Which Cannabis Bong suits you best?
Nowadays we have so many different ways of consuming our cannabis. From blunts to joints and oils to waxes and edibles, the list goes on. Despite all the new methods for taking our cannabis, when it comes to smoking, the bong is the ultimate experience. There are many ways to consume your herb, just as there are loads of different types of bongs to choose from.
Knowledge is power, and we want you to be as informed as possible. We want you to know the difference between a blunt and a joint, and we want you to be able to tell the difference between a gravity bong and a percolator bong. That’s why this guide was created, to help you identify the types of bongs available to you and how they can improve your smoking experience.
First, we are going to cover the various materials from which bongs are made. Then we will see the benefits and drawbacks of each and move into the numerous bong designs you can choose from.
What is a Bong?
A bong is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances.
Bong Vs. Joint
With a joint, you’re not just smoking cannabis but paper too, Bongs, however, not only give a bigger hit but you’re only smoking cannabis.
Why use a Bong…
Well, if you’re looking for a smoother hit, a bong will give you just that compared to smoking your cannbis in a rolled up paper joint or smoking though a dry pipe.
Glass
Glass Boings are the most popular material used to manufacture bongs.
Glass Bongs
This material provides a clean and pure taste that doesn’t affect the flavor of the smoke. Glass is easy to monitor resin build-up because you can see through it.
Glass is also very easy to clean when the resin becomes a problem. Because of these factors, glass bongs are generally more expensive than bongs made from other materials.
Plastic Bongs
They are extremely durable and can withstand a situation when you have a coughing fit and drop it. These bongs are also a lot cheaper when compared to other materials.
Bongs made from plastic are great for traveling because they are difficult to break and don’t shatter or crack like glass or ceramic. The only downside to plastic bongs is they affect the taste of your smoke.
Plastic
Plastic is the next material on our list and is probably the second most popular after glass for making bongs.
Ceramic
Ceramic bongs tend to be heavier and more robust when compared to other materials on our list.
Ceramic Bongs
For that reason and because they can be fragile, ceramic bongs don’t tend to travel well. They do, however, come in all sorts of novelty shapes, sizes, and colours thanks to the fact that clay is extremely malleable and easy to work with.
Ceramic bongs tend to be more expensive than plastic because of the work that goes into building them. Though a ceramic bong might not be your daily bong, they are certainly great for special occasions or to display on your shelf or in a cabinet.
Bamboo
This is another popular material from which bongs are made.
Bamboo Bongs
Bamboo bongs can range from basic (a simple tube sealed at the bottom) to fancy and ornate with metal bits, varnish, and paint incorporated into the design.
Bongs made from bamboo are also very durable meaning that your bamboo bong will pretty much last forever if you look after it.
Metal Bongs
Compared to glass or plastic, bongs made of metal is very durable and long lasting. It is also fairly cheap.
The downside to metal bongs is that they can affect the taste of your smoke and you never really know when its time to clean resin-build-up.
Metal
Metal is a material used for making bongs although this practice is not very common…
Cannabis Bong Designs
Now that we have covered the different materials bongs are built from, we can move onto bong design.
As you can imagine, some materials are a lot easier to work with or are cheaper to produce. These bongs are more common but any of the above materials can be used to make any design.
Straigtht-Tube
The first design is the straight-tube bong. These bongs are the simplest design available. They consist of a simple tube sealed at one end with a stem and a bowl poking out the one side. You simply pour a bit of water in the tube, put some ground up bud in the bowl and light up. Its a straight-forward and easy form of smoking and delivers a banging experience.
Carb Bong
The bong you own or potentially want to buy will either have a hole somewhere on the tube or maybe on the bowl itself. If your bong has a hole, it’s a carburetor bong. If there is no hole then it’s not. Pretty simple right? Having a carb on your bong is not necessary but a lot of smokers (me included) feel that having a carb gives you a much more intense bong hit. This happens because the carb hole lets fresh air into the tube which forces the smoke into your lungs and allows you to rip the pipe clean!
Beaker Shape
The straight-tube bong is very similar to the next bong on our list. The beaker-shaped bong is the same2 except the bottom is flared into a cone shape like a beaker. The smoking process is the same, simply add water, a little bud, and light up. Beaker-shaped bongs are more stable than straight tube bongs because of the large base. These bongs are more common in glass because of the beaker shape.
Round Based
Round-base bongs are like the beaker-base in that they have wider bases than the mouthpiece and tube. As the name suggests, round-base bongs have a ball-shaped water chamber and a flat base. They are less stable than beaker bongs because of the small flat surface but more stable than straight-tube bongs. No matter the shape of the bong, be it straight, round or beaker shape, the method of using them is the same.
Percolator
A percolator or bubbler bong can be a round-base, beaker-shaped, straight-tube or pretty much any design you can think of. What makes a percolator bong is a small percolator that it contains. This device is a piece of glass that dissipates the smoke before if passes through the water and causes a bubbling effect in the bong. The percolator spreads the smoke out in a way that helps to filter it better and cool it quicker.
Multi-Chamber
A recycler bong or multi-chamber bong is a variation of a straight-tube bong. Although the chambers can come in a variety of shapes, the straight tube is separated into two chambers. These two chambers are connected by a tube or a third chamber. Both upper and lower chambers hold water, so the smoke is filtered twice. This design produces a much cooler and smoother smoke than the straight-tube, beaker or round base bongs. Building multi-chamber bongs are more difficult than other designs. Because of the complexity, these bongs are more expensive and a lot harder to clean than others on our list.
Gravity Bong
Gravity bongs work off the vacuum that is created by water leaving an enclosed space. Gravity bongs come in two separate designs: Bucket and waterfall (also on our list). The simplest version of the gravity bong is by using a plastic bottle and a bucket filled with water. This one is a heavy-hitter and can be a fun little DIY project with a couple like-minded mates. A homemade gravity bong is good fun but if want to smoke with this method often than consider getting a professionally built model.
Waterfall Bong
The waterfall gravity bong is very similar to the bucket gravity bong. The difference is that instead of pulling the bottle up to draw the smoke, you drain the water out the bottom to create a vacuum and fill with smoke. When you light your bud and let the water drain from the bottom, it pulls the smoke down into the bottle. When all the water has drained, place your finger over the hole and remove the cap from the top. You can then inhale to your heart’s content and your lungs capacity. Just like the bucket gravity bong, you can make a waterfall gravity bong from household materials, but again, if you want to use it regularly then look at a professionally made one.
Try them out…
Recreational cannabis is all about having fun. We don’t need to make smoking cannabis any more complicated than it has to be. Therefore, I recommend trying different as many of the bongs we have covered in this guide. By doing this you will not only find which bong works best for you, but you will have loads of fun doing it.