Over the past year and change, XIKAR has not only been releasing new lighters, but refreshing a handful of existing lighters, one of which is the XIKAR Ultra Mag.

The revamped lighter begin shipping to retailers in May 2015 alongside the redesigned XIKAR Allume and delivered a new thumb action grip, a new ignition mechanism, a bigger flame adjustment wheel, revamped air vents and a refreshed fuel window designed to make the fuel level easier to view. It remains a single flame torch lighter packed in a fairly heavy, rectangular body that isn’t terribly thick and feels substantial in the hand.

XIKAR Ultra Mag Size

I began using the Ultra Mag combo way back in mid-May, shortly after the updated version was released. As you might know from other lighter reviews I’ve written or Charlie Minato’s tweets, I have a propensity for breaking lighters. It’s certainly not intentional; I’m not in the business of dropping lighters from heights, running them over or disassembling them to see how the insides work and then being unable to get them put back together. Yet for some reason, a significant number of lighters stop working once they get into my hands. Such was the case with the XIKAR Ultra Mag.

Shortly after getting the lighter, I noticed that it stopped igniting consistently, due to what appeared to be the spark firing backwards and not towards the fuel. In such a small space, it seems hard to believe that this would be such a big deal, but indeed it is. Fortunately, a XIKAR sales rep happened to be attending an event that afternoon and when I presented the issue to him, he quickly recognized it, pulled a MTX multi-tool from his pocket and made some small adjustment to the lighter to getting it firing properly again.

XIKAR Ultra Mag Open

The ignition process is fairly simple; the top of the lighter is split into two sections, the lid that covers the torch and the ignition button with its crosshatch texture. A press of that button flips up the lid, begins the flow of the fuel and sparks the ignition, the last coming with a significant, very audible click.

Once ignited, the single jet puts off a fairly petite flame even with the fuel knob set to its highest level, but it is plenty to get a cigar toasted quickly and evenly. It’s a tight flame, feeling just a bit thicker than I’ve seen from other single flame torches, and the even flow of fuel keeps the blue flame burning steadily.

XIKAR Ultra Mag Lighting

It certainly feels to hold enough butane to easily last a night of lighting multiple cigars, or easily a week plus of more casual usage. I can only recall needing to fill it a handful of times during my nearly two months of near exclusive usage. The fuel window is more than sizable enough to see how much you have left in the tank and when a refill is needed, something that is easily achieved through the standard bleed-and-fill procedure. The valve to the fuel tank sits on the underside of the lighter, separate but next to the fuel window and is easy to manage for both parts of the refilling process.

As for the cutter, it a light and slender body that packs a dual blade with only one moving side, and while it is incredibly thin, it has problem getting through any cigar. The cutting action is very smooth–possibly almost a bit on the loose side–and slightly unfamiliar for me.

Having become a regular user of the XIKAR MTX cigar scissors, there was definitely an adjustment period as I reacquainted myself with this style of cutter, and in particular how I needed to position the cigar to get as straight and minimal of a cut as possible. It’s an under acknowledged part of cutting a cigar, but a cutter that provides clean sight lines are critical, just as much as the cutting mechanism itself.

Additionally, I found it a bit tough to hold the cutter open while lining the cigar up; the lack of finger holes didn’t help, and that the seemingly best way to hold the cutter is in the direction that the cut will be made means that the blade is closing as I’m trying to get the cigar placed properly. It feels as if the scale tips just a bit too much towards form over function in this case; while it’s a serviceable cutter, it wouldn’t be one I would go to on its own.

XIKAR Ultra Mag feature

As a quick point of contrast, the Colibri Astoria, which I reviewed in June 2015, features a slim cutter that remains attached to the lighter, and while I struggled with it as well, once I learned the proper way to use the cutter I found it to be somewhat more effective and easy to use than the detached cutter on the Ultra Mag.

While the Ultra Mag lighter continued to work for a few weeks after that initial repair, it once again began having problems with the ignition mechanism, as the spark reverted to going backwards towards the lighter and failing to ignite the fuel. I tried a quick nudging of the mechanism to get it closer to the jet, thinking that somehow the heat may have resulted in it curling ever so slightly backwards, but this proved fruitless, so I took XIKAR up on its well publicized policy of free lifetime service, sending it to the company’s Kansas City, Mo. offices for repair.

A few weeks later, the lighter returned and seemed back to normal. Then it stopped lighting with regularity, and as of this review, I’m probably averaging one successful ignition for every five failed pushes of the ignition button. For a lighter from a company with XIKAR’s prominence and reputation, it’s frustrating to have to deal with this inconsistent ignition issue, and is ultimately the most damning aspect of this accessory.

XIKAR Ultra Mag Knob

Additionally, I’m not in love with the lid design, mainly because it slowly creeps closer to the flame as my thumb loosens up on the ignition button. While I appreciate the single action, the trade off a sagging lid getting in the way of the flame just isn’t worth it for me. I’m fine with having to flip the lid up myself before igniting a lighter if it keeps it out of the way for the entire lighting process.

While I really wanted to like the XIKAR Ultra Mag, the frustration of multiple tries to get it fired up, the lid design and the functional if not completely ergonomic cutter has it falling short of my standards. While I could certainly use it with no issues, I can’t see it taking the place of my beloved MTX scissors and a number of other lighters I use with regularity.

XIKAR Ultra Mag Finish

The XIKAR Ultra Mag combo is available in three color options: black, gunmetal and silver, each with an MSRP of $99.99. The lighter is available on its own for $54.99, in black, silver and the G2 finish, while the cutter sells for the same price on its own and comes in black, silver and gunmetal.

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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.