wow I don't know crap about bongs anymore!

[stratmandu]

Yes, older smoker here. I've not had a bong for nearly 20 years. In my day they all had the metal bowl with the single hole and a "carb" hole, most were acrylic, some ceramic. Since then, I have less and less friends who indulge and have used my dugout or rolled doobs. Mostly the dugout, since I toke by myself a lot. I was toking with some young friends I made at a big fest (Bonnaroo), and they had this beautiful handmade glass piece and I didn't even know how to work it - I didn't realize the bowl is called a "slide" and you pull it off to carb the hit (right?). Anyway, I am shopping for a nice bong and was blown away by the terms and variety, and have some questions:

1. the carb hole makes it "paraphernalia" so thats why they went to the "slide" type pull-off bowl, right?
2. "Ice pinches" are there to keep ice cubes out of the water? (I always found in the old days ice made it harsher, warm water made it smoother...)
3. Whats the difference between "scientific" and "heady" glass?
4. Whats the diff between a straight stem and a diffuser or shower head?
5. What is a disc, a percolator, and what are they for?
6. Recommend a decent starter bong?

Thanks!

 

[mean mr.mustard]

1. They switched because the carb hole didn't clear the tube fast enough
2. Yes and I don't use ice I like warm water
3. One's clear and one's pretty
4. The latter makes more tinier bubbles. A straight stem blurbs up one bubble at a time.
5. A percolator is just another contraption to make more filtration possible, another bubbler.... I have no idea what a disc is
6. I'll leave that up to the rest of the crew

 

[EvilRaven1031]

ill start with number 6. only two words you need to know. US Tubes. they are made beefy enough to be the only tube you need for the next 20 years. if you dont believe me go to youtube and search the term "bong wars".

and from here ill go in order.

1. im not too sure
2. ice pinches hold ice to cool the smoke on the way up the tube. a nice little feature if you ask me. they seem to come standard on quite a few brands of bong now.
3. theres no difference in the glass used, but the difference is in the details. scientific glass is usually a term used to describe a glass on glass (or GonG) fitting. this creates a better seal than the rubber grommets of old. heady glass is a term used to describe a piece made with lots of artistic flair. as with most things....this drives up the price.

Edit: heady class can have a GonG fitting (and usually does now) but most bongs are clear or a solid color (cobalt etc.) and heady bongs have more work done to them.

4. if you have used a bong before then you are familiar with what a straight stem does. its no frills, just function. most GonG tubes now come with a diffuser standard. what it does is break the smoke bubbles into smaller smoke bubbles so they can be filtered through the water better. this leaves you with a smoother hit. a showerhead diffuser (or diffy) is just the next step up. it creates more diffusion and makes things even smoother.
5. Discs are just different forms of percolation. percs are used to create yet another chamber for the smoke to be filtered through water. the whole process is designed to make things as smooth as possible for you when the smoke finally hits your lungs.


hope this helps, let me know if you need me to elaborate some more. im no expert on the subject, but ive done some homework.

 

[BigSwifty]

Just get any glass-on-glass (GonG) bong and you'll be set. IMO those percolaters and shit just jack up the price. A nice glass single-chamber tube will do the trick. I got an ADS one for $100 and it's a frickin' workhorse.
No need to pay more for big names unless having a super nice bong is your bag... I'm all about functionality.

'werd

 

[stratmandu]

Awesome responses folks! Thanks. I'll pick one out and post it here.

 

[Herbal extasy]

Magic glass Mr.Orange - Accept no substitutes

 

[EvilRaven1031]

I'm all about functionality.

'werd

this is why i recommend US Tubes. they use a GonG joint (realistically the weakest point on any GonG tube) thats about double the thickness of a standard roor joint. On top of that when they say that their glass is 9mm thick, every part of that tube is 9mm thick.

to create the beaker or bubble bottom styles a glassblower has to "blow out" the bottom, making it thinner than the neck.

for ME personally, i dont want to buy multiple bongs. wait...thats bullshit. OK i cant afford to buy multiple bongs. so i want one that can stand up to some heavy use. the US tubes do just that. they're beastly heavy and i like that.

 

[love?]

Dunno if the diffuser is really that much better at filtering but they are cool because the bong doesn't make that loud "blub blub blub" sound a normal downstem makes.

Bongs are still available with carbs too. The main difference is that the air that clears the bowl goes through water without a carb and if feels a bit different. A carb bong will clear fine and fast as long as the carb is big enough. But you can clear a carb bong by lifting the bowl too, the only downside is that you have to hold it in a way that covers the hole.

