MATCHES!

[jayh]

Wanted to put this in the Lighters thread but it would have been a hi-jack.
I started using matches a few weeks ago and it's been an amazing discovery for me. I was without a lighter and I found a free pack I got with the cigars I bought for a recent wedding. I was a fish to water, no fumbling, no rushed feeling with lighting it...seemed really easy. Much better intial light and better flavor for whatever reason also. Cooler smoke start to finish and fewer lights all together.
Who else uses them? Any better choices than the strike on box supermarket brands?
I'm not a purist in anyway but i was blown away by how much better my tobacco smoked and burned and wondered what the consensus is.

 

[igloo]

I like the Diamond Safety Kitchen Matches , a little bigger stick .

 

[daveleitz]

I started with a cheap lighter. It was a hassle. Now I just use matches. I think they work just fine, either wood or paper.

 

[cortezattic]

I use stick matches any time I can. The lighter only comes out when I'm doing something that precludes using a box of matches; mainly driving. I don't much care for book matches though.

 

[pstlpkr]

For general use I prefer a cheap butane.

However; over the last month or two I have endeavored to use matches for the char and true. The temperature of the flame seems to much lower than with a butane, and the flavor comes through much better. And, I kind of like the sulfur smell as well, it tells me that a truly great experience is to follow.

The only draw back, for me occurs when I set the pipe down several times during a bowl.

I will end up with a scale model of burned down lumber yard in the ash tray.

 

[jrtaster]

i reaaly prefer matches.

my walmart carries two sizes of the diamond brand strike-on-box matches. i prefer the "large kitchen matches" at least for the initial charring light. the smaller size is adequate for relights.

"strike anyhere" matches are apparently illegal in new jersey, but i found them freely in florida, for instance.

for those who dislike the sulphur smell of the diamond brand could opt for the swan vestas, sulphur -free, but they are not widely available. recently i did see them listed at pipeworks & wilke.

i use matches mainly at home but when disposal of the used sticks is a problem, i revert to my imco butane lighter.

 

[hobie1dog]

Since I smoke on the back deck, or in the truck, there's just no good place to dispose of them right away, so they have to get laid down, then the tip breaks off, then blackens something up it shouldn't, etc.

 

[wallbright]

I only use matches when smoking my pipe. However, I don't own an ash tray so I end up with a small tree on my front porch haha.

 

[strongirish]

With the high humidity in Houston area, matches are worthless. I am and always be a Zippo man. Plus I collect antique lighters so it could be any one of those.

 

[wallbright]

Strongirish, do you have any zippo pipe lighters? I have been looking into getting one and wondered about their quality. I currently use matches as they are cheap and supposedly offer a better smoke (though that is debatable by some peoples accounts).

 

[collindow]

Zippo pipe model all the way!

I experimented with matches and just didn't like it as much.

 

[surfmac211]

I have started to use matches more lately and can definitely tell a difference in flavor, BUT nothing beats the convenience of a zippo or some type of pipe lighter.

 

[papipeguy]

Lately, I've been using my Blazer torch lighter for the char light and then switch to my Zippo pipe lighter. Sounds like a lot of work but the torch does make the charring process quick work.

As for the Zippo, its a workhorse. Not fancy but entirely reliable and works well in the wind.

 

[hobie1dog]

Nope don't like them.

 

[funn]

Diamond matches from the dollar store and my Zippo when the tobacco gets halfway and the matches don't give me that "Ring of Fire".

 

[peace]

I only smoke outside, so matches are useless to me as soon as there's a bit of wind. I'm a Zippo man. I know a lot of pipe smokers dislike Zippo because they claim they can taste the fuel, but if you use the Zippo brand fluid (doesn't smell as strong as the others) and let the flame on your lighter lit for about 5 seconds before lighting your pipe, the fuel won't come out as strong.

 

[bubbadreier]

I use matches all the time but just the other day a friend of mine had the zippo pipe lighter. I used it and I loved it, I am hopefully going to pick one up this week.

 

[fred]

I enjoy the wooden match for the low combustion temperature, that translates

to better blend flavor. The Old Boy is convenient for me while driving around in

the truck, where the wood would pile up in the ashtray. I have a Zippo but

just don't use it much these days, but it's reliable and useful in the wind, to

which the match and the Old Boy are poor performers. For emergencies, there

are matches and Pipe cleaners in the truck's glove box. If you want to smoke

a Pipe, it's a good idea to keep more than one source of fire available.

 

[wallbright]

Some of you guys mentioned smoking in a windy area, I heard somewhere that this is bad forthe pipe? I only smoke outside win or no wid and I was wondering if this is true.

 

[flanative]

Matches whenever possible, butane lighters when necessary. I always have about 3 boxes of the strike anywhere matches. Also great with cigars!