the carbon from the lighter blackens the outside of the pipe... you can wipe it off at first, but after a few times it just smears and then you can't see what you're doing and you burn your shit up mercilessly. the torches produces slow, even heat-- your dope will last way longer. plus, the low hiss of the propane is kind of nice, until day three or four when you start to hear voices in it. sometimes they're nice voices, though