BONGS

Water bongs include a smoking bowl for ground herb, a downstem that is normally slitted to enhance filtration, a base or chamber to fill with water and an elongated neck that the smoke passes through before it reaches the mouthpiece. 

Once you’ve packed a bowl, light the herb and inhale, you’ll notice that the water at the bottom will start to bubble. As you breathe in, the smoke rises from the base through the neck of the bong before the pull gets to you. When you lift the bong bowl and downstem, you’ll breathe in the smoke through the mouthpiece. You can follow our step-by-step bong guide.  

Perhaps you tend to put too much water in your bong and get lots of splashback which begs the question: how much water do you put in a bong? All you need is enough water for the downstem to be submerged nearly ½ inch above the slits. 

The art of packing a bong bowl can be easily mastered. First, grind your herb up, preferably with an herb grinder so that the consistency is similar, that way it will burn evenly.

Pinch a bit of herb between your fingers, sprinkle it into your bowl and use the bottom of your lighter to pack it down lightly.

You want to make sure it isn’t packed too hard because it can clog the bowl. We recommend packing over a rolling tray or table, so that you can save any herb that falls.    

A gas mask bong essentially creates a mini hot box all for yourself. First, fill the bong with water, attach the mask to the bong and pack a bowl. Then, put the mask over your face, light the bowl and clear the smoke from the chamber. You’ll know that it’s working if it fills with smoke but doesn’t push smoke back into the bong when you exhale. See our complete guide on how to use a gas mask bong. 

Be careful not to knock over the bong as you take in the smoke. Finally, once you’ve had your fill release the straps on the sides of the mask.  

Smoking a bong so it pulls smoothly requires practice.

First, make sure that your mouth forms a seal with the mouthpiece. You don’t want to put your mouth around the edges, it’s best if your lips form a seal from the inside. As you breathe in and the bowl starts to cherry — turn red — the smoke will fill the chamber.

If you want a smaller pull, remove the bowl sooner and breathe in as slowly as you can. Regardless, you should expect a bong to be harder than a puff from a joint. Even so, it should be significantly less harsh than smoking from a pipe if done with technique.  

The most important part is to consider how big of a pull you want. A bong naturally delivers stronger pulls than a joint, blunt or pipe does so be prepared for that. If you want to take it slow, don’t let the herb cherry for long and breathe in more slowly.

To properly clear the bong so that the next person doesn’t have stale smoke, light it for less time. This will ensure that you can fully clear the smoke that accumulates in the bong without having to take too big of a bong pull. 

Generally, the best and most common way to clean bongs requires alcohol. Using a mixture of 1 cup of isopropyl alcohol and 4 tbsp you’ll be able to get rid of the smoky smell, stains and enjoy clean smoke from here on out. Once you’ve filled the bong with the cleaning solution it’s best to shake it a few times, then let it sit. To make sure the mixture doesn’t escape, you can cover the openings by placing small cloth towels and rubber bands over the mouthpiece and bowl hole.

If you want a more natural way to clean your bong, you can swap out alcohol for a mixture of distilled white vinegar and baking soda. You can follow our detailed steps on how to clean a bong without alcohol with the exact proportions.

Whether you clean your bong with or without alcohol, you’ll want to make sure you rinse it with warm water a few times so it’s fully cleansed before smoking it again.  

Hydrogen peroxide is bleach. Technically, you can but we definitely wouldn’t recommend it because it leaves an awful aftertaste. A mixture of isopropyl alcohol and coarse salt remains the long-standing best way to clean your bong safely and effectively.

A mixture of 91% or 99% isopropyl alcohol, coarse salt and a freshly squeezed lemon will do the trick. Just shake the mixture inside the bong’s chamber for 5 minute then follow-up with a thorough rinse of warm water and soap.  

You can use rubbing alcohol and coarse salt, vinegar or baking soda to clean your bong bowl. If you don’t have any of those items available though, you can soak your bowl piece in hot boiling water. Let the glass sit until the water completely cools down and use a pipe cleaner or brush to remove any residue that remains. See our complete guide on how to clean your bong bowl with or without alcohol.

Percolator bongs are notoriously more complicated to clean. You can start by using the method described under how to clean a bong with alcohol, then continue with these tips for how to clean a bong with percs specifically.

Since percs can be more complicated to clean it’s best to let the cleaning solution sit inside the bong for longer, roughly 1-2 hours. You can use res caps to flip the bong upside down and let the solution work its magic. Give it a final rinse with warm water and soap and use long cotton swabs once it’s cleared for harder to remove resin buildup.

If you’re caught in a bind, there are many ways to make a bong, for instance, from water bottles, mason jars or apples. 

Learning how to make a homemade bong is essentially a right of passage for stoners. It would be an entirely different matter if you had run out of weed. On the other hand, the possibilities are endless with ganja on hand. The two most common homemade bongs are the water bottle bong or apple bong, which are made from materials easily found in your home.

There are even rose petal blunts if you want to get high and don’t need the force of the bong to be with you.

We would bet good money you have a water bottle somewhere in your home, even if it’s in your kitchen recycling bin. That said, learning how to make a bong out of a water bottle is one of the easiest ways to smoke if you don’t have rolling papers or a bong on hand. You can check out our steps to make a gravity bong with a water bottle.

An apple bong is a natural makeshift pipe that is made using a pen or anything that can poke a hole into it. Make sure the apple is fresh, remove the stem and bore a hole halfway through the top.

Then, make a second hole ½ inch up from the bottom of the apple. Bore a third hole in the side which will meet with the hole pierced through the middle and become the carb. Carve a bowl at the top, pack it and it’s ready to smoke! 

Bongs tend to get you higher simply because the pulls are smoother so you inhale more than you are able to via other methods like a pipe. You can learn more in depth about the science behind why bongs get you higher.

The cost of a water pipe varies significantly depending on the material, size, features and craftsmanship. Cheap bongs made from acrylic can cost you as little as $10, a small silicone bong around $20 and a medium-sized borosilicate glass bong around $40 at the lower end. Generally, a quality medium-sized bong will cost you $40-$100.