Sondiko is the pick for best overall, finishing with the best average score in
the comparison at 2.2. It shrank heat shrink tubing fastest in the field at
1.5 seconds, reached 500 °F on the aluminum bolt in 15.4 seconds — two-tenths
off the outright fastest — lit a candle in 0.3 seconds, and stayed the coolest
body in the group at 78 °F after fifteen seconds of continuous use. It lit and
held its flame pointed directly into a 9.5 mph fan, and at 20 mph it kept
burning right up until the tip was tilted into the air stream. At $18 it also
carries a safety lock against accidental ignition. 10 Cause is the near
match at 2.6, edging Sondiko in the 20 mph round and finishing one degree
behind on handle temperature, and Ravs is third at 3.4 with 18.3 seconds on
the bolt and 1.8 on heat shrink. All three are the big torch-style bodies, at
206 to 250 g.
For a fraction of that size and money, the Urgrette Torch is the value pick.
It comes two to a pack at $4.50 each, weighs 58.22 g, and was the fastest of
all eighteen to heat the bolt to 500 °F at 15.2 seconds, with 2.3 seconds on
heat shrink and a 0.3-second light — good enough
against torches costing four to seven times as much. Its three jets shrugged
off the fan entirely. If the goal is something that disappears into a pocket,
the Zippo Butane Torch is the one to reach for: a dual-flame insert that
heated the bolt in 20 seconds, melted heat shrink in 2.8, and held a tall
flame facing straight into the breeze. It has no case of its own, but it drops
into a standard lighter body. On the subjective wind-resistance assessment, the
Fukkuda Electric Lighter, LC Fun Electric Lighter, Click-n-Flame, Topkay Cigar
Lighter, and 10 Cause all earned the best possible rating of one.
The lighters to avoid are the familiar ones. The BiC Pocket lost its flame in
a breeze of roughly 1 mph, could not be lit in the fan's path at all, and was
slowest in both heat tests at a full minute on the bolt and 7.3 seconds on
heat shrink. The BiC Flex struggled to stay lit even three feet from the fan,
and the BiC Multi-Purpose could not be lit in a 1 mph breeze either — though
the BiC Flex earns one real distinction as the only long neck that refused to
snap, holding past 50 lb. Knights of Armur is the weakest package in the
group: it lost its flame two feet from the fan, could not be lit in the
breeze, took 48.5 seconds on the bolt, and its neck broke at just 11.2 lb.
The brass Zippo Fluid Lighter lights easily in wind and resists being blown
out on approach, but it goes out once tilted into the air and is slow to make
heat at 50.4 seconds. Worth knowing before buying any of them: at the air
speeds an air duster produces — well over 180 mph — nothing in this group
holds a flame.