Please Help me Light my Pipe!

[Mairnealach]

Hi friends,

I have a dilemma. I work in an industrial environment for weeks at a time where lighters are forbidden. Cigarette smokers are catered to with electric lighters and matches. But the smoking areas are typically windy. So, we pipe smokers are S.O.L.

I need a way to light my pipe which doesn't rely on a lighter, and works in a wind.
I'm thinking maybe just get some cheap cheroots, like black & milds, and light them with a windproof camping match. The cheroot, unlike the camping match, would stay lit nicely and by tamping the lit end into my pipe bowl I might have a chance.


Ideas?
thanks,
Mairnealach

 

[warren]

You are apparently allowed matches. Why not skip the cigar and light the blend? Seems the obvious solution to me.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

You think this guy was worried about not having a Zippo? Get out there and practice!

 

[Chasing Embers]

 

[Mairnealach]

You are apparently allowed matches. Why not skip the cigar and light the blend? Seems the obvious solution to me.

I think I alreaady mentioned the wind.
What I may have failed to mention is it's a very, very stiff wind.
And there is no shelter.

 

[Mairnealach]

he

You think this guy was worried about not having a Zippo? Get out there and practice!

You think this guy was worried about not having a Zippo? Get out there and practice!
View attachment 166798

I don't have the luxury of picking up a log and sticking it in my campfire to light my pipe, like that dude did.

 

[Hillcrest]

Try nicotine lozenges and stay inside then or go to your car.

 

[hugodrax]

I think I alreaady mentioned the wind.
What I may have failed to mention is it's a very, very stiff wind.
And there is no shelter.

Yes. There isn't any shelter in the polar regions, either. Trust me, you will learn to scratch a match. Very, very few situations are impossible if you're willing to learn the contortions that are sometimes necessary.

 

[kcghost]

You'll need an industrial wind screen or it will blow the tobacco in your face. I suppose you could take a decent sized box and put it over your head and the pipe and light it then but I suppose you are looking for something that won't that is a tad less cumbersome.

 

[warren]

And there is no shelter.

Of course there is. You. Position yourself so the wind pretty much goes up and over your back, cup the pipe and lighter, light and enjoy. There is a bit of a learning curve, wind direction, positioning the hands so as to direct whatever breeze gets over your back to further protect the flame and bowl, etc. Many manage a light in a"gale" quite well. Just takes a bit of practice. If you can properly light a cigar you should be able to manage a pipe.

I might add, unzip your parka and use it to assist in shielding from the wind.

 

[Chaukisch]

Of course there is. You. Position yourself so the wind pretty much goes up and over your back, cup the pipe and lighter, light and enjoy. I might add, unzip your parka and use it to assist in shielding from the wind.

I absolutely agree with this. Do that and slap one of these on your pipe:



And you'll be good to go.

 

[warren]

I use a "wind cap" when necessary. I also shield the cap with a deflecting fist. Both help to keep the ember from overheating. That is the single most important concern. Wind racing over the top of a cap can really heat up the burn. Take care to protect the "cherry"! A windy day presents a challange that one doesn't experience on a calm day. One shouldn't "light and forget" when there is a significant breeze/wind blowing.

 

[anotherbob]

watch a clip of Bing Cosby lighting his pipes and that should give a good idea of how to cup your hands and how to strike the match. Takes some practice but works great.

 

[bullet08]

Doing that with cigarettes is easy. Ton of ways to shield it from wind. Before, I took my uncle's Zippo, smoking was always done with matchbook. Thinking the same, first few time trying to smoke pipe was with a box of matches in front porch with stiff autumn wind. I was not a happy man. I got it done, but it was first time smoking pipe, and things keep going out. And I was running out of those matches fast. Said fuck it and refueled my old Zippo and bought a Bic. Wind direction is important, and good shield to protect the match. Once you figure out the method that works for you, it won't be much issue.

 

[Mairnealach]

Yes. There isn't any shelter in the polar regions, either. Trust me, you will learn to scratch a match. Very, very few situations are impossible if you're willing to learn the contortions that are sometimes necessary.

he probably had real matches that don't suck. unlike what we get these days, 'coz FAA or FCC or ATF or some other such nonsense.

 

[Piping Rooster]

If theres a will theres a way! Being a sailor myself, I can tell you it's do-able with some practice! Back to the wind, hunch over a little, cup hand around bowl, and light er up! Zippos are good too since you say you can have a match.

 

[condorlover1]

Have you considered using Stump Remover?

 

[AJL67]

Lol pipe tasers, i do like the last one though his terbaccy is looking a bit green lol

 

[hugodrax]

he probably had real matches that don't suck. unlike what we get these days, 'coz FAA or FCC or ATF or some other such nonsense.

Lol. I still use matches with considerable success. But it's kind of a moot point because I can't show you how to do it and you've tried without much success. Must be frustrating.

I don't know what to tell you except I hope you find a way!

 

[cigrmaster]

I have lit so many cigarettes at the tops of mountains throughout New England that it became second nature and a very easy exercise. Killington is the biggest ski resort in New England and we skied there a lot especially because they had a gondola.

I also had no trouble lighting cigarettes at over 12,000 feet in Colorado. The first time I smoked that high up I thought I was going to cough up a long. I had never been that high in my life and my douche bag father in law thought it would be funny to see how I handled it. Well he was an average skier so I left him in the dust hit the lodge and had some kind of boozy totty that really hit the spot. He thought he would ski rings around me because he skied in Colorado. I showed him how we kicked as in the east. Our hills were small, but we had ice and tough conditions. Spend a day skiing on thin snow just a coating over the ice. Then somehow your front skis bury into a patch of deep snow. You go as over tea kettle and on that one I only broke 2 ribs.

We had some cool glade skiing where you ski between the trees. Some decent room on some others are tight, expect to hit a tree or two but ski the backs of your skis so you don't go head fist and do a Sonny Bono/