A Fashionable Way To Play With Fire (Zippo Lighters)

Member Name: cazkins

Product:	Zippo Lighters
Date:	19/07/09 (39 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sturdy and solid design, refillable & windproof, variety of designs

Disadvantages: Quite bulky at first until you get used to it, high price

As far as lighters go, the Zippo is probably the most well-known iconic brand. There are so many different designs which make it a popular choice for gifts and souvenirs, in addition to be a fashionable item to own, but they don't come cheap.

Zippo was born in 1932 as a product of the Zippo Manufacturing Company, patented in 1936. It secured a popular image and fan base amongst the military and gained credit from advertising in the 1960s, and has since remained a classic lighter.

Initially, Zippos were dated by dots so you could identify the year of manufacture. This changed to slashes, then letters and Roman numerals, and later to Arabic numbers. This was obviously a good idea since Zippos have been around for decades, produced in so many different designs and have become collectors' items thanks to special productions and anniversary additions such as the 1992 60th anniversary edition.

Zippo was unique at its time of creation for being a reliable, refillable and windproof lighter. It's rectangular shape, which is wide and solid due to being cast in metal, makes it durable and easy to fashion via logos and designs on the front.

Over the years the Zippo range has expanded both in terms of visual designs (eg. Film & brand names, British & American versions, Jack Daniels, Playboy, collectors' specials etc), it's overall appearance (such as classic & slimline) and purpose. The latter has been developed with the introduction of Multi-Purpose lighters in 2002 and the outdoor utilities lighters that were released later in 2005.

Although these retain a strong association with the military, I would argue these have become extremely fashionable within everyday society. Because of the vast range of designs, there's something to cater for everyone and so many brands & themes bear a logo on a Zippo.

Because of their popularity, they're relatively easy to come across in markets, gift stores, some jewellers and specialist stores, and several internet sites etc, but the price tag is usually around £25-30 for the standard zippo. You also need to be weary of copycat items, especially on the Internet, so ensure you're buying the genuine thing from a trustworthy place.

I've bought one before as a present, which I got engraved to personalise it, so I would rate them highly in terms of their designs and customisation. In terms of their actual use, once new the flint and thumb-roller mechanism are sturdy and strong, making it feel like a durable lighter rather than something with a flimsy mechanism.

To hold it, it feels sturdy and of good quality, though a little bulky if you're used to lightweight refillable or disposable lighters. Most genuine Zippos come with a guarantee I believe, so if anything should go wrong then you have some back up, which is reassuring considering you could end up paying upwards of £30 for one.

In terms of ease of use, they can take a bit of getting used to if you don't normally use a thumb-roll mechanism, plus it's a relatively sturdy one which means you often need to apply more pressure. Refilling is quite straightforward and easy to do as with any other refillable lighter, and the fluid can be bought fairly cheaply so you can rest assured that your Zippo should last you a while.

Overall I would recommend the Zippo as a present or as a special lighter for yourself, though it's not one I would want to use on an everyday basis due in part to its size and weight, and it's price.

Summary: A quality lighter that works well & looks stylish