Collection: Water Pipes

What is a Water Pipe?

A water pipe is what it sounds like – a regular pipe that incorporates using water in its design to be able to make the hit smoother, easier to handle. Water pipes, as a term, incorporate both bongs and bubblers. A bong is a bowl, a downstem, a water chamber, and a tubular mouthpiece. The downstem allows the smoke to percolate through the water and cool the hit. A bubbler tends to have all the pieces of a smoking pipe – bowl, carb, mouthpiece – but with the addition of a water chamber typically located underneath the bowl and between it and the mouthpiece. Just like with a bong, this allows the smoke to percolate through the water and make the hit much cooler than it would be otherwise. Water pipes will require additional maintenance compared to regular smoking pipes because the water needs changing from time to time to keep from getting nasty and potentially affecting the flavor of the hit. Water pipes are popular and easy to find online or in stores.

Types of Water Pipes

Essentially, imagine the different types and styles of a bubbler that is available online and in stores. For example, some bubblers are small, some are large, and some are going to incorporate wicked designs and cool features like diffusers. The more intricate the bong the more expensive and the better it is to make sure it is sturdy – particularly if made of glass rather than silicone. In addition, there are of course various sizes and types of bongs in terms of complexity and material.

First, let’s start with the different materials available. Most bubblers and bongs are made from glass as it is the most common and popular material to make any type of smoking pipe out of. Glass is known universally to be quality, flavor free, and easy to maintain. It is, however, also known to break and provide some headaches related to its fragility. This means that when buying a glass water pipe make sure to incorporate that fragility into the use consideration. Silicone, on the other hand, is nearly indestructible. It is easy to clean and is also lightweight. The issue, however, is that some folks find there to be a flavor difference when using silicone. While there is no official danger, some people simply prefer the ‘flavor free’ nature of glass over their perceived flavor of silicone.

Finally, keep in mind that there are different sizes and features available on water pipes – both bongs and bubblers. Water pipes can come equipped with additional percolators or diffusers to help make the smoke smoother as it travels through the water. This isn’t to say that the force of the hit is entirely mitigated but it does mean that more smoke has passed through more water more quickly and often. Basically, maximizing diffusion. Different sized water pipes are also more or less useful for things like being mobile, a party piece, etc.

How to Choose a Water Pipe?

One thing to keep in mind is that the personal preferences and needs of a particular person will predominate over the general considerations for a water pipe. Generally, all that is required is to ask if the additional maintenance needs of a water pipe are acceptable and whether or not a particular material and size will work. Past that, it becomes a specific consideration of the water pipe’s needs to be mobile, if there are enough diffusers to make the hit smooth, or whatever else someone may need specifically from a new water pipe. Remember that price isn’t the only indicator of quality either. Some affordable water pipes are made with heavier glass or higher grade silicone than other. This is important to review on each specific water pipe to make sure that the best deal is being made.

Why Buy a Water Pipe?

Truthfully, buying a water pipe is not just an investment in a product but can also be seen as an investment in a lifestyle of sorts. Water pipes act and hit so much differently than a regular smoking pipe that it is almost the equivalent of having a vaporizer and comparing it to a smoking pipe. Water pipes, being in this separate category, deserve a special place in any collection. So, one reason can simply be curiosity. Another can simply be the fact that regular pipes hit too harshly. At the end of the day, most of those come down to personal preferences and needs.