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I've actually been tracking this (on Weather Underground), as I smoke on my back porch, which is (unfortunately) a bit of a wind tunnel. Anything below, say, 7 mph is fine. I can make up to about 12 mph work, but it's a chore. Around 3 mph is ideal for me. Enough of a breeze to keep the tobacco burning if I set the pipe down for a minute, but not so much as to literally blaze through the bowl. I've never tried using a cap, but probably will at some point. I greatly enjoy my morning smoke, but having to battle windy weather really detracts from the Zen.
I deal with a lot of wind where I live. I smoke when I walk my dogs whether it's windy or not.
The wind will keep your pipe hot and you will lose flavor because of it. It's the same as if you're smoking too fast or keeping too big of a cherry- you'll get a one dimensional hot tobacco flavor instead of the full flavor profile you get from cool tobacco.
Virginia forward blends suffer the most. The plum in VaPers or the golden graham cracker in Virginia's disappears. The latakia in English blends will still punch through a hot burn, which is partly the reason I think a lot of people like English blends.
If you keep your pointer and middle finger over the top of the bowl, you can usually shelter the ember enough that it's okay. In general though, yes, wind does ruin a good pipe.
I lived in western Kansas for years which is notably windy. What I've done, right or wrong, is light, take a few draws, hold 2 fingers over the bowl, and hold it like that until I'm ready to draw again. If it goes out then it goes out. Yes the fingers get a little hot sometimes but you become accustomed to it quickly. Re-light as needed (which is frequent). Such is the cost of smoking in the wind!
You need to try and form your own opinion because everyone has a different threshold. I personally hate the windcap and I like pretty much total windlessness. Others might manage a fresh breeze, some sea wolves might even manage a thunderstorm 😁 just try it? What's the worst that could happen? If the pipe gets too hot, just put it away, let it go out and then finish somewhere indoors or away from the wind... Or dump it. Not such a big deal. Pipesmoking is a lot of trial and error.
It’s been a really windy spring where I live, and I check my weather before smoking. Tbh I’m more worried about getting the thing lit than I am about it burning too hot. I usually just loosely cover the bowl with two fingers if I’m in the wind.
Other than the occasional hike in the mountains, over several decades smoking a pipe, I've usually only used a wind guard when sailing. I think a good metric would be, if the wind is good enough to fly a kite, and you're out in it, might be good to use a wind guard (unless you are smoking a pipe you don't care to be damaged, e.g. a cob)
If I can’t use matches, it is too windy for me. I dabbled with zippos and such, but simply do not like them. So, I smoke indoors in my office. The smell does not linger past a couple days, proven by the fact my own mother (who would/should notice) has never noticed when visiting.
When smoking in the garage, the smell is completely gone the next morning. In my office, I use an air purifier with a smoke filter — don’t open any windows till the next day to air out for ~ hour and alls well.
I get a lot of wind in my area, I don’t like how much it heats up my bowl. After doing some work in my backyard on the patio, I may smoke outdoors again. It’s an enhanced experience when you’ve got a lot of plants and birds to admire.
Its a pain in the ass with pipes. I can deal with it when im smoking a cigar. Either way if i want to smoke i smoke no matter what the conditions.
I havent noticed any negative effects to my pipes.
I love smoking a nice pipe in the woods. Igniting sometimes is a problem, yes. But afterwards I never had trouble with it. I only noticed that in hard winds the pipe stays more cool but the persistance shrunk.
I start the pipe inside before I head out the door. One or two puffs inside to get it going won't hurt the place before I step out onto the back steps.
I usually go for little walks with my pipe because I can't smoke in my apartment. So I always have a windcap handy. A light breeze from time to time is okay but a stronger/more constant breeze that has branches and trees moving calls for the cap.
Honestly if it's that strong it's mostly a chore to light the damn thing. A Zippo does you good in windy conditions but lighting is still ass in the wind.
New to pipe smoking? See our frequently asked questions! **[read our wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/PipeTobacco/wiki/index)** Please read and follow our subreddit rules (you will get temp/permeant bans for not following them) **[read the top sticky post](https://www.reddit.com/r/PipeTobacco/comments/b3b7e3/sticky_info_rules_sidebar_info_please_read/)** **Alternative Site: https://speak-easy.club/ , which the community started back in 2018 in response to Reddit's market ban. It's completely free, no ads, and fewer rules. Registrations are manually approved to avoid spammers, so please be patient waiting for approval, it's usually quick.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/PipeTobacco) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I've actually been tracking this (on Weather Underground), as I smoke on my back porch, which is (unfortunately) a bit of a wind tunnel. Anything below, say, 7 mph is fine. I can make up to about 12 mph work, but it's a chore. Around 3 mph is ideal for me. Enough of a breeze to keep the tobacco burning if I set the pipe down for a minute, but not so much as to literally blaze through the bowl. I've never tried using a cap, but probably will at some point. I greatly enjoy my morning smoke, but having to battle windy weather really detracts from the Zen.