 

[!!!]

1. the carb hole makes it "paraphernalia" so thats why they went to the "slide" type pull-off bowl, right?
2. "Ice pinches" are there to keep ice cubes out of the water? (I always found in the old days ice made it harsher, warm water made it smoother...)
3. Whats the difference between "scientific" and "heady" glass?
4. Whats the diff between a straight stem and a diffuser or shower head?
5. What is a disc, a percolator, and what are they for?
6. Recommend a decent starter bong?

1) Anything with cannabis resin on it is paraphernalia. This means scissors, grinders, bongs, tobacco pipes etc. The carb is meaningless in court.

2) Yes ice pinchers hold ice in the chamber. You're correct.. cold water doesn't dissolve as many soluble nasties out of the smoke as hot water does. Guess what! you can have the best of both worlds. Some bongs have multiple chambers so the smoke passes through a few things before going into your lungs. What people do is have hot water first, and then cold water to cool the now-cleaner smoke.

3) no idea. If I had to guess, I would assume "scientific" looks more like you're smoking out of a meth lab (chemistry set) and "heady" would be a bong that's full of colors/art.

4) OK. A straight stem is the standard tube that goes from the bowl into the water. A diffuser is a closed stem with little holes on the bottom, almost like an airstone. Basically the inside of the bubble of smoke in the water is not in contact with the water, less surface area. Many smaller bubbles = larger surface area, cooler smoke,e tc. I never heard the term shower head but I imagine it means a diffuser.

5) dunno what a disk is. A percolator is almost like a diffuser. It works to split the smoke up and add more surface contact. See this link:
forum.grasscity.com/toking-tools/418619-anatomy-bong-definitive-guide.html

6) Scientifically, a bong (or water, rather) will filter out some THC. The most efficient delivery system is a vaporizer, followed by a joint, pipe and then bong. For the price of a modern good quality bong, you can easily afford a decent vaporizer. A vapor bros (excellent) is around $180 and a nice RooR with all the attachments will probably run you $350.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against bongs, I LOVE them and will purchase one because I like the aesthetics (esp the stereotypical shape) but I haven't used one in years so I can't recommend any! Years back I wanted a pHx trinity but by today's standards it's probably outdated.

My fav bong attachment is the carbon filter which helps keep the glass and water clean. Google "bong carbon filter" to see what I mean.

 

[love?]

I guess a shower head diffuser is one with many small holes at the end (like a... shower head). As opposed to one with say slits.

 

[motaco]

I can answer your questions buddy.

1) Yes in part. They are still considered "paraphernalia" but they sell them at shops and nobody hassles them too much as long as they have a "for tobacco use only" sticker on it. The only crackdown they've had recently was where chong went to jail back in '02. Just if you go to a headshop DON'T call it a bong. Call it a "water pipe". Otherwise you may be asked to leave.

2) Yes thats what ice pinches are for, most folks like them but they are optional. You don't have to use them.

3) "scientific" are pipes based on scientific principles of cooling smoke with different contraptions (percs and diffusers, etc) and are usually clear so you can gauge the amount of smoke you are consuming. They are usually mass made on an industrial level. "Heady" glass is expensive one of a kind hand blown pieces with a lot of artwork.

4) diffusers and percs etc. All have one premise in common. They break smoke up into smaller bubbles, and allow the smoke to escape through the path of least resistance. The smaller bubbles breaks the smoke up so more of the surface area touches water and cools it better. Showerhead etc, are different styles of diffuser and some work better than others, which make them more expensive. The standard is a regular downstem with slits cut into it and they are pretty cheap.

5) There are many different styles of diffuser and percolator. Its mostly up to preference and budget. The more it percolates, the more it cools the smoke. The standard is a "tree perc" but there are many types. Inline, halo, dome, tree, showerhead, waffle, etc.

6)A straight tube, with a tree perc and a diffused downstem. Cheap, functional, and available at most local headshops. Some folks will tell you crazy stuff and not to buy china glass etc. They will reccommend 300-500 dollar bongs which are completely unnecessary. A standard GonG will do you just fine.

Welcome back, I hope you enjoy. In the last few years there has been tremendous innovation in bong designs, and they toke MUCH better than they used to. Cooler, softer smoke allows much bigger rips.

