A Bong Buyer’s Guide To Glass

There are few things more exciting than adding a new piece of glass to your collection, whether you’re someone who focuses on the appearance, the smoke, or durability, we’ll attempt to assist you with making your next bong purchase. The thing about buying glass is that it’s very subjective. What intrigues me as a smoker may not intrigue you, and the traits I need out of my bong may not be the same as what you need for yourself.

So where does one start? Not to worry, we’ve put together a few questions you can ask yourself, along with some options that best fit your answers.

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. What is your budget?
2. What size bong do you want?
3. Straight or beaker?
4. Are perculators worth it?
5. Are aesthetics important?
6. How clumsy are you?
7. Is it important to have something that’s unique?
8. Do I want something that’s quick and easy to clean?

Budget

• Bongs can get expensive, but consider what you’re paying for before deciding
• Set yourself a budget
• More expensive doesn’t always mean better, but it certainly does in most cases
• Unique heady glass can be extremely expensive, but this is more a piece of art than just a smoking device

The first thing you should establish is what you’re willing to fork out for your new piece. We never recommend reaching outside of one’s means, however, there is certainly something to be said for investing in a piece you’ll love for years to come. The reality is that we all go through the period of smoking cheap glass from small shops along the roadside, but at some point, you may want to expand your collection into more premium product

Unbranded Chinese glass isn’t inherently worse than any other piece of glass, however, having owned a number of these bongs in the past – they are also the most prone to manufacturing defects, poor glass quality, and subsequent breakage. Outside of that, many of these bongs are sold as fakes, using an established company’s brand on their glass. Both Roor and Tag have become commonly found fake bongs in South Africa. If the price seems too good to be true, that’s probably because it is.

Cheap glass will often break from softer impact, or even from quick temperature fluctuations. I’ve seen a number of cheap glass products break with even just lukewarm water being added.

Because of this, we do recommend that one budgets in a way where one sees their purchase as an investment. Though we do have special recommendations for the clumsy smokers out there.

Sizing

• Bigger isn’t always better when it comes to the height of a piece
• If you are sensitive to warmer smoke, larger bongs may offer more filtration and cooler smoke
• A well-designed bong can make even a small piece of glass smoke well
• Consider your room setup, if you travel with your glass etc. These can all influence your decision making

Size is a metric that often doesn’t get enough focus when one buys a new bong. It’s easy to see a design you like and pull the trigger, only to realize that the glass you bought is way smaller or bigger than you expected. Be sure to measure your existing piece and then compare it with the sizes provided on our product pages. Bigger isn’t always better either, it can often be tougher to clear larger bongs as they require more lung power (depending on the design too).

There are both benefits to large and small bongs, depending on what you prefer in a hit. For some people, having a cooler temperature hit is more important than most other factors, in these situations you may want a bong that has more water for the smoke to run through, or perhaps a bong that is made for ice. You’ll notice some bongs have a series of glass points on the inside of the bong neck (traditionally 3 pointed components), these are to hold ice which will cool the smoke down as it runs up the neck during your hit.

For others, portability is more of a priority. Larger bongs can be a bit difficult to take with you on an outdoor adventure. If you’re someone who enjoys taking your bong around with you, you may want to ensure that your glass is small enough and also durable enough to take a few inevitable bumps that it will go through in the process of transportation.

First get an idea of the sizes you prefer and would work for your smoking areas, then take a look at what’s available in those sizes. Sometimes there’s a piece that stands out so much that size becomes far less important of a factor, but we do still recommend giving a good thought to the concept of bong size.

Straight Bongs or Beaker Bongs?

• It all comes down to personal preference
• Beaker bongs tend to offer more filtration due to the larger water volume
• Straight bongs are usually more versatile and easy to transport due to a more compact form

While there are countless design styles, especially within the work of heady glass artists, there are two distinct shapes of bongs – beakers and straights. A beaker bong has a large, wide base that holds a considerable amount of water, while straight bongs are almost just a tube, where the base of the bong is typically the same diameter as the top.

When it comes to which is better, it’s mostly up to personal preference. Most people tend to prefer beaker bongs for their smoother hits, but that’s not to say a well-designed straight bong can’t provide a smooth smoking experience. If you haven’t tried both formats, it’s typically safer to opt for a beaker bong – but trying out the two different types from a friend who may own one, will give you a better foundation on to make your decision.

Straight bongs are typically going to take up less space and are also typically a bit easier to prevent breaking (depending on the thickness), for instance, many beaker bongs may offer thick glass construction of the neck while offering a much thinner glass on the beaker portion. Straight bongs will typically hold the same thickness down the whole piece, meaning you’re less likely to break it while cleaning if you accidentally hit the base.

Do Bong Perculators Work?

• Perculators distribute smoke more evenly around the chamber and also run the smoke through a second section of water
• There isn’t a real consensus on which one is better, it mainly comes down to personal preference
• Perculators, depending on their design can make glass a bit harder to clean

That truly is the question. Smokers have been speculating about the efficacy of perculators for years now and there are still people firm on their belief, regardless of which side of the fence they are. The way perculators work is by adding an additional path through water on the rip. The perculator spreads the smoke out when it passses through the wholes, thinning it – while it then passes through the perculator’s water area, which then filters the smoke a second time (the first being when it passes through the water in the beaker bottom/base.

