Looftlighter

Origin and background

Looftlighter is a Swedish company founded in 2005, inventor of the hot-air electric barbecue lighter. Its idea broke with fluids, gels and chemical cubes: instead of a flame, a jet of air at several hundred degrees that ignites the charcoal directly.

What sets it apart

The principle is as simple as it is effective: hold the nozzle near the coals, the superheated air lights one spot of charcoal in under a minute, and the fire spreads from there on its own. No acrid smoke, no residual flavours and no chemicals. The range includes the classic corded electric model, the Electric Barbecue Lighter, and the Looftlighter Air, a cordless, rechargeable version so you're not tied to a socket beside the kamado.

Our assessment

At mikamado we added it to the catalogue because it fits exactly what ceramic cooking calls for: a clean light that doesn't taint the flavour. Based on the specs and the broad consensus of the kamado community, it's almost a cult object in live-fire cooking. In the interest of honesty, it does need power —the corded model a socket, the Air a prior charge— and the nozzle gets very hot and must be handled with care. In return, it removes the chemicals of traditional lighters and shortens the wait to a hot bed of coals.

Who it's for

For the kamado cook who protects flavour from minute one and wants no trace of lighter fluid near the food. The corded model for those with a socket nearby; the Air for lighting away from the plug or on the move.