What is a bong?

A bong is a kind of large water pipe that is often used to smoke cannabis flower or hashish. For many of us our bong is our favourite smoking utensil, the most cherished part of the kit. A smokers bong is often the showpiece on their coffee table, the center piece in the room if you will.

For that among other reasons you can understand why bongs can both be cheap and efficient but also can get pretty expensive and elaborate. luckily, there are plenty of affordable bongs available for those of us that simply cant afford a few hundred dollars and in some cases the thousands of dollars that hand blown pieces can cost. Though obviously visually speaking the handblown and sculptural pieces are in a league of their own most bongs are going to do their job pretty similarly to one another. A pure, tasty, smooth smoking experience is all your looking for really (that and to get high ofcourse)

The advantages of a bong 

Most people have tried a bong or water pipe of some kind at one time or another. Most of us try a bong and kinda remain hooked. Compared to your average pipe a bong is going to be smoother and more enjoyable, While also offering you bigger hits (Just means you'll get stoned faster) Perhaps the biggest advantage of all is compared to joints or blunts, You lose almost no smoke at all when smoking a bong, and the effect of your cannabis is much stronger and more immediate. That is because you take several slightly larger hits or even one huge whole bowl sized hit if your a real pro. The smoke hits you quite immediately and you inhale much deeper which really makes a difference you can feel. This helps you get the most out of your weed and even save some money. 

Its 2023 and more weed smokers these days don't smoke cigarettes or even spliffs anymore. Historically many smokers have rolled spliffs (cannabis and tobacco mixed together) in an attempt to save on their cannabis, Well as i said it's only logical that many modern weed smokers don't like to fill their joint up with tobacco. Instead bongs have gained popularity as a way to smoke smaller quantitates of pure unadulterated cannabis. And of course popular because after only one hit you will be stoned for some hours.

Also, many bong smokers often prefer to smoke using their luxurious glass pipe especially if it is a one of a kind functional art piece. And that's perfectly understandable, a good bong lasts for years and years, looks great in any living room or bedroom, and the smoke is often much more enjoyable than that of a joint or pipe.

Buying a bong

There are tons of brands of glass out there today and not all are made equal thats certainly a sure thing. Here at Shell Shock we carry a wide range of glass to cater to all our customers. on average in a Shell Shock you can expect bongs to start around $40-$50 and certainly go all the way up to $500 or so if you have really fine tastes.

Dab rigs can be a whole other thing entirely as they usually start priced around $60-$100 and can literally go as high as you can imagine. one of our most cherished premium pieces is our MERC glass "Warrior Minion" for example. 

Honeycomb bong, percolators and diffusers

There are so many options open to you today beyond that of simple beakers or straight tubes. Not only is there a lot more to choose from than before, but the quality of bongs is also much better than 20 years ago. Honeycombs, percolators, ash catchers and diffusers are all different ways to reach the same goal which is smoother, cooler and an all around better smoking experience. Be sure to have a look at our vast collection of both simple bongs and water pipes as-well as more elaborate percolated pieces and dab rigs.

How does a bong work?

A bong works basically the same a standard bubbler or water pipe, with the most important difference between a bong and smaller water pipe is just size and ability to take a phat hit. If you buy a small water pipe or bubbler it will likely come with a carb hole or "choke" you draw the pipe full of smoke first and then release your finger from the hole, in order to inhale all of the concentrated smoke in one big draw (this is called "clearing the piece"). Most bongs have removable bowls and instead of operating the "choke" you simply pull the bowl out to clear your piece out.  To light a bong, you simply use a lighter or hemp wick (bees wax coated hemp fibre) to light the cannabis on fire as you inhale.

The history of bongs

Although the middle east has had hookahs and water pipes in general for thousands of years and is widely regarded as the birth place of the bong. Pipes have been part of human history for thousands of years all over the world and so have water pipes of all different kinds. The word bong actually originates from the Taiwanese word "bong" or "buang", which basically just means "A bamboo water pipe".

Also in Africa, All over Asia in India and China and of course the Americas (among many others), indigenous tribes have been using bongs for centuries. Most of these bongs were probably made using things like bamboo and coconuts maybe similar to a "Rastafarian steam chalice"

but today we have modern manufacturers pumping out high quality acrylic, metal, ceramic and most predominantly borosilicate glass bongs across the world. 

Conclusion

We as humans have been smoking marijuana for longer than we can really even establish and we've been using water pipes for thousands of years at least, Like the invention of the wheel, despite being a primitive thing its still integral to a smokers day to day.

We have so many options for our smoking utensils these days but a true appreciation for glasswork is something that isn't as common in our community as it used to be, i encourage everyone to shop local and support your local glass scene because there are talented artists out there producing 1 of a kind pieces everyday for you to enjoy. If you are interested in some new glass or perhaps for your first glass! Come on down to a Shell Shock near you, we have four stores across Edmonton with our newest one located in West Edmonton Mall!