Best Hemp Wick Brand?

Discussion in 'Other Smoking Accessories' started by Pizzaroll, Dec 18, 2012.

  1. I just want to say that I have tried ItalHempwick, Beeline Hempwick, and Humboldt Hempwick and I've got to say Humbolt is definitely the best. It lights the easiest and is the easiest to put out without burning yourself. It seems to be the thinnest of the 3 but IMO it works better for cornering the bowl and you can still make a big flame to torch it if you need to.

    Any other kinds of hempwick I should try out? Discuss your thoughts on the best kind of hempwick.
     
  2. My fav is beeline
     

  3. I agree. I also think humboldt is the best hemp wick. Ital has to be the worst I've tried.
     
  4. I've only used Beeline & Ital. They both seemed very similar, but the Beeline was made in the USA and if I have a choice I prefer to buy locally. That's really the only advantage to Beeline I give, over the Ital.
     
  5. I'd highly recommend humbolt!
     
  6. Only ever buy humboldt, i heard good things and people rate that one the best.
     
  7. I use I-tal cuz that's the only one I can find and it can be pretty annoying because it's hard to put out the flame sometimes. My favorite hemp wick is organicwick, it's organic hemp and I feel like organic hemp is better as hempwick.
     
  8. agreed. humboldt is also organic :hello:
     
  9. Beeline is also organic too hahaha
     
  10. i only tried ital for a while and thought that was best, i was very wrong, please try hempwick.... winner winner, chicken dinner...... I promise
     
  11. why not make your own? Defiber all your stems. Mash them on a hard surface and pull the fibers apart, rub with bees wax (hardware stores have it to preserve wood and tools), rope it up.

    lol so get big huge nugs with giant stems!
     
  12. [quote name='"Rotawee"']why not make your own? Defiber all your stems. Mash them on a hard surface and pull the fibers apart, rub with bees wax (hardware stores have it to preserve wood and tools), rope it up.

    lol so get big huge nugs with giant stems![/quote]

    Or we could just spend five dollars
     
  13. i love bee line
     


  14. Lol you could. Im going to try it. Even though hemp wick is dumb
    More mass combusting = more dirty emmissions in my lungs
    I prefer butane. Its already in the air we breathe, along with methane and bunch of other gasses some would consider "harmful" or whatever. Cleaner burn for a cleaner smoke people figure it out.. Save your five bucks towards a vapooorizer
     
  15. Beeline is the best I've ever tried, aside from the stuff I make at home from my own crops, and local organic beeswax :)


    Here's a recent post on hemp wick VS butane lighters... if you're curious about the facts behind the stuff, it's worth the read;


    ----






    Experiment time!


    This is for those of you who have access to (good) hemp wick. [​IMG]



    You will need:


    - A kitchen spoon, wiped/cleaned between trials

    - A length of wick

    - A bic lighter (or more... the more you have, the better*)



    Hold the flame of your hemp wick just below the bowl of the spoon, not quite touching, but almost 'licking' the bottom, for 15 seconds. Keep at least 1/8th of an inch between the colored flame and the convex base of the spoon.


    If you have good wick, you should see no soot or ash, and there should be no odor. [​IMG]


    When you hold the wick almost directly under the spoon, but without allowing the flame to touch (if you stifle a flame, it hinders the flow of oxygen at the surface of the flame, and combustion in an oxygen deprived environment WILL produce more waste), the spoon should have no color or odor.



    Now.... try that with your bic. [​IMG]



    You will probably see a sooty mark, anywhere from 1/16 of an inch, to an inch in diameter.


    Smell it, too (you probably already can from where you're sitting; avoid holding it to your nose)... it's not pretty!



    If you happen to have mutliple bics to play with, you will notice that the amount of soot remaining on the spoon varies with each lighter, and the variations are consistent when repeated.


    This is because bics were not made for, and are not intended to disperse and burn butane, the lighter fluid, evenly.




    I've done this a few times now, and I tried it again today as I was typing this using five different lighters.


    Two produced virtually no soot, but left an odor, one created a quarter inch circle and smelled, and two created near-inch black sooty marks and stank.




    ----



    *** If performing the test was good enough for you, I wouldn't be offended if you didn't bother to read the rest of the post.... this is an internet forum after all, and MUCH shorter replies are the norm. [​IMG] [​IMG]



    The following I'll include for those who are interested in the details (with my apologies to those who may need to 'over use' their mice/scroll wheels). [​IMG]

    ----



    "Pyrolysis is a thermochemical decomposition of organic material at elevated temperatures without the participation of oxygen"

    Not only does an increased amount of partial pyrolysis or incomplete combustion occur with bic lighters, causing the soot (it occurs with the wick as well, eventually, and at a much slower rate, that is if you can manage to sit there trying for long enough), but not only that, you're also inhaling traces of entirely uncombusted butane due to the uneven burn!

    This is absolutely a hazard to your lung and mental health, and in a MUCH bigger way than cannabis, for those who may have a less-than-concerned attitude of; "Who cares, we're already smoking something."


