Are you looking for a new pocket piece? Far and away, many of the most popular pocket smoking pipes are made of glass, but is glass unequivocally the best material?
It’s not always black and white. Glass smoking pipes are popular for a reason, but metal smoking pipes also have some advantages. Let’s break it down.
Glass Smoking Pipes: The Basics
Many hand pipes and pocket pipes are made of glass, specifically, a grade of glass known as borosilicate glass that has a low coefficient of thermal expansion.
This makes this grade of glass physically tougher and less likely to crack under high heat. This makes it great for hand pipes, but water pipes, chillums, and other smoking pipes are made of glass, too.
Aside from this, glass smoking pipes don’t impart any off tastes to the dry herbs you smoke, making glass the cleanest option for smoking. When you smoke a glass hand pipe, you’re also not imparting any chemicals into your herbs.
Glass is also not porous, which makes it easy to clean, too. With some pipe cleaners and a clean rag, getting a glass pipe clean is usually fairly easy.
The greatest advantage of glass, however, probably has to do with the fact that it offers the best quality smoking experience.
Not only does it not impart any off flavors while smoking, but glass itself has no taste. On top of that, while glass does get hot, it doesn’t hold heat as long as metal, so you can enjoy a long smoking sesh with a glass pipe and pass it around without too much of a risk of it getting too hot.
So generally, most agree that glass smoking pipes are superior. But there are still a few distinct advantages of metal pipes.
Metal Smoking Pipes: The Basics
Most smoking pipes that are made of metal are made from aluminum, brass, or steel, although there could be others.
The biggest draw of metal smoking pipes is their durability. Even though borosilicate glass is tough, it can’t hold a candle (lighter?) to these metals. You can drop them onto the sidewalk or down the stairs and, though they might get scratched a little, will be just fine.
Metal pipes are also at an advantage when it comes to cost. For the most part, metal pipes are fairly affordable and in general cost less than glass pipes, so that’s an advantage to some smokers as well.
Like glass, they are also easy to clean, so we can’t assign a distinct advantage to either of the two for that.
Just be aware that metal pipes can get very hot while smoking and that they can impart unpleasant flavors to your herbs.
Where to Buy Glass Pipes Near You: The Hip Cat Smoke Shop
The market bears a wide assortment of both metal and glass smoking pipes, many of them intricately and elaborately decorated.
If you prioritize cheap cost and durability, metal pipes may be the better option for you.
If you prefer a clean smoking experience that doesn’t alter the flavor of your herbs, and a pipe that won’t get too hot, then glass is for you.
Both high-quality metal and glass pipes are easy to clean and are available in a wide range of sizes, shapes, colors, and other configurations.
For those of you wondering where to buy glass pipes near you (or metal), and you’re in South Florida, pay a visit to The Hip Cat Smoke Shop at 1515 E. Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
They carry a huge assortment of glass and metal smoking pipes, plus other vaping and smoking accessories, and tons of cool stuff.
This little post can’t do them justice, though. Visit their shop if you’re in their area for the full experience – and for a preview, visit their online headshop at TheHipCatSmokeShop.com.
