. good lighter but had discoloring issues on the sides and eventually the flip-top just became way too messed up to use.. but definitely worked good and is a great everyday "beater" lighter (beater as in not caring about scratches/general use wear)
Haven't seen a Windlite in a couple of years. Finding the Jetlite locally is getting to be an adventure where I am. I'm seeing more "Spark" brand lighter/multitool lighters where the Jetlites and Windlites used to be. Eventually will have to get one or two butane inserts for my Zippos...
We have jetlites, spark lighters, and zipped near the register at my local Walmart. Spark makes a decent lighter. The jet flame is good and adjustable but the knife is too dull to cut butter. Also, the fuel capacity is relatively low. It runs out of gas quickly.
You should get a Ronson varaflame. They were made in the 50's and was made in England. Theyre awesome quality aswell, so theyre on the expensive side :)
I've had Zippos, my go to pocket lighter is a Nimrod, looks similar on the outside, very different inside! Nimrod lighters outclass Zippos in my experience.
i have a Star-I they have been making them since 1988 it works great and i really love it i got it from my grandmother and it does everything Zippo can (in tricks and all) you should do some videos on them.
I have a couple Ronson JetLite's I paid $1.99 and I have a Lotus Vertigo Lighter I paid $19.99. I use my Ronson's more than my Lotus, because they're just more reliable. Plus if I leave it behind or drop it, etc I'm not losing/ruining my nice lighter and I'm only out a couple bucks. Great lighters for a couple bucks. One of the best purchases you can make.
i live in the netherlands, if my zippo is defect must i send it to the US? Sorry for my bad englisch, writing in your language is difficult for me. I understand it perfectly. gr. Mart
It's always really cool to look at fakes, or ripoffs to learn about the real thing. Looking at the reinforced wheel is a good example of this. Great vid!
Ever heard of STAR lighters ? They are chinese ripoff to zippos,but they actually work pretty good.I got one for 6lv(around 3 dollars) with a nice box,a wick and fuel for 2 refills
I fill it all the way, according to instructions. The only playing I do with it is flipping the cap open and closed. I never ignite it for the hell of it only to use it. Wal-Mart's brands are usually items that did not meet company or industry standards. So my Wal-Mart Zippo may be a Zippo, but may not be good enough to sell at specialty shops. So maybe not rocket science...but a valid question.
I forget where but I once heard that you're not supposed to light a zippo insert when it's not inside the case because fluid fumes could theoretically accumulate around the outside of the insert and ignite, which doesn't happen when the insert is inside the case since air can't get below and mix with the fumes... I'm not sure if there is merit to that statement but it does sort of make sense.. Just curious what you think?
I don’t like Zippo a lot because the fuel evaporates too quickly. As for Ronson, I only have vintage Ronsons, and I love them, especially the butane models. That said my favourite lighters are vintage Dunhill Rollagas and ST DuPont. But I’m a vintage lighter guy.
I have a Ronson Windii, which has a similar insert only the case looks more like a Zippo (without the hugely rounded edges), I did a video on it a few days ago, just haven't uploaded it. I give credit where it's due, the Windii (you can't find them in stores anymore) has a very smooth cam, one of the best I've seen on a mimicked lighter.
I just got a zippo at my local drug store today for $12.95. for some reason I always thought Zippos were expensive. and its funny that you mentioned pipes at the end because I bought a Missouri meerschaum for $4.95. I haven't bought a brier pipe yet. been smoking for 2 years now and still just like my corn cobs. I may just stay on the corn cobs forever.
The thing is when it come to lighters they are a personal thing in my family of 5 people 4 were smokers and all 4 used completely different Lighters my dad was a clipper man my mum liked ronson lighters my half sister liked disposable lighters because she thought refillable ones were to comlicated and messy and i was a zippo user and even though i no longer smoke i still have a few around
i like how you can now go spend 9 bucks at walmart for a zippo before you were lucky if you could find them at a gas station or sometimes the mall thats were i used to buy mine.
I don't get why so many people like Zippos. There are far better petroleum lighters out there. It must be purely for the cool factor that the lighters got from being associated with WW2 GIs. But the design essentially hasn't changed in 90 years, so they have all the flaws that a 90 year-old lighter would have - they evaporate quickly, they don't light every time, and their hinges are badly designed. The lighter they were based on - the IMCO - evolved, so their lighters - even after they were bought by Windmill and manufactured in China - are much better.
Clippers are nice also for Just a cheap everyday cig lighter but much better then bic cuz clippers u can refil and also replace flint and springs or wheels if needed and it’s also got a poker and also it’s built of nylon and u can keep it lite up about 5 times as long as a bic without it melting and popping the spring
I have never seen Ronson lighter live, though i always use Ronsonol fuel. That chimney seems to block wind very well, still passing through enough oxygen.
Yup thats still a real genuine zippo, I've had one for about 2 years. Its the same lighter just without a fancy case, it still has the lifetime warranty and everything.
somebody that lives in Pa. should go to Bradford and make a few videos of the Zippo Museaum. pick up the zippo date coding booklet so dates can be determined of Zippos. keep up the good work Jeff.
thx alot pal,,i was doing that trick and as i was trying to flip it closed it flew from my hand and landed under my book desk where i could not reach it as it was lit,,thankfully i was able to grab it before it lit my shit on fire ,wood floor too
That's what I thought, until I emptied it, made sure nothing was caught anywhere, and just checked the airflow. Even with nothing in it you could barely suck through it. I'm guessing it was just a fluke though, because my friend (It was a pack of two, I gave him the other one because they're just corn cobs and I just wanted to try one) didn't seem to have any problems with his.
I bought a couple ronson windlite lighters a few years back before zippo bought the company, and by comparison I thought that they were complete crap. The ronson took at least 20 attempts to light. Nothing beats a zippo.
You certainly owned this kid at that but uh my Army Navy store sells butterfly knives and such to people who are young. Im barely 15 and i bought my last when I was 14
It's a shame they don't sell more of the old style Ronson models. They look amazing and I would say as cool as any classic Zippo. For the same price, it would sell pretty well.
Did the lighter fluid of the 1960's evaporate as fast as it does today? I thought I remember my dad's Zippo lasting months between refills. Now it last like 2 weeks.
yea, that is the brand name. they make corn cob pipes. the lighter came from the local drug store. then, yesterday, I was in wal mart and saw the same lighter for $9.99. its just a plain zippo with a finish that isn't polished.
I know one major difference. Real zippo cases are made of brass. Most other make lighters are not. To check if yours is steel or brass, take the insert out and fetch a magnet and touch the magnet on the case. If the magnet sticks its steel and can rust. If the magnet doesn't not stick it will most likey be brass but will not rust but will tarnish.
eckard? dude by any chance did you work next to crown jewlers in fanwood new jersey?? its juist weird that this video was making me think of the jewlers next to the pharmacy that had a ton of cool lighters and you mentioned the name of that store
