At the 2023 PCA Trade Show and Convention in Las Vegas back in July, we caught up with Joe Gro at the Quality Importers booth. While there were several exciting products on display, the product that I fell in love with the most was the new Palio Pistola torch lighter. When it comes to everyday lighters and other accessories, Quality Importers doesn’t go for flash and awe but what they do make is solid products that wont break the bank and are very reliable. But how does this lighter stack up? Is it a gimmick?

Palio Pistola

• Manufacturer: Quality Importers Trading Co.

• Brand: Palio

• Flame Type: Jet

• No. of Jets: 2

• Fuel Capacity: Aprox. 150 Cigars (According to QI)

• Colors: 4 – Smoke, Clear, Red and Blue

• MSRP: $14.99

First and foremost, the Palio Pistola is a two-jet torch lighter with the loose shape and figure of a handgun, hence the name. While this isn’t one of those gimmicky “gun shaped” lighters you might find in a head shop or convenience store, the concept and premise provides a comfortable form in your hand that I can’t help but be obsessed with. It also has a textured grip on the back of the lighter where it rests in your palm.

The twin jet head is angled at a 30 degrees when upright. The ignition trigger and the area directly behind it features a slight curve that fits nicely in your thumb. Again, keeping on the “theme” if you will, one might mentally think of it as being similar to the hammer on a firearm. The jets are covered by a cap that flips down and while it isn’t automatic, it is very functional and is easy to flick down manually.

On the bottom, there is a somewhat large and easy to use fuel adjustment knob to control the level of the flame in the jets. In the center of that knob, is the fuel fill port. On the opposite side there is a loop for a keychain which seems pretty convenient for those who would utilize it.

Now, all in all this is a great lighter. The two jets can be cranked up pretty high, The only down side to this lighter is I notice once the adjustment knob is turned to about 50-60% and below the lighter has a hard time staying lit. I have checked the fuel tank and made sure there wasn’t bad fuel or too much trapped air to hold it back. Therefore, it works best when set to 75% and higher. It would have been nice if the jet cap was automatic, although for $14.99 you can’t really complain.

Because of how strong these two jets can burn, it is great for larger ring gauges as well as smaller ones considering that the two are angled in toward each other that brings both flames to a fine point. I asked Joe Gro how much fuel this lighter holds and what he told me was he didn’t know exactly how many ounces but what he did know was that it held enough fuel for “about 150 cigars.” What exactly that means if you also consider relighting is a little abstract but its enough to say you won’t need to worry about filling this up once a day if you smoke pretty regularly like I do. In fact, people love to ask me how many cigars a day I smoke.
I regularly smoke three to four on average every day. I fill this lighter maybe once a week and that is only just to top it off because I lam very attentive to keeping things in a well maintained, working condition.

• Score: 92

• Recommendation: Buy multiple

Matt Tabacco

Born and raised in New England, Matthew Tabacco began smoking cigars and living up to his unique namesake in 2017. What began as just a social indulgence became a world of everything premium cigars- learning from some of the biggest and best in the business. From casual smoking to lighting up on the hit podcast The Smokin Tabacco Show, Matthew can usually be found in some of the largest smoke shops in the Northeast enjoying a cigar, talking business, or preparing for a show.