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I’ve been a proponent of vintage petrol lighters since my entry into the hobby, especially for those who use them. Everyone who has ever held one

of these bygone beauties however, will tell you, you always have to baby them. Those with the most fantastic finishes require the most attention in use so you don’t accidentally scratch or drop or some otherwise ruin the finish on. Still other mechanisms are so rare in their original production as to require a premium for purchase that many may be unable to justify or afford.

I think the Zorro Z666 copy of the vintage Penguin Cygnus roller petrol lighter may be the perfect answer for these and other circumstances as the affordable price, quality and innovative construction and nostalgic mechanism and style make it appealing not only to those who are looking for a reliable petrol lighter to use today but also for those looking for newly manufactured lighters other than Zippo to collect.

A Modern Petrol Lighter Review

There doesn’t appear to be any official website for the Zorro brand of lighters which makes finding information about them sort of difficult. When I searched Zorro lighters on Google, among the results that were returned was a website which could have easily been construed as an official Zorro website but upon further inspection of the website’s credentials and “About Us” page appeared to simply be a third party site reselling or drop shipping Zorro lighters off of AliExpress. AliExpress also seems to be the most prominent place to find them and any information about them. There are also listings on Ebay, DhGate and Amazon where some information may be gleaned.

Construction: 10/10(with qualifications)

According to the AliExpress site, the base metal for the lighter is zinc alloy. I could not find anywhere in those listings or elsewhere for that matter, that gave any details whether it was plated, polished or otherwise finished in any way, other than the reference to “resin craft technology”.

The lighter feels heavy in the hand, and appeals to one’s tactile senses like

opening a watch or fine cigarette case before fondling it or its contents in your fingers. There’s nothing slack or loose or indeterminate about the lighter’s construction as everything fits flush and crisp.

The base metal zinc alloy of the Zorro Z666 roller petrol lighter proves itself worthy as all threads, corners and interplay of parts are clean, precise and function as intended. Whether plated, polished or simply sealed, the finish of the Z666 is patently brilliant and bares no resemblance to the grayish, chalky finish I’ve witnessed on most vintage lighters with base metal of similar origin.

If you’ve hung out in the DependableFlame.com YouTube live streams then you have been introduced to ZAMAC, just as I was. I was admittedly previously ignorant of the matter but now understand that there have been many consumer products constructed of the alloys for decades. Interestingly, zinc alloys are often known somewhat pejoratively as “monkey metal”.

Finish: 10/10

While I have some uncertainty about the actual finish of the base metal zinc alloy, the use of what Zorro calls resin craft technology is a definite plus to

both the comely appeal and durability of the lighter. We’ve all complained about some of the fantastic finishes that Zippo has applied to their lighter, like the 540 Color Process which allows for terrific graphics to be applied to the lighter but does nothing to protect them.

The Zorro Z666 has a painted finish(I have seen red & black examples) which on the backdrop of the shiny, yellowish metal provides an elegant though unsophisticated aesthetic. The real difference in this lighter as opposed to all those beautiful 540 Color Process Zippos that will just have to learn to live scratched though is the resin craft technology that results in not only a beautiful outcome of a lighter but also one who’s finish can endure the odd drop on a table or being treated a little haphazard.

I make no claims as to how this lighter’s finish will actually wear or hold up over time. It’s much to ask of a lighter, as it would be any tool, to remain in perfect, original appearance just as when it was new but that doesn’t mean that we can’t handle a lighter with kid’s gloves and hope for the best as we use it over the course of time.

I look forward to seeing how its finish fares from the use I put it through. Though I will definitely be babying it, I will keep you updated concerning the finish and document those updates here, through YouTube videos which will allow you to see the finish for yourself.

Functionality: 10/10(With A Qualification)

The unique rear mounted thumb roller flint tension mechanism is the hallmark of all Cygnus lighters. That’s not to say that there are not

examples of other brands of lighters that are fit with the same mechanism but the mechanism is not integral to those other brands in the same way that it is the Penguin Cygnus petrol lighter.

The flint mechanism is designed in such a manner to require no screwdriver whenever replacing a spent flint or simply increasing pressure on an existing flint in order to achieve a great spark. This is notable on both accounts, especially in having the ability to increase the pressure on the flint as it is being used as many lighters require that the flint spring screw be tightened all the way down and fail to provide means for any adjustments.

