Lighters are like laughs, they are sporadic, everyone needs them, and they can definitely be accidentally stolen.
Lighters hold an almost mythical place in cannabis culture. Everyone loses lighters and everyone accidentally steals lighters.
While we here at Herb CEO are all about exploring the multitude of ways that cannabis can be ingested, from potent extracts, to infused cooking oils and DIY edibles, to pocket-friendly PAX vaporizers to good old fashioned flower (in case you missed it, check our top selling strains of 2020 post here).
To enjoy flower, aka the juicy buds of the marijuana plant, you will need something to grind said flower, somethin to hold the flower, like a cone or a blunt, bowl or pipe, and a fire source to spark it up!
Having a go-to lighter is clutch, because it’s arguably the most integral part of getting high. All other things can be interchanged, don’t have a bowl? Well grab and Apple and knife my friend.
But if you don’t have a lighter you aren’t blasting off any time soon. Additionally, if you are looking to low-key flex and make an impression on your smoking posse then investing in a “oh what’s that” lighter might be worth considering.
Below we highlight some of the best selling, most practical, hottest, longest-lasting, coolest lighters you can currently buy.
Best Lighters for Weed – Stoner All-time Favorites
This first category is lighters that are the best do-it-all little buddies that are every-day-carry or EDC friendly. To make this list a lighter needs to be compact, durable, reliable, and most importantly, not too expensive.
The Peoples Champ: Bic Lighters
Bic, do they ever die? Well, yeah, they do, but when you’re using them you inevitably at some point question whether or not there was some manufacturing fluke and you somehow received a magical lighter, one that never died.
- Set of 8 BIC Marble Series Lighters; sleek, intricate and unique!
- Durable, long-lasting disposable lighters made with pure isobutane for a steady flame and a long life – up to 3,000 lights
That’s the feeling Bic delivers with their standard flint butane setup isn’t high tech, isn’t sexy, but boy does it work. Sure, it is a little bit of a pain to pop off those child-resistant locks but it’s worth it.
Lock-free a Bic is a stoners best friend. There for you when you need it. Never lets you down. Familiar in your hand. Quality enough to form an emotional attachment, cheap enough to afford to lose (aka have stolen).
Bics come in all kinds of colors but we personally get hyped on the classical neon color shades and the custom pattern ones like the marble colors featured above.
With a (now retired) slogan of “flickyourbic” what’s not to like about this iconic lighter brand?
Refillable Zippo Lighters for Eco-Conscious Blazers
Well, if there was one thing to not like about Bic lighters is well, they’re pieces of plastic that will sit forever in a landfill somewhere once you are done with them.
That’s kind of a drain. For this reason, if you can be bothered to refill something once and a while (and if you drive a car then thank you that’s all the proof we need) then opting for a Zippo re-fillable lighter is a more earth-friendly long-term choice if you’re token frequently.
Zippos may be popular with gun hoarding mothers-basement-dwelling Rambo-wanabes that shouldn’t cloud over the amazing history and quality of this humble lighter.
Not only are they more wind-resistant than the Bics, they are also refillable and made in the USA, so your dollar is going a long way here. Their robust metal design and wind-resistance makes perfect for the stoner on the move or the nature loving kief chiefer.
Best Lighter For Big Bowls & Bongs
There are two options you have when talking bowl-friendly lighters. One is for quick personal rips from your personal bong. These could be painted as “bong monogamous” lighter types.
For personal use your trusty Bic or Zippo should do the job. Your bowl is likely smaller and you can pretty consistently heat up the whole packed herb without missing any bits.
For bigger bongs with deeper bowls that are designed to be shared we like flexi-neck butane jet lighters and wick lighters.
If you’re pack your bowls very densely and/or often mix in kief or hash and require higher temps to get the revolution started then a flexi-neck butane torch lighter is perfect because you get the hot heat as well as a bit of flexibility which helps with floor-based bong sessions.
If you stick mostly to just ground flower but your social circle is large and passing around a lighter inevitably either means it gets lost or runs out of butane then something like a hemp wick might be more to your liking.
- Made of hemp and beeswax
- Lower temperature flame for smoother and better taste than a butane lighter
Hemp wicks are wax coated so they burn slow, which is their greatest selling point. You can easily unwind 5-6 inches of wick and pass the ball around and everyone can take their time sparking the bowl if necessary.
Wicks are also great for shallow bowls that don’t hold cherries well and often self-extinguish. Plus they are cost-effective as heck, you can get a roll that will last probably a year or more for under $10.
Best Dab Torch for Best Achieving Extract Bliss
Now, if you’re a dabbing fiend then you will be looking for higher temps for higher durations than any of the above mentioned flame sources can even come close to.
