Smoking is becoming more and more common, which has led to more people needing smoking pipes and other supplies. If you are interested in visiting a Glass Head Shop but are a little intimidated by these shops and all of their products, today we’ll be going over some glass pipe basics.
Glass pipes are always the best option when it comes to smoking. This is because glass is inert, meaning a good glass pipe will not add any flavor to your smoke as wood and metal pipes can. All glass smoking pipes are made from borosilicate glass, the same type of glass used to make glass baking dishes. This type of glass does not expand significantly when heated, which means that glass pipes can tolerate being heated without the risk of cracking.
Your most basic glass pipe will be a dry pipe. These are where most smokers start when they visit a glass head shop. These pipes are sometimes called spoons due to their spoon-like shape. They have a bowl for packing with your dry herb, a mouthpiece, and a small carb hole on the side to control airflow. There are also straight pipes called chillums that often lack a carb hole and are designed to be lit and smoked like a cigar. Dry pipes are a great option because they tend to be small, portable, and extremely easy to use.
If you are looking for a smoother smoking experience, then a water pipe might be the best option for you. Water pipes, as their name suggests, are designed to pass smoke through water to make it cooler and smoother. Water pipes come in two forms, bongs, and bubblers.
Bongs are the classic water pipe design. They have a long tube that is designed to give smoke a lot of room to cool and provide a pretty large hit. Bongs come in all shapes and sizes. Some bongs are simple and only pass the smoke through water once, while others are designed to pass the water through smoke several times using percolators in the tube.
Bubblers are also diverse. Some are basically small bongs with a mouthpiece in place of the traditional tube. Others are small hand pipes with a small chamber to hold water beneath the bowl. Bubblers with glass on glass joints make great dab rigs and usually feature advanced percolator designs to cool smoke down quickly and preserve the flavor from your concentrates.
Basically, if you just want to get started with smoking, a dry pipe is a great place to start. If you are looking for a smoother option, then it might be worth picking up a water pipe. Luckily most glass head shop employees are going to be extremely knowledgeable on the products they carry so you can always ask for advice.
If you are in the Fort Lauderdale area and are looking for a great glass head shop with experienced employees and an amazing selection, then The Hip Cat Smoke Shop is the place to go. With over high-quality 1500 products in stock from bongs and dab rigs to papers and herb grinders, you are sure to find the perfect option for you.
