Canoeing is, unfortunately, a very common occurrence when it comes to joints, to the point where many people will actually decide to only smoke using bongs or pipes because of how annoying this issue can be.
A joint will canoe when it starts to burn on one side but not the other, causing the joint to look like a canoe and burn a lot faster than it’s supposed to, which can end up costing you a lot of money and weed.
It’s normal for inexperienced smokers to accidentally form a canoe with their first joint, but it’s always worth learning how to prevent it so that it doesn’t affect your smoking experience in the future.
Here are some tips on how you can prevent a joint from burning unevenly, along with how to stop the joint from burning entirely.
How To Stop A Joint From Burning Unevenly
There’s not one definitive way to prevent a joint from becoming a canoe. Instead, there are actually several different tips to keep in mind when you’re rolling your next joint that will ensure it burns at a normal pace so that you won’t have to worry.
Here is what you should always consider before you smoke to prevent a canoe from occurring:
Practice Your Rolling
The biggest reason why so many beginners will end up having a canoe in their joints is that they haven’t taken the time to perfect their rolling technique and have instead rushed the process so that they can get to smoking as soon as possible.
Making sure that your papers are tightly wrapped around the weed is incredibly important since too much space between the two will cause the flame from the lighter to travel unevenly and at a much faster rate, so if you press down on the joint with your fingers and notice a considerable amount of free space in between, it can be worth re-rolling.
At the same time, you also don’t want the paper to literally be strapped to the weed otherwise the joint will be unsmokable, so it’s never a bad idea to get some practice in until you find that sweet spot.
Evenly Distribute The Flower
Don’t be one of those people who packs a little bit of weed near the filter and then a big clump of it at the end. This is another easy way to cause a canoe as the flame will struggle to travel at a consistent pace and will end up reaching across the side.
Therefore, make sure your flower is always evenly distributed across the paper, even if you have longer papers and worry that it might mean you end up with an extra-thin joint, at least it will burn at a much slower pace so you can savor it rather than having to race the canoe.
Use The Tip Of The Flame
When you light up a joint, you ideally want the end of it to look nice and circular when it begins burning, just the same as a cigarette, so rather than dousing the tip of the joint with the flame which will end up burning it and causing a canoe, instead, gently touch the top of the flame to the joint, and wait until it’s ready to start burning.
Avoid The Wind
If there’s heavy wind outside and you have a joint in hand ready to spark up, you should always find somewhere indoors or somewhere that at least gives you some cover from the harsh weather since it’s not only going to make the joint burn faster, but it will also move the flame of the lighter around, making a canoe much more likely.
How Do You Stop A Joint From Burning To Save It?
Canoeing can definitely ruin an otherwise nice and peaceful smoke session, but what’s even more annoying is when the flame suddenly begins to grow twice in size, causing the joint to burn.
Of course, if this happens, you should immediately blow the flame out so that it doesn’t become a safety hazard, and also because the flame will travel extremely quickly and will be able to burn through an entire joint in just a few seconds, ruining it completely.
If you have a fireproof surface nearby such as bricks, concrete, or stone, then you can also stub it against these to put out the fire, but always make sure if you do this that there is no chance of the flame landing on any carpet or a surface that can be burned nearby.
But what if the damage has already been done?
If you notice that a portion of the joint has turned completely black, or if you can see through the paper that the weed has become black or brown, use a pair of sharp scissors or a knife to separate this section and throw it away.
You’re not going to be able to re-light the end of the joint if it has already been damaged by a flame, so to continue smoking, you’re going to need to cut it off entirely, especially since you also don’t want to be getting the taste of burnt weed in your mouth.
There are a few ways you can prevent a joint from burning too fast, many of which are the same as preventing canoes such as always making sure your papers are tightly attached and never exposing the joint to too much heat from the lighter all at once.
Summary
Canoeing is something that everyone who has ever smoked a joint will unfortunately run into at some point or another, but while many people will simply forget about it and hope it never happens again, they will be wishing that they looked up how to prevent it the next time their joint starts to burn unevenly.
It’s therefore never a bad idea to do some quick research beforehand to find out how to prevent this annoying occurrence from ruining your smoking experience, so make sure to keep your papers tight, avoid any harsh weather, and only use the very tip of your lighter when it’s time to spark up.
Hi, I’m Zack Finch and I work as a Budtender for a Health & Wellness center here, in sunny California. I have been using marijuana recreationally for around 6 years now, and have many a time enjoyed the benefit that weed has to offer.
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