A cone is incense compressed into a shape that burns from the top down. It gives a shorter, denser burn than a stick, and because there is no bamboo core it produces no wood smoke — which is why cones smell cleaner than dipped sticks.
Solid cones and backflow cones are not interchangeable
This is the single most common thing people get wrong. A backflow cone has a hole running up through the middle. That hole is what lets cooled smoke travel down through the burner instead of rising, which is the entire waterfall effect.
Put a solid cone on a backflow burner and nothing happens: the smoke goes up like any other incense and you conclude the burner is broken. It is not. Check the base of the cone for a hole before you blame the burner.
Why a cone keeps going out
Three causes, in order of how often they are actually the problem.
- Not lit long enough. A cone needs the tip properly glowing before you blow it out — give it a good twenty seconds of flame, then check for an even orange ring across the tip. A partial ember dies within a minute.
- Sitting in its own ash. Cones burn downward and the ash stays put. In a narrow holder the ash smothers the ember. Use a flat dish or a holder with an air gap underneath.
- Damp. Incense absorbs moisture from the air. A cone from a box that has been open in a bathroom for six months will fight you. Store them sealed.
We have written this up in more detail for burners specifically in why your backflow burner is not working.
Cones or sticks
Cones give a stronger scent over a shorter time; sticks give a lighter one for longer. For a small room a cone can be too much — a single cone in a bathroom is genuinely overpowering. There is a fuller comparison in sticks or cones.
Incense powder, and makko
Loose incense powder is burned on a charcoal disc or, in Japanese practice, in a trail of makko — a combustible bark powder that carries the burn without charcoal. Makko is what makes a cone hold together and burn evenly in the first place; buying it loose lets you shape the burn yourself. It is a step up in fiddliness and a step up in control.