If it’s an intense hashish excessive you’re after, the perfect bongs are the fast and soiled solution to go. Often known as “bubblers” or “water pipes,” bongs are rudimentary smoking gadgets that use water to filter ganja smoke. And in the identical approach that weed vapes and grinders have entered their maturity, evolving into a brand new period of glossy silhouettes and classy finishes, the perfect bongs are a far cry from the soda are you able to MacGyvered in school.
The Finest Bongs, In keeping with GQ
The Finest Bong, General: Session Items, $185The Finest Sturdy Bong: Greater Requirements Heavy Responsibility Beaker, $160The Finest Discreet Bong: Puffco Cupsy, $70The Finest Gravity Bong: Stündenglass, $600The Finest Ergonomic Bong: Inheritor Waterpipe, $220The Finest Novelty Bong: Hemper Glass Teddy Bong, $60The Finest Artwork-Piece Bong: Edie Parker x Paul Arnhold Bong, $795The Finest Excessive-Tech Bong: Hitoki The Saber, $360The Finest Ceramic Bong: Weed’d, $182
In an ever-growing market of wonderful weed equipment, it could be exhausting to hone in on only one improve mannequin, however we did the exhausting work of getting totally baked with a number of totally different sorts of bongs (from glass beakers to a trompe l’oeil design that resembles a espresso cup) to determine which of them had been worthy of your best weed.
The Finest Bong, General: Session Items
Your old-school bong cannot maintain a candle to this contemporary piece of artwork from Session Items. Product of sturdy borosilicate glass, this factor completely rips and cleans up good, too, due to its detachable rubber items. The silicone cleansing cap suits snugly over the mouthpiece, so all you need to do is fill it with answer, slip on the cap, and shake till it is shiny. The silicone items are customizable in seven colorways and you may choose and select items à la carte, in trigger you get somewhat too excessive and find yourself shedding one thing among the many sofa cushions.
The Finest Sturdy Bong: Greater Requirements Heavy Responsibility Beaker
For hamfisted tokers, Greater Requirements makes an impressively sturdy bong. Likelihood is it will not break instantly after a fall, and its excessive thermal resistance ensures that fast modifications in temperature will not instantly trigger it to shatter. Adored by amateurs and professionals alike, do be warned that this factor is in, ahem, excessive demand. The model has hassle retaining it in inventory, however that is simply additional justification for why it is value getting in when you can.
The Finest Discreet Bong: Puffco Cupsy
Don’t mistake Cupsy in your espresso cup lest you are taking a swig of soiled bong water within the early hours of the AM. Puffco’s handheld water pipe seems precisely like a journey espresso cup, and it is a tremendous discreet solution to mild up whereas strolling to work. Utilizing this factor is wildly simple, even for those who’ve already taken one too many hits: Simply fill the easy-to-clean stainless-steel cup with water, pack the tiny bowl with weed, mild up, after which take some rips from the straw. It is small, however simple to wash, and probably the greatest choices on the market for an on-the-go excessive that will not draw any pointless consideration to your self.
The Finest Gravity Bong: Stündenglass
Smoking out of a home made gravity bong created from a cut-out soda bottle is a ceremony of passage for a lot of hashish lovers, and a technique that Stündenglass has perfected. Using greater than umlauts to fine-tune issues, the Seth Rogen-approved model has developed a system that makes use of kinetic movement, water, and gravity to first attract hits from the hooked up bowl, after which with one other rotation of the gadget, propel the smoke out of the mouthpiece—no suction required. Except for ripping hits, the Stündenglass can be utilized to infuse smoke into meals and drinks like they have been hotboxing, and a separate attachment transforms this factor right into a communal hookah. Certain, this factor is silly costly, however when you think about the cost-per-toke, that sky-high value may really feel extra much more mellow over time.
The Finest Ergonomic Bong: Inheritor Waterpipe
Contemplating you could trend a DIY bong out of any previous apple or Tic-Tac container, it is not a provided that your chosen smoking gadget will probably be ergonomically sound. However Inheritor is attempting to make {that a} precedence with their waterpipes, which characteristic a wider-rimmed bowl to scale back spills and a mouthpiece that is positioned to keep away from straining your neck mid-rip. They arrive aside to permit for the addition of ice into the chamber, and use an prolonged downstem with eight-slotted percolator for cooler and smoother hits.