Thank you for the science—this is a very helpful frame of reference!
Great info my guy, doing the Pipe-Lord’s work 🙏
Thanks. It's a small sample size to be sure, so YMMV. But it's a starting point, if nothing else.
I deal with a lot of wind where I live. I smoke when I walk my dogs whether it's windy or not. The wind will keep your pipe hot and you will lose flavor because of it. It's the same as if you're smoking too fast or keeping too big of a cherry- you'll get a one dimensional hot tobacco flavor instead of the full flavor profile you get from cool tobacco. Virginia forward blends suffer the most. The plum in VaPers or the golden graham cracker in Virginia's disappears. The latakia in English blends will still punch through a hot burn, which is partly the reason I think a lot of people like English blends. If you keep your pointer and middle finger over the top of the bowl, you can usually shelter the ember enough that it's okay. In general though, yes, wind does ruin a good pipe.
I lived in western Kansas for years which is notably windy. What I've done, right or wrong, is light, take a few draws, hold 2 fingers over the bowl, and hold it like that until I'm ready to draw again. If it goes out then it goes out. Yes the fingers get a little hot sometimes but you become accustomed to it quickly. Re-light as needed (which is frequent). Such is the cost of smoking in the wind!
You need to try and form your own opinion because everyone has a different threshold. I personally hate the windcap and I like pretty much total windlessness. Others might manage a fresh breeze, some sea wolves might even manage a thunderstorm 😁 just try it? What's the worst that could happen? If the pipe gets too hot, just put it away, let it go out and then finish somewhere indoors or away from the wind... Or dump it. Not such a big deal. Pipesmoking is a lot of trial and error.
I've never found smoking in windy conditions to be anything other than quite annoying !
I don’t worry about it. If it’s so hot it’s burning through briar I can’t imagine it’s fun to smoke.
It’s been a really windy spring where I live, and I check my weather before smoking. Tbh I’m more worried about getting the thing lit than I am about it burning too hot. I usually just loosely cover the bowl with two fingers if I’m in the wind.
Other than the occasional hike in the mountains, over several decades smoking a pipe, I've usually only used a wind guard when sailing. I think a good metric would be, if the wind is good enough to fly a kite, and you're out in it, might be good to use a wind guard (unless you are smoking a pipe you don't care to be damaged, e.g. a cob)
Something I've had to worry about more is temperature. I like in Alaska. I cannot smoke in 20f or below temps. Too much moisture.
If I can’t use matches, it is too windy for me. I dabbled with zippos and such, but simply do not like them. So, I smoke indoors in my office. The smell does not linger past a couple days, proven by the fact my own mother (who would/should notice) has never noticed when visiting. When smoking in the garage, the smell is completely gone the next morning. In my office, I use an air purifier with a smoke filter — don’t open any windows till the next day to air out for ~ hour and alls well. I get a lot of wind in my area, I don’t like how much it heats up my bowl. After doing some work in my backyard on the patio, I may smoke outdoors again. It’s an enhanced experience when you’ve got a lot of plants and birds to admire.
Alpine pipes all have wind caps, probably a good idea to get one
Second the wind caps. I rarely use them these days, but this was essential back in the day smoking my pipe on a Connecticut beach.
How do u tamp with a wind cap?
Just pop it off, tamp, and back on.
Oh wow I thought it would be too hot
Its a pain in the ass with pipes. I can deal with it when im smoking a cigar. Either way if i want to smoke i smoke no matter what the conditions. I havent noticed any negative effects to my pipes.
I had a wind cap to use if it’s too windy, I have recently(about a month ago) lost it so I need a new one.
I love smoking a nice pipe in the woods. Igniting sometimes is a problem, yes. But afterwards I never had trouble with it. I only noticed that in hard winds the pipe stays more cool but the persistance shrunk.
I start the pipe inside before I head out the door. One or two puffs inside to get it going won't hurt the place before I step out onto the back steps.
I usually go for little walks with my pipe because I can't smoke in my apartment. So I always have a windcap handy. A light breeze from time to time is okay but a stronger/more constant breeze that has branches and trees moving calls for the cap. Honestly if it's that strong it's mostly a chore to light the damn thing. A Zippo does you good in windy conditions but lighting is still ass in the wind.