If you’ve ever had the misfortune of being in the home of a serious stoner, you have probably seen a crazy array of seemingly intricate glassware. In this article we’re going to explore all the different types… of pipes!
The cool thing about paraphernalia is that a lot of the time it’s really beautiful. Often made from blown glass, no two pipes are the same (unless they were made in a factory, which is totally fine too).
Go wander into a random smoke store in a strip mall and go see all the different options.
Not the indie band from the early 2000s.
A spoon is a super standard pipe. It can be itty-bitty, or stretch the length of your hand, and is the shape of a spoon...sort of.
You can buy spoons at headshops, independently-owned gas stations, dispensaries, novelty stores, the internet, or just ask a friend who has a few if you can borrow one!
The spoon is made up of three parts
When you are shopping for a spoon remember to take into account that when smoking, people tend to use their dominant hand to operate the lighter.
The non-dominate hand holds the bowl while the thumb opens and closes the carb a couple of times (once the marijuana is lit) to allow for more pull and airflow while inhaling the weed smoke.
If you are left handed you’ll want to buy a pipe with the carb on the right side of the bowl. If you are right handed you’ll want to buy a pipe with the carb on the left side of the bowl.
A bubbler might look a little bit tricky, but it’s deceptively easy and very pleasant to use!
A bubbler is made up of 3 parts:
You will notice that there is no carb on a bubbler.
When you light the bowl of weed on your bubbler, suck in air from the mouthpiece. You’ll see a little white cloud of weed smoke emerge inside of your smoking apparatus.
The next step is to gently remove the bowl with your hand and breathe in the nice little cup of smoke that you have just made for yourself.
Be sure to change the water each time you pack a new bowl though, to keep your weed tasting right.
A steamroller is not a very casual pipe, it’s more of a punch-in-the-face party trick, but technically it is a pipe.
A steamroller is a flute-sized cylinder with a bowl of weed on top.
The mouthpiece is one side of the pipe, and the carb is the other side of the pipe. The bowl of weed on top is still the bowl of weed on top, but does not need to be removed to smoke.
You load the bowl with weed, and then light the bowl while breathing in. With your other hand you will use one of your fingers to open and close the hole on the back end to pull smoke through.
Steamrollers will get you super, super high. There is no harm in just taking one hit and walking away!
If all of the pipes mentioned in this article joined together to turn into a Transformer creature, it would be a bong. Bongs can be absolutely huge, or the size of a glass bottle of soda. Bongs can look unassuming and plain, or be decked out with full Rick and Morty art.
A bong has all the same parts as a bubbler, just bigger.
Some bongs even have a few notches inside of the mouthpiece called “ice catchers”, which are made to hold ice cubes. These ice cubes cool down the hit of weed to help make the smoke super smooth while it travels through your throat and lungs.
It cannot be stressed enough, change your bong water frequently so that it doesn’t make your weed taste nasty.
Sure, you can smoke a dirty pipe or bong for a long long time, but why would you want to?
It’s so easy to clean your devices, all you need to do is put them in Ziplock baggies and soak them in rubbing alcohol plus a couple of spoonfuls of kosher salt. Let them sit for 15-30 minutes, then shake the bag around.
You can even use your fingers to scrub the pieces of resin and grime with salt through the bag. Neat!
Pipes are great! Each model is good for its own reason and shines at the appropriate moment.
The smoking mechanism of the biggest bong is the same as it is in the most basic mini bowl. We recommend that you stick to glass, since it is the cleanest way to smoke, and to clean your pipes whenever possible.
