Yes, it seems that a lot of refillable lighters out there have a rather high failure rate upon refill, even after just the first refill. I think it has something to do with either the quality of the butane being used, which is unlikely in my opinion, or more likely some sort of vapor lock or mechanical problem maybe. I too have suffered unrecoverable lighter failure in this way. It is usually instantaneous failure, meaning the next immediate attempt at use results in a failure to ignite, making me think it is usually of the latter category of failure types. I have a few refillables that have not failed afer repeated refills using the same butane supplies that other refillables did fail on, so unless some types a lot more finnicky about the quality of the fuel, I gotta think it is a design problem more than a fuel quality control issue.

If anyone else out there has a more definitive explanation for the reason why refillables fail so much, the input would be welcome.

Until I can figure out what is going wrong, I will just continue with my trial and error method and keep those that don't seem so prone to refill failure. I will also carry at least one other source for ignition with me when necessary.