When you think about new lighters coming on to the market, the differences and innovations usually center around design and how many jets it has. But at the 2015 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, JetLine revealed a new design of its flame element that while maybe not game-changing, certainly produces a different result than a familiar stream of blue flame.

The company took a single jet lighter and put a small metal plate over it, forcing the flame to disperse around it before coming back together in a wide, somewhat softer flame that can be adjusted from a small mound to a good size flame. The new design is known as the TBO, and it promises a quick light of your cigar from a flame that is still powerful but not as piercing as a traditional jet torch.

JetLine Gonza Tool

The JetLine Gonza itself is a remarkable sleek device, though it packs a decent amount of heft that puts it at the class of some of the more substantial pocket lighters, weighing in at approximately 3.4 ounces. In the hand it feels both curved and substantial, its flat front rests firmly against the hand while fingers curve naturally and put the thumb in a good position to engage the single action ignition. A bit of fine texture on the lower half of the Gonza’s body provides just some slight friction in the hand, while the top part of the lighter is available in a chrome or gun metal finish.

JetLine Gonza Tool In

To get the lighter going, it’s a simple pull of the ridged ignition button straight down to release the lid, start the fuel flowing and fire the piezo ignition to provide the initial spark. The ignition of the JetLine Gonza is absolutely fantastic; it’s a small thing that I think gets overlooked, and in the case of the Gonza, JetLine may have improved on one of the best feeling ignitions that I can recall.

Once ignited, the flame quickly turns the cage above the burner a bright orange, a helpful clue that the lighter is indeed firing as on a sunny day it’s nearly impossible to see the actual flame itself. At night, it’s a different story as it burns with a deep purple and red color with a blue outline, a look that reminds me of the Techno Quadruple Torch lighter I reviewed in September. The burner is sunk down quite a ways from the top of the lighter, even more so than I would say most jets are on other lighter, and something that while not an issue with the lighter itself, becomes an issue in another way.

JetLine Gonza Gauge

When it comes to burning, there are two things that happen, and need to be covered separately. First, lighting your cigars is fairly straight forward and easy, though you will almost certainly find it takes just a bit longer then a traditional torch lighter. There isn’t quite the instant feedback of seeing the foot of the cigar turn orange and then gray; rather it takes a few extra seconds to get most medium and large ring gauge cigars fully toasted, and that’s what leads to the second issue.

The JetLine Gonza TBO has a pretty negative attribute to it, and it’s that the metal on the top third of the lighter gets hot. Very hot, and very quickly. Not just warm, and not just hot, but it goes from zero to feeling like it will burn flesh in a matter of seconds, generally just under the time it takes to thoroughly light most cigars. It also stays hot, taking its sweet time to dissipate the heat over the course of upwards of 10 or 15 minutes, so slowly that I don’t feel comfortable putting the lighter anywhere than on a table so it can cool down. It certainly won’t go anywhere near any clothing or back in my travel humidor.

JetLine Gonza Inner Valve

Earlier I mentioned that the burner element of the JetLine Gonza TBO is sunk down quite a bit, and when I realized that burning fingers would be a regular occurrence in my use of the lighter, I began to look at just where it was in relation to my fingers. When depressing the ignition button, it puts the thumb almost even with the burner element, which as you will recall is firing up into a plate that disperses the flame outward and against the sides before reconvening a few millimeters above. Additionally, the upper third of the lighter is metal, and as we all know, metal is a pretty decent conductor of heat. Even if you were to move your fingers down from the longer backside of the lighter, your thumb has to remain engaged, so there’s no real way to escape the heat short of not using the lighter. Additionally, my fingers wanted to creep back up the lighter, which of course brought them into direct contact with the metal.

One suggestion that I heard as I brought this up with retailers and others in the know was to crank the flame up all the way, which someone said would suck all the heat up with it and keep my fingers from getting burned. While this may or may not work, the high setting resulted in a flame that was much too big to be useful and bordered on being out of control, so that experiment didn’t last long. Adjustment of the flame is a standard procedure; flip the lighter over and use either the enclosed lighter adjustment and bleeding tool to turn the mechanism, or any small, flat device such as a screwdriver. The fuel valve sits in the middle of that, and the only note that I would pass along is to not press the fuel can all the way down on to the valve; giving it just a bit of space ensures fuel will flow freely and quickly fill up the lighter, which can be verified by the large fuel window on the left side of the unit.

JetLine Gonza Cutter

The underside of the Gonza also features a fold-out punch cutter, making this an all-in-one device for those who prefer that style of cut. It’s a decent sized punch that should be a good fit for most ring gauges over the mid 40s, though I would be a bit concerned about cigars with ring gauges smaller than that.

In addition to the issues with the transfer of heat, one thing that I found more noticeable with the Gonza than other lighters is the propensity for small pieces of tobacco and other debris to fall into the chamber. Thankfully they are easy to see against the white and silver background, but it might be an unfamiliar sight, with a quick flip upside down or puff of air usually cleaning it out.

JetLine Gonza Size

Finally, in the final days of my time with the Gonza TBO, I noticed that the metal portion began to separate ever so slightly from the rest of the unit, wiggling ever so slightly more with each passing day. Whether or not it will stop or eventually separate completely remains to be seen, but I’m not a fan of where it’s headed currently.

I was incredibly intrigued by the JetLine Gonza TBO, and for as much as I wanted to love it, it simply is an unlovable and unusable device. Unless you like the feeling of burnt fingers on hot metal, or can light your cigars so quickly as to avoid that sensation, the JetLine Gonza is one lighter to avoid. Hopefully the JetLine New York TBO, which was scheduled to begin hitting retail shelves a few weeks ago, doesn’t share this fatal flaw, and hopefully JetLine can find a way to rectify it on the Gonza and save this otherwise very appealing lighter.

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.