For some, they can immediately feel as if their hits are smoother with a perc, but others are often unable to notice any real differences in the hit when done through a regular bong or a perculator bong.

How important are the aesthetics?

• Bongs are often a reflection of yourself. We get requests for more colours and we get asked for cleaner, more subtle designs
• Heady glass can offer some unbelievably cool glass appearances that you won’t find from factory glass
• Pop references on glass don’t tend to age well, think carefully about what you’ll be proud to be smoking out of in 10 years time

While looks don’t always play a role in how your glass functions, having a piece that you’re proud of is just as important. Nobody wants to look at their bong and have buyers regret when they do. Just a few decades ago you’d have been hard-pressed to find bongs that weren’t completely tacky, typically bright acrylic colours that don’t offer much in terms of blending into your environment naturally. Today we have so many different styles just in the regular budget consumer market that it’s hard to complain about a lack of choice.

You’ll still typically find that most very cheap glass pieces may focus more on the novelty aspect, including gimmicky unlicensed imagery from TV shows for instance. Though that’s not to say that this aesthetic is not appealing to some.

Higher end bongs will typically use more traditional design methodology to bring life to a piece with the use of complimentary colours, or taking a minimalist approach and providing a clean looking piece with little in the way of accents.

When one begins to look at heady glass, you’ll see the aesthetic of glass pieces shift completely into a new direction as the glass work involved allows for extremely unique creations.

Regardless of what you deem to be a good looking bong, we certainly feel that one should give the looks some serious thought. Few off-brand black market designs stand the test of time.

How often do you break glass?

• If you have a habit of bumping, knocking or dropping glass — consider a piece that has a wall thickness of at least 7mm
• Practice being aware of your glass while you’re handling it and especially cleaning it

Without judgement, some people are simply more clumsy than others. If you happen to be one of these individuals, you should acknowledge that your bong handling experience will likely end in tears at some point. To compensate for this there’s a few precautions you can take. The first is just to be extra careful when cleaning or handling your glass. Be aware of the location of the beaker/base and the mouth piece during cleaning. Also make sure to not drop the bowl or downstem, as these are often the first things to suffer at the fate of slippery fingers.

The other consideration is to get a thicker, more durable bong. If your bong is only 3mm thick, the possibility of you cracking it when you gently knock it against your sink is a lot higher than if it had been a 7mm or even 9mm thick bong.

Of course, we would never suggest that the less stable-handed of us shouldn’t purchase heady glass. Just be aware of the increased risks in breakage, and commence with caution when handling.

Individuality

• Factory-produced bongs will typically only have colour variations and a few set styles
• If having something unique and special is important to you, heady glass is the best choice
• Having a piece of glass that is also a conversation starter due to its unique appearance can also be fun

For some, a bong is just a way to get THC to the brain. Nothing more than a necessity. For others, bongs are extensions of their personality. Similar to how we dress in a way that we feel fits our personality, for many, buying glass is a similar process. Even outside of those who make sure to give their new glass their own moniker when they get it, there is a wider group of people who just love to show off how unique their bong is.

Here’s where heady glass really comes into play. No matter what colour option you choose, there’s still going to be someone else out there with the same bong as you when it comes to traditional factory-made glass. But the heady market is often so individualized and unique that an artist may make only one version of a particular piece. Some artists may reproduce certain designs, but it is often clear when you see a custom piece.

There’s no right or wrong way to approach this, which is why we stock both clean bong designs and more colourful bongs – and even heady for those looking to take it to the next level.

Ease of Cleaning

• Straight bongs are the easiest to clean typically, followed closely by beakers
• Beware cheap bongs that offer unusual perculators that can easily trap ash
• A good isopropyl soak can usually get most glass clean again

It’s not all just about the smoke. Bongs vary in how easy they are to clean, you will find that straight bongs are often the easiest to clean with regular beakers following closely after. However, when one starts adding perculators or buying glass with quite unusual shapes, cleaning can start to become a challenge. One of the biggest issues comes from a lot of budget bong companies that have unusual perculators that may look aluring and fancy when you see them on a shelf, but are a nightmare for cleaning.

These types of perculators will often trap ash inside of them and no matter how you approach the problem, it doesn’t always resolve. Isopropyl soaks are usually the first line of defense, but it may require some pretty long soaks. The thicker the ash stacks up in your piece, the longer you’re going to need to give it a soak.

Also consider how you would work a pipe cleaner into the bowl connection point when cleaning it, some bong shapes require you to be a proficient baloon-animal-maker in order to create the shapes needed to reach certain piece in your glass.

In Summary

In conclusion, we hope that we’ve managed to shed some light on the bong-buying process and that these topics will better aide you in making a pick you’ll be proud of for years. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any other concerns or queries that we failed to address here, so we can help guide you with what would suit you best.