I posted this in a thread here some months ago when the Pearl was all the buzz.
"I have both the Corona Old Boy and the Tsubota Pearl. Here are pros and cons for me.
Pearl
Pros: stonger flame than the Old Boy, I like the heavy feel, I like the pipe tools that flip out the side.
Cons: the lever arm that you flip up to light is cheaply made pot metal, the flame adjustment is recessed so you can't adjust the flame without a separate tool (I end up using the removable tamper tool from one of my Old Boys since you can't separate the tools from the Pearl lighter), you can't separate the tools from the lighter they only flip out the side, my first one lasted less than 3 months before the lever arm locked up & wouldn't work, no place to have repaired in USA.
Note: I did call the place I bought mine from & they sent me a brand new replacement at no charge that I received in the mail in less than 3 days no questions asked & they didn't even want the old one back as proof of my claim. Highly recommend this retailer if you're going to buy a lighter. First rate. Here is link where I bought and the model I bought. My second one (replacement) is working fine, so far.
http://www.pipetobacco.com/pipe-lighters/pearl-pipe-lighter-941.html
Old Boy
Pros: lever arm & entire lighter seems to be quality metal, you can remove the tamper tool from the lighter, you can send them off & have repaired in USA for as long as you own them or Corona is in business for $8 a pop.
Cons: Can't use in the slightest breeze, since the pipe tool is removable you could lose it
Which do I prefer?
I'm still partial to the Old Boys (I own 3). For me the deal breaker is the fact that Corona will stand behind it and repair it till the cows come home. If the retailer you buy a Pearl lighter from doesn't back your purchase and something goes wrong you've bought a $100+ throw away lighter. While the retailer I purchased my Pearl from backed my purchase I'm not sure they would have if I'd owned it for more than 90 days.
Hope this helps."
I usually do more research before buying but I wanted to support the shop as the owner has been very good to me in the past.
