Atomic Lighter Review: No-Fuel Lighter

Atomic Lighter is a rechargeable lighter that does not require fuel. Does it work as advertised? Here is our Atomic Lighter review.

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About Atomic Lighter

Note: As of this 2022 update, Atomic Lighter is no longer sold and the website is parked. The information below was current as of September 2017 when the product was still widely available.

Atomic Lighter is a tactical rechargeable lighter that uses a plasma arc for ignition instead of a flame. The official website is atomiclighter.com, with a registration date of February 2017. The screen capture below was taken of the product website in June 2017.

atomic lighter review

Claims & Features

  • Creates fire without gas or butane
  • USB rechargeable (over 100 uses with a single charge)
  • Utilizes plasma arc technology
  • Durable construction
  • Lifetime guarantee

Cost

Atomic Lighter was $19.99 with free shipping with an optional double offer for a second lighter for $9.99, which raiseed the total to $29.98.

Atomic Lighter Review

You’ve no doubt seen ads for other “Atomic” brand products such as Atomic Beam, Atomic Beam Lantern, Atomic Beam Headlight, and others. This brand caters to outdoors types and those interested in the survival and “tactical” niches. Now the makers are back with Atomic Lighter, a rechargeable electric lighter that doesn’t use any fuel.

Using Atomic Lighter doesn’t require the annoying flint-spinning technique that you’ll find with standard lighters. In fact, you merely press a button on the side of the lighter to activate its plasma arc. Once lit, the lighter can be used to light anything you would with a standard lighter.

There have been a number of similar lighters that have appeared on the market recently, such as a competing item called Ever Light, but that one takes batteries, while Atomic Lighter is simply charged via USB cable, which I think is a better solution for most people.

As with other Atomic brand products, the commercial demonstrates the durability of this product by running it over with a truck. I have little doubt that durability won’t be a problem for Atomic Lighter, but to be fair I doubt a standard metal lighter would fail such a test, either.

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You can get about 100 lights per charge, although this will be affected by how long you keep the plasma arc lit each time. Keep in mind that the area in which the plasma arc exists isn’t particularly large, so it may take some getting used to as compared to a regular lighter with an open flame. For example, the commercial states that you can light a cigar using Atomic Lighter, but its open arc is not as large as the end of a cigar, which means you’ll have to move it around to fully light the tip.

I have mixed feelings about Atomic Lighter. Some things I do like about it, like the fact that its rechargeable and durable (I ran over it with my car and it was barely affected). It’s good for starting fires, too. I did find, however, that the tips clog easily. When I had a cigarette smoker try it on a full charge, it stopped working. I had to go home and clean it and recharge it, so I’m not sure why the power was so quickly exhausted, unless somehow being clogged made it dispense its energy.

I wish the lid would flip back more, as it often seemed to be in the way. This is compounded by the fact that you have to hold the lighter so close to the objects that you want to light. Atomic Lighter may be more expensive than regular lighters up front, but not having to worry about replacements or refills could make this worth the investment in the long run, depending on how you use it. If you’re a cigarette smoker, you may want to think twice before using this. It gets clogged and dirty when lighting up, and you may find yourself having to clean your lighter after every cigarette.

atomic lighter review
Cigarettes must tough the unit, which can make it messy and clogged.
atomic lighter review
You have to hold the arc very close to objects you want to light.

Alternatives

If the idea behind Atomic Lighter seems new to you, it may come as a surprise that arc lighters are actually quite common. This Tesla Coil Lighter, for example, costs about $14 and holds a solid 4.1 star rating among about 2,000 customer ratings.

Video Review

Below is my full review of Atomic Lighter, in a double review with Ever Light.

Your Atomic Lighter Reviews

What are your thoughts about Atomic Lighter? Drop a comment below and a star rating above to let us know what you think about it.

Updated September 2022.

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annagusgusjames
annagusgusjames
6 years ago

I will NOT order this because NO WHERE on this site can I find the difference between the Atomic Lighter and the Deluxe Atomic lighter…Both are offering free shipping, free flashlight and engraving for $15.00, Can’t find any difference between the 2 except $10.00!!!

Rustin-Travis Walker
Rustin-Travis Walker
6 years ago

Looking at their site, I believe the $10 difference is simply the blue color. For many products, color is a common factor contributing to price differences.

Ronald Nelson
Ronald Nelson
6 years ago

I am with you. You should not be charged for a color you should be able to pick a color the only color is blue what happened to all the other colors RED,GREEN,SILVER,GOLD,BLUE,YELLOW AND ETC.

The DUKE
The DUKE
6 years ago

WOW.

