IPCPR 2017: Five Accessories We Want to Try

While there certainly has been a decreased activity in terms of cigar announcements, there’s been no shortage of new accessories that will be on display at next week’s IPCPR Convention & Trade Show. Like we did with cigars, we asked the staff: what do you want to see first.

COLIBRI SV-CUT

Charlie Minato: Full disclosure: I’ve held this, but I haven’t cut a cigar with it yet. For those unfamiliar, Colibri took its popular V-Cut and combined it with the S-Cut, a straight cutter, into one singular item. The SV-Cut isn’t the most portable thing in the world, but there’s a great heft and a satisfying feel. Given that it’s about five times thicker than my go-to cutter, I’m curious to see how well I fare cutting cigars with it.

JETLINE PROTO-PIPE

Brian Burt: The JetLine Super Torch is a go to, reliable, bang around lighter that I don’t care if it gets scuffed, lost or broken with its reasonable price. Now JetLine is releasing an angled pipe lighter called the Proto-Pipe that features the same clear plastic housing the Super Torch has.

It does come in both a torch and soft flame version, but it’s the soft flame I’m looking forward to. Occasionally I do enjoy smoking a pipe, and for the most part unless it’s windy, I also use a soft flame to light my cigars. Something that fits the bill for both of those activities is welcome in my book, and I’ll be looking to get my hands on one as soon as they’re available.

LOTUS 2-WAY HUMIDIFICATION POUCH

Charlie Minato: Trying to make a competitor to Boveda is not a new thing, in fact, Lotus was distributing such a product last year until it ended its agreement with Ciguardian. Now the company is back with a new pouch that is advertised as a two-way humidifier, the technology Boveda has made popular.

So far, no one has been able to make a product that works well as Boveda, or really even remotely close. If Lotus’ new entry works, it will be a big step though it’s worth nothing that it is already priced $1 more than the comparable Boveda model, something that seems odd.

S.T.DUPONT CONQUEST OF WILD WEST

Brooks Whittington: S.T.Dupont has made a name for itself by going way beyond most other manufacturers products in both quality and scope, and some of the company’s newest creations are a perfect example.

Created as a tribute to the fight between the outlaws of the wild west and the men who stopped them, the Conquest of the Wild West collection features a multitude of unique items ranging from $495 to $28,000, including cufflinks, lighters, pens and even  watch.

While some of the different items are out of most people’s financial reach, each and every piece is typically a work of art, and I can’t wait to see them up close.

XIKAR HIGH PERFORMANCE BUTANE

Patrick Lagreid: Not to diminish the world of accessories, but at some point, lighters are lighters, cutters are cutters, humidors are humidors; it’s just countless variations on the same general theme.

Yet for the first time that I can remember, a company is introducing a new fuel that promises better across the board performance for lighters. XIKAR’s High Performance Butane was designed to help lighters ignite at elevations above 6,000 feet, but it turned out to help lighters closer to sea level as well, offering stronger flames and rejuvenating performance for lighters on their last leg.

As halfwheel’s resident lighter reviewer, I’m interested in picking up a couple of cans and seeing if the results are as good as promised.