No matter what you hear, stoners are pretty creative. Some strains of cannabis are even supposed to make you more creative! So there is no wonder why so many cool and exciting cannabis products continue to pop up all over. What will the cannabis community come up with next?
Today we are taking a look at gravity bongs, a quite interesting invention by stoners who found a cool, unique way to smoke weed. Despite the name, gravity bongs are different from regular bongs. In a regular bong, you clear a hit by pulling the bowl out from the downstem or base of the bong. With a gravity bong, this is not the case. These unique bongs offer a way to smoke weed that is unmatched by other methods. