Why Silicone Smoking Pipes are Great for the Winter

Hot Temperature vs Cold Temperature

During the summer months, people tend to be out and about. The heat creates the perfect atmosphere to enjoy outdoor smoke sessions and allow the heat to keep us comfortable during the evening. Naturally, staying directly under the hot summer sun for a long period of time is a great way to sweat and succumb to heat stroke. While the shade offers some relief, the surrounding heat can impact your smoke session in a few ways.

Heat is something that is produced while lighting up a pipe. Depending on the size of your smoking pipe, heat will naturally be concentrated at the bowl and travel throughout the entire pipe. If its hot outside, even under the shade, this could translate to a truly uncomfortable experience that could result in burning your mouth and lips.

Cold temperatures offer relief in this aspect since being outside during the cold season can help to mitigate the effects of excessive heat in your pipe. The problem is that extreme contrasting temperatures can put enough stress on your pipe to make it shatter. Since most pipes are made of glass, this is a likely scenario. For this, you would want to consider using a pipe made of silicone to eliminate all these potential issues.

Silicone and Extreme Temperatures

What makes silicone so awesome is the fact that if you use it in either hot or cold temperatures, the risk to your piece is nil. What is important to note is that even though silicone is great at dispersing heat, you will not want to leave it or use it under direct sunlight for extended periods of time. Add the use of a lighter to this and you could end up melting your pipe. While silicone will keep your lips comfortable and avoid burns in the heat, care must be taken not to use it in extreme heat.

The cold of winter is perfectly suited for silicone, however. Unlike glass that can shatter and break with extreme temperature fluctuations, silicone is impervious to such variance. In fact, silicone is not prone to any kind of accidental breakage of any kind. Cold temperatures will keep your pipe comfortable as it warms up gently through heating the bowl. Heat is perfectly absorbed and distributed evenly throughout the pipe.

Unlike glass that will crack and shatter with polarizing extremes, silicone towers above the rest. Another feature of silicone is its ability to insulate glass and protect it from extreme temperatures. Some bowls feature a silicone exterior which acts as a buffer to mitigate heat and prevent it from cracking.

Smoking in the Wintertime

An incredibly cold glass piece can crack and shatter if used immediately. Say you left your piece in a car overnight with freezing temperatures and you decide to smoke either a fresh bowl or what’s left inside. You light up your freezing pipe and bam, you hear a loud pop. You just cracked your piece because you failed to acclimate it to a warmer temperature.

These extreme contrasts create stress within inflexible material such as glass and will result in cracks. This is especially true during the wintertime. Silicone does not suffer from these downsides. You can leave a silicone pipe frozen in the freezer and pull it out to take a hit and still maintain the integrity of your pipe.

Unlike glass and other fragile materials such as ceramic, silicone can be used in extreme cold without freezing your hands and lips. Nothing is as uncomfortable as putting either a freezing cold pipe to your lips or an extremely hot and burning piece. Silicone has a somewhat gripped and textured surface that is impermeable, which makes it perfect for both heat and cold absorption.

The Best Way to Enjoy Using a Silicone Pipe in the Winter

The truth is that smoking from a silicone pipe is much more enjoyable in cold temperatures than it is in hot temperatures. First off, silicone can get hot enough to warp and melt if you leave it out in the sun for an extended period, or if you apply heat directly to the silicone. Cold weather eliminates this scenario and provides an environment that is better suited to accommodate using a silicone pipe.

While silicone is great at dispersing heat, it is not impervious to damage from direct heat. While it will not crack or break, using a hot silicone pipe in a hot environment is not really a great idea. The best way to ensure the integrity of your silicone piece is to enjoy using it in cooler environments away from the hot summer sun.

Wintertime is perfect because the heat from the sun is minimal and further buffered by a cold atmosphere. This keeps your pipe nice and cool, even if you happen to be under the sun. Indoors or outdoors, using a silicone piece when the environment is cold will keep your pipe in tip top shape because the threat of heat damage is drastically reduced. Feel free to use it on a cold day in winter!

Final Thought

Silicone pipes are among the best types of pipes to use in a myriad of different situations. They are easy to clean and will not break with everyday use. Being practically accident-proof makes them desirable for newbies and experienced users alike.

Cold weather does not negatively affect a silicone pipe’s performance the way summer heat can. Winter usually has very cold weather and little risk for sun damage to the skin, which translates to minimal risk to your silicone pipe. 

Always remember to keep your pipes clean during the winter though, since resins and other accumulated debris can severely gunk up and clog your silicone pipes with extremely cold temperatures!

Related Blog Posts

Silicone Pipes - The Complete List

Are Silicone Pipes Dangerous

Why Choose Silicone Water Pipes?