Bong Shop

Are you looking for the perfect bong for you? Whether made of glass, acrylic or ceramic. This bong collection is impressive. And not just with the huge selection of bongs from different brands and variants. Every bong friend will find their new companion here.

Material: What is your bong made of?

The raw material is the most important factor when deciding what to buy. What should your bong be made of? The range of available glass bongs is by far the largest, as the material has several advantages.

• Hygienic material, easy to clean
• Very temperature-resistant
• Customised design and features
• Modularly expandable with pre-cooler, activated charcoal adapter, vaporiser, diffuser or oil attachment
• Standardised grindings in the sizes 14.5 mm, 18.8 mm and 29.2 mm

If the choice is not glass, it is usually acrylic or plastic, which have the advantage of relative break resistance and portability. However, there are not as many accessories as for glass bongs and the choice of heads is limited to models with a screw thread. However, this in turn also increases compatibility with simple screw-in pipes with screw-in bowls.

Finally, there are countless bongs and bubblers made from other materials - e.g. bamboo, ceramic, stainless steel or aluminium. Each variant has its strengths and its favourite areas of use.

• Very imaginatively designed motif pipes are often made from ceramic. Aliens, dragons, skulls - nothing is impossible
• Bamboo is a rapidly renewable resource and a genuine natural material. The first bongs were probably made of bamboo - classic.
• Stainless steel and aluminium serve the same purpose: robust with a good cooling effect. Which metal comes into question is a matter of personal preference

Ultimately, feeling and experience decide whether you prefer a pipe made of glass, acrylic or alternative materials in the long term or whether you should simply buy different bongs for different purposes. To make the choice easier, we provide professional pictures to show you exactly what to expect before you buy, especially with glass bongs, which are difficult to visualise.

Bong equipment: designs, features and functions

What criteria should you look out for when buying a bong? What features should an upmarket bong have? Different glass thicknesses, cut sizes and designs are just a few aspects. Some innovations such as the percolator have become established and are increasingly common, while some designs are now considered outdated.

• Size and shape of the bong: The height and design of a bong determines the volume of smoke and water, but there are other aspects too: When used with a pre-cooler, for example, a low centre of gravity is important to prevent the bong from tipping over. A sphere naturally has a larger capacity than a cylinder.
• Ground joint size: Most accessories are available for the standard size 18.8 mm (also known as NS19), followed by the 14.5 mm variant (NS 14). Really large bongs are occasionally equipped with a 29.2 mm ground joint - here it becomes somewhat more difficult with the availability of spare parts. The same applies to very small pipes with a 12.5 mm ground joint, for which almost no extension options are available without an adapter.
• Kick hole: The position of the kick hole is initially decisive for whether you can smoke the bong comfortably as a left or right-hander - some have therefore positioned the hole in the centre. If a manufacturer dispenses with the kick hole altogether, the head must be lifted to smoke. Lift-off handles make this much easier.
• Wall thickness: from 3 mm is a good standard for glass bongs, 5 mm is already quite stable, from 7 mm tipping over can no longer damage the pipe.
• Ice compartment: Punctures, notches or a similar device at the top end of the smoke pipe are called an ice compartment. Ice cubes can be inserted here and - at least until they have melted - the smoke can be cooled down.
• Percolator: Percolators work more or less according to the principle of an espresso pot - they restrict the flow of water at certain construction points in the bong and thus ensure homogeneous mixing of the smoke. In contrast to espresso, which is enjoyed hot, the smoke is softened and cooled.

Bong accessories for expansion

Most bongs are now fully equipped as standard and can be smoked straight from the factory, provided you have suitable screens. Either a dip tube with screw head, a one-piece chillum with head or a multi-part plug-in system consisting of glass head and dip tube / chillum is included. Useful accessories can be:

• Diffuser chillum: this dip tube, perforated at the lower end, swirls the smoke, creating a cooling effect
• Pre-cooler: This attachment is placed between the bowl and bong and cools the smoke, but also acts as an ash catcher and keeps the pipe clean.
• Activated charcoal adapter: Here too, the actual bowl is replaced and attached to the adapter. Loose activated charcoal is inserted, which filters pollutants out of the smoke and makes smoking milder.
• Vaporiser: There are both vaporiser heads and electronic vaporisers that have a hose connection or an adapter for bongs. Both are ways of dispensing with combustion and vaporising instead.
• Oil attachment / dome and nail: Used for dabbing, i.e. smoking oil and aromatic essences. They are usually equipped with a so-called male cut, which requires either an oil bong or a corresponding cut adapter.

The historical story of the bong

Given the current variety of models, it is certainly interesting to take a look back in time. The history of smoking with a water-filled vessel has a very long tradition, which, however, has left little written record, as it was an everyday cultural technique that was passed down orally. Historically, water pipes originate from Asian cultures and were probably first made from coconuts and bamboo pipes in their original form. These pipes were mostly disposable objects that were designed as single-use bongs and could simply be disposed of after use - in contrast to the elaborately carved and decorated tobacco pipes.

From the disposable bong to its current form, there have been countless stages of development, including the narghilè or shisha, the water pipe that is widespread in the Arab world. It was industrially manufactured relatively early on. What you can buy in bong shops today is basically a further development of the original American concept from the 1960s - straight pipe, stand, removable bowl. In Germany, the first imports from India began in the 1970s - Bam Bam Bhole Berlin, for example, has had its GW1 (the glass water pipe 1) in its range for almost 40 years. This is probably the oldest machine-made water pipe or bong that is still available in Germany.

Many manufacturers now have their products made in large glass factories in China, and imports from India have become a rarity. In the higher price brackets, on the other hand, there are many traditional glass blowers or laboratory glass manufacturers who have discovered an interesting market for themselves with bongs and accessories.