Understanding The Different Kinds of Bongs

There are a lot of different ways to get your THC fix these days, and while vapes, joints and blunts will forever be popular, there is little doubt that bongs are one of the best ways to enjoy your fine herb.

With that being said, just like there are tons of different kinds of cannabis products to consume, there are also tons of different types of bongs that you can choose from.

First off, let’s start breaking down the different types of products that people can use to build a bong.

Bong Materials

Glass: Undoubtedly the most popular material to make bongs out of. Glass bongs help encourage a clean, pure taste and does not absorb flavors of smoke over years of use. On top of that, glass is very easy to clear so resin buildup overtime does not become an issue if you care for your bong well.

Plastic: Hard plastic is another very popular material used to build bongs because it is extremely durable, hard to break, and quite cheap. The one downside of plastic bongs is that the taste of the cannabis can certainly be impacted by the taste and smell of plastic – especially when it is still quite new.

Ceramic: Another very popular material that is used to build bongs is ceramic material. With that being said, ceramic is not known for being very durable or easy to clean. However, ceramic is a favorite amongst real artists and craftsmen and women so some of the most beautiful and ornate bongs are made from ceramic.

Now that you know some of the most popular materials that bongs are made out of, let’s quickly break down a few of the most popular models and shapes of bongs.

Straight-Tube Bong

This is the simplest shape of bong and is available basically anywhere bongs are sold. They consist of a simple tube sealed at one end (typically used as a standing platform) with a stem and a bowl at the other side.

Users often pour water and a bit of ice into the tube to make the smoking process as smooth and clean as possible.

Round-Base Bongs

Round-based bongs have familiar features such as a comfortable mouthpiece as well as a large sphere-shaped water chamber with a flat base. Typically, they are able to fit even more water and smoke in the chamber.

Beaker-Shaped Bong

The beaker shaped bong is very similar to the straight-tube bong except for the fact that the bottom is shaped out to form a cone.

While it looks a little different, the smoking process is the same as the two previous bongs. Just add water (and ice if you want), some of your favorite herb, fire, and go!

Multi-Chambered Bong

Now we’re getting a little more precise. A multi-chambered bong, which is also often referred to as a recycler bong, is a variation of a straight-tube bong where the straight tube is separated into two chambers and is connected by a tube or third chamber.

With these types of bongs, both the upper and lower chamber holds water so that the smoke is actually filtered not once, but twice! This act produces a much cooler and much smoother smoke than the three previously mentioned types of bongs.

Due to the complexity of these types of bongs, they are often much harder to make. For that reason, they are typically much more expensive as well.

To make things even more complicated, multi-chambered bongs are also often pretty easy to break if you are not careful.

Percolator Bong

A percolator, or bubbler bong, comes in the form of either a straight-tube, beaker-shaped or round-base bong but comes with one special addition.

A percolator in the main pipe that leads up to the mouthpiece which is a piece of glass that dissipates the smoke before it passes through the water and cases a bubbling effect in the bong,

Spreading the smoke out as it is through the bong helps filter the smoke and makes it cooler faster.

Bucket Gravity Bong

While the previously mentioned bongs rely on a vacuum being created by your inhale to bring the smoke into the chamber. Gravity bongs rely on a vacuum that is created by water that is left behind when leaving a closed space.

Gravity bongs come in two different forms and the first is a bucket gravity bong. This is actually a fun process that people can create at home, all they need is a large bucket filled with water as well as a plastic bottle (usually a two-liter) with the bottom cut out.

Once you build it, all you have to do is light the cannabis in the bowl and slowly pull the bottle out of the water and watch as smoke fills up the vacuum that was left behind.

Then, you simply remove the bowl and place your mouth over the mouthpiece and slowly push the bong down into the water, forcing the smoke back into your mouth and lungs.

Just be careful not to do it too quickly or you may end up with a serious coughing fit!

Waterfall Gravity Bong

The other type of gravity bong that exists is also a bit of a fun science project and is built by draining water out of a large bottle (usually a two-liter again) and then using a hole at the bottom of the bottle that you have created the drain out liquid that you filled the bottle with.

That draining water creates a vacuum that is then filled by smoke thanks to the lit bowl at the top of the bottle.

The one major difference here is that unlike the bucket gravity bong, you will have to inhale smoke yourself without being able to push it into your lungs like you did with the bucket gravity bong.

Homemade

The final type of bong that many of you are probably familiar with is the homemade bong. Whether you are using a coke can, an apple or something else.

While this might not be as technologically advanced as the other options on this list, it certainly gets the job done!

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Jarad Wilson

Jarad is an avid medical cannabis advocate and has been serving the cause through blogging for over 10 years by sharing his extensive knowledge and experience on the benefits of using cannabis.