Bongs for beginners – How they work.

Bong – or in its original name a water pipe – is a device used for smoking. For many consumers, it is considered the preferred method of consumption even compared to joints, vaporizers or oil. This is a guide that is geared towards bongs for beginners and…

How do bongs work?

Why is a bong better than a joint?

What Bong accessories should I buy with my Bong?

All about bongs for beginners:

There are quite a few ways to consume weed. The way that has always been the most common in the whole world is smoking, and indeed most weed lovers in Canada still prefer the good old way over alternatives like vaporizers or extraction preparations.

Cannabis smoking is usually done in one of two ways: a joint (cannabis cigarette) or bong – a bottle-like device with a wide base filled with water, through which flows the smoke emitted from the cannabis while smoking, similar to the mechanism that operates in the hookah.

Until recently, the word “bong” was considered taboo in Canada, a rude word that everyone denies. This is not surprising – the Canadian public, which grew up in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s intimidation campaign, has over time absorbed advertisements and messages that portray the bong as a filthy and polluted tool.

Well, we know “bong” is not a bad word, but did you even know where it came from? The name of the smoking vessel comes from Thailand and means “hollow barrel” in the local language. The meaning of the name implies the various parts that make up the bong and in its center the hollow barrel, from which the smoke is inhaled.

To fill the gap, here are some more things you may not have known about bongs:

Specifications – How does it work?

The bong consists of a number of simple and basic parts. An improvised bong can actually be produced from any small beverage bottle or bottle-shaped elongated plastic container, although a quality bong will be made of glass only. The wider part of the vessel is used to hold the water, and into the water is inserted a smaller tube (“downstem”) one end of which is dipped in water and the other and larger end remains outside the storage tank to serve as a “head” where the weed will be placed before smoking.

Sometimes another hole similar to the hole of the pipe can be found in the bong body, this hole is called a “carb”, and it is designed to give the smoker control over the amount of smoke consumed. Not every bong will have a carb, especially not in simpler and cheaper tools, but it usually depends on the user’s preference.

One of the great things about this smoking tool is without a doubt its simplicity, as it can be made from almost anything: an empty plastic drink bottle, an old jar, a coconut, wood, glass, metal and the hand is still tilted. It’s simple: make a small hole in the side of the vessel, push the tube at a downward angle, the expert will also add a carb, and the super-stellar will dare to say that they prefer a glass bong or a bong made of coconut. And this is it – you have a bong for glory. Not as scary as you thought right?

Bongs for beginners – Using a Bong

When using, the user will first hold the bong in his hand and place a respectable amount of well-chopped weed (“lumps” tend to get stuck in the smoking tube and clog it) inside the bowl at the top edge of the glass tube. If the bong has a carb, the user will block it with one of his fingers before lighting it.

And now that everything is ready – we will direct the flame directly to the upper end of the glass test tube (to the bowl) and at the same time, we will take a long and sweet inhale from the mouthpiece. The weed will start to burn and white smoke will start to miraculously come out of the water and fill the central space of the bong. Release your finger from the carb and voila! – All the smoke passes to the lungs instantly. If the bong doesn’t have a carb the user will remove the bowl to get the same effect.

Bongs for beginners – Keep Your Bong Clean

However, since the bong, unlike a joint, is reusable, to keep it clean you need to take care of its regular maintenance. Even if your bong is a shaped glass bong and even if it’s a bong made of a plastic bottle with a glass tube, the dirt will come. If you do not clean it properly, it may also remain. The guiding principle in cleaning your bong is that the cleaner the bong, the easier and tastier the hit will be. Therefore, it is advisable to carefully clean the bong after about 10 to 20 uses. In order to clean the bong, we will be equipped with scotch tape, a little dish soap and a lot of water.

It is advisable to make sure to clean all the black dirt that has accumulated on the inner walls of the bong using the bottle cleaner, water and soap. The test tube is cleaned using a pipe cleaner under a stream of hot water in the sink. And lo and behold, your bong looks and feels like new.

At the end of the cleaning – dry the inside of the downstem, the spout and the outside of the bong with an absorbent paper towel. This is one of the most important parts, as parts that stay wet will accumulate more dirt and in a shorter time.

Bong’s advantages and disadvantages

Using a bong has several distinct advantages over using other smoking methods. The bong has one advantage that distinguishes it from different joints and pipes – water filtration. The water in the bong filters out the heavy and harmful smoke particles, thus causing the dropping and settling of unwanted substances. You will be happy to know that THC has very low solubility in water.

In smoking a joint for example, you will get all of its contents into the lungs, including the paper from which it is rolled. The filter will heat up during use and may also leave black marks on your lips. In bongs, on the other hand, there are no signs of dirt on your lips of any kind, except maybe a little smell.

Aside from the benefit of cleanliness, the use of a bong is also known to be more intense than smoking joints. This is because the user is given the opportunity to inhale much more smoke due to the water that cools it. Thus, the amount of smoke entering the lungs is higher, and the more smoke, the more THC.

Finally, another advantage that smoking bongs have over smoking joints is a significant saving in material waste. Compared to a joint that burns partially without smoking at all, i.e. evaporates in the wind, the bong’s bowl is usually consumed in its entirety at once, without any material being wasted.

Bongs for beginners – Must-Have Bong Accessories

Ash trap / secondary filter – for better cleaning of the smoke

An accessory used among “serious” consumers of bongs is the so-called ash catcher, which abroad is called a secondary filter, and its function is simple: to transfer the smoke, which has already been filtered in water, further filtering before it reaches the user’s mouth.
Such an ash catcher ensures “softer” smoke and is easier to inhale, and at the same time does not particularly extend the time required for inhalation or the intensity of inhalation required to bring the smoke into the oral cavity. Therefore, it is a great addition to a bong, provided it is made of glass of course and accessories can be fitted to it.

Ice Pinch – for more efficient cooling

The cooling of the water in the bong is one of the ways to further cool the smoke that is filtered through them so that it is easier and more pleasant to inhale until it reaches the mouth. Another way to do this best is to use direct cooling by ice cubes or in the case of narrow bongs elongated rolls of ice, such as those suitable for adding to water bottles.
Just for this purpose, there are special bongs (again, mostly glass) that are built with 3 prominent “spikes” on the inside of their central pipe. These are designed to prevent the ice from slipping all the way down and getting into the water, and leaving it in place so that all the smoke coming out of the water will pass through it for further cooling.

Tempered glass Bowl(Banger) – for shatter consumption and extractions

One of the disadvantages of the two main smoking methods – “in joints” – is its inadequacy for the consumption of extracts, mainly shatter but also oils and extracts of various kinds.
This banger is heated with a manual burner or a turbo igniter, and once it reaches a sufficiently high temperature, the shatter or the oil can be dripped on it, thus consuming the extract without paper or other unnecessary ancillary materials.