Super-Slim Torch Lighters
Big lighters might look grand on tables and bar tops, but in your suit pocket, they can instantly frump up the once-flattering contours of your bespoke jacket. Even a medium-sized lighter can visibly freight your slacks with extra bulk. Between a cell phone and a wallet, isn’t there already enough junk floating around your pockets? Happily, a movement among a few lighter manufacturers has considered this conundrum and created distinct lines of super-slim torches that won’t annex so much valuable sartorial space.
One would never notice, for example, if a Prometheus Retro lighter ($75) were stowed in your vest, suit or even pants pocket. At 0.25 inches thick, it’s about the same as having six stacked credit cards in your jacket, only not nearly as wide. Flip open the Retro’s top, and a single side-click conjures a clean, wind-resistant torch flame. It comes in many finishes, including the Shaper Cut, which is shown at top right, as well as three branded versions that feature prints of the Prometheus, Sencillo and Fuente Fuente OpusX Destino Al Siglo logos.
The equally thin, but even smaller Lotus Black Label Stanley might be the sleekest lighter on the market. Despite its waif dimensions and competitive retail price, the Stanley ($34.95) feels surprisingly hefty in the hand, and the click-action of the squeeze ignition gives just the right amount of resistance before consistently producing an elegant torch flame. In other words, it doesn’t feel like it’s going to break after just 20 lights. The distinct finishes—matte black (shown at middle left), chrome velour, gun metal and brushed gold—keep it from being mistaken for a women’s cigarette lighter.
If rare woods are your fancy, Brizard & Co. is the only company putting stately and exotic grains on torches this thin. Aptly dubbed the Sottile line, which means “thin” in Italian, these lighters come dressed in a choice of five expressive woods that include Macassar Ebony, Wenge (shown below right, $130), Rosewood and Bubinga. Surfaces are lightly sanded and then applied with nothing more than teak oil for a natural feel and finish. Leathers are also available, and unlike the other two lighters, a small fuel window indicates if you’re low on butane. Naturally, none of them hold as much gas as bigger models, but all three lighters are capable of producing powerful flames and have precise adjustment dials on the bottom in case you want to conserve fuel.
Visit brizardandco.com, integral-style.com, and prometheuskkp.com
