Bongs can be a costly item if they are purchased from an upscale head shop (a store that deals primarily in smoking materials, accessories and misc paraphernalia). Some of the more artistic pieces can fetch hundreds of dollars – a pretty high price to pay for something that, in all likelihood, will end up in shards someday. The same can be said of ceramics. Bongs made of Plexiglas are popular as well, and are more durable, but they seem to be frowned upon (with reason) by those who consider themselves connoisseurs of fine cannabis (see snobs).
Variations On A Theme
Some bongs are very straightforward in their design, sticking to the original Thai format, with a straight pipe with a water basin at the bottom. Today’s creations are much more likely to feature multiple chambers connected with tubes, or ventilated stems, or Z-shaped bodies (to prevent spillage if the bong tips over. However, people who do not have the money to spend on a bong (or who don’t live near any sort of head shop) can get pretty creative on their own. Bongs can be fashioned from the simplest of materials, such as a plastic bottle, without anything like an engineering degree.
Gravity Bongs
One of these homemade devices is called the “gravity bong”. This requires a two-liter soda bottle (with the bottom cut off), two metal bottle caps and a bucket of water. The two caps have holes punched in them, and are taped together so that one side screws onto the neck of the bottle and the other works as a bowl. With the bowl off, the bottle is submerged. The pot-stuffed bowl is then screwed on, flame is applied, and the bottle is slowly lifted from the bucket. The ensuing vacuum pulls the smoke down into the bottle. The cap is removed, and the bottle plunged back down, forcing the smoke out of the bottle and into the smoker’s lungs.
So this is all nice and sweet for the DIY people out there, but what about those who are looking for a more finished product ? Well even though gravity bongs are usually a type of homemade bongs, there are some commercially available gravity bongs for sale out there, one of the best, if not the best is the Vortex Gravity Bong :
The Vortex Gravity Bong Along with simple 4 steps illustration detailing the concept/mechanism of a gravity bong. To learn more about this gravity bong click the image.