Why a Zippo Lighter?

Although Low-tech as compared to many of these quadruple flame gold plated piezo ignition gadgets,  George Blaisdell’s  simple windproof Zippo Lighter has stood the test of time since 1933 and remains a piece of American history. Although supposedly not suited for lighting a good cigar, many have done it without tarnishing the taste of the tobacco, by simply letting the flame burn off some fuel before torching. However, since this is a topic of hot debate, we will let you be the judge. One unmistakable charm of the Zippo lighter is that “click” sound when you flip the safety lock back. For some reason this is very soothing to the smoker, myself included. Perhaps it triggers some auditory response in the part of the brain that is associated with smoking. Then of course, there is the collector’s value. Zippo Lighters are one of the most sought after pieces of Americana and hold a rightful place along with baseball cards and model trains. Why a Zippo Lighter? Perhaps its long history of military service makes them desirable even for the non-smoker, because throughout the years, roughly 300,000 U.S. military personnel owned Zippo lighters. Rumor has it that in one instance; a Zippo Lighter transported in a shirt pocket blocked a bullet from going in a soldier’s body. Lastly it could be good ole’ made in the USA dependability. In fact, Zippo’s unconditional lifetime guarantee states that “it works or we fix it free”, and the company says that no person has ever paid a cent to repair their Zippo.

Over 500 million (and counting) lighters have been sold since the first one was introduced 77 years ago, and even with smoking on a steady decline over the years, sales keep growing, so the nice folks at Zippo must be doing something right!