The semi-automatic ignition of the Zorro Z666 is facilitated by a “catch” mounted on the back of the file wheel assembly which when actuated releases the snuffer upward. You may find yourself at first pressing the wheel to release the snuffer and then rolling the wheel to ignite the lighter. It didn’t take long with me applying pressure and rolling that wheel before

its operation was fluid enough to consider one motion. It’s an excellent mechanism with no perceptible slack or creep to this user.

It’s too early to judge simply off of the design and I certainly see no evidence of weakness in my use of the lighter so far but the hinge coil spring that has been employed to supply upward tension to the snuffer could be a step down from the shorter, flint spring style examples that were used in the original Automat Cygnus lighters. Then again, just as with some other departures from the original’s design, it is very possible that the coil spring used in the Z666 could be a significant upgrade over the original.

Ease Of Maintenance: 9/10

Replacing wick and wadding in aluminum block lighters(of which the Penguin Cygnus is) is not typically that difficult of a task as the tanks are usually straight bored through the bottom almost to the top of the lighter, not really in place for nooks or crannies or anything else to get in your way. Whoever designed the Zorro Z666 however, went out of their way to make the wicking and wadding job even more simple by providing a removable bottom base plate to allow unfettered access into the body of the lighter.

We spoke earlier about the automatic ignition as well as flint and other mechanisms. These all work flawlessly and without concern from the first use of the lighter but it does cause me some hesitation that to completely disassembly the Z666 would require some work with very small parts under

spring pressure that could very easily be sent flying across the room or just fall down into a carpet acting as the perfect camouflage.

That being said, I believe that complete disassembly of this lighter is possible and look forward to providing an in-depth video of both the dis- and reassembly once I have used it enough to feel like cracking it open.

Price/Availability: 8/10

Not only does there not appear to be an official website for the company(a common notion in the Reddit forums where it’s also been suggested that

the company listens to YouTube videos and commenter’s complaints and then acts on those as suggestions for improvements) that manufactures Zorro lighters but the pricing where they are available may be somewhat erratic if not affordable at the same time.

You can find a few of them on Ebay in the black and burgundy painted finish with or without a gift box for less than $30. I have never been huge on having the original box or paperwork for the lighters in my collection but I know some collectors are and they can purchase the lighter with a gift box from at least one seller for less than three additional dollars. My lighter wasn’t purchased with a box and arrived with no paperwork, just sealed in a cellophane bag with a little sticker sealing the bag.

As I researched various sites in writing this article, attempting to find out exactly where this lighter is available for purchase, I did find a listing on Amazon for the Zorro Z666 and though the listing seemed active, there were no current offerings being made from the listing. I found the lighter basically being offered at wholesale prices on AliExpress, a tad more expensive on DhGate.com and still even more expensive on Ebay but still affordable.

This is good because there are many American consumers at least who are not willing to do business with online markets based in China such as AliExpress and DhGate because shipping sometimes takes much longer than domestic and still others don’t trust their data on the sites.

Recommendation: 9/10

The Zorro Z666 Roller Petrol Lighter is a gem of a lighter and I am thrilled, not only to own the one I do but that these lighters are available on the market for anyone to purchase and use. The use of petrol lighters to ignite whatever it is that you choose to smoke is a practice and art that could easily fall by the wayside if folks don’t keep using them.

In the past, I may have been somewhat of a detractor of these sort of “replica” copies of vintage lighter designs. I am diametrically opposed to any of these such lighters ever being reproduced if there are misleading or inaccurate markings identifying the lighter.

That is not the case here though, as this lighter is marked clearly as “SEALED ZORRO 666”. I’m not crazy about that number being stamped on the fuel screw of the lighter but at least consumers should know when they see it that it is not an original Cygnus lighter or it obviously would not be marked “ZORRO”. I do have some concern about parts from “reproduced” Zorro Z666s ending up in original Penguin Cygnus lighters but don’t see that issue being as detrimental as the outright counterfeiting of lighters.

I wholeheartedly recommend the Zorro Z666 Roller Petrol Lighter for purchase and look forward to seeing exactly how my Zorro “Cygnus” holds up over time in regard to its construction, finish, functionality and ease of maintenance. My only real qualm with the lighter at this point is that you don’t find it readily available on most online markets where lighters are purchased, as one might expect you would.

Stay tuned here at DependableFlame.com and the DependableFlame YouTube channel where we will post any updates to the conditional disposition or functionality of the Zorro Z666 Roller Petrol Lighter.

Feel free also to post any thoughts you may have on this or any other petrol lighter in the comments section below this article or in the DependableFlame.com Facebook group where you are likely to find a hoard of enthusiasts who are just as excited to talk about your lighter as you are!