Whether it’s for flowers, dry herbs, or tobacco- savvy smokers have known about water pipes for millennia! Glass bongs filter and cool dry herbs or tobacco to provide a kinder, gentler smoking experience, often with internal percolators to create an even smoother smoke. The popularity of water filtration grew as tobacco cemented itself as a global cash crop and people all over the world were looking for new, cooler ways to enjoy their smoking experience.
If you have money to spend on something amazing than go for the glass with extra accessories like a a showerhead perc and an ice pinch. A standard glass bong will typically come with a downstem and an ice pincher. For more complex bongs, they are designed with options to add on extensions and filters such as an ash catcher or percolator. You can customize your piece to your liking and add as many percolators as your bong allows. An ash catcher will function as an extra filtration system to catch any ash or small weed particles that may have made its way through your water pipe upon inhaling.
Silicone bongs are nearly impossible to break, due to the fact that silicone bongs can be bent in half. Bongs with percolators are less durable than other bongs, along with porcelain and ceramic bongs. For glass bongs and water pipes, the thicker the glass, the less likely the bong would break on impact.
As you may have guessed, the watermelon is the vessel, and the carrot is the downstem and bowl. Now, you may be thinking, “wait a minute, you forgot the water for this DIY water bong.” With a watermelon and carrot, you don’t need to add water because you can just use the watermelon juice. Today, the best glass pipes serve as more than a smoking device. In the tradition of Snodgrass, glass blowers have created an art surrounding the craft of bong-making. Thanks to the craftiness of the cannabis community, water bongs are now a highly functional, interactive art piece.
If you like smoking in style then glass pipes are the right option for you. To keep your bong in pristine condition you will want to clean it after every use, but I know that’s a lot to ask so cleaning every few uses will work too. Start by emptying the ash from the bowl and put it in a ziplock with alcohol and salt, do the same thing with the down stem. Move them around and gently shake the bag to release the resin from the parts. When the tube or chamber is full you will need to clear it, to do so remove the bowl from the downstem as you continue to pull in the smoke.
Once you have the right amount of water in the bong and a fully-packed bowl, it’s time to have some fun. Place your lips on the mouthpiece located at the top of the neck, light the tobacco and start breathing in. Once you’ve reached your lung capacity, pull the bowl out for an intense sensation of smoke and then breathe out slowly and chill.