The faster the torch lights up, the hotter it burns, and the longer it lasts means you can rocket off to the moon much more efficiently and reliably, which, like all long-distance journeys, is highly desirable.
In terms of best-selling and “highest reviewed” the High Standards branded Blazer Big Shot V3 is probably the current “Apple of torches” popular with extract aliens today.
This authentic made-in-Japan collaboration is based off the trusty cultish Blazer GT8000 model known for bullet-proof reliability and consistent heating.
- [CULINARY TORCH ] - Achieve restaurant-quality dishes with ease using our powerful culinary torch, perfect for creme brulee, melting cheese, caramelizing sugar, searing...
- [ HIGH-GRADE QUALITY ] - Crafted with high-grade quality materials, our anti-flare butane torch features a sturdy brass nozzle for a steady flame that can burn at 2500°F...
In terms of manufacturer claimed specifications this equates to around 35 continuous minutes of burn time with a peak temperature of 2500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Durable brass nozzle, dope graphics, hot flame, the Higher Standard torch is king, and Blazer offers their signature GT8000 in other colors as well if white isn’t your favorite.
If you’re looking for mechanics-shop toughness and some unique branding then we’d also recommend checking out the Dremel 2200-01 Versa Flame Torch.
Known for their grinders and routers Dremel has a reputation for high quality craftsmanship in the garage. This carries over to their 2200 line, built to help heat things in the shop.
- Compact and powerful, the small butane micro-torch designed to make your work around the house and job site easier.
- INTEGRATED IGNITION TRIGGER – For easy start up, no independent ignition tool required
This same durability though lends itself well to the shatter or diamond lover who wants a recognizable name synonymous with high quality.
The Dremel torch comes with multiple attachments to focus the flame, a compact easy to palm form factor, easy trigger, variable temperature controls, and a sturdy base for hand free operation.
Fancy Lighters For Showing Off
Sometimes a lighter can double as a piece of art, like a sculpture, that you keep on your coffee table or bar more as a statement than a utilitarian device.
If you prefer wood grain and classic retro vibes then the Honest Quad Torch from JOBON might be up your ally.
- Made of super high quality zinc alloy and rosewood grain for its sleek and elegant appearance and durable use
- Powerful quad red flame jet torch lighter,it features adjustable flame contorllor on the bottom and refillable butane gas for long-time use
This designed and categorized as a “desktop cigar lighter” but there’s no reason you can’t use it as a living room fat blunt lighter. If it can burn Cubans it can surely burn down some Backwoods with ease.
If you’re more of a modernist or into practical, yet beautiful industrial design then the MICO 6700P black nickel brass lighter might be for you.
This genuine made-in-japan (they still smoke a lot of cigarettes so they know a thing or two about making a quality lighter) is dark, murdered out, and ready to spawn your guest to ask you “hey, what kind of lighter is this”.
And that is the beauty of more fancy artistic lighters, they are great conversation pieces and there is nothing better than some sincere conversation shared over some chronic.
Lighters to Avoid
Not all lighters are created equal. There are some you will want to avoid because why waste money you could spend on more herb.
- Cheap Bic Rip-offs
- Candle lighters
- Plasma/Electric lighters
To each their own, and if you like one of the above, we apologize if we’ve offended you, but we really don’t like these lighters types.
The Bic ripoffs from the gas station are cheap, and sometimes look cool, but they never last. Either they consume fuel way too fast or they break where the flint striker is. Spend the extra quarter and get the Bic.
Candle lighters are also inconsistent, they all have cheap and ineffective child locks built-in so mommy/daddy can be lazy and leave them laying around the kids. The fire is weak, the safety locks are a pain, and they use way more non-biodegradable plastic than necessary.
Electric lighters suck and sparking bowls and pieces evenly. They are also touchy with joints. They fail horribly when it comes to blunts (uneven burn) and well, are utterly useless when it comes to extracts.
Herb CEO Summary
Are there other dope lighters out there not on this list? Most definitely. We wanted to highlight affordable lighters that anyone could order from anywhere online.
However, we fully acknowledge there are a lot of independent lighter companies out there that make a beautiful product that also then in turn makes for beautiful stoner table accoutrements.
Brands like Japanese favorite Tsubota Pearl are the epitome of beautiful design while high end offerings from brands like Dupont, Elie Bleu, Dunhill, Feberge, Colibri, Cartier will provide you endless hours of drool-worthy window-shopping.
But, if you are in smoking for the long run then dropping a few hundred for a lighter you will keep with you until death really isn’t that big of an expense when compared to other luxury products like jewelry or watches an is arguably more useful.
Whatever you do, as long as you get that cherry going you’ll be good. If you have a favorite lighter brand that deserves recognition then let us know in the comments below and we’ll make sure to check them out!.
Last update on 2024-10-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
John
Thanks for the info