Does type of a bong make a difference?

Bongs may differ by their shape, material and minor features. Some of them can look like pieces of alien technologies, others are straight-forward and simple. Even though the principle is always the same, more complex bongs can provide smoother and fancier smoke experience. If you struggle to choose your first water pipe, check out the guide where we thoroughly explain all the parameters worth taking into consideration.

Bong structure

For those who’ve never dealt with a bong its anatomy might look intimidating. After all, many people got introduced to marijuana by smoking a joint, which is as simple as it can be, the bongs however are a little bit more complex. To help you learn, lets take a look at its components.

Chamber –the place where the water magic happens cooling down the smoke and filtering weed piece that could get through the bowl.

Uptake –the tube that extends the chamber up to the mouthpiece so that smoke can rise up.

Mouthpiece – the part where you place your lips in order to smoke.

Bowl –is where you put your herbs. Depending on the bong type it might require a metal screen that prevents weed from going inside of a chamber.

 Stem - is a tube through which smoke is delivered to the water chamber, normally this part is made removable for the cleaning purposes, fits through the hole in front of a bong.

Carb hole - is a hole on the side of the bong that’s located slightly above the chamber. The hole should be covered with a finger as you light up the bowl, otherwise it won’t work as the air will go though it instead of the bowl. As soon as you see that the stem is filled with smoke, take off your finger and inhale. Not all bongs come with a carb hole if you have the one without you should remove the bowl before sucking in the smoke.

1) Fill up the bong with water

Pour water through the mouthpiece on the top. The water level should be slightly above of the lower part of the stem.

The colder the water – the smoother and colder the smoke will be, some bongs offer a possibility to fill up the uptake with ice, it is a great feature that completely eliminates any feelings of burning in your throat. You can also just throw some ice inside of a water chamber, make sure it doesn’t break the stem though.

2) Grind up your weed

Before loading up the bowl, you need to grind your stuff. A grinder is a must-have instrument for any bud lover, you can use your fingers as well, but the result will not be as great and a lot of pollen will stick to your fingers reducing potential power of the weed.

3) Fill up the bowl, do not compress it too much or you will have troubles with lighting it up. Slight push with your thumb will do the job making it neither too loose, nor too tight. If you feel that you need to pull the air really hard that’s a sign of too tightly packed bowl.

Make sure that your bong does not require a metal screen, if you see that the holes in the bowl are wide enough for the pieces of weed to fall inside you definitely need one!

1) Hold the bond in your hands.

Grab it by the chamber, you can also put it on the flat surface for a better support. Be careful as the glass devices are quite fragile and will not survive the fall on the floor.

In this article we compare different type of bongs.

Consider getting a silicone bong, it durable enough to throw it around instead of just passing.

2) Cover the crab hole

Use your finger to cover the hole, if you don’t have one (the hole I mean) just remove the bowl as soon as you see that the smoke is inside and you are ready to take a hit.

3) Put the bong to your mouth

Put your mouth against the mouthpiece and create a light pressure so that you form a vacuum inside of the bong

4) Light it up

Use your free hand to light up the corner of the bowl and inhale simultaneously. Do not hold the fire for too long, leave it go as soon as you see the part weed smoldering (otherwise you will just burn the stuff down wasting it), but keep inhaling.

If you use a lighter - you inhale butane, which is highly harmful for your lungs. Consider getting a hemp wick by RAW, it is an organic product that does not emit unhealthy substances while burning.

5) Smoke

When you see that the smoke is almost touching your mouth, remove the finger from a carb hole (or take off the bowl if you don’t have one) and take a hit. Do not be in a hurry, you have all the time in the world, keep it smooth and relaxed. If you feel that you cannot smoke all at once, cover the mouthpiece with your hand so that the smoke won’t come out and take a break.

6) Pass it to your mate!

Here come some peculiarities that determine good manners and make smoking session pleasant for all the members, try to recall them before passing the bong.

Take away the ash from the bowl, your friend would be super happy to smoke right after you instead of cleaning the device Wipe of the mouthpiece with a tissue as feeling somebody’s drool on it can completely spoil the experience If you borrowed the bong from a friend, clean it nicely afterwards. Here is the guide that will help you to do so.

TIPS and TRICKS

After several hits, the water in the bong becomes brown and starts to smell bad. In order to keep the good taste, change it after each smoking session. You might experience coughing fit after taking a hit with a bong. Most likely, it means that you inhale too fast, try out smaller and slower hits, it may need some practice but you will figure it out! Adding a little bit of tobacco on the top of the bowl will make the effect much stronger and quicker to come. Try to experiment with pouring liquids other than plain water inside of the chamber, citrus juices for instance give some nice flavor. Do not add any strong alcohol inside though, as it will badly affect your health.

As you can see, a bong requires some knowledge and technique. However, there is nothing difficult and once you’ve managed you will never lose the skill, it is like with riding a bicycle!

Check out our head shop and find the right bong for your chilling purposes. Silicone, acrylic, hand-blown glass, ceramic, you name it!

ISmokeFresh Team