Bongs - throat troubles - weed or the piece?

[FreeThePlant]

I've never really got around to asking seasoned stoners this question, but i have a Roor Little Sista (i believe thats what its called) and not just me but various other friends who blaze have repeatedly said it's "too harsh" for them to smoke out of.

The best way I can describe it is this. Obviously I've smoked my weed in blunts, joints, bowls and a vape - no issues. The harshest out of those 4 is the bowl, but nowhere near as harsh as the bong. I don't know why it's as harsh as it is, it's a Roor Little Sista and has an ice catcher. Using the ice catcher cools the smoke and makes it 'bearable', but it gets to the point where if you take a decent-sized hit your throat hurts SO bad that you have to cease smoking all together at least for an hour or two until your throat feels better. No amount of water or drink will take the 'itching/burning/uncomfortable' feeling away. It's not just me - I've had over 4 or 5 other people who blaze daily say the same thing. My question - why is the bong the only piece that gives this effect? Does the type of bong matter? In other words, would a smaller downstem or 'diffuser' make any difference as far as the harshness goes? I'm going to sell the bong it's that bad - we've tried middies and various types of homegrown all with the same issues. Any ideas?

 

[motaco]

Thats a relatively large beaker bong right?

They can gather that smoke up in the base, turn sour (when the smoke gets too thick and gets a kinda brownish color) and it gets very hot and harsh. For years I never used larger bongs for that very reason.

Many of the top end glass blowers like toro and so forth rarely blow beaker or ball shaped bongs unless they are custom asked. They are just being faded out by better designs.

Its deceptively complicated but aside from increasing contact with waters surface area these new "science glass" bongs are made to keep smoke rapidly moving. Most larger bongs even have a second percolator in the neck of the bong.

You can try buying a diffused downstem or something, maybe even just put more water in the piece so the chamber isn't as large. But I think the main problem is lack of air flow and your smoke is going sour before you inhale it.

In the new bong world they use terms like "skim" "whole" and "sour" milk. Referring to the color and density of smoke in the pipe. Skim is thin and scratches your throat, Means you are getting too much air and not enough smoke. Sour milk is when it turns from white to grey, brown, or green. It is very harsh, hot, and tears your throat up. It means your smoke is not moving enough, or its gathering in one place (like in the beaker base). Whole milk is thick, puffy white smoke that goes down soft like you're inhaling cloud 9.

 

[HighDesertJoe]

Give me an old fashion homemade One Hit Pepto Bismo Bottle Bong. Fill it with crushed ice.
Oh the Good Times

I broken every glass bong I ever touched

 

[FreeThePlant]

Thats a relatively large beaker bong right?

They can gather that smoke up in the base, turn sour (when the smoke gets too thick and gets a kinda brownish color) and it gets very hot and harsh. For years I never used larger bongs for that very reason.

Many of the top end glass blowers like toro and so forth rarely blow beaker or ball shaped bongs unless they are custom asked. They are just being faded out by better designs.

Its deceptively complicated but aside from increasing contact with waters surface area these new "science glass" bongs are made to keep smoke rapidly moving. Most larger bongs even have a second percolator in the neck of the bong.

You can try buying a diffused downstem or something, maybe even just put more water in the piece so the chamber isn't as large. But I think the main problem is lack of air flow and your smoke is going sour before you inhale it.

In the new bong world they use terms like "skim" "whole" and "sour" milk. Referring to the color and density of smoke in the pipe. Skim is thin and scratches your throat, Means you are getting too much air and not enough smoke. Sour milk is when it turns from white to grey, brown, or green. It is very harsh, hot, and tears your throat up. It means your smoke is not moving enough, or its gathering in one place (like in the beaker base). Whole milk is thick, puffy white smoke that goes down soft like you're inhaling cloud 9.

