California White Sage Large 8-9" (2 pack)

I read some of the reviews on here, and I always try something my own self before forming an opinion about it, but some of these less-than-three star reviews I have to agree with, while my experience also matches other more positive reviews.I try to sage my house about three times a week. I'd say this product would get just under "heavy-use" in my household. Since I received this item last month, I've used about 3 inches of it; I still have 6 inches to go, or about TWO MONTHS worth of sage left. So, for about $7 and weekly usage, I have about 5-6 months of sage between both 9" sticks (if my math didnt fail me).I like the smell of sage, and I've used a couple very pleasant smelling ones. This one is very smoky scented when burned as compared to the more fragrant ones I've used in the past. Not that I or the one other person in my home minds the smell, I only light it when I'm certain to leave the house shortly after; the smell does linger, though. So users with other roomies should probably resort to light use and short sessions with these sticks.When I read some of the reviews, I noticed some people giving less stars for packaging; this is one of the comments I can agree with. When I unwrapped my bundles, they were practically shedding like a yellow lab in the summer time. I didnt mind TOO much, though, because while some might consider this a waste of product, I still had two intact 9in bundles to light. Some users may like the loose leaves to use as potpourri or loose incense.Another point some reviews brought up that I can agree with is the burn time. This is the main point in which I rated less than 4 stars. I have to light this thing using my stove flame, and it still doesnt smoke for very long, sometimes going out after a minute of my in-house smudging. This may be unsatisfactory to some users who like prolonged use of their sage, or some users who smudge large spaces (who also may not want to carry a lighter or matches along). I;ve found that I can let it sit (on a safe non-flammable ash tray or incense holder surface) while I make breakfast or do my morning routine, and still be in good conscience that it wont burn overmuch in waste, or burn my house down while I'm not paying attention. BUT PLEASE, I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS AS IT IS NOT FIRE SAFE PROTOCOL!!! Do not leave any flames unattended!!!I'm not sure what may cause it to have such a short smolder time, but it may be because of how loose it is wrapped. If I didn't re-wrap and tie some parts of my bundle, i feel that it would probably just fall apart. Smudge sticks usually dont come with knots tied in them, so it is not abnormal that these sticks arent tied together /securely/, but I'm sure they could burn better with better wrap-age.So, IN SUMMARY:I gave this 3 stars because it doesn't burn as well as other smudge sticks I've used, unfortunately it is very loosely tied, and the scent is smokier than other more fragrant sage bundles I've had. But, these two 9in sticks will LAST a long time (about 5-6mo between both sticks with almost daily usage [see math above]), for 7 bucks!! Price saved this product's review, plus I'm not one to cry too hard over spilt milk. It also looks just like the picture.

These smudging sticks are HUGE. The picture is very accurate. They are about 9" long and 2" in diameter. They were shipped wrapped in bubble wrap in heavy mylar mailer. They arrived in just a couple of days - quicker than most mail order these days - and in excellent shape. This is a GREAT value for the money if you need smudging stick.There is a down side to these mammoth smudge sticks, though. If you light the entire diameter, they put out a LOT of smoke. I'm talking so much smoke I was honestly worried that not only would my smoke alarm go off, it was going to detach itself from the ceiling, walk over to the phone and call the fire department on its own!I'm new to smudging, so I don't know if that's the kind of smoke you really need, but I wasn't prepared for that. I felt like I really had to rush through the house smudging each room before the billowing clouds took over. It also drops a lot of glowing ash as it goes. Be sure to have something to catch the ash besides your hand. Oh, and BTW, make sure to hold it so the ash doesn't drop on your hand, either. Yeah. Tips from learning the hard way. Because I was so rushed due to the smoke quantities streaming from the end of the stick, I didn't really feel that the smudging was quite the meditative process it was supposed to be. On the plus side, there's enough sage for dozens of smudgings.

Update Sept 6, 2013I've tried other varieties of sage recently, from other vendors on Amazon...and I just had to admit this: the sage from this vendor is honestly THE BEST. If you look at my earlier review, you can understand that this statement does not come lightly. I tried about 3 other varieties, and they were absolutely ATROCIOUS! I wanted to gag, the smoke was unbelievably pungent. Not it doesn't have a smokey smell to it, but honestly, it's the best kind that's out there, hands down! My apologies to the vendors for leaving a less than stellar review the last time. I can admit I'm wrong when I need to. Please PLEASE continue to sell your product. And thank you for doing so.**quick note: I've found that burning frakincense-myrrh sticks with the sage really offsets that strange smokey smell. That's been the remedy for me. Hope it helps for others! :)_______________________________________________________________________________________I really wanted to give this a great review, but after using these smudge sticks a few more times, I found it was just way too "smokey" smelling! It was strange, because the first night I smudged, it was very cleansing, and was a pleasant smell. But then after smudging two more times in the week, I smell more of burned wood smell, and it was not all the pleasant. I'm going to see if I can change how much I burn, and duration of the burn, and will come back with an update soon.

For the 2 large sticks this price is a real deal. Well done. Smell is fantastic. Burn great. Thank you. Quick delivery.My personal preference that I noticed was the bundles needed better string wrapping.

Fairly easy to use, lit easily and was able to use for several smudgings! New to smudging so wanted something affordable and easy to start off with :)

My wife loves her sage!She loves the smell of it.Good product

Im not sure why but it burnt completely from top to bottom only on the INSIDE. The outside looked untouched and it was smoking everywhere and we realized it had burnt through on only the inside.

Nice smell but not so tightly bound as many I have bought so will burn out much more quickly