Who remembers U.S. Bongs?

Luckily, the "factory" was in the same industrial complex as my dad's warehouse/office. When my dad passed away I found a minty-mint original double-bubbler (with instruction sheet) and an ounce of 30 year old home-grown that resembled dry parsley and reeked of chlorophyll. The grass was useless, but the bong was fantastic.
Was? Yes, was....sadly it was dropped by a friend of mine and although it still smokes well, it's patched together with silicone and just doesn't have that clean 70's Plexiglas look to it anymore.

Nice! I had an 18" strait tube US Bong and we called it the "bong of Brussels" because the buds we broke it in with looked like brussel sprouts. From then on it was "Bob" and he died about a year later... R.I.P old friend. sniff... My friend has a 70's era grafix that still gets a lot of use though! Back then it was plastic tubes and metal bowls. I'll lake my glass on glass over nostalgia any day!

Jed

I had one that was red white & blue it was 3 straight pipes on the bottom row then up to 2 pipes and then one pipe/mouth piece in the middle with a wooden bowl that was changable. shit man that was in the 70's when they had outdoor theaters for $5.00 a car load & double feature nights.

I miss my Graphix everyday. I keep meaning to make one out of a piece of PVC and a soup can........... I used my two-footer to bash in a rippers head one time! Caught the fucker in my dorm room trying to steal a qp of P-bud! This was back in 86...
I remember the bong water going everywhere and being more worried about the smell than the guys skull. He ran off anyway........ after dropping the qp!

At the factory-showroom they had one that you could sit in...you were surrounded by tubes. I'm not sure just how functional it really was....can you imagine trying to clean that thing!?

Back in the day when 1/2 oz. was $25.00 and gas for my car was less then $0.65 a gallon and reg ciggs were less then $15.00 for a cartoon and I dated so many little pigs and enjoyed every minute of it in the back of my buick skylark.

In 68' we made our Bongs out of large bamboo. Inserted a copper tube, pipe, with a bowl of some sorts on the end. They were highly sought after. The problem aroze when you left water in them overnight, you then had to keep water in them or if they dried out they'd crack. I still think someone could market them today..DD

US Bongs, what a blast from the past! Didn't they also make the Aqualung?? Now that was a bong!

Doobieduck said:

In 68' we made our Bongs out of large bamboo. Inserted a copper tube, pipe, with a bowl of some sorts on the end. They were highly sought after. The problem aroze when you left water in them overnight, you then had to keep water in them or if they dried out they'd crack. I still think someone could market them today..DD

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DON'T EVER PUT A FLAME TO A COPPER BOWL! VERY BAD! Love bamboo tubes though!!! Short of a visual, they are among the best!!!

Jed

Thats classic bro! I love seeing vintage smoking gear, that was top of the line!

I have a US Tube. I'll try to grab a picture of it soon. I get the feeling it isn't what you guys are talking about.

Hello EVERYONE! I have some exciting news. After almost 5 years of looking around trying to figure out how to make the US BONGS line again i stumbled accross the original owner and developer (1 of the 3 brothers anyway) a little over a week ago. I am in negotiations with him to secure all of the secrets on how to build them as well as getting his help in building an assembly line for a few of the US Bongs models. He will also be there to insure that we get them built RIGHT(I hope). I had given-up hope of figguring out how to build them correctly after many experiments failed to give me any real indications on how to solve several large problems that made getting good quality all but impossible. This gentelman's help is the only way i think it can ever happen again.

Unfortunately my battle with cancer over the last 3 years has left me with no means to finance such a start-up. But the doctors say i am cancer free as of last month. I am going to be launching an indiegogo campaign to raise funds for the launch within the next couple of weeks. I decided to try the crowdfunding idea in part to see if there is enough intrest in this old line to resurect it and because i just can't get normal financing after all the cancer problems. Maybe if there is enough interested people that might donate a couple of bucks each this might become a comunity project. My Corvette and juke-box are for sale to try to raise the funds as well as almost anything i have if some-one gives me a serious enough offer for it.

