Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Bong

If you're struggling to pick a bong, congratulations, you've found a shortcut to solving your troubles! 

It's like finding a treasure map in a cave full of treasures, I've got the ultimate guide right here to help you pick the best bong for you with ease. 

Don't worry, the process is both relaxing and fun, let's start this treasure hunt together! 

If you're struggling to pick a bong, 

Now with hundreds of shapes, sizes, prices, colors, and designs to account for, you have countless choices of bongs available, all just a couple of clicks away—That's where we step in, with this helpful shopping guide for buying your next bong.

The first thing you need to do is work out what you want. 

What sort of budget do you have? Do you have a preference for material? Do you want to dab or smoke herb? 

Bong Material

Glass bongs

Glass bong is the most popular material used in water pipes. 

It provides a clean and pure taste because the glass does not affect the smell of the smoke. 

Because glass is transparent, it is easy to monitor resin buildup. 

It is also easy to clean when the accumulation is a problem. 

Because of these factors, glass bongs are usually more expensive than bongs made of other materials.  

There's nothing quite as disheartening as watching an expensive glass bong shatter when your clumsy stoner friend drops it. 

So if someone you smoke with falls into that category, you may want to opt for something more robust. 

Acrylic bongs

Acrylic bong is probably the second most popular material because it is very durable. 

You can drop plastic bongs while coughing, and the only damage is water stains on the carpet. 

Compared with other materials, plastic pipes are also relatively cheap. 

Bongs made of plastic are ideal for travel because they do not break easily as glass or ceramics do. 

The only downside of Acrylic bongs is that they may slightly affect the taste of your smoke.

Ceramic bongs

Ceramic bongs tend to be heavier and more robust than the other materials on the list. 

For this reason and their overall vulnerability, ceramic bongs generally are not suitable for taking place. 

However, because clays are incredibly malleable and easy to use, they come in a variety of novel shapes, sizes, and colors. 

Ceramic bongs are usually more expensive than silicon ones because of the work required to make them. 

While ceramic bongs may not be your daily smoker, they are undoubtedly suitable for special occasions or display on cabinets or shelves.

Silicone Bongs

Silicone bongs become more popular over the years as they are the perfect cross in terms of customization, price, durability, and performance.

Silicone itself is soft and malleable, making it a perfect fit for travels or if you're someone who's constantly on the go.

Unlike acrylic, silicone bongs can withstand extremely high and low temperatures without melting or breaking apart. 

This makes them very durable and adds a lot of value for the long haul.

Now that you know what to look for in a bong and why it matters, it's time to get you set up for how to pick a bong that is best for you.

Bong Sizes

Everyone will have a different preference on what type of bong size they need to fit their everyday lifestyle. 

Maybe you're constantly on the move and you need something on the smaller scale like mini bongs, or maybe you're a homebody, in which case a larger bong might be more ideal.

Either way, there is something for everyone, and that is the sole purpose of our guide, helping choose the right bong for you.

Lookah has every type and size of bongs made from high borosilicate glass with excellent customer service. It won't be hard to find the perfect bong for you.

Well, what exactly are the three different-sized bongs out there on the market, and what are the benefits of each? Let's identify the different bong sizes:

Mini Bongs

Mini bongs, crafted with precision and typically measuring no more than six inches, offer smokers a portable and discreet solution for enjoying their preferred smoking style. Also, it makes them quite ideal for on-the-go travel.

These charming vessels boast a water chamber and basic filtration system, mimicking the function of larger bongs while delivering a more intense hit due to their compact size.

Medium Bongs

Medium bongs are more common since it's what the name implies, right in the middle of small and big. You can still reap the benefits of what a mini bong can provide plus the advantages of what big hitter bongs can deliver. The height of a medium-sized bong is generally anywhere between 10" to -14".

Even though it's not as huge as a bigger bong, it's still greater in size when compared to a mini one, which knocks it off the list of making it discreet or even travel-friendly. These are important points to consider when buying a bong.

Large Bongs

Large bongs are usually for the more experienced smoker, though, not limited to beginners. These large-sized bongs work wonderfully for home use since they are bigger and not discreet or travel-friendly. In a lot of ways, this is the best type of bong to buy since it allows optimal airflow and smoke filtration.

