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Hemp Wick vs. Butane Lighter

Vader

Vader

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Fight!

There's been a lot of talk recently about hemp wicks. A lot of people seem to think they're healthier than using butane lighters, without offering any reasoning or evidence. Now, those of us with a little scientific understanding have generally responded with argument that butane will combust completely to produce water and carbon dioxide. On the other hand, wick will combust incompletely, producing carbon monoxide, as well as all sorts of relatively heavy, noxious organic compounds. Thus, the argument that wick is healthier seems unconvincing.

One thing that has crossed my mind, however, is that wick may burn at a lower temperature. I am not well-placed to conduct an experiment, but I'm sure someone is and can simply measure a lighter flame and a wick flame with a thermometer.

Anyway, let's have some discussion on the issue (no flaming, there's no need to call anyone a stupid irrational hippie or a condescending nerd even if they are being one).
 
Im used to the butane lighter, all though I dont know how healthy it is but I really dont care mainly becuase I dont smoke as much as I used to, and Im on my vaporizer when I do smoke heavy.

Im half tempted to try Hemp wicks but I havent seen them for sale in any stores that I have been into that usually sells peicies and all of that have to order them online which just seems like a waste of time for me since my lighter is refillable and therfore less expensive to maintain than having to keep on buying Hemp Wicks.
 
Bic or equivalent lighters that have a yellow/orange candle-like flame don't burn completely either; the flame you see is usually the result of glowing soot particles and stuff. Even so: burning the cannabis itself is going to cause a lot more in the way of nasty tars than the milligram or so puff of butane generates. Hemp rope, esp. infused with beeswax, will put a lot of tar and shit off too - moreso than the crappiest butane ligher - so the only reason I can see using it is because you really don't like the faint taste of butane if you torch your bowls all the time.

Torch lighters that premix the butane and air and burn with a hot blue flame are a good choice.
 
I'm done arguing this.

Its time i ask myself, what hemp company put this idea into the mindless sheep that call themselves "stoners" What company is making its millions off telling stoners this is a good idea?

I think its a crock of shit and it needs to be put down before more mindless drones fall victim to it.
 
What are you going to light your hemp wick with? A magnifying glass? 'cause otherwise it's faster to just use a lighter or matches (god forbid)

Case closed
 
sekio, a butane lighter might not produce only carbon dioxide and water, but there is a negligible amount of butane actually being inhaled, which seems to be the concern of most proponents of wicks. It is also (somewhat) rational to light a wick with a lighter, as any butane that was not reacting with oxygen would not be inhaled, as its release would have ceased as soon as you had finished lighting the wick. I do agree, however, that this is a total con.

szuko, I asked that no-one flamed in this thread. Even if it isn't directed at one particular individual, "mindless sheep" is not a term that adds much to the discussion.
 
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I think one of the main reasons these hemp wicks have taken off is because there made out of hemp. Lots of stupid people prone to marketing ploys.
 
Right, let's make the rules for this thread more clear- there is no need to use words like "stupid", or "idiotic", or "mindless". No-one is going to post if they think they're going to be attacked, it adds nothing to the discussion, and it makes you look like a jerk.
 
Well then - whoever brought hemp wicks to market was quite clever. It plays off some rather major biases of the market, namely:

1. The hemp buzzword.
2. The naturalistic fallacy.
3. The tendency toward stoner gear elitism.

Instead of getting upset about it, consider it as easy way to screen out the less... discerning people in your social circle.
 
Wolfy90 said:
Im used to the butane lighter, all though I dont know how healthy it is but I really dont care mainly becuase I dont smoke as much as I used to, and Im on my vaporizer when I do smoke heavy.

Im half tempted to try Hemp wicks but I havent seen them for sale in any stores that I have been into that usually sells peicies and all of that have to order them online which just seems like a waste of time for me since my lighter is refillable and therfore less expensive to maintain than having to keep on buying Hemp Wicks.
Click to expand...

When I used to smoke I would mainly smoke with butane lighters and I've lit joints with matches before.

I also sometimes smoked cigarettes and cigars and I'd light those with lighters and matches.

Hemp wicks were not around or marketed when I started smoking and when I was an active herb and tobacco smoker. Vaporizers were not around either and people would just tell you to smoke from a bong since it would cool the smoke.

I always figured that smoking anything wasn't necessarily the healthiest thing to do and that inhaling hot smoke and tar was worse than any minimal possible exposure to butane.

Nowadays I only vaporize and that's rare.
 
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There might some be some small difference, Yerg, however my gut tells me taking cannabis would be a lot healthier if you did something more obvious like switch to stronger weed or vaporizing it instead of going out of your way to get a hemp wick. I think it's somewhat of a distraction and seems to be coming somewhat of a fad.

