Whenever you smoke weed, you probably don’t think too much about the temperature of your lighter flame and how that affects your weed. I mean, who does? Most stoners simply want to spark up and enjoy their smoke session. I don’t blame you, but I can give you some facts on sparking temperatures and ways to make it better. By making it better, you can improve your smoking experience, and maybe even make your weed last longer.
Now, this does not require any special equipment or fancy gadgets to accomplish. All you need is your lighter and some weed (and the knowledge below, of course). Now, we are talking about sparking up a joint, blunt, or even a spliff. You could use some of the tips below on other methods of smoking, but for the sake of the topic, we’ll stick to what you can roll up.
First, Some Facts
So what is the perfect temperature for sparking up? First, let’s talk about some other facts. Here is a list of temperatures used when smoking weed:
- The bottom blue part of the flame on a lighter = 2,550 degrees F (1,400 C)
- Top orange part of the flame on a lighter = 1,470 degrees F (800 C)
- Temperature needed to light a blunt/joint = 433 degrees F (223 C)
Take a good look at those numbers. Notice how a lighter gives off much more heat than necessary for sparking up a blunt or joint? It’s true! You could cut the temperature given off by a lighter in half (and some) and it would still be too hot! Burning at the perfect temperature always makes for the perfect smoking experience. But how? We’ll get to that (don’t worry).
You can probably already guess one way to bring down the temperature just by reading the bullet points above. That way is by only lighting your weed in the top part of the lighter. This is correct. Any part of a lighter already gives off an unnecessary amount of heat to your weed, and this goes especially for the bottom blue part. Lighting only at the top does help to bring the heat down and get you closer to that perfect temperature. But you’re still not quite there. So how do we get there?
Think about a glass smoking pipe. Ever wonder why smoking from one seems to be much harsher than other methods of smoking (blunts and joints in particular)? This is due to the fact that you must relight the weed in a pipe for every new hit. The constant relighting in a pipe allows much of the excess heat to enter your lungs, thus making each hit feel harsh. And in many cases, the hits only get harsher and harsher.
How Does It Help?
Of course, you may be wondering “how can lowering the temperature help with smoking?” Good question. There are a number of reasons why lower temperatures are better than higher. Let’s take a look.
Have you ever taken a dab? Do you know anything about dabbing? If yes, then you may know that lower temperature dabs have benefits that hotter temp dabs do not. Those benefits typically include flavor and harshness. Taking a low temp dab can bring about many flavors that are not normally there when a high temp dab is taken. Plus, low temp dabs are better for beginners, as it allows for cooler smoke to enter their lungs rather than hot, harsh smoke. But lowering the temperature for dabs is not the same as lowering it for weed, even though the benefits are very similar.
When it comes to smoking, what are some ways that a lower temperature can be better than a hotter one? Well, take a look:
- Allows for more tasteful flavors (as with dabbing)
- Less harsh (therefore better for beginners)
- Does not burn your weed as fast when first sparked
Do those benefits seem enough for you to want to lower your temperatures? I mean, why not? Make your smoke sessions the best that they can be! Personally, this is what I strive for. So, I always follow the tips below so that I can keep my temps low and my blunts burning nice!
Lowering The Temp
We finally get to the best part, how to lower your temperatures. There are a few ways that you can go about doing this, and once you find the best one for you then you can stick to it. Remember, everyone is different, which is why we always give out a variety of tried and true methods.
Prelight
In a video tutorial, Raw founder Josh Kesselman demonstrated how to prelight a joint. Even though he only shows how to do it with a joint, it can also work for a blunt (I have tried it). Prelighting your weed allows for that perfect temperature to be achieved. Click the link above so you can follow his step-by-step instructions on how to do so.
Don’t want to watch the video? It’s cool, we’ve got you covered. Below, we’ve broken down Josh’s video into written steps that you can follow so you can master the art of prelighting joints and blunts. For the sake of simplicity, we will use a joint for reference; but again, a blunt can work too. Check it out:
- Turn on the flame in your lighter and get your unlit joint ready (in your hand, not your mouth)
- Press the tip of the joint into the top part of the flame.
- While the tip of the joint is in the flame, roll it around to allow for an even burn
- Keep the joint tip in the flame until an ember has formed
- Once the ember is keeping the whole tip lit, remove the flame
- Right when the flame is removed, quickly take the first hit to keep the tip lit
- Hit your joint regularly
That’s all it takes to prelight a joint (or blunt)! Does it seem easy, or maybe a little too difficult? Many stoners, including myself, always prelight their joints/blunts for every smoke session. It just makes for a better burn, and that has been proven.
Hemp Wick
What if you don’t want to prelight your weed every time? Do you want an even simpler method? Again, we’ve got you covered. There is one more way that you can achieve the perfect temperature. Now, this way will cost some money, but it is fairly cheap and worth it in the long run.
The other way of reaching that perfect temperature is by using hemp wick instead of a lighter. You’ll still need a lighter to light the hemp wick, but the lighter will not be used to spark your joint/blunt. Here’s how it works: the end of the hemp wick is lit by a lighter. Once a steady flame is created, the lighter is not longer needed. All you need to do now is light your weed and then put out the flame on the hemp wick. It’s as easy as that!
The great thing about hemp wick is that it does not only work for joints and blunts. Even though the majority of this post only discussed those ways of smoking, hemp wick covers any way of smoking weed that requires a flame to light it. This can be from a pipe, bong, bubbler, or most other glass pieces. Of course, it will not work for dabbing, only smoking weed. But, if you prefer to smoke from glass rather than roll your weed, you can always count on hemp wick to that job done.
Want to purchase your own hemp wick? Click here!
Ice Hits
This is the final way of lowering your smoking temperatures. It does not work for most ways of smoking, however, including joints and blunts (which is why we put it last). It really only works for bongs. But if you are a bong lover, then this next point is for you.
Ice hits are not only a great way of lowering your temp, but also getting really cold hits. Cold hits come with a number of benefits themselves. There are two ways you can go about taking cold hits. And let me tell you, they are pretty fun to try out. Since we already have a post on ice cold hits, you can follow the link below to learn all about them:
That’s all for this post. Did you learn something from it? I hope you did, and hope that it helps you take lower temp hits! Thanks for reading. What was your favorite method of lowering the temperature? Let us know!
FAQ: The Optimal Temperature for Sparkling
A1. Smoking at a certain temperature can increase the aroma and flavor of the smoke while reducing harshness and irritants. It can also give more control over the combustion process, allowing for a clean, smooth smoke.
A2. Yes, different products may require different temperatures for optimal smoke. For example, cigar requires a lower temperature than cigarettes.
A3. Smoking at high temperatures can result in burning the smoke, creating a bitter or unpleasant taste. Additionally, burning the smoke can release potentially harmful toxins, so it should be strictly avoided.
