Quick Take
Using a hemp wick is a cleaner, smarter way to light up. Its steady, low-temp flame gives smoother hits without wasting any of the good stuff. Plus, it’s eco-friendly and can save you money over time.
published 11/04/23 | updated 2/13/26
Spark Up Naturally with Hemp Wick
Ready for a little secret that’ll spark up your next sesh? Meet the hemp wick—your new best friend and a game-changer for those of us seeking a healthier, more sustainable way to light up. The flick of a lighter and the strike of a match are both pleasurable sounds for any seasoned smoker. But you can mindlessly go through dozens—maybe even hundreds—of lighters or matches. Switching to a hemp wick can improve the health of your smoke, your experience, your wallet, and even the environment. Let’s get into it!
So What is Hemp Wick?
Glad you asked! Hemp wick is a healthier and more environmentally friendly way to light your pipe or cigarette. It’s a bundle of hemp fibers twisted into twine. Then, the fibers are coated in a thin layer of wax. That layer of wax stiffens the wick, makes it ignite more easily, and supports a smooth, steady burn by filling up any pockets of oxygen in the fibers. Hemp wicks, like the ones we use in our new Horatio Hemp Wick Holders, come in various lengths. The higher the frequency of your consumption, the quicker you’ll go through it. But they last a lot longer than other lighting devices.
Lighters = Harmful Chemicals
Lighters are tried, true, and easy to stuff into your pocket or purse for a quick spark. While they offer convenience and reliability, the chemicals you inhale when you use them are a steep price to pay for portability and ease. Lighters contain a mixture of flammable liquids that ignite once you spark them. With each flick, trace amounts of these chemicals can taint your inhalation experience, leaving an unpleasant taste and potentially harmful effects. Butane is one of the most common lighter fluids. Unfortunately, if you use a butane lighter directly on your smoke, trace amounts of the chemical can linger. That means you inhale it into your lungs when you light up. Yuck!
Matches Do, Too
Matches aren’t any better to inhale. Their striking tips are made of combustible chemicals, like phosphorus and sulfur, too. That means those chemicals can also make their way into your lungs. I know—we’re gagging, too.
Ditch the Harmful Chemicals with Hemp Wick
When we inhale, we only want the good stuff to enter our bodies. Of course, when you light up, you’re burning plant matter. You can lessen the impact on your lungs by making that inhalation as clean as possible. In other words, get yourself some hemp wick. And go for hemp wick that’s 100% organic because you don’t want to inhale any pesticides either.
Beeswax for the Best
When searching for the perfect hemp wick, opt for one coated in organic beeswax. Wicks also come coated in paraffin and soy wax. But paraffin is a petroleum product—need we say more? With its higher burn temperature, beeswax ensures a longer-lasting and more consistent burn compared to soy. Say goodbye to quick burns and hello to extended smoking sessions with a beeswax-coated hemp wick. So a beeswax wick will last longer.
Be Gentle with Your Mix
When you spend your hard-earned money on premium mix, you want to make the most of your experience. Using a hemp wick instead can be a game changer for your smoking experience. Terpenes are the compounds that determine plants’ aromatics and flavor. In the same way you can pick up notes in your wine, you can taste different flavors in your mix. Unfortunately, an overly hot flame can damage these simple, yet volatile, flavor bombs. Chemical accelerants burn much hotter than a hemp wick does. So, they dull the fruity flavors or peppery aromas of your smoke. Instead, the steady, low-temp flame of a hemp wick gives you a smoother overall hit and a more flavorful smoke.
Don’t Burn Away Any of the Good Stuff
Hemp wicks also provide great precision when you light up. Why? The slow-burning flame on the waxed strand won’t go out. So, you can take your time and focus on where you’re putting it. The point of the wick is more localized than a raucous burst of hot flame coming from a lighter or a match. With a hemp wick you’ll achieve a more even burn—without any dreaded canoeing. Once you get a taste of what you’re missing (literally), we doubt you’ll ever go back to a lighter alone.
Hemp Wick Can Save You the Green
We all want to be rolling in the green. Switching to hemp wick can help you curb spending on new lighters and save money in the long-term. While a few bucks for a new Bic lighter may seem inconsequential, daily smokers—especially our female consumers—know how quickly those costs can add up. As we all know, it can take several tries with your lighter to get a good light. Plus, with its lower temp burn, a hemp wick gives you more control when you’re lighting. That means your mix burns more evenly. So you waste less every time you smoke.
Help Mother Earth with Hemp Wick
All of us can do more to save our planet. Whether they were plastic or metal, chances are that your trusty old lighters are now chilling in a landfill. Ugh. Let’s not keep making that same mistake. Cumulatively, the traces of burned lighter fluid also contribute to warming temperatures. On the other hand, the hemp plant is one of the best crops for drawing carbon out of our atmosphere. So buying anything made from hemp is good for the planet. You might still use a chemical accelerant to spark up your wick, but at least use it as sparingly as possible. Lessen your carbon footprint by quickly sparking it to light a hemp wick for as long as you need.
How to Use a Hemp Wick
First, unravel 1-2 inches of hemp wick. The beeswax stiffens it. So, it’s easy to place. Then light your wick. We like to use a candle. That way, you have a flame on standby for the rest of your sesh and a nicer vibe to boot! Let the wick burn until the flame evens out. That will assure that the part of wick that touches anything bad for you will burn away, and the flame temp will lower. Then, as you inhale to promote air flow, light the mix in your pipe or the burning end of your roll with the wick.
Safety First with Hemp Wick
Once you take a hit and have a steady burn, put the wick out by dipping it in water or wet your fingers and squeeze it out. Of course, make sure it’s completely out before you tuck the burnt end back against the rest of your wick. Wanna see how that’s done? Check out our video!
Cornering with a Hemp Wick
Here’s a pro tip. If you’re sharing a pipe with a larger bowl, use the wick to “corner” it. Cornering means to only light the mix on one side—or corner—of the bowl. By doing that, you leave some of it untouched for the people you’re sharing with. Then, the last person gets as nice a hit as the first one does.
The Sticky Drawback
Ok, so there’s really only one. Most hemp wick is messy. That’s because it’s usually sold in a sticky wad. Some people solve this by wrapping a little hemp wick around their lighter or their pipe. But that’s a little too DIY for us—especially at home.
Enter the Wick Holder
We prefer a hemp wick that looks good on display. That’s why we made our our trendy Astor Set with a holder and matching ashtray. But you can also snag our hemp wick holder on its own. As elegant as a French macaron, our ceramic hemp wick holder is a stylish solution. It’s not only a healthier, more sustainable way to light up. It also keeps your sticky hemp wick nice and neat. Each one comes wrapped with 10′ of our fave organic hemp coated with organic beeswax. Plus, they’re super easy to refill when you need more.
We’re Here for the Hemp Wick
Improving your entire smoking experience while keeping sustainability in mind? That’s the beauty of the hemp wick. A few feet of hemp wick lasts a good long time. So, don’t settle for anything less than a cleaner, greener, and more flavorful burn.
Responsible Use
For legal adults 21+ use only. Start low and go slow. May cause drowsiness—don’t drive or operate machinery after using cannabis or hemp-derived THC products. Keep out of reach of children and pets.
