You have probably heard of hemp wick as an alternative to lighters and torches. But why use it if we’re in a modern age where all we have to do to create fire is make a quick movement of the fingers?
There are several reasons why. If you keep reading, you’ll understand hemp wick and why you should use hemp wick instead of a lighter.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
What Is Hemp Wick?
Why Use Hemp Wick Instead of Lighter?
How to Use Hemp Wick
What Else Can You Use Hemp Wick For?
What Is Hemp Wick?
Hemp is a non-psychoactive plant variety of cannabis. For centuries, hemp has produced other materials like clothing, string, and tons of other finished goods. Hemp wick is one of those finished goods.
Hemp wick is a finite length of twine made from hemp fibers coated with beeswax. Hemp wick is flammable and burns when lit. This makes it a popular product among smokers. It is often used to light waterpipes and pre-rolls because it is perceived as a natural and more environmentally friendly alternative to lighters and matches.
Hemp has strong fibers, making hemp wick a great alternative to produce clothing and rope. Products that have been incredibly important throughout history explain why hemp was one of the most important crops grown on U.S. soil at a certain point in time.
Why Use Hemp Wick Instead of Lighter?
As we’ve alluded to above, hemp wick can be used for many different things, but the most popular use for it today is lighting hemp flower when using pre-rolls or water pipes. The only thing is that users find a more convenient way to light their flowers in lighters or torches.
However, using butane gas to light hemp flower directly delivers higher temperatures that make the inhalable smoke much hotter, in addition to what it could do on a chemical level to cannabinoids and terpenes. Not to mention that the butane gas could also be carried into the lungs of the consumer.
A similar thing happens when consumers use matches made with a mixture of glue, wood, and other chemicals that allow the match to light on fire much easier.
Hemp wick is coated in beeswax to allow for a slower burn that respects the natural flavor of hemp when lighting it. Another positive feature is that hemp wick does not go out, so you don’t have to worry about rushing to light your hemp flower before the flame reaches your fingers (on a match) or before the lighter becomes too hot to hold.
How much more flavorful an inhale with smoke produced from hemp wick is compared to matches or lighters cannot be measured. But it’s one of the benefits that frequent smokers claim. Due to the lower temperature on the flame, it may also be possible that the scents and flavors carried by terpenes are more potent when using hemp wick.
This is also one reason why frequent cannabis smokers use hemp products for different things (filters, papers, flavors, etc.); because they provide a more natural smoke.
Pros and Cons of Using a Hemp Wick
Pros:
- No blue flame: No inhaling any harmful or toxic gases.
- Smoother pulls: The flame in hemp wicks provides a smoother and cooler smoking experience.
- Convenience for bowls: It can be hard to reach your herb with a regular lighter when packed in a bowl. Hemp wick give you that extra bit of length you'll need.
- Environmental damage: Hemp wick is much less harmful to the environment than lighters and butane gas.
Cons:
- Portability: It can be tedious to travel or move around with a roll of hemp wick.
- Less convenient: It's not as fast or convenient to have to light hemp wick first and then your hemp flower.
- Price: Hemp wick can be pricier than a regular lighter and at the end of the day you'll still require the lighter or matches.
How to Use Hemp Wick
Hemp wick comes in a roll or ball of twine. Many of us have had the same hemp wick for a long time now and have not burned through it just yet. Hemp wick is pretty inexpensive to start with, so replacing it will not be a significant hurdle.
At Hemmfy, you’ll be able to find hemp wick spools and a hemp wick lighter sleeve that allows you to roll your hemp wick around your lighter from Iluminate CC.
To use hemp wick, all you have to do is slowly unroll the twine as needed. One end of it should be sticking out. This is the end that you will light with a match or lighter. Don’t unravel it entirely because then it can become too difficult to use and put away.
Other than that, the hemp wick lighter alternative is pretty straightforward to use. Just light the free end of the roll and use its flame to light your pre-roll or bowl. Once the flame has made its way through the first millimeter of twine, the butane gas residue should be gone entirely.
Hemp is excellent if you have a water pipe going around the table because it burns slowly and can be passed from one hand to the next quickly. As group smoking sessions begin to make their way back, you might find hemp to be an even more convenient accessory to have in your stash.
Hemp wick also allows you to take longer inhales in water pipes and other smoking accessories that require you to leave the flame touching the flower for a longer time.
Hemp wick can be a little bit harder to blow out, but it can still be done. You may also dip the tip into water or press on it with damp fingers.
For storage, you need to allow it to cool down for a few seconds, roll it back up into a bundle or spool, and keep it in a cool dark place like your dry herb. Make sure you keep the hemp wick somewhere where it doesn’t gather too much dust. The last thing you want is for the wick to get dirty, which would defeat the whole purpose of using it in the first place.
What Else Can You Use Hemp Wick For?
As we’ve already touched base on, hemp wick can be used for much more than just smoking hemp flower. Because it is covered in a layer of beeswax, you can use hemp wick to make your candles.
But having a slow-burning piece of material that provides natural smoke can also come in handy for many other things like camping or fixing something with fire. Some manufacturers even use it to tie things together and make art out of it, but that’s way out of our league and leaves you creative.
Conclusion
Hemp wick is twine made out of fiber sourced from hemp, a non-psychoactive variety of cannabis. Hemp wick can be used to light pre-rolls and packed bowls of dry herb on water pipes. There are multiple reasons hemp wick is an excellent alternative to using more traditional methods like lighters or matches. Some of those reasons are that hemp wick burns more slowly, its fire is not as hot, and the smoke it produces is less likely to contain butane gas residue. Hemp wick is easy to use and has multiple purposes.
Hemmfy articles and blogs are meant to entertain and educate. However, we are not medical professionals and do not intend to give medical advice through them.
The knowledge around CBD and other cannabis-derived products is growing and constantly changing, as does their legal status. Hence, we recommend checking with your local authorities and a licensed physician prior to consumption.
Simon Cartagena
Simon Cartagena is a full-time cannabis copywriter. This has led him to write for companies like Hemmfy.com where he acts as Senior Content Writer and other world-renowned cannabis publications. Simon has created Content Marketing strategies and articles that have helped company revenues increase by up to 1,000%. Simon’s goal is to help people understand cannabis in an industry where misinformation seems to be predominant.