Andrew Theel
Andrew Theel
6 years ago

I bought the atomic lighter. It doesn’t clog like that.it is amazing

Andrew Theel
Andrew Theel
6 years ago
Reply to  Andrew Theel

I’ve lit many cigarettes and never cleaned it. If someone tells you you’ll have to, they are fake

ED
ED
6 years ago
Reply to  Andrew Theel

Still using it today ?

ED
ED
6 years ago
Reply to  Andrew Theel

How about now?

Philip Lewis
Philip Lewis
6 years ago

I’m a smoker and bought the Atomic Lighter from Bed Bath & Beyond. I got it 2 days ago and not only has it not run out of juice since its initial charge but I haven’t had to clean it one time yet & I’ve smoked many cigarettes in the past two days trust me. This video kind of makes me wonder if there is some type of bias going on. This product really is awesome just like it’s sister products including the atomic flashlight. Buy it cause its totally worth it!!

ED
ED
6 years ago
Reply to  Philip Lewis

Still using it?

STEPHEN TENACE
STEPHEN TENACE
6 years ago

This products just sucks, plain and simple. 100 lights? LOL! Re-charge? LOL

Raymond Marble
Raymond Marble
6 years ago

I just picked one of these up at Walmart 2 days ago and I’m amazed how well it works! The only thing I’m having trouble with is this review and negative comments? The power supply has worked flawlessly! Charged it up in about 35 mins and it goes and goes! I smoke like a freight train and I constantly play with it zero problems? And whats this business about cleaning the little electrodes? I’m using the hell out of it and zero problems again? I’m thinking this review must have been bought and paid for by a competitor or the… Read more »

freakinreviews
Admin
6 years ago
Reply to  Raymond Marble

Or maybe it just worked better for you than others. I clearly show in my video why it didn’t work for me. So if my negative review is paid for, that must mean your positive comment is paid for, too? I’m glad it works for you, but it was problematic for me in some instances and apparently there are others who share my experience. It’s not terrible a terrible product, but it has a few issues for some people.

ED
ED
6 years ago
Reply to  Raymond Marble

My 3rd day using it and it won’t hold a charge. How’s your lighter now?

AKDiggerDan
AKDiggerDan
6 years ago

My wife got one of these for a Christmas present. She looked at it and was enthused. She was ready for a lighter that worked all the time, any time, under any circumstances… But she wasn’t prepared to use this. She charged it, like the instructions said. Then she pushed the ‘On/Off’ button to the ‘On’ position – and it slipped to ‘Off.’ She tried to turn it on again, and again it slipped to off. She handed it to me. I’m a mechanic and can figure almost anything out. And it didn’t take long to figure out that the… Read more »

Michael Howard
Michael Howard
6 years ago
Reply to  AKDiggerDan

Yeah, the on/off switch must be defective. It’s supposed to stay in the position you put it. Mine works fine, though the switch can be a bit difficult to move completely on or off.

ED
ED
6 years ago

What the problem is, the battery doesn’t charge a 2nd time very good. I’m searching for a replacement. It’s not hard to remove.

Ronald Nelson
Ronald Nelson
6 years ago

Ok I have a few things to say for one my wife got me the Atomic Lighter for Christmas and it was not under the Christmas tree. So she told me what she had got for me and showed me the video and i was thinking WOW that’s nice. Well we got it a few days after Christmas and I plugged it in so that I could charge it and no Blue light so I plug it into another charger and no blue light plug it into the computer and still no blue light it does not charge so we… Read more »

skylane807
skylane807
6 years ago

LOL… I remember when my girlfriends brother came down from Alaska to visit.
He had just got a lighter of this type. That was 1978!

Michael Howard
Michael Howard
6 years ago

I received an Atomic Lighter for Christmas and it’s worked flawlessly. My only criticism is that (as mentioned in the review) the opening is barely big enough to light a cigarette. Until you get the hang of it it usually doesn’t light it all the way around. Oh, and the lighter is a bit heavy and I wonder if the “sharp” corners of the metallic case are going to wear holes in my pockets.

Lois Adkison
Lois Adkison
6 years ago

My husband just bought me one of these lighters. When it works it’s great. But I can only get about 4 or 5 lights out of it before I have to charge it. It’s on the charger more than off. Would not recommend buying it.

Joeydonut
Joeydonut
6 years ago

Buy at your own risk! I bought this lighter from a Super Walmart for $20. It lasted me 2 days after following the instructions. I’d get 1 light after recharging it. Bottom line: STICK WIT BIC!

Danny
Danny
9 months ago

I’m still using mine May 2023