Why would you choose a bong over a different method of smoking? Bongs are the option for people who want to feel really blazed, not smoke any tobacco, and get a nice taste from some nice buds. They get you more stoned than vaporisers, more stoned than joints, but less stoned than wax and edibles.

Advantages of bongs

1. Get you more baked than joints
2. Don't have to smoke tobacco
3. Fairly portable, depending on size obviously
4. Effects last longer than a joint

Disadvantages of bongs

1. Difficult to clean
2. Bong water is really gross
3. Still smoking something which creates toxic chemicals after combustion
4. Decreases your lung capacity similarly to smoking
5. Some bongs aren't portable at all
6. Some bongs are breakable

The different types of bongs

The first question you're always going to ask yourself before you buy a bong, is what material you want to have it made from. The options are:

• Glass
• Plastic or acrylic
• Ceramic

Glass bongs

A glass bong is one of the best options by far, and with 21 years smoking experience, I've realised why. A glass bong by far the best smoking experience, because it has the best flavour. It's not like they don't also have some problems. The main advantages of smoking a glass bong is definitely the taste, as if you get a nice long hit from some nice buds from a glass bong, you'll be able to taste the difference. But, glass bongs are obviously breakable. I remember when I was about 17 I went to a party, and my friend had just bought an incredibly expensive, beautifully made glass water pipe. It had a percolator and everything. This was my first time seeing percs, but I never even got a chance to smoke from it. He took it out, filled it with ice, and then the mouthpiece broke. It was a little bit hilarious at the time, but it always put me off buying an expensive glass waterpipe.

If you're buying from a company like Tank Glass, breakages aren't a worry. Overall, glass bongs and the best choice for flavour. But, they are often more expensive, as well as being breakable, so you can find that sometimes the cost is much higher than the alternatives.

Tank Glass Bong

As the name suggests, tank glass bongs help with the biggest problem when it comes to bongs made from glass, and that's them being breakable. The specs of this product are as follows:

• American-blown 9mm Glass
• Reinforced Base to stop breakages
• Uber Thick Tank Joint
• 12 Inches Tall, smaller versions available
• 14mm Tank Bowl, perfect thickness
• Glass Downstem
• NEW* Ring Ice Catcher (Version: 2.0)
• FREE* Extra Glass Downstem

Their bongs now even come free with a ring ice catcher, and an extra glass downstem. If you're looking for the right bong, but this one is too big, you can also get smaller ones. This is the perfect bong for the those who are looking for good flavour, the only problem being the cost. Not all stoners are well off, and maybe this is out of their price range. However, if you're buying multiple waterpipes over the years, it may be worth it overall to invest in a tank glass beaker. Shop their range here 

Acrylic and plastic bongs

Plastic bongs and acrylic are the cheapest option by far. They are also a lot harder to break, which means that you will only need to buy one about every year or so. The reason you would pick a acrylic bong over a different type of bong is because they're the cheapest. I personally wouldn't recommend a plastic bong, however. This is because they change the taste of the bong hit, and therefore it's better to use flavour savers like glass bongs. You don't want to ruin the taste of your herbs if you're smoking on some premium buds like the gelato strain.

But, if you are looking for a cheaper bong, we definitely recommend buying an acrylic bong or a silicone bong. These are the easiest to clean, as they are easy to just put in the dishwasher. These don't change the taste as much as other bongs of similar materials, and the complexity of the colours often looks pretty cool. If you're not too bothered about taste though, this could be the right bong for you.

Ceramic Bong

Another option is a ceramic bong, which is a great concept. I would say the biggest disadvantage of these bongs is that you can't actually see the smoke leaving your water pipes, so you might not necessarily know when the smoke is over. This can be a bit of a problem, as you might accidentally end up inhaling the water, which can be an awful experience.

However, they're fairly easy to clean, pretty cheap, and the taste is great. They're a great alternative to glass, for those who don't want to spend too much. There are also bamboo bongs, but we personally don't recommend this type of beaker bongs.

Optimizing your water pipe use

So now you've chosen which type of bong you want, it's time to learn how to correctly use it:

• Put some water in the bong, just enough so that the pipe is covered completely by water. Don't put too much water in, otherwise you may find that you inhale some bong water. Trust me, you really don't want that.
• Then grind some weed up, or put some hash inside the bowl. You will probably need a gauze depending on the design of your bong, some of them have ash catchers included with them, some of them don't.
• Put your mouth over the mouthpiece.
• Take a lighter, and with one finger on your left hand cover the hole, and with your right hand put the flame to the weed.
• Take your finger off the hole and take a hit, don't take a huge hit here unless you're an adept smoker. A really good tip here is to take a little hit, put your finger back over the hole, inhale the smoke into your lungs, blow it out, then take another hit.
• You will see the smoke shoot through into your lungs, and keep going until there's none left.

How to clean your bong

There is nothing worse than smoking a dirty bong. Trust me, I've had experience of smoking from a dirty, old, plastic bong. The smoke taste is one which I'll not forget, and I wish I had cleaned it before I used it. Cleaning your bong is as important as cleaning your dishes after you eat, in terms of changing the experience. The resin and other chemicals which collect in the bong are a horrible feeling in the back of your throat which may lead to you having some serious pain in the back of your throat.

The age-old question is how to clean your bong. Sometimes it's possible to just stick your bong in the dishwasher, but sometimes it's not for various reasons. Obviously certain types would simply break inside the dishwasher. Those bongs made from fairly cheap glass could easily break, and the separate parts are quite hard to keep together and clean. A Tank Glass bong would be the perfect bong for a lot of people for this reason. The other reason would be that there is someone in the house who you don't really want to find out that you smoke, or you simply don't want to upset them with the discovery of a beaker bong in their dishwasher.

The other, slightly more complex seeming method, of cleaning a bong is as follows:

• Buy some isopropyl alcohol (90% or more) and some sea salt. They can be bought from most supermarkets.
• For a 12" bong you would need 60ml of isopropyl alcohol one teaspoon of sea salt.
• Hold it by the mouthpiece. block the hole with something and pour the mix in.
• Hold the bong by the base, remember to block the hole, and cover the top of the bong with your hand.
• Finally shake the bong for about 30 seconds, then rinse the bong with warm water.

Conclusion

There are many different brands and many different materials that bongs can be made by and of. In this article we've attempted to sum up all the information about how to choose a bong, focusing on materials. There are many different accessories. that you can check out for yourself, which could be other things that you might consider buying if you're buying a bong, these include:

• Splash guards
• Chambers
• Percolators
• Recycled
• Helix
• Double Helix
• Ice catchers
• and much more

The most important decision is what material you want your bong to be made of, and then after maybe you can decide if you need any more attachments or not. We've given ideas for people on budgets, people looking for quality, and people looking for functionality.