I've been buying this same product at a local store for ~15 years. I bought it off Amazon recently because I was house bound after surgery and the quality is NOT the same. A bunch of the tabs just keep going out and I end up throwing them away. Others, I just have to keep going by blowing on them gently.In the 15 years I've been buying these at the store, I've never had that happen with one single tab. This has happened to me with other products before: the quality was not remotely the same when I purchased it off Amazon. The packaging looks exactly the same, there's no sign I can see that it's counterfeit, but it just isn't nearly as good. I don't know why that is.Anyway. I am extremely sensitive to artificial or chemical smells and the scent of this brand has never bothered me at all. There's a light charcoal scent right when I light it but it only lasts a few seconds.It does spark a little bit right when you light it. I usually put it on top of a bowl of clean sand. If you just put it on one of those little metal disks or a ceramic burner or something, it will spark a bit for maybe 30 seconds. It gets hot very fast so I light it, hold it at an angle for a few seconds to let it catch, and then set it on top of the sand. Then I put my incense on top of that. Cone incense, or resin or saw dust (like palo santo) is what works with these, of course.When it's done, there's a little pile of ash on top of the sand that I can pick up carefully in one piece with a fork and toss out. All good.I've never used this for hookah so I can't comment on that. It's been a long time since I smoked hookah! Read more

I did not receive the Swift Lite tablets that I had ordered, and instead received a box of De-lites brand charcoal- this listing is false advertising. I am NOT satisfied, because I specifically wanted the Swift Lite brand charcoal. The De-lites charcoal they sent me start with a lot more smoke and have a much stronger smell than other brands I have used before. I use the charcoal to burn incense resin indoors and the charcoal smell is overpowering at the beginning. Now I have 10 packs of a sub-par product.The charcoal I received lit without any problems and lasted as long as other brands I have tried previously, which is why I gave it 2 stars instead of 1. The downside to the de-lites is the smoke, smell, and larger than normal pops and sputters when first lighting up. Read more

After being burned (haha) with a few brands of charcoal, I found SwiftLite to actually be... swift lighting. A few seconds with a lighter has them going, although I sometimes use a torch to get one side hot faster - I'm sure this reduces the lifespan of the briquette.They burn fairly quickly, but retain heat for quite awhile after most of the brick is depleted. I'm able to keep resin incense going on it for some time, often up to half an hour. I however also tend to not clear out the brick bowl for awhile to help further retain heat (pressing a new brick into the ash). Read more

These swift lite tablets actually work! Once you light one edge it sparks all the way through. You do not have to worrry about sitting there with a lighter for minutes trying to get the disk to burn. A previous brand I bought was a pain and does not come close to the quality of De-Lites swift lite tablets. Definitely will be purchasing again hands down! Read more

I would give this negative stars if I could. This charcoal is terrible. I tried burning resin incense but the charcoal’s smoky smell overpowered it. It produced lots of smoke.. Read more

Not what I ordered!!! I ordered swift-lights and got these instead. They crackle and pop while heating up. Beware. Read more

These have never had an issue lighting. Some brands can have duds. Not a one with this company yet. They have a nice burn time too. Read more

These smoke excessively to the point it set my fire alarm off. Can't be used indoors at our place. Read more