Also, I really doubt there's anything particularly unique about a hemp wick. Surely other natural fibres would work just as well?

I'm not offering any scientific evidence, however, so hopefully someone else can come along with something a bit more substantial than a hunch.

I can tell you that I have had lots of experience with natural gas, LPG and even butane, and can attest to the fact that they are not always pure and can contain contaminants such as sulphur. It has been so bad that plants in a greenhouse with a heater using these fuels have shown burnt foliage from the noxious gases produced. I think the amount of gas produced by a lighter is miniscule, however, and would not make the slightest bit of difference to your health (in my opinion).
 
I'm all about the hemp wick, I keep it wrapped around my lighters. I'm not too concerned with the health positives/negatives since smoking in general takes its toll, but there are a couple of reasons I use them. First, it's a much cleaner taste for me. Nothing like vaping, but if you use a wick for a week then go back to butane you'll instantly notice the difference, especially with high-quality buds. The other reason is that, when I use a lighter on a bong, usually one of those cough-up-a-lung hits leaves a chemical taste in my throat that I can still taste the next day until I cough up some phlegm. I don't get that when I take a similar sized hit when I use the wick. They're good enough reasons to use it for me :\.
 
The only thing i've got to add is,

Who the hell keeps a flame on a bowl long enoughto inhale anything coming out of it? When I smoke a bong the flame only has to lick the weed and boom a big cherry... Same with spliffs, a second or two of inhaling and that's it. Surely the shit being released by the burning papers doing more damage y'know?

I've got visions of people holding the flame right in the bowl for the entire smoke..lolol

Don't think I broke any rules there, I tried not to anyway, serious shit in heere.
 
The only truly "clean" method of lighting your bowl is with a pocket magnifying lens to focus sunlight!

I saw one being used at Hempfest Seattle, and it took a second to work but performed fine to cherry a bowl. might not work as well to get a joint going.

As has already been mentioned, any yellow flame is filled with glowing soot particles, butane or hemp. and by burning the weed anyway, tar-ridden smoke is being produced instead of relatively clean chemical vapor.
 
IMO you just can't really beat the convinience/portability/ease of a lighter.
Honestly, I've always found it silly when people talk about how it may be bad smoking with a lighter. I mean, you're smoking something to begin with, so it's still not good for you even if you remove this one little factor. :\

Smoking with a magnifying glass? Screw that what if I wanna smoke after the sun goes down? ;)

Yerg said:
No-one is going to post if they think they're going to be attacked
Click to expand...
Maybe don't open your thread with the word "Fight!".
...Just sayin ;)
 
How much power do you need from an energy source to light a bowl?

I wonder if a 1W laser would do it. How about a several-watt LED with proper lenses? That way you could get the unrivaled clean ignition of the sunlight+magnifier, without needing to smoke outside and only during the day.

This whole thing is silly. Any difference between wicks and lighters is so tiny relative to the combustion products of the weed itself that this discussion is ridiculous.
 
^When I was at the cannabis cup this past november there was a booth selling vaporizers that are activated with a laser.
I think they called it a "laserizer" 8)

Who buys this crap? :\
 
delta_9 said:
IMO you just can't really beat the convinience/portability/ease of a lighter.
Honestly, I've always found it silly when people talk about how it may be bad smoking with a lighter. I mean, you're smoking something to begin with, so it's still not good for you even if you remove this one little factor. :\

Smoking with a magnifying glass? Screw that what if I wanna smoke after the sun goes down? ;)

Maybe don't open your thread with the word "Fight!".
...Just sayin ;)
Click to expand...

I highly recommend trying the magnifying glass technique, but only because it produces a very small pinpoint of heat so you can light the bowl very efficiently (and get a bunch of green hits), and also because it tastes notably better then a lighter.

If someone feels like a lighter poses too many health risks then they should be eating or vaporizing their herb.
 
Yeah but how long does it take to get going?
If I'm outside in the direct sunlight I may not have the time, patience, or frankly the steady hand necessary to use a magnifying glass with any decent efficacy.
What with cannabis being illegal and all I rarely smoke outside. :\
 
delta_9 said:
^When I was at the cannabis cup this past november there was a booth selling vaporizers that are activated with a laser.
I think they called it a "laserizer" 8)

Who buys this crap? :\
Click to expand...

Heh I'll bet it was highly expensive too!

How many Euros/US $ did they want for the laser vaporizer?

I've seen vapes for sale that are basically an Electronic cigarette but for the price they want for them you could buy either 1-2 Volcanos, a lot of magic flight launch boxes, or a few desktop name brand vapes and any of those vapes would work better than the overpriced vape you're buying.
 
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