With Ohio one year into marijuana legalization, many new headshops have opened in my area. It’s actually amazing to realize just how many smoke and vape shops have popped up everywhere. You’ll even see that lots of gas stations have bright LED signs advertising “VAPE” or “SMOKE SHOP”.

While Black Friday shopping this year I wanted to find unique yet useful gifts for my stoner buddies. I came across a new lighter from RAW called the Phoenix, specifically designed for cannabis consumption.

Unique features about this product include a wide grip, bowl poker tool and wind guard for optimal outdoor use. The Phoenixes were low-priced so I picked up one for myself and a few for my friends.

The RAW Phoenix lighter is slightly wider and slightly thinner than a standard BIC lighter. The spark mechanism is activated by clicking a button. Usually I prefer lighters that use the BIC-style roller to spark the flint, but I will get used to the Phoenix’s clicker with some time.

To reveal the flame size adjuster, move the wind guard slider downwards. This will also expose the bowl poker/snuffer from the bottom of the lighter. The poker isn’t sharp so not only is it safe but it’s also great for packing ground cannabis down into joints and pre-rolled cones.

I found that the poker gets resinous during use and when you retract it back into its snug home, the marijuana residue flies out in all directions on your table and lap. This is not exactly ideal, so if you can, wipe the bowl poker off before retraction.

Slide the poker up all the way to utilize the wind guard feature. When lighting joints outdoors this extra coverage helps keep your flame stable and even. It’s a genius feature that works better than I thought it would.

However, it’s not great for smoking bowls, as tilting the lighter will cause the flame to touch the wind guard. Thankfully the normal flame without the wind guard is pretty strong, so outdoor bowl smoking is still entirely possible with the Phoenix. You’ll just have to get used to constantly pushing in that click mechanism as opposed to using the BIC’s smooth and easy roller.

The bottom of the device has a refill hole so you can fill it with butane when it dies out. The device has a solid feel and is well-made. I’ve only used it for a few days but it seems like it will last a long time with normal use. I am looking forward to gifting the RAW Phoenix to my friends this holiday season!