Lighters

The difference comes down to how the butane meets the air. A soft-flame lighter, like every Clipper Classic Large on this page, releases butane through a simple nozzle where it mixes with ambient air and ignites into a yellow, flickering flame. That flame is relatively cool, easy to control, and dances around when you tilt the lighter. It's the same type of flame you've seen on every standard lighter since you were a kid.

A jet flame lighter forces butane through a pressurized nozzle and mixes it with air inside a combustion chamber before it exits. The result is a blue, pointed, torch-like flame that burns significantly hotter and stays directional even when you angle the lighter. Brands like DISSIM and Vessel make jet flame models specifically designed for smokers who want a more focused ignition source. Because the fuel is pre-mixed with air before combustion, the flame doesn't flicker or bend the way a soft flame does.

For everyday smoking, the tradeoff is precision versus gentleness. A soft flame from a Clipper gives you a wide, forgiving flame that's easy to hover over a bowl or hold to the tip of a joint without scorching anything. A jet flame lights faster and punches through wind, but it concentrates a lot of heat on a small area, which means you need to be more deliberate about distance and contact time. Neither is objectively better; they just suit different situations. If you mostly smoke indoors or in calm conditions, a soft flame Clipper handles the job perfectly. If you find yourself outside often or lighting in less than ideal conditions, a jet flame earns its keep.

Wind is the natural enemy of a soft flame. Because a standard butane lighter like the Clipper Classic Large produces an open, yellow flame that relies on ambient air, even a moderate breeze can push it sideways or blow it out entirely. If you've ever cupped both hands around a lighter on a patio and still struggled to get a cherry going, you know exactly what this feels like. It's not a flaw in the lighter; it's just physics working against an open flame.

Jet flame lighters handle wind dramatically better. The fuel and air mix inside the lighter body before the flame exits, which produces a pressurized blue flame that resists being pushed around. Brands like DISSIM engineer their lighters with inverted or angled jet flames specifically so you can light a bowl or joint outdoors without needing to shield the flame with your hands. Vessel also makes jet flame models built for this exact scenario.

That said, you don't necessarily need a dedicated jet lighter if wind is only an occasional problem. Cupping a soft flame Clipper with your hand works fine in a light breeze, and the softer flame gives you more control over heat when conditions are calm. The honest recommendation is this: if you smoke outdoors regularly, especially during a Canadian fall or winter where wind is constant, a jet flame lighter is a genuine upgrade. If you're mostly indoors and only occasionally step outside, a Clipper soft flame paired with a bit of hand shielding will get the job done without adding another lighter to your collection.

It can be, but it depends on how you use it. A jet flame burns at a considerably higher temperature than a soft flame, and that concentrated heat hits a much smaller area. If you hold a jet flame directly against your herb for too long, you'll combust more material than you intended and can scorch the top layer before the rest of the bowl even catches. That over-combustion produces a harsher, more acrid flavour on the first draw, which is the opposite of what you want if you care about tasting your flower.

The fix isn't avoiding jet lighters altogether; it's adjusting your technique. With a jet flame, you want to keep the tip of the flame slightly away from the herb and use quick, short pulses rather than holding the flame steady. For joints, a brief pass across the tip is enough to get an even cherry without charring the paper. For bowls, a quick dab of flame to one edge (corner lighting) lets you control how much of the surface ignites at once.

Soft flame lighters like the Clipper Classic Large are more forgiving here because the lower temperature and wider flame naturally give you a gentler light. You can hold a soft flame to a bowl for a full second or two without the same scorching risk. If flavour preservation matters to you and you're primarily smoking indoors where wind isn't a factor, a standard Clipper soft flame is the easier choice. Reserve the jet flame for situations where you actually need the wind resistance or faster ignition, and use a lighter touch when you do.

For a bowl, you want a low to medium flame. The goal is to bring just enough heat to the surface of your herb to ignite it without torching the entire pack in one go. A shorter flame gives you better control over which part of the bowl catches, which is especially useful if you're corner lighting to preserve green hits across multiple draws. On a Clipper Classic Large, the flame height out of the box is usually well suited for bowl use without any adjustment, since the default output is moderate and easy to direct.

Joints are a different situation. When you're lighting the tip of a joint, you actually want a slightly taller flame so you can toast the end evenly without holding the lighter at an awkward angle that puts your thumb too close to the heat. The idea is to rotate the joint slowly in the flame until the tip glows evenly, almost like toasting a marshmallow. A flame that's too short forces you to bring the lighter uncomfortably close, which can char the paper unevenly and create a side-burn (canoeing) right from the first puff.

Most refillable butane lighters have an adjustable flame wheel near the base of the nozzle, and Clippers are no exception. Dialling it down for bowl sessions and bumping it up slightly for joints takes half a second and makes a real difference in how evenly your material lights. If you find yourself switching between bowls and joints often, getting comfortable with that adjustment wheel is worth the small effort. It's one of those habits that quietly improves every session once you build the muscle memory.

It really comes down to where you do most of your smoking. A pocket lighter, like the Clipper Classic Large, is built to travel. It's slim enough to slide into a jeans pocket or a small pouch, light enough that you forget it's there, and shaped so the flint wheel sits right under your thumb naturally. If you smoke on the go, at a friend's place, or anywhere that isn't your own home, portability matters more than anything else. The Clipper's size also makes it easy to use the built-in packing tool one-handed, which is a practical advantage when you're outdoors holding a joint in the other hand.

Desk-size lighters, sometimes called tabletop lighters, prioritize fuel capacity, flame stability, and ergonomics over portability. They hold more butane, which means longer intervals between refills. They also tend to have wider bases that keep them upright on a table or tray, so you're not fishing around for a lighter that rolled behind the couch. Brands like Vessel make larger format lighters designed to sit at a smoking station and look good doing it.

If you have a dedicated spot where you usually smoke, a desk lighter makes your sessions a little more seamless because it's always in the same place, always has fuel, and feels more substantial in the hand. But if you need one lighter that does everything, a pocket-sized Clipper is the more versatile pick. Plenty of people end up owning both: a Clipper they carry and a larger lighter that lives next to their tray at home. There's no rule that says you have to choose just one.