I"ve seen pics of Isticks that caught fire, but none that actually exploded. Maybe it's a distinction without a difference, neither one is good. I've had no problems with mine, until last night when it refused to fire anything and gave me a 'low power' warning...that only lasted a few minutes and it's back up and running now, not sure what that was about. The only thing I can connect it to is that I wiped it down with alcohol right before it quit. I"ve had mine a little over three months and it's been decent.