This results in smoother and tastier hits, which reduces throat and lung irritation, as compared to medium and small bongs.

Bong Shapes

Before diving into the technical aspects, let's discuss the most basic aspect of water pipe selection, which is the shape.

Straight Pipe

These are the most basic style bongs. They range in size from several inches to a few feet.

Beaker Bong

Remember chemistry class?

These are designed to be similar to those beakers you remember from high school. 

These usually have a straight neck leading down to a 45-degree flared chamber at the bottom, forming the base. 

The shape can help prevent splashback and also helps collect all those ash and tar particles. 

The larger this beaker chamber is, the more surface areas there are for cooling the smoke. 

Bent neck

These necks are bent to prevent water from rising from the neck to the smoker's mouth. 

It's kind of like a circuit breaker mechanism. 

They also offer a more laid-back smoking experience.

Fat Can Bases

These provide stability and are common on tall narrow bongs, which can be top-heavy and prevent the pipes from falling over.  

In addition to these, LOOKAH has some aesthetically unique and cool bongs. 

Check out the Tataoo glass pipes; there are mushroom-shaped pipes, octopus-glass pipes, and all manner of groovy-shaped smoking pipes to choose from.

 Percolators and Recycler Bongs

Percolation is a hot topic because there is no clear winner, which one is the best, and everyone has a favorite and sticks to it. 

In an osmotic filter, you need to look for two things: the smoothness provided by the osmotic filter, and the resistance from smoking through the holes. 

You don't need percolators if you're not familiar with bongs, but they're good. 

Try not to buy a pipe with many percolators. 

This seems like a good idea, but all the percolator resistance can make it harder to draw your hits.

Water is an important element in any bong because it is used to cool and filter smoke. 

It is said that it is healthier for your body because harmful pollutants are filtered out before the smoke reaches your lungs. 

You only need to look at the dirty water left behind to see that it benefits your lungs. 

In addition to filtering, the water cools the smoke considerably. 

This means you can take a big hit, make it smooth, and cause less irritation to the throat and lungs. 

The more bubbles you can create, the more comfortable it is to hit.

This is a shortlist of the more popular percolators. 

For a complete list, check out our article on how percolators work.

Honeycomb Percolators: Excellent filtering effect and minimum resistance.Very popular choice.

Tree Bubbler: Good filtering effect, little resistance.Another popular option.

Showerheads Bubbler: Produce moderate filtration and smoothness, and provide minimal resistance.

Inline Bubbler: Fairly good filtration and average resistance.Ideal for light rigs.

Turbine Bubbler: Medium filtering effect, more resistance than the showerhead.

In most cases, all percolators will make your smoking experience smoother. However, due to the complexity of some types of percolators, their cost may be higher.

Therefore, if you do not want to use a high-end filter like the propeller PERC, it is better to buy a more basic filter like the tree PERC. This can help you save a lot of money and get the same value from the new pipe.

Cheap Bongs or Expensive Bongs

In general, you can expect to pay between $60 and $150 for a good-quality bong. 

There are plenty of larger bongs on the market for less than $100.

Anything over $100 is considered a high-quality bong. 

Some heady glass bongs and handblown water pipes will cost more than $500. And on the other end of the scale, you can get some cheap glass bong or silicon pipe for 30 bucks or less. 

Although cost should not be the only factor in deciding what bong to buy, it will affect your purchase. 

Think carefully about how much you would be willing to pay and consider it an investment. 

Remind yourself that the upfront costs will not be the same as the long-term costs. 

If you regularly use a bong, you may want to add accessories to the basic bong or purchase one with percolators recycle chambers, or extra parts like ash catchers; all this will add to the cost.

If you choose a cheap and flimsy bong, not only do you increase the chances of it breaking, but you'll also likely be dissatisfied with its performance. 

It will end up costing you more in the long run as you'll want to replace it with a better one quickly. 

So by spending a little extra money on a durable and reliable water pipe, you save in the long run.

Conclusion

Wow, was that a lot of information in this guide to retain or what?

Whichever you decide, I hope you find the best type of bong tailored to all your needs! 

Don't waste time, take everything you've learned here today and get yourself the perfect setup!