Bong Shop

Material selection: What should you be smoking?

If you are looking to buy a bong, the raw material comes first. What should it be made of? The range of available glass bongs is by far the widest and there are many good reasons to trust its transparent elegance:

• Hygienic material, easy to clean
• Very heat resistant
• Individual design and equipment
• Modular and expandable with precoolers, activated carbon adapters, vaporizers, diffusers or dabbing accessories
• Standardized ground joints in the sizes 14.5mm, 18.8mm and 29.2 mm

If a glass bong is not your choice, then it is often an acrylic or plastic bong. This material has the advantage of relatively high resistance and portability. However, this is usually to the detriment of flexibility, as there are no such extensive accessories. The selection of bowls is also limited to models with screw thread. However, this in turn also increases the compatibility with simple screw-in pipes with screw-on bowls.

Finally, there are countless bongs and bubblers made of other materials - e. g. bamboo, ceramics, stainless steel or aluminium. Each variant has its strengths and preferred areas of application.

• Ceramic is used to produce very fancifully designed pipes: Aliens, dragons, skulls - nothing is impossible
• Bamboo is a rapidly renewable raw material and a genuine natural material. The first bongs were probably made of bamboo - classic.
• Stainless steel and aluminium fulfil the same purpose: Robust with good cooling effect. Which metal you choose is a matter of personal preference

Ultimately, your own feeling and experience should decide whether a pipe made of glass, acrylic or alternative materials should be the one you prefer in the long term, or whether you simply like different bongs for what they do and use them for different purposes. In order to make the selection easier, we provide professional pictures to show you exactly what you can expect, especially in the case of glass bongs which are somewhat difficult to set in scene.

Size matters, but so does thickness - and adaptability!

So, what are the criteria to consider when buying a bong? What features must a high-end bong have? Different glass thicknesses, cut sizes and designs are just some of the aspects. Some innovations such as the Percolator have become established and are becoming more and more common, and some construction methods are now considered obsolete.

• Size and design: The height and construction of a bong determines the volume of smoke and water, but there are other aspects: When used with a precooler, for example, a low centre of gravity is important to prevent the bong from tipping over. A spherical shape has a larger capacity than a cylinder.
• Ground joint / connector: The lab standard joint size 18,8mm is the one with most available accessories, followed by the 14,5mm variant. Really big bongs are occasionally equipped with a 29.2mm ground joint - it's a little more complicated to find spare parts for those. The same applies to very small pipes with a 12.5mm connection size - you'll find very few expansion options outside of using joint adapters and enlarging the connection, which in turn might cause other inconveniences.
• Shot hole: The position of the air hole is decisive for whether you can smoke the bong comfortably as a left- or right-handed person - some of them have the hole in the middle. If a manufacturer decides to lose (or rather: not to implement) the shot hole completely, you'll have to hit the bong by lifting the bowl. Lift-off handles make this much easier.
• Wall thickness: 3mm is a good standard for glass bongs, don't got below that. 5mm thick glass is quite stable, 7mm will normally take tipping over and other shenanigans without the slightest damage.
• Ice tray: Inserts, notches or similar devices at the top end of the bong's tube are usually called ice trays. Here, ice cubes can be filled in and - at least until they have melted - cool the smoke down.
• Percolator: Percolators operate more or less according to the principle of an espresso pot - they restrict the water flow at a certain construction points in the bong and thus ensure a homogeneous mixing of the smoke. In contrast to espresso, which should be enjoyed hot, the smoke is softened and cooled.

A compilation of greatest hits: Accessories

Some time ago, bongs usually came without adapters and bowl. This has changed a lot. By default, most of the bongs are now ready-for smoking directly after unboxing, provided that you have some pipe screens. There is either an alunium tube with screw-on bowl, a one-piece chillum with bowl or a multi-part downpipe system consisting of a glass bowl and tube for immersion / chillum included. Useful accessories can be:

• Diffusor chillum: this tube, perforated at the bottom, swirls the smoke, creating a cooling effect
• Precooler: This attachment is placed between the bowl and the body and cools the smoke on the one hand, but also serves as an ash catcher and keeps the pipe clean.
• activated carbon adapter: Here too, the actual bowl is replaced and plugged onto the adapter. You fill in loose activated carbon, which filters pollutants from the smoke and makes smoking smoother.
• Vaporizer: There are both vaporizer bowls and electronic vapes with a hose connection or an adapter for bongs. Both are possibilities to reduce combustion and vaporize instead.
• Oil Attachment / Dome and Nail: Serves for dabbing, i. e. smoking of oil and aromatic essences. They are usually provided with a so-called male joint which requires either a dab rig or a corresponding adapter.

A brief history of smoking with water-filled vessels

Given the current variety of models, it is certainly also interesting to take a look at the past. The history of smoking with a water-filled vessel has a very long tradition, but it has left little written records, as it was a very common and orally transmitted cultural technique. Historically, water pipes come from the Asian culture and were probably originally made from coconuts and bamboo. These pipes were mostly disposable objects and could easily be dismantled, recycled or discarded after use - in contrast to the elaborately carved and decorated tobacco pipes of the 17th century, for example.

From the disposable bong to its present form, there are countless development steps, including the narghilè or hookah, the water pipe that is widespread in the Arab world. It was manufactured industrially at a relatively early stage. What you can buy today in bong shops is basically a further development of the American original concept from the 1960s - straight tube, stand, detachable bowl.

In the meantime, many manufacturers have their products manufactured in large glass factories in China; imports from India have become a rarity. In the upper price ranges, however, there are many traditional glassblowing or laboratory glassware manufacturers who have discovered an interesting market for themselves with bongs and accessories.