    (This is especially true, considering that two largest studies of their kind on cannabis and its effects on lung health, performed by those with the most experience in the field, including a scientist who USED to work for the government with the anti-cannabis movement, and changed his mind after 30 years of studies, agree that most cannabis smokers have superior lung function in terms of oxygen delivered to the bloodstream per volume of air inhaled, AND we have larger lung capacities)!


    Study: Smoking Marijuana Not Linked with Lung Damage | TIME.com


    Top Anti-Drug Researcher Changes His Mind, Says Legalize Marijuana



    Smoking plant matter certainly isn't healthy, and it's not for everyone... but the harm for most users is so low, that the simple benefits of our 'strength training' and deep-breathing exercises while hitting the bong, can improve our lung function while we smoke in spite of what common sense dictates!




    Vaping is obviously better for your health, but why increase the potential for risk during combustion by participating in something, such as butane inhalation, that has a much less confidence-inspiring medical record. [​IMG]


    Speaking of which, here's what butane can do...


    [Toxicological and medico-... [Arch Med Sadowej Kryminol. 2011 Jan-Mar] - PubMed - NCBI


    An autopsy case of butane gas abuse. [Soud Lek. 2010] - PubMed - NCBI


    Bronchospasm and anaphylactic sho... [Allergy Asthma Immunol Res. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI


    Is that really something you want in your lungs?


    (Most deaths due to butane inhalation are admittedly related to butane substance abuse. But when weighing the two, just keep in mind that unlike butane, and in the case of cannabis, deaths due to toxicity or even lung related ailments are 100% non-existant, even when cannabis is dramatically over-smoked or 'abused').




    Another point worth bringing up:



    What most people don't understand, is how to properly light a cigarette... no, this isn't that off topic. [​IMG]




    Bic lighers are meant for lighting cigarettes and cigars, and for other purposes that shouldn't involve directly inhaling the byproducts of the flame.


    ---


    When you properly light a cigarette or cigar, properly, you (are SUPPOSED to, but many do not realize):

    - Puff using only the suction created by the cavity that is your mouth, using your cheeks, and your tongue against the roof of your mouth, opening your mouth while closing of your throat.


    ---


    The first drag or so taken in, while the lighter provides the heat, for the most part only enters the mouth and is then expelled, along with any foul flavors, soot, and stray lighter fluid, without ever reaching the lungs or airways!


    This is proper lighting technique.


    Many people do it instinctively, without even thinking about it. [​IMG]


    It's performed this way, so you don't get that nasty butane flavor or the ill health effects associated with repeated lung exposure, and some also suggest that it promotes an even starting burn.



    ---





    NOW, knowing how even tobacco smokers avoid butane... picture using a lighter with the way that we smoke... especially people who like to torch their bowls! [​IMG]


    Most people don't exactly build up a cherry before they begin smoking, while wasting all the preceding hits taken with the lighter. [​IMG]



    In the end, it stands to reason that if you must use a flame, then you should probably use one that produces the least waste and no off-putting odors.



    Most people who try wick find they can take bigger hits, and that persistent 'post-session coughing fits' disappear, and even irritation while smoking decreases.



    With a lighter, it can be startlingly black, it's greasy, and it smells like crap!




    And as a bonus, not only do wicks burn cleaner due to the consistent and 'open' availability of their fuel source (rather than the release system used with a bic), but hemp wicks also combust at much lower temperatures, almost half that of the average bic! Keep in mind that when you are combusting, you are not just degrading, but outright destroying roughly 50% of your potency, give or take based on the temperature of the heat source. This means that you're degrading fewer cannabinoids before they reach your system! [​IMG]



    Now, inert hemp plant matter and beeswax are not 'perfect' when combusted, either, as mentioned earlier pyrolysis does still occur (albeit at a much lower rate, as you'll note from your experiments), and if you let your wick smolder, which you ***shouldn't, you can risk inhaling wax fumes which have similar, but lesser, repercussions as butane fumes.



    But that wasn't the question. [​IMG]


    It was "Hemp Wick -vs- Butane", and I think we're beginning to understand the clear winner! [​IMG]



    In the end, and the cleaner alternative of vaping aside, if you want a truly 'clean' smoking experience, as clean as you can expect from combusting plant matter anyhow:


    A dollar store magnifying glass and the sun works wonders (wear sun glasses, aiming the sun-spot can be painful or even harmful for your eyes!), so do inert glass rods, and even ceramic soldering irons.

    [​IMG]




    Hope this adds to the discussion, and that it gets people thinking! [​IMG]


    Have fun! [​IMG]




    (*** Always snuff your wick completely!

    If you kill the ember on the end with the flame rather than just blowing it out, then it is odor (and for the most part, fume) free!


    I use my thumb and forefinger, but I've got pretty tough hands, others use the back of the wick holder, their lighter against an ashtray, or a similar method. [​IMG] )
     
    • Disagree Disagree x 1
  16. Holy super props. Thank you for clearing it all up. Science is keen yo!
     
  17. I-Tal is the best in my opinion! The only other one I've used so far however is the bee's wax one, I noticed that I often couldn't get a big enough flame off of that one! Stuck to I-Tal ever since then and never had a problem!
     
  18. I've only used Total Hempwick but its been good to me, I have no complaints, so.....
     

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