Proper lighting is a vital part of the pipe smoking experience. It sets the tone for the entire smoke both aesthetically and practically, impacting the flavor, temperature, and overall quality of your smoke. Whether you’ve just purchased your first pipe or you’re a veteran with an impressive collection of meerschaum pipes getting the lighting thing down is the top priority. But what is the best method for lighting tobacco pipes? Should you use a lighter or should you use matches? In this post, the team at Paykoc Pipes shines a light on this important issue.

Matches Vs. Lighters: The Pros and Cons of Each

When your pipe is lit properly it enables the tobacco to burn in a smooth, controlled manner that activates the flavor and prevents excessive heat from ruining the experience. But which method does a better job of providing the control you need? Matches or lighters? Let’s take a look at both. Lighters first.

The Benefits of Using a Lighter

It’s safe to say that a majority of pipe smokers these days use lighters. And that’s understandable because they have certain advantages over matches that make them an easy choice. Those advantages include:

• Availability – You can pick up a butane lighter for next to nothing just about anywhere. They’re also available in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors that allow the user to buy one that suits their taste and personality. Compare that with matches which are, well, matches.
• Ease of use – There’s no fumbling with a lighter. You just pick it up, spark it up with a flick of your thumb, and apply the heat. And crucially, you can do all that with one hand. Try lighting a match with one hand. Sure, some people can do it as a kind of party trick, but it’s not practical for lighting tobacco pipes.

The Downside of Lighters

• Taste – Chances are you’re going to get some residual butane taste when you use a lighter. There’s no way around it. For some people that’s not an issue. Others, however, don’t want anything spoiling the taste of their tobacco.
• Excessive heat – It’s all too common for people who use lighters to set them too high and apply too much heat to the bowl. Unlike meerschaum pipes that are remarkably heat resistant, too much heat can damage briar tobacco pipes while also fouling the taste of the tobacco.

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The Benefits of Using Matches

Here are some of the benefits of using matches to light your pipe.

• Tradition – Without a doubt some of the attraction of matches is sentimental. In a world where real materials and real experiences are being increasingly supplanted by the virtual, matches are a real, tangible thing with a long history.
• Taste – While lighters often introduce a bitter butane taste to the smoking experience, there is none of that with matches. If anything you might pick up on a light sulfurous odor but most people don’t have a problem with that. It is, after all, a natural odor.
• A cleaner smoke – With the butane taste removed and the chance of overheating reduced, you’re likely to get a cleaner, more flavorful smoke using matches.

The Downside of Matches

Nothing is without its downside, including matches. The disadvantages of matches include:

• Not weather resistant – A lighter will stand up to wind and rain. Matches, for the most part, will not unless you have some excellent cover. Even then if the matches get wet you’ll be reaching for your backup lighter.
• Potentially dangerous – If you drop a lighter it will go out on its own. If you drop a lit match you better find it quick and extinguish it or you’re in for a world of trouble.

So, Which is Better?

For our money, we will always default to tradition and go with matches as our top choice for lighting a pipe. That said, we're also pragmatic so we always keep a lighter on hand as a backup.

Trust Paykoc Pipes for Tobacco Pipe Accessories

Paykoc Pipes has a vast array of tobacco pipes and tobacco pipe accessories for the pipe lover. And if you own a smoke shop and are looking for a reliable source of wholesale tobacco pipes we have you covered there too. Get in touch with our team today, or complete our online wholesale application.