The Finest Novelty Bong: Hemper Glass Teddy Bong
There’s no scarcity of kitschy bongs available on the market and but Hemper’s teddy bear feels extra nostalgic than cheesy. Functionally good and aesthetically nice, it makes use of a slim mouthpiece that’s simple to attract from for streamlined pulls. The subtle downstem percolator provides to the filtration by breaking down the smoke into smaller bubbles because it passes by the water, providing you with smoother hits than a typical percolator may yield. Hemper additionally sells a cleansing equipment to assist preserve this bear in preventing kind.
The Finest Artwork-Piece Bong: Edie Parker x Paul Arnhold Bong
Designer Edie Parker has taken on the weed world with its design-first method to hashish equipment. Take this 16-inch, groovy glass mannequin that is created in collaboration with Brooklyn-based artist Paul Arnhold and hand-blown for a one-of-one tabletop gadget. When it is not getting used for smoking, it doubles as a bud vase for teeny flowers.
The Finest Ceramic Bong: Weed’d
Weed’d’s structural gadgets—which promote on the San Francisco Museum of Trendy Artwork—are off-duty eye sweet in your tabletop once they’re not getting used for a cheeky little toke. They don’t seem to be the simplest to wash contemplating their sharp strains and opaque end, and the chamber is mighty small, however for those who’re utilizing one in every of these handmade-in-Italy items, you are in all probability largely in it for the vibes, in any case.
The Finest Excessive-Tech Bong: Hitoki The Saber
If there’s a signal that humanity is heading in the right direction with all of its latest technological improvement, it’s this: A bong powered by lasers. The Hitoki Trident Laser is the world’s first to make use of laser vitality to create fast heating and exact combustion. The gadget operates equally to a desktop vaporizer with three pre-set temperature choices and a few-second wait time for the flower to ignite contained in the chamber. Do you want this factor? No. Do you continue to badly need one? Hell, sure.
What Is a Bong?
At its most elementary degree, a bong basically consists of a bowl for loading up plant materials, a chamber to assemble smoke in, a mouthpiece to attract the smoke by, and a gap (or “carb” or “choke”) to clear the smoke. Cypress Hill had it proper when he rapped “it’s not a brand new technique.” Even courting again 2,400 years in the past, chiefs in what’s now southern Russia had been packing weed and opium into pure gold bongs for ceremonies, whereas different toking vessels created from pottery and horns have been found at archeological websites in Africa and Asia. Comparable bongs are nonetheless utilized in these elements of the world to smoke tobacco, hashish, and different herbs immediately.
How Do You Clear a Bong?
To keep away from the cursed expertise of constructing direct lip contact with soiled bong water, and make sure you’re tasting the present bowl’s terps and never final night time’s spent ash, preserve it clear. Some bongs make this less complicated than others.
Begin by disassembling the bong and rinsing away any bits of ash or chunks of plant materials. As a result of combusted hashish leaves an extremely sticky residue, scorching water and cleaning soap gained’t minimize it. Some bongs are dishwasher-safe, however others require particular glass cleansing fluid or a traditional combo of rubbing alcohol and salt to interrupt down the resin. This may be completed by pouring a few of the combination into the bong, stopping up the holes along with your arms or plugs, and shaking vigorously. Q-tips or pipe cleaners might also be required for dipping into hard-to-reach locations.
What to Search for in a Bong
When scouting out a brand new bong, take into consideration how typically you mild up and what sorts of options you are into, which can often dictate how a lot you are prepared to spend. There are nonetheless loads of borosilicate glass towers on the market to fast-track you to cloud 9, but in addition a wealth of recent design-minded, displayable choices, from high-tech gravity bongs to handmade ceramic artwork items.
Whereas breakable, glass bongs are longer-lasting than silicone, which tends to stain, so search for supplies with endurance. Dimension issues right here, too. Bigger bongs with extra water inside can provide smoother hits as there’s extra water to filter the smoke, however are much less moveable and might typically be tougher to wash and use. Options like percolators and extra chambers may also enhance the expertise when designed correctly, as they have an effect on how the smoke is cooled and filtered.
How We Examined
As a longtime stoner, I mixed years of unbiased analysis with some extra scans of weed web sites and boards to floor an inventory of a few of the most celebrated, or new-and-notable bongs that I used to be desperate to mild up. I made positive that the choices beneficial right here supplied solely the cleanest, smoothest hits, giving further credit score to those who had been designed very well and weren’t a headache to wash.