I finally got to put my Xikar Eris to use yesterday night. Four of my friends and I grabbed some cigars and sat around to smoke and talk. I brought my Eris with me to see how it'd work. This Xikar has two main functions: cigar punch cutting and lighting.
Ok, so the Eris's cigar punch flips out from the bottom of the lighter. It works perfectly fine and is pretty big in size. I believe Xikar says it's a 9mm punch? It cut fine and I didn't have any problems with it.
Now, the Eris's flame comes out of a little flip-top deal at to top of the lighter. You press the side ignition switch of the Eris in and the top does a 180 and to nozzle pops out and lights up. The flame is a single torch flame. The instruction manual for the Eris says that you should not keep the Eris lit for more than 10 seconds because of heat build-up. Problem is, we had five cigars to light, and in the end we weren't able to light all five with the Eris. The Eris ran out of gas probably around the end of the third to the fourth cigar, but the larger problem was that the Eris was scorching hot by the middle to end of lighting the second cigar. Because of the nice metal body of the Eris, we weren't able to hold the Eris after the second cigar without using our shirts as a buffer. My cigar, being third in line, I had to light it with the Eris held by my hand wrapped in my shirt. The Eris worked, though, and did light the cigars.
So here's my verdict. The Xikar Eris has a really nice exterior. It's flashy for several reasons: the built in punch, the nice finish, the side ignition, and the flipping nozzle. The cigar punch works perfectly fine, and if what everybody says about Xikar's warranty is correct, I can just send it back when the cutter gets dull. As for lighting cigars, though, you should probably only light about one or two cigars at a time or else you risk burning your hand. If you want a lighter that's somewhat flashy and has a built-in cutter and if you don't mind not being able to use it as a herf lighter, then you should consider the Eris (and get that free leather case thing from Xikar for registering your warranty
). If you want a herf lighter, try something else.
Ok, so the Eris's cigar punch flips out from the bottom of the lighter. It works perfectly fine and is pretty big in size. I believe Xikar says it's a 9mm punch? It cut fine and I didn't have any problems with it.
Now, the Eris's flame comes out of a little flip-top deal at to top of the lighter. You press the side ignition switch of the Eris in and the top does a 180 and to nozzle pops out and lights up. The flame is a single torch flame. The instruction manual for the Eris says that you should not keep the Eris lit for more than 10 seconds because of heat build-up. Problem is, we had five cigars to light, and in the end we weren't able to light all five with the Eris. The Eris ran out of gas probably around the end of the third to the fourth cigar, but the larger problem was that the Eris was scorching hot by the middle to end of lighting the second cigar. Because of the nice metal body of the Eris, we weren't able to hold the Eris after the second cigar without using our shirts as a buffer. My cigar, being third in line, I had to light it with the Eris held by my hand wrapped in my shirt. The Eris worked, though, and did light the cigars.
So here's my verdict. The Xikar Eris has a really nice exterior. It's flashy for several reasons: the built in punch, the nice finish, the side ignition, and the flipping nozzle. The cigar punch works perfectly fine, and if what everybody says about Xikar's warranty is correct, I can just send it back when the cutter gets dull. As for lighting cigars, though, you should probably only light about one or two cigars at a time or else you risk burning your hand. If you want a lighter that's somewhat flashy and has a built-in cutter and if you don't mind not being able to use it as a herf lighter, then you should consider the Eris (and get that free leather case thing from Xikar for registering your warranty
). If you want a herf lighter, try something else. 