 

[Miss Blunted]

I LOVE my Bong! I have one with diffusers and ice pinches...it's fun!!!

 

[BL4ZE20]

I guess a shower head diffuser is one with many small holes at the end (like a... shower head). As opposed to one with say slits.

Of all the showerheads i've seen including the one I own, they are actually slitted down the side. So the diffuser does look like a showerhead just the orientation of the holes isn't the same.

As far as different diffuser's and such go, they basically change up the way the tube hits or whatever the piece may be. Some diffusers have more of a chug chug to them while other one's are real smooth and airy.
Like a showerhead diffy will have more chug to it compared to a waffle which will be more airy. This is what i'm told anyways as I don't own a waffle yet, but will soon

BTW glass collecting can become very addicting!

 

[sanjuan]

Magic glass Mr.Orange - Accept no substitutes

I bought the 5mm thick Nice Guy version, with the 3-piece option to make it easy to mount a one-hit bowl:

Maybe a disc serves the same function as a seamine?--substitute for a screen in the bowl.

 

[Iron_Lion]

Just get any glass-on-glass (GonG) bong and you'll be set. IMO those percolaters and shit just jack up the price. A nice glass single-chamber tube will do the trick. I got an ADS one for $100 and it's a frickin' workhorse.
No need to pay more for big names unless having a super nice bong is your bag... I'm all about functionality.

'werd

i've smoked out of a $600 3' kong with like 3 percs, ash catcher and ice, imo it removed all flavor from the weed and its a bitch to keep clean. dirty pieces make weed taste like shit. best smoke i get is from my hand bubbler that i clean every day and change the water after every smoke.

give me cheap and fucntional, that way there i dont have to cry if i drop it. break a 500$ piece and see how big of a tool you feel like.

 

[DiiZZii3]

^^ i agree its important to get a bong thats simple to keep clean, these bongs with percs are a bitch to clean. Whoever said the most efective way of smoking goes vape, joint, pipe, then bong... i would disagree, no way is a joint more effective than a pipe or bong.

 

[motaco]

I personally am a big fan of the percolators and stuff. I think the science glass is the best thing to happen since sensimilla. I was very skeptical at first but they work. I keep my stuff clean so I've never had a problem with them getting dirty in the first place. That happens mostly when people wait too long between cleaning and stuff builds up that won't rinse out easily with a little iso.

It is the future though, but there is still a lot of folks adjusting. Not very long ago people thought you were OCD if you kept clean pipes. "Color changing pipes" that changed colors as they filled up with resin were all the rage. Now I'd say at least half keep their pipes clean with iso. The science glass really does cater to that type of toker with the clear glass and all.

It doesn't have to be over the top, but 2-3 good low drag percs and some ice make all the difference in the world. I'll admit it does eliminate a lot of flavor. I still use my dry pipe for flavor. But to be honest I only savor the flavor a few times. I smoke for effect and these new bongs smoke so smooth you can take massive rips very comfortably. Previous designs had too much "drag" (like sucking a milkshake through a straw), and the smoke got stale and harsh. Designs now more efficiently distribute pressure and it increases airflow at the same time as the surface area cooled by the water.

The bigger the rip the more thc is ingested at one time. I just like that "zero to sixty" effect bongs give you. Where the high slams home from a good bong rip and sends you reeling. Its just so much more potent than a dry pipe toke.

 

[Iron_Lion]

The bigger the rip the more thc is ingested at one time. I just like that "zero to sixty" effect bongs give you. Where the high slams home from a good bong rip and sends you reeling. Its just so much more potent than a dry pipe toke.

my brother says the same thing, he kills like half a gram in one hit. Im too cheap with my weed to do that and really my number one attribute in good weed is the flavor.

 

[Wiggs Dannyboy]

just bought a nice glass on glass, locally blown by a glass worker/artist, for a hundred bucks. Works like a charm, is made with real thick glass, and has some personal flare from being done by a local dude. I couldn't be happier. Just don't feel the need to spend a lot of moulah, bongs are just like things like cameras and such, there's always a bunch of folks who are into innovations, percieved or real...

 

[Mezz Mezzrow]

^^ i agree its important to get a bong thats simple to keep clean, these bongs with percs are a bitch to clean. Whoever said the most efective way of smoking goes vape, joint, pipe, then bong... i would disagree, no way is a joint more effective than a pipe or bong.

FWIW there was a study in High Times a long time ago where they were surprised to find a joint was indeed more efficient than a bong and a pipe.