The most important thing is to have a steady flame, so there are a host of factors to consider are you smoking indoors or outdoors? Do you keep a fan or a/c unit running most of the time? Wind is your enemy if you are using a Bic, it's just not going to heat properly if there's too much air flickering your flame everywhere but the bottom of your pipe. Torches though are propelled flames so the come out hotter and shoot farther and aren't affected by most airflow or wind. Now the hottest spot of a flame is actually above the top of it (the pinnacle) that's where you want your pipe at least with a Bic. Once again torches are a propelled flame meaning the pinnacle is going to be higher and hotter. Meaning you may either want to move the torch flame on and of the pipe right at that hottest point, or you want to hold your torch flame steady and keep your pipe further away from it so it will heat slower more similarly than to how a Bic heats it.