We have friends, who shall remain nameless, that invite us over for a BBQ every summer, and every year without fail we all end up starving, we now prepare by having something to eat before we even leave ours. The issue is that they wait for everyone to arrive, make everyone drinks, sit down, have a catch up and then say, “should we start the BBQ?” Why isn’t it already lit? It then takes ages for the coals to light, burn down and then for the food to cook and EVERY year they will say, “we really should have started it sooner” but they never learn.

Well this year I am prepared, I will be taking the Looftlighter, the what I hear you ask, it looks like a curling iron, it acts like a hair dryer and works like a lighter. You pile your charcoal up, touch the Looftlighter to one lump of charcoal and hold the button down, the Looftlighter then blows out hot (really hot) air out onto the coal and quickly you will see sparks, at this point you move the Looflighter off the coals and hold it a few inches away from the same spot for at least 60 secs to ignite the charcoal. If you want to get it BBQ ready you need to use it for 4-5 minutes until the charcoals are white hot, this is by far the fastest way of lighting a BBQ or hearth fire and eliminates the need for lighter fluid or matches. I like the idea of not needing naked flames or chemicals to start the fire, we did have to dig out the extension cord to test it out so make sure you have a suitable way of using it outside.

As it does produce a lot of heat I would like to see a safety catch on this, just in case it does fall into the wrong pair of hands and as for the bottle opener…no…just no, I don’t think this should be left lying around after it has been used although it does cool down quickly I know our BBQs often end up rather boozy and it is just asking for trouble. Also if there is ash in your fireplace just be aware of where you are pointing the Looftlighter when you turn it on as it will blow ash everywhere. Other than that this it is a fast and safe way to light a BBQ or fire, an eco-friendlier way with less smoke and stress involved. RRP £69.95

4.3 out of 5

Buy now

Pros

Quick way to start fire and get the BBQ ready

Eliminates the need of firelighters, lighter fluid and matches

Cons

Not portable as needs to be plugged in

No safety switch (maybe I am over cautious)