It was brought to my attention that Lamplight Farms has redesigned the Island King Tiki Torch in 2009.
As such, my little review there is out of date. So, we set out and purchased one of the 2009 Island King Tiki Torches this weekend.
 |
| From Halloween buildup 09 |
Gone is the 3 piece pole that so troubled me with the 2008 version. Single piece construction makes for a much sturdier and hassle free pole.
Also new, the canister now sits directly on top of the pole. In 2008, the canister was offset.
 |
| From |
I have no doubt this was done for safety measures, as the directions state, there are 3 means of securing your Island King.
1. Use a Tiki brand torch stake
2. Use a Tiki brand torch stand
3. Bury at least 8″ in the ground.
Only makes sense that the pole is more sturdy with the weight centered on the pole.
Ironically, however, there is now no pole to strike to achieve those 8″ to bury the thing. I can’t exacty fault them for attempting to push those stakes and stands on us. Good business sense, if annoying…
The canister itself seems to be a touch on the flimsy side. In fact, I visited 3 Wal-Marts looking at these. The first Wal-Mart contained no Island King Torches that were undamaged. Presumably during shipment and handling. The second Wal-Mart had mostly intact torches, but I decided it unwise to attempt to cram one into my little car. The third (closest to home with the bigger vehicle) had a mix of damaged and undamaged.
2 points seem to absorb the damage. The decorative wind break at the top, and, more concerning, the area where the canister attaches to the pole.
From left to right: 2009 Island King ($15), 2008 Island King ($20), $2 Tiki Torch
 |
| From Halloween buildup 09 |
As mentioning last time, to get the most of your Island King out of the box, er, wrap, as it is now, you need to modify that pristine wick.
 |
| From Halloween buildup 09 |
Cut those outside strings, and fan it out just a bit to make it look like the natural wear a wick receives.
 |
| From Halloween buildup 09 |
The 2009 redesign does have a slightly smaller canister than 2008, but if there is any less capacity, it was imperceptible to me when filling and carrying. And, that smaller size does not appear to affect the performance.
Again, from left to right: 2009 Island King ($15), 2008 Island King ($20), $2 Tiki Torch
 |
| From Halloween buildup 09 |
 |
| From Halloween buildup 09 |
Out of curiosity, I placed my ‘mini island king’ modification, an unintended side effect of the witch skulls, on the $2 torch.
 |
| From Halloween buildup 09 |
So, what’s the verdict?
Finding some undamaged Island Kings might be a challenge, and there would be the concern of damage occuring during storage. The cheaper cost is certainly attractive, and if you find them on clearance, all the better. But, is it worth 7X the cost of a regular torch? Well, that’s up to you.
Edit: I was in Home Depot checking out some different torches someone had pointed me at, and I noticed the Home Depot version of the 2009 Island King Tiki Torch STILL comes with the 4 piece pole in a box, but it now screws into the BASE of the canister, much like the WalMart version. I’m not shelling out $15 to see if the pole connections have been improved, but the CANISTER appeared to be of a higher quality than the WalMart cansiters, feeling a tad more durable. The boxes sure prevented shipping damage MUCH better as well. The Island Kings there were in pristine condition.