REVIEW – There is something universally satisfying about staring into a flame. Campfires, candles, fire tables – they all give us that soothing, dancing flame to zone out with. But campfires require you to go camping, fire tables are expensive, and candles are small. Enter the Zippo FlameScapes Sprial Fire Feature XL – a tabletop flame feature that promises to provide that cool, soothing flame without a lot of the headaches associated with the other fire solutions. Wait…Zippo? Aren’t they the folks who made the windproof lighters that GIs carried in WWII? Yup. But they now make a whole line of products including this flame feature. Let’s check it out and see if it burns brightly or is just a flameout.
What is it?
FlameScapes XL is the larger version of Zippo’s outdoor tabletop FlameScapes flame feature. It uses Zippo gel fuel cans that can provide dancing flames for your viewing pleasure for roughly two hours per can.
What’s included?
- Assembled FlameScapes XL unit
- Fuel cover (inside the glass over a can of fuel)
- Fuel snuffer (installed in the back of the base)
- Fuel can (optional – can be purchased separately and required for use)
- Second fuel canister (included for this test only)
- Instruction manual
- Discount card with a code for 20% off your first fuel order
Tech specs
Click to expand
Dimensions: 16.5″ H x 8″ W x 8″ D
Weight: 6.1 lbs
Fuel: 350g can of gel fuel – one can optionally included
Use time: around 2 hours per can of fuel
Colors: silver or black – black was sent for review
Design and features
The FlameScapes XL is attractive with a cylindrical glass flame enclosure atop a silver or black metal base. Zippo provided the black version for this review. The photo above shows the gel fuel can and cover installed.
The cylinder is made of two pieces with a tab on one side and a hinge on the other.
You can also see that the glass doesn’t line up on the two pieces. This split design lets air enter in from each side in the same circular direction, creating a vortex airflow and the spiral flame.
The front door of the cylinder has a tab that is used to swing the door open.
The door opens a full 180 degrees providing access to the fuel holder.
You can see the slightly indented space designed to fit the gel fuel can.
Here is the can, installed. Installed is a bit of an overstatement as it just sits in the indented circle.
The fuel cover must be placed over the can before igniting the fuel.
I’m always up for testing things that tell you that death may occur. Seriously though, lighting the fuel without installing the cover can be dangerous, so don’t do it. The user manual had three full pages of warnings and usage cautions. The lawyers wrote more of the manual than the engineers.
Here is it, ready to light, other than the fact I didn’t open the can.
There is a mysterious tab on the back of the base. Pulling the tab reveals the flame snuffer.
To extinguish the flame, you place the snuffer over the can cover with the indented center facing down.
Place it fully on the cover for at least ten seconds and it snuffs out the flame so you can reseal the fuel can.
Here is a look at the base.
Do you see the non-slip feet? No? That’s because there aren’t any. I think that is a bit of a miss as it takes a little force to open or close the glass door. The unit slid when I tried to open or close the door, requiring another hand to steady the unit.
Assembly, Installation, Setup
The FlameScapes XL comes fully assembled. To use, open the glass door, open a gel fuel can, and place it inside the cylinder. Place the cover over the can, light the fuel, close the door, and enjoy for up to two hours.
Performance
We finally got a night with a break in the rain here in Central Florida so I took the FlameScapes XL outside, popped the lid off the fuel can, and got to firing it up. I’d describe it but I’ll let a video do the talking.
Suffice it to say that we were both wowed by it! My wife even said that after seeing one in person, she would go out and buy one. That is high praise from her. I planned to let the can burn out but the Florida rains had another idea. I expect that the two-hour burn claim is likely pretty accurate, give or take a few minutes.
One thing to note is that the fuel can, fuel can cover, and glass get pretty hot so care needs to be taken when opening it to snuff out the flame. In addition, if you’re going to reseal the can as I did, you’ll have to let it cool for a while or risk burning yourself.
Fuel is available directly from Zippo or on Amazon at around $50 for six cans. At two hours of flames per can, that works out to roughly $4 per hour of use. If you use the FlameScapes XL several nights each week, you will be burning through cash quickly. There are other brands of gel fuel available on Amazon at about half that cost but of course, Zippo recommends only using theirs.
What I like about the Zippo FlameScapes Spiral Fire Feature XL
- It is attractive
- It is easy to use
- The spiral flame is hypnotic
What needs to be improved?
- Some kind of non-slip base would be nice
- In my opinion, the Zippo fuel is a tad expensive working out to about $4/hour
Final thoughts
What’s the difference between a hippo and a Zippo? A hippo is really heavy and a Zippo is a little lighter. That old joke might eventually go away as Zippo is now so much more than a lighter manufacturer. The Zippo FlameScapes XL is a case in point. My wife and I were stunned at how good it looks and can’t wait for the rains to end so we can put this out back and we can enjoy some evenings staring into the dancing spiral vortex flame. Now, I need to petition to get Julie to give me a raise so I can afford the fuel!
Price: $129.95; $139.95 with one can of fuel
Where to buy: Zippo; Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Zippo. Zippo did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