This makes complete sense and has answered a question I've had for YEARS literally...i knew smoke could go sour, but didn't think it could go sour that fast (literally within 5-10 seconds)...in my state we can't just buy bongs so most of my pieces have been ordered online...plus there's more of a selection. What would you recommend for nice, smooth, clean hits with the least chance of it going sour? I don't want to rep another website but everyonedoesit has a pretty nice selection from the looks of it...can you recommend something there or from another online vendor?

 

[motaco]

Well I'm always leery about recommending stuff for other people because you are never sure how they would like a pipe to hit, and pipes aren't usually real cheap. Plus online shops have varying degrees of integrity.

As my friend hammerhead was recently complaining he ordered several reasonably expensive pipes from EDIT and they only shipped 2 of 3 bubblers last I heard from him. Its always a gamble I suppose.

I'm personally a fan of function and utility over price. I don't care for gaudy overpriced stuff and I'm not going to pay an arm and a leg for weed pipes so that factors in too.

That being said they have some very functional, and reasonably priced pipes if you aren't scared of mass produced china glass. If you want american custom stuff it gets pricey quick.

But if you just google search for bongs and water pipes, and filter results by price and percolation you can usually find stuff.

If you are asking what I personally use or have my eyes on... My daily driver is a 15 inch layback inline with a 6 arm tree perc and ice catch that I picked up for US $180. The fact that it lays down eliminates at least half of the chance of it breaking since it won't tip over. I'm very fond of it but it is a bit hard to clean and I do think other designs might give better percolation.

As far as what I've got my eyes on. That weedstar double bubbler with the showerhead is only 80 dollars or so. That is pretty cheap and it has good reviews. At some point I might buy a stemless waffle or something like a hoss dome If I can find one cheap enough.

If nothing else you can find 15-18 inch straight tube bongs with a tree perc in it for a bit over a hundred dollars. They are a proven model. Nothing fancy but very functional.

 

[HenriettaHippo]

I have been using a little tiny Molino piece of glass for a while now. Other than very frequent water changes it serves me well gets right to the point

It is a very cute little thing to look at...sort of like my X husband

 

[Tako]

Mini Gridded Inline Water Tube

Mini Gridded Inline Water Tube

Sounds like you want something that bubbles alot, has a lot of surface area to let the smoke cool, and has a low volume of air space inside the piece. Lots of bubbles to cool the smoke. Lots of surface area to help cool the smoke, think like a condenser coil. Low air volume so the toke is a lot more controllable and less chance of it going stale. Think like if you take a pull out of a huge water tube, you still need to clear all that smoke. Take a toke out of a skinny tube and its way easier to clear. I kinda like this one.

 

[Ziltoid]

x

 

[Hubbleman]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

My latest Roor hits very hard... its not harsh harsh hard but still packs a lot of weight and some times i cough.... which is strange for me... cos in the past i never coughf

Is it to do with weed? Or with this bong or with my lungs?

 

[motaco]

Think like if you take a pull out of a huge water tube, you still need to clear all that smoke. Take a toke out of a skinny tube and its way easier to clear.

That is also good advice. My inline is a pretty narrow tube. More narrow than many bongs its size and I do think that makes it smoother than many others.

If it has a larger tube it might be better with a 15in model over an 18in. But honestly straight tubes IMHO are a simple but big help. They just don't have a chamber that builds up a lump of hot smoke right at the end of your pull. The straight tubes just stack the smoke straight up to you as you smoke it. Much less to clear at the end.

 

[Tathagata]

Sounds like you want something that bubbles alot, has a lot of surface area to let the smoke cool, and has a low volume of air space inside the piece. Lots of bubbles to cool the smoke. Lots of surface area to help cool the smoke, think like a condenser coil. Low air volume so the toke is a lot more controllable and less chance of it going stale. Think like if you take a pull out of a huge water tube, you still need to clear all that smoke. Take a toke out of a skinny tube and its way easier to clear. I kinda like this one.

I wish I had read this before purchasing my new glass. Ah well, a Tako piece will definitely be next.