Swan Sulphur-Free Vestas

[goose61]

Was just curious as to why these are so hard to get (at least here in the States). Seems to be only one distributor from what I can tell. I know a lot of people really like them, but at $3 for a pack of 45, I'd go broke pretty fast considering the way I relight.

 

[mrenglish]

I am with you. Scored some off eBay a while back, but do not use them a lot. It would be nice if SPC or similar carried them.

 

[npod]

I love them! They are pricey though. Amazon has them for $20 for a six pack, about $3 a pack. Lately I’ve been buying the green tipped strike anywhere matches and they do great also.

 

[elpfeife]

I have never sprung for Vestas due to the cost, but the poor quality of Diamonds has kept me looking for an alternative. For the past few months I have used Three Stars from Sweden. They do not have a sulpher smell and light with one stroke, producing a strong flame. They do seem to burn faster than other matches so you can't dwaddle. The cost for a pack of 10 boxes is $3.65 plus $3 shipping on Amazon, so you need to order multiple packs when buying. The cost is obviously greater than Diamond but I think they are far superior.

 

[elpfeife]

Having paid close attention to the length of the match burn last night, I retract my statement that they burn faster. Three Stars are far superior to Diamond and the grocery store brands.

 

[mrenglish]

Thank you for your observations. I am going to order some now. Agree with you about store matches, they break easier and sometimes the tip will break when striked, causing a burning ember to go flying.

 

[woodsroad]

 

[crashthegrey]

Incredibly striker, there.

 

[woodsroad]

Thanks, crash. These show up on eBay from time to time, usually too expensive. This one has a chip (near "swan, you can see it a bit) so it went relatively cheaply. Just a wonderful bit of the past, when one of these sat on every table in the neighborhood pub.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I try to hit up restaurants, clubs, and hotels for matches, as most are just right for a first light. Then comes butane. Sadly, fewer and fewer places stock them

 

[crashthegrey]

I see the chip now, woods, but never would have noticed otherwise. I'll start keeping an eye out for one.

 

[npod]

In follow up ... I am now using Swan Vestas at least 85% of all my lights. I can direct the flame much better than a lighter and they stay lit in wind. I drank the Kool-aid.
I found a cool leather box to hold the matches. Old school.

I even cut out a striker and taped it to my pipe caddy.

 

[hugodrax]

Every time I go to Japan I bring back a bunch of matches. Very high quality.

 

[saltedplug]

npod, that's a fine Castello. The slightly bent Dublin is one of their iconic shapes. Is that a Great Line? What pretty wood!

 

[woodsroad]

Follow up on my Swan match holder: It’s not terribly difficult to accidentally ignite the entire bundle of matches.

I imagine that there used to be bar rules that whever torched the match holder bought the next round!

 

[npod]

Salted, that is a Former smooth apple with bone inlay.
But I am smoking a Castello currently. A number 10 chubby billiard.

 

[saltedplug]

@npod,

Salted, that is a Former smooth apple with bone inlay.
But I am smoking a Castello currently. A number 10 chubby billiard.

I was referring to the Castello in your picture with the Vestas and I believe you were referring to the Former sitting in your caddy, which interposed; and thus I made the wrong attribution. But to cover all the bases, the Castello Dublin, the Former Apple and the bent chubby billboard are all so, so pretty. You seem to only have very fine pipes, not that I covet them!.