For so many of us, the only option for smoking up is to head outside into the great wide world. If you don’t have snow or rain putting a damper on your activities, you almost surely have wind. Here are some ways to light your joint or bowl in windy conditions.

Up your Lighter Game

If you’re trying to light your joint in the wind using a Bic lighter, you’ve made a mistake somewhere along the way. There is a reason that they’re the second most affordable option for lighting things after matches – they’re cheap.

Whether you buy a snazzy looking Zippo lighter or a torch lighter, you’ll be much better equipped to deal with high winds. Going to your local hiking and camping store can provide some great options for lighters, especially for the more outdoorsy stoners out there, and some of the ‘jet lighters’ will work even if the wind is going 80 miles an hour. Not that you should ever need that kind of guarantee, unless you want to light a joint out the window of a moving vehicle.

DIY Wind Guards

If you’ve ever seen a smoker struggling in sub-par weather conditions, you’re familiar with this method. It’s the old stand-by of putting their hands around the cigarette to light it, or using their coat and body to shield from the wind. Either way, the principal is the same. Create something to prevent the wind from putting out the ember before it’s hot enough to stay lit.

Cannabis consumers are a creative and industrious bunch, so there is no reason for you to stop with such low-tech and questionably effective methods. Grabbing a paper cup before you head out and using that as a guard for your joint while you light up is an option. Here’s to not having to ash your joint! You’ll have to carve up the cup a little bit to make sure that enough air can get in while still blocking the wind, but it doesn’t take much work at all.

There’s even been a great post on Reddit recently about hot-boxing a bubble umbrella with steep sides, though you’ll likely get some strange looks if it isn’t raining.

Better Joint Construction

If you’ve ever been out and watching cigarette smokers, you’ll notice that cigarettes burn quicker in high winds than joints do. That’s capitalism at work for you – there are designed by teams of specialists to make sure that their product works, even in less than ideal situations.

You can take some lessons from them to deal with high wind. First of all, using two papers creates a thicker material that can burn more evenly, even in high wind. The second is using a different grind for windy situations. Larger buds can hold an ember better, once you get them going.

Find Better Locations

This is one of the often poorly considered options. If you are facing lots of wind on your walk, ducking into an alley or behind a tree can be a great way to use your surroundings to your advantage. Though it can be limiting and dangerous, finding a good spot can often lead to a new smoking up location to add to your repertoire.

The Hand

Leaving the joint behind, this clever bowl choice provides a built-in wind guard, but requires foresight, and a bowl that might be more prone to getting caught on things and breaking. A purchase like this is best if you live somewhere prone to windy days that would screw with smoking up.

No matter what option you choose, there are really three things to consider. Making sure that the flame you use can light your bud, making sure that the ember can establish itself, and then making sure that the ember doesn’t go out while you’re enjoying yourself. Keep those three things in mind, and you can enjoy yourself no matter the weather.