Jet flame lighter or soft flame: what is the difference?

The difference between a jet flame and an ordinary flame lies in the mixing. With a jet flame, the gas is forced under pressure through a small hole and mixed with air along the way. The result is a short blue flame of around 1300 degrees that points straight ahead and doesn't move with the wind.

An ordinary flame, also called a soft flame, burns on the outside and reaches roughly 800 to 1000 degrees. That flame is yellow, soft and flickering, and simply blows out in a bit of wind.

For outdoors, fireworks, the barbecue and the fireplace, you want a jet flame lighter. For a cigar or a pipe, a soft flame is actually better.

The colour says something about the combustion. Blue means the gas burns completely: enough oxygen has been mixed in before the fire catches.

Yellow means incomplete combustion. What you see as yellow light is glowing soot particles that haven't fully burnt. That's also why an ordinary flame leaves soot behind and a jet flame doesn't.

That complete combustion is what produces the heat. All the energy is released in a small volume instead of spread across a large, flickering flame.

And it explains the sound. A jet flame hisses because the gas passes through a narrow opening at speed. That's normal, not a fault.

Outdoors the jet flame wins almost every time. The PyroPen Turbo is the simplest choice: a long body, so you keep your hand away from the fire, and the flame height is adjustable.

If you want more flame at once, the PyroTorch Quattro has four side by side. That makes the flame wider rather than hotter, which helps with a thick fuse or a firelighter cube.

Indoors an ordinary flame is often nicer, because it is gentler and uses less gas. The 5x Prof Sealion Flex has a bendable neck that reaches into deep candle jars and lanterns without putting your hand inside.

If you simply want a few for candles and tealights, the 4x Prof Hake Aansteker + Gas pack is the best value: four long lighters with gas included.

If you smoke a pipe, a soft flame remains the right choice, because a jet flame scorches the tobacco. The MYON Softflame Carbon was built for that, with three pipe tools. For a cigar a jet flame works fine, as long as you keep it half a centimetre away and keep turning the cigar.

Here's the downside. A jetflame pushes gas out under pressure and therefore uses it up faster than a softflame. With a four-flame model, that happens four times as fast.

In practice you'll notice this mainly with prolonged use, for example when lighting a barbecue. For just a few seconds at a time it barely matters.

Refill with butane of at least 45 PSI. Cheap gas leaves residue in the narrow jet opening, causing the flame to lean or go out completely. The right stuff is in our lighter gas range.

If it does go wrong, it's almost always the gas, not the lighter. Find out what to do in lighter not working.

A healthy jetflame is short, blue and points straight forward. If you see a yellow tip at the end, too much gas is coming out for the amount of air mixed in.

In that case, turn the flame down slightly with the wheel on the bottom. A shorter blue flame is hotter than a long yellow one, even though the latter looks more impressive.

If the flame leans or sputters irregularly, there's dirt in the opening. This is almost always caused by cheap, unfiltered gas.

And always let it rest for two minutes after refilling. Fresh gas is cold, and as long as the tank hasn't reached room temperature, the flame will burn unevenly or not at all.

The names overlap and that's confusing. Torch, torch lighter, jetflame and turbo lighter all refer to the same principle: pressurised gas, blue flame.

Storm lighter is a common name, not a technology. It's usually a jetflame, since that's what withstands wind, but the term is also used for lighters with a windshield around them.

So don't go by the name, go by the flame. Blue and hissing is a jetflame; yellow and flickering is a softflame. More models can be found under storm lighters.

Outdoors there is little to choose: an ordinary flame blows out and then you stand there fiddling. A jet flame solves that, and the higher gas consumption is what you pay for it.

Indoors it works the other way round. For candles, tealights and a pipe a soft flame is not a compromise but the better choice: calmer, more economical and plenty for what you are lighting.