I would also love to hear any and all thoughts from everyone on this forum to judge interest. I really need to hear from as many people as possible telling me their favorites to pick the lucky few that will be part of the re-launching of this line.
I will only be able to build a few of the models durring our first run in order to keep the launch costs down but will be adding to it as time and sales allow. So PLEASE tell me what you think should be the first ones out the door.

The real story about the closing of US Bongs is a little complicated but sums up to; The feds decided to test their new laws against the interstate sales and transport of drug paraphernalia on the GIANT distribution network these brothers had built up over more than a decade. The Uncle Sam logo probably helped make the feds even madder so they ran over them like a steamroller. They took EVERYTHING! All of this means that when i get into production ALL of the sales will be in Colorado ONLY. Sorry guys, if you want to buy one you will have to come to Colorado or make other arrangements, I can't even discuss possiblities on that or i risk the same conspiracy to transport charges. I hope every-one can understand this. I can't put this much work into building a complete line just to have the feds take it.

I did come up with a new twist for the line. Instead of wood for the stem adapter i found a very stable thermo-plastic that can be made to adapt a glass stem and bowl as well as leaving the regular threaded bowl options. That will be the only change that will be made in the first run. Our first run will only be 2 or 3 colors (red, white & blue sticks out to me here)but will be adding to that as well. Later runs might give me oportunities to improve and input from all of you can dirrect some of those changes.

So please keep this link alive by posting all of your thoughts here. It will all help.
Lets hope that i can succeed in this launch so that we can see these great pipes back out there even if it is limitted to Colorado...untill they change the federal law anyway. Maybe the crowdfunding might work to start a change through numbers bugging legislators also...you never know.

Corvette Doc said:

Hello EVERYONE! I have some exciting news.
Lets hope that i can succeed in this launch so that we can see these great pipes back out there even if it is limitted to Colorado...untill they change the federal law anyway. Maybe the crowdfunding might work to start a change through numbers bugging legislators also...you never know.

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Look to the success of the pipe buckle to raise cash for a startup company http://www.bucklepuffer.com/

I can't remember the site but once registered, you raise cash by members sponsoring your efforts ..maybe just maybe IC may want a share...?

Thank you for the response. I am in a class right now trying to learn how to create a good video. That site helps guid me on what i am allowed to say in my video.

I am sure that there are many more things out there that i won't know might help me untill i see them. Your comments help greatly! Thank-you!

I think that that video looks like a utube hosted one, is it? I will have to use utube to host mine from what they say in this class, so just wondering.

Cool thread! Brings back fond memories. Not sure if the idea is capable to materialize again tho.

MrGoodBudz said:

Cool thread! Brings back fond memories. Not sure if the idea is capable to materialize again tho.

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Those fond memories combined with being critical about quality should make this a possibility. But that is why i am trying to see how much interest can be found in them after 25 years. Time will tell.

Man, i am starting to wonder if i was right about there still being interest in these after all these years. I was hoping that there would be people asking about how to get one, or saying they would love to see them come back. All i am seeing is total appathy or dis-intrest.
I know that a lot of the younger folk have no idea what this line was about. They haven't been available for almost 25 years.
This lack of interest makes me think that maybe i shouldn't take a risk on building them again.
Please chime in with any thoughts, good or bad. I am not trying to sell anything (yet), just trying to see if it would be worth a lot of work and money to bring them back.

I loved mine back in the day until I got a glass Toker I and later a Toker 2. It is all glass and vapes now Corvette. The younger cats are more modern. They like glass on glass fittings, bubblers, plates, domes and percolators. Plus they use waxed beeline string to light bowls.

IMO a plexiglass US Bong has no chance of making a comeback. Now a Toker with glass on glass fittings might be successful.

The acrylic bongs looked neat when they came out originally, but they were hell to clean and the plastic crazed terribly after a bit of use.
My experience was precisely the same as the previous poster. Went from a tokemaster presidential to the original toker.
I am still using a toker II knockoff, and am still delighted with it. Has been my go since it was introduced in the mid seventies. I have never found anything I liked anywhere near as much.