btw, the soot problem ONLY happens if you let the flame of a conventional lighter dip too far down the bowl. I did that once and got a bit of soot on one edge of the filter. It's slowly going away just with regular use without using boiling water or a torch flame to get it out.

Soot won't be an issue as long as you don't let the flame dip any more than about an eighth of an inch inside the bowl.

Using a torch lighter on a regular basis is kinda tough because it's too hard, if not impossible, to regulate the flame and not combust your bud.