Hemp wicks are growing in popularity because of their many benefits, not only for smoking but also for other practical uses. Before we get into all the advantages of using a hemp wick, let’s quickly cover what they are exactly.
Firstly, What Is It Anyway?
A hemp wick is a specially crafted twine made from spun hemp fibers. Each strand is carefully dipped in natural beeswax and then sold in a convenient spool form. The combination of hemp and beeswax creates a unique product that offers several advantages over conventional lighters and matches.
If you first want to know more about what is a hemp wick, you can read that article and get totally up to speed on what they are and why people use them.
How Does It Work?
After lighting the wick, it is used to light the bowl, bong or joint (or whatever) instead of typically using a lighter. Hemp twine on its own is too dry and burns fast, so the beeswax coating added to the twine ensures it burns slowly and steadily. This allows you to keep it lit for the entire time you need it.
Does Hemp Wick Help Your Lungs?
You will not be breathing in the harmful chemicals that come from lighters and matches. The butane from lighters and sulphur from matches are known to be toxic. Cutting these out from hitting your lungs can only be a good thing.
Benefits of Hemp Wick
There are a number of benefits of hemp wick, so let’s go through them one by one.
More Natural
You are using herb to light your herb, the only other ingredient involved is natural beeswax. This ensures a smoking experience free from chemicals and their tastes.
Cigar smokers prefer to not use lighters as taste is so important when smoking a stogie. They use ‘cedar spills‘ which come in a cigar box and ensure they are not inhaling butane gas from lighters or sulphur from matches. This is important, as cigar smokers regularly have to relight their cigar during the smoking session.
Using a hemp wick means no residual contaminants can pass into your bowl and therefore nothing can interrupt or ruin the flavor of your flower.
Burning Temperature
Butane is a gas and it burns at a hotter temperature than organic materials. These hotter temps can destroy the cannabinoids (the part that makes you feel high) and the terpenes (the flavors). Because the smoke hitting your lungs will be less hot means less coughing. Many smokers remark that using a hemp wick gives a stronger and better tasting high.
Taste
As mentioned, the lower temperature the wick burns coupled with no interference with the ‘taste’ of butane means the natural aromas of the flower can come through more.
In addition to the taste these terpenes interact with other cannabinoids such as THC and CBD to provide greater medicinal benefits and an overall better “high”. This is one of the most important points in the hemp wick vs lighter debate.
The wick is coated in beeswax so as it burns it gives off a natural scent that you get with a beeswax candle.
More Control
With a slower and cooler burn you have more control over lighting your flower than you do with a lighter which gets your thumb hot very quickly. With more time you can control the burn better and not burn all your herb in one hit. This allows the herb to last longer and you to ensure the session at your own pace.
Hemp twine is naturally stiff so the hemp wick is great to also use as poker while you smoke ensuring you get an even burn.
Money Saving
Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of a hemp wick is it saves you money.
They burn very slowly so last a long time. Our hemp wicks are 20 feet each in length and come in a pack of 3, so that is 60 feet of twine to get through! All that length and with our hemp wicks costing so little means that it will outlast countless lighters if you kept smoking that way.
Convenient
You only need a small piece of wick to last multiple sessions so it is super convenient to cut off a portion of hemp wick and keep with your stash when you are out and about. Our hemp wicks come with a handy card for you to wrap it around or you can simply wind it around your lighter. The wax makes it malleable, so it stays in the form you shaped it to.
It is also more convenient during the session as you don’t need to relight your flower. You can just leave the wick burning (it’s like a candle) and then just use it as needed.
Environmentally Friendly
The natural ingredients of a hemp wick (there are just 2, hemp and beeswax) make them much more environmentally friendly than your typical bic lighter made up of plastic and butane. The fact that using a wick will mean you will use much fewer lighters is a win for mother nature.
Experience
As you have read, all of the benefits above make for a more enjoyable smoking experience. A better taste, higher high, easier to use and savings in the pocket add up to give you a superior session. As well as the peace of mind that you are not inhaling any toxic chemicals and are also helping mother earth by using fewer lighters.
Cons of Hemp Wicks
We like to look at the good and bad of everything to give it a fair evaluation. Let’s go through some disadvantages hemp wicks have.
Annoyance
Some hemp wicks are more difficult to work with than others. Perhaps they have too much wax so they feel greasy and drip wax when lit. Or maybe they don’t stay lit, meaning you need to relight them multiple times. When choosing a hemp wick, read the reviews from users to ensure it is good quality. Our hemp wick is loved by our users as shown by our standout review rating.
Portability
If you are tight on pocket space, adding a spool of wick can be an inconvenience. Although you can cut off a little piece to last you the day some people find it annoying to have yet another thing to carry with them.
Needs Lighting
Although hemp wicks replace lighters for smoking, they still need to be lit in the first place requiring you to carry a lighter around. Some find it annoying to have yet another item in their smoking kit and that there is now an extra step to perform before taking a hit.
Ready to Try?
If you like what you are reading and want to give a hemp wick a try, you can order our ones online from Amazon to be delivered to your door.
Choosing to replace lighters or matches with a hemp wick is an excellent way to care for your health, your wallet, and the environment. By using this natural alternative, you’ll be able to revitalize your smoking experience.
