Vertigo Page

If there is one portion of the cigar lighter market that I find myself continually interested in, it is the flat flame segment. In the time since I was first introduced to flat flames—about a decade ago—the flat flame option has become more prevalent, it has seen its share of evolutions and incarnations, and it has become more accessible to consumers. When they first debuted, flat flame lighters were almost exclusively priced in the low three digits but can now be had for under $20.

While every review seeks to answer the question of whether a lighter is worth purchasing or not, I also try and answer the question of what’s new when it comes to examining a lighter, seeing if there is some slight tweak being made that will have an effect on future lighters. There are a lot of times when I can’t answer that question, but in the case of the Vertigo Page, a simple shift in how the flame emerges from the body was enough to catch my attention, and its price was enough to solidify it for a review.

The Vertigo Page debuted at the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show, one of several new releases from the Lotus Group.

WHAT IS IT?

The Vertigo Page is a pocket-friendly flat flame torch lighter that is most notable for aiming the flame about 35 degrees away from the body of the lighter. It offers an all-metal body, fuel level window and a large flame adjuster on the base of the lighter. It is quite light, weighing just about 2.1 ounces, and measures 2.5 x 1.375 x 0.5 inches.

It is offered in four colors: black, green, copper and chrome.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

The Vertigo Page is priced at $14.99 and comes with Vertigo’s lifetime warranty.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The Vertigo Page is very easy to operate; simply depress the black ignition button to start the flow of butane and provide the spark to ignite it. Then light your cigar with a back-and-forth motion, which I have described as painting your cigar with a wide brush, and once sufficiently lit, release the ignition button to extinguish the flame.

WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL?

The most distinguishable feature of the Vertigo Page is the angled torch lighter, which makes it stand out amongst its competitors. Right behind that is the price, as there simply aren’t many flat flame lighters even near this price point, making this style of lighter available to even more cigar smokers.

PROS

• This Punches Above it Weight — The Vertigo Page might look small and only offer a single flame, but that doesn’t mean it’s overmatched by bigger cigars. The first cigar I lit with the Page was 50 ring gauge, which it toasted quickly and evenly. Assuming the technique is correct, the Vertigo Page is seemingly up to any challenge.
• It’s A Fuel Sipper — While the above note might make it seem like the Page would gulp butane, I didn’t find that to be the case. The flat flame design seems to get a bit more out of butane than a traditional torch, helping to space out the time between refills.
• The Price — At $14.99, the Vertigo Page is one of the most affordable cigar lighters on the market, and certainly cheaper than many of the cigars I lit with it over the several weeks of testing, making it affordable to seemingly anyone who enjoys cigars.
• The Ergonomics Are Good — I don’t think the angled flame makes a huge difference, whether that be in the case of the Page or any other lighter that uses this design. Is it inherently better than a flame that comes straight up out of the lighter? Not from what I can tell, but it does at least increase the space between my thumb and the heat source, as I never felt like my fingers were getting hot or the lighter itself was getting too warm to use. On the whole, the ergonomics of the Page are about as good as any lighter I’ve used.
• There’s a Fuel Window — I feel like this is becoming the first thing that accessory manufacturers mention to me as a feature of their new products, given how often I bring it up in reviews, but having a way to see how much fuel is in the tank remains a fairly important thing to me. For a compact lighter, the window is decently sized and makes it easy to check the butane level at a glance.

CONS

• It’s Not Powerful Enough to Just Put In Front of a Cigar Without Needing Some Attention — I didn’t realize this until a couple of weeks into using the Page and I was waiting at a red light needing to relight the cigar I was smoking. It felt like the Page needed a little more focused attention to get an even light, whereas had I been using a triple-flame torch or even a traditional single-flame torch, I feel like I could have lit a cigar without needing to focus on it, especially once the light turned green.
• The Paint Will Chip — This is an issue for many lighters, but the Page has started to show its share of dings and scratches by way of the paint chipping a bit. For a budget-friendly lighter, I’m not expecting this to be impervious to showing some wear and tear, but it is something to keep in mind.
• The Flame Can Be Hard to See — When using any cigar lighter in sunlight or bright light, the flame can be hard to see, but I noticed this a bit more with the Page. Since the flame is spread out a bit more, it seems to be more affected by ambient light, meaning you might not always know if the flame is burning or exactly how far it is reaching, leading to my fingers picking up the heat that it offers.
• It’s Not Likely Going to Win Any Design Awards — While I’m fine with the design, it doesn’t particularly win me over, nor do I think it would elicit any interested reactions were I to show it off to friends. Like many lower-priced lighters, this is seemingly function over form, something I’m fine with, though I understand having a lighter that’s a bit more of a showpiece has an appeal.

THE COMPETITION

It feels like it wasn’t all that long ago that I would have struggled to come up with competitors to the Vertigo Page, now it feels like I’m having to limit just how many I write about. While there are a good number of quality lighters under $20 if price is the main concern, there aren’t many that are flat flames. Here are a handful of what I’d consider to be the most direct competitors to the Page:

• Vertigo Zephyr ($25) — I reviewed this in December 2021 and praised the lighter’s performance and price, the latter of which was particularly notable at the time. The fuel tank is painfully small and it doesn’t have a fuel window, but the slim design makes it very pocket-friendly for an everyday carry. It’s a toss-up between this and the Page for an at-home lighter, but I’d likely lean toward the Page, given its larger fuel tank, as an everyday carry.
• Vertigo Attaché 2 ($20) — If the body design of the Page is appealing, but a traditional soft flame is preferable, the Attaché 2 offers just that. It’s available in the same four colors as the Page, though priced a few dollars higher. As much as I like soft flames, for an everyday carry, I’d lean towards the Page given how fickle soft flames can be in certain conditions.
• Vertigo Carrera ($24.99) — This model debuted at the 2023 PCA Convention and Trade Show, and immediately reminded me of my favorite flat flame, the Porsche Design Heber, though without the $150 or so price tag. It’s notable for its flip-down ignition and compact design, while the flame comes up vertically from the body. I haven’t used it outside of a quick test at the trade show, so I can’t speak to its durability and performance.
• Vector Spade ($39.95) — In the battle for affordable flat flame lighters, Vector-KGM certainly gives Vertigo a run for its money, notably with the Spade, which is more of a direct competitor to the Zephyr than the Page. I haven’t used it enough to see just how it performs, but I’ve generally had good experiences with Vector-KGM’s products.
• Vector Defiance ($45) — I haven’t had a chance to use this either, but it offers a punch cutter, which would be a plus for those who like that style of cut and don’t want to have to carry a separate cutter.

SHOULD YOU BUY IT?

Yes. While I wouldn’t mind a bit more power for those situations where I want to quickly light a cigar, as mentioned above, the Vertigo Page checks all the boxes for an everyday lighter. It’s incredibly affordable, it offers solid performance, it has held up quite well, and it looks fairly decent. As I said in my review of the Vertigo Zephyr, this is a lighter worth picking up to experience how a flat flame works if you’re not familiar with it, as well as a solid option for regular use if you’re simply looking for a new lighter.

The lighter used for this review was purchased by halfwheel.