Many people believe all lighters are the same, or at least they all work the same. This is an enormous misconception. Lighters come in all different shapes and sizes, with varying functionalities depending on what you’re smoking. Knowing the difference will save you the awkward moment of trying to burn a large cigar outdoors with a Bic lighter, or completely torching your pipe’s bowl with a cigar lighter.
Cigars fall into the higher quality category of smoking. Most are hand rolled with premium tobacco, perfectly formulated to create an incomparable smoking experience. This experience always begins with lighting the cigar, which’s more of a delicate process then you know. High quality cigars are usually thick with a large ring gauge, this would make lighting it with a traditional Bic lighter extremely tedious. Instead, cigar lighters use a torch flame, creating a strong flame that’ll light the cigar easily, efficiently, and evenly.Bic lighters can work in certain situations if it is a thinner cigar, but it should be filled with odorless butane in order to not alter the taste of the cigar. When it comes to cigars, try and stick to torch lighters as this will lead to the best smoking experience.
Torch lighters are not good for everything however. While the steady and powerful flame might work well for lighting cigars, using it on other products might not be a good idea. Trying to smoke out of a pipe using a torch lighter will almost guarantee you a burnt bowl. Not only will the flame burn the tobacco too quickly, but it could also burn the pipe itself. For an ideal pipe smoking experience, a pipe lighter definitely works best. Pipe lighters carry a much softer flame for gentle lighting. They also project the flame outward at a 90° angle. This is useful because you won’t need to flip the lighter upside down in order to light the bowl as you would have to using a traditional lighter. This saves you from burning yourself and allows for a better experience.
As you can see, depending upon if you’ve a cigar or pipe, you need to have the right type of lighter in order to enjoy your smoking experience.