oh and as far as prices go...I think that varies SO wildly with where you live, and what shops you have. I have found a regular shop around here that is very cheap. It's not the highest quality place for sure but the owner is super sweet and always cuts me a deal on her already great prices. the bong I have now (the one I just broke the bowl/stem of) was like $30 at her shop. It was cheaply painted pink (instead of pink glass like I thought) and the paint is chipping. But overall it's a nice bong and was super cheap so I don't care about that haha. I've never paid more than $100 for a bong. I know some who have, and I know some nice pieces that I WOULD spend over $100 on, but generally speaking you can find nice bongs for $80 and below around here
+1 on the ice catcher for sure Btw, friendly bong cleaning tip that should help even with percs: break up a Finish dishwasher tablet (not the gel ones), drop it into the bong, and just continuously pour boiling water over it. It'll start bubbling up nasty black goop like crazy and make even the dirtiest piece clean as new. It takes some time and sometimes need to do two tabs, but the results are pretty damn impressive.
I can't put ice in a bong without an ice catcher? Looked up what that is but I can't tell visually what the difference is, though some nice looking ones at a good price have popped up as a result so I've got some to choose from. Thanks to everyone who's chimed in, I appreciate it. I'll probably post whatever I settle on in here
You can put ice in the water I suppose but with a catcher the smoke hits the ice on its way into your lungs and is super super cold, cold water just isn't the same as it passing through ice
That makes sense, I get it now. I've unknowingly used both and I thought it was just coincidence that putting ice in the water was different
yeah they are just little notches that are at the bottom of the long/mouthpiece that holds the ice inside the mouthpiece instead of falling into the water below. Also is there a better word for that section of the bong because mouth piece doesn't sound right but...idk. hopefully you get what I'm saying
To chime in about bongs. I've smoked out of A LOT of bongs in the past 18 years of smoking... Glass is a must in my opinion. If you are super clumsy and prone to breaking things, I guess silicon is okay, but I've had the same glass bong for 5+ years and if you're careful/you don't smoke with a bunch of other people, you won't break it. Keep it clean. Change the water every time. Rinse it with 91% isopropyl alcohol and epsom salt every few times. I know it's your first bong, and you probably don't want to invest a ton, but I'd suggest going for something like this... Glass-100 Newest 16 Inch Tall 18 mm Joint Glass Filter Cup Bong | eBay instead of something cheaper like this... Hookah Water Pipe Bong Glass 8 inch – | eBay You'll pay a little more, but even for $40-50 you can get something pretty nice. It's just not worth buying a cheap gas station bong. You'll just wind up wanting something better.
Thanks for the tips! The one you linked is still in my price range. I'll post the one I was thinking of getting later to see if anyone's got any thoughts or if I missed something while looking it over
this is the bong im thinking about which is basically the same one that @suicidesaints recommended except it is via amazon and 10 bucks cheaper. stem isn't removable i don't think but it's got ice catchers and percs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077GR96N5/?tag=absolutepunk-20
My only suggestion is to clean it often. I know it can be a pain in the ass, but 91%iso and epsom salt are super cheap and it will make your bong that much more enjoyable every time you use it. Looking at that piece, it looks like there are some hard to reach places when cleaning, but if you clean it often, it will stay clean and you won't have a problem... if you don't, there are nooks and crannies that you'll never get clean when you do eventually decide it's time to clean it. Just my 2 cents. I'm kinda OCD about keeping my pieces clean though.
yeah i'll keep that in mind. definitely thinking i'll do more maintenance on the bong than i do on my pipe for the reasons you listed, seems pointless to pay that much for something and not be able to use it to its full potential
Considering that I'm now prone to eating a whole sleeve at a time I'm thinking this year I double down on how many girl scout cookies I get, at least like four boxes of thin mints but wondering if it's better not to enable my high eating habits
yeaaah I'm literally so gross and have never cleaned my bong yet and I should really do that because it's nasty
Goddammit, being stoned, I just accidentally held my bubbler at an angle when I was about to pack it and dumped the water into a grinder that I literally just filled to the brim >_> Oh man, that's me with the peanut butter patties/tagalongs
Lmao I figured at least one person in here would relate on some level. I was just glad that my girlfriend and I were already picking up later that morning anyways so it wasn't such a big deal. Best part is, I didn't even realize I did it at first lol. I noticed the water level was low, went to fill it, came back and then stuck my fingers in a soaked grinder xD