Cigar smokers will debate about anything—wrappers, ring gauges, whether pineapple belongs on pizza, who will win the Super Bowl, best Batman, you name it.

Aside from “Mold vs Plume*,” nothing sparks a fight quite like the lighter debate: Torch or Soft flame?

Let’s break it down before somebody flips a table like that 1976 Monopoly game I had with my parents (True story).

Torch Lighters

• Pros: Burns faster than a blowtorch at a crème brûlée contest. They’re windproof, powerful, and make you feel like you’re welding something that matters. Single torch lighters are great for touch-ups.

• Cons: Blink, and you’ve just turned your cigar into magician’s flash paper. And let’s be honest, firing up a five-jet torch that roars like a space shuttle screams, “I want attention” or “I own my own lighter fluid company.”

• Cool Factor: Low—unless your idea of cool is scaring the guy sitting next to you. And no, your lighter lighting up in various holiday LED colors does not make it cooler.

Soft Flame Lighters

• Pros: Smooth, classy, and makes you look like you’ve at least skimmed a Hemingway novel. A soft flame treats your cigar with the kind of respect you wish your ex had. Also allowed to travel on planes.

• Cons: Forget using one outside unless you enjoy fighting with the wind. And patience is required—it’s more of a slow dance than a quick ignition.

• Cool Factor: Nothing beats that ting as you open a soft flame lighter —it’s the universal signal for “I’ll have that martini shaken, not stirred.”

The Bottom Line
Torches are the workhorses—loud, powerful, and practical. Soft flames are the aristocrats—refined, stylish, and a little impractical. Which one’s better? Depends if you’re trying to light a cigar quickly or if you are turning lighting a cigar into a sport.

I would say I’m in both camps. I love a soft flame lighter but practical circumstances have me using a single-flame jet most of the time (This is the one I have been using lately). 

Yea, next time we will make it a full-on cage match and add Cedar Spills to the mix.

*And just to put closure on that ‘mold vs plume’ comment…yep…it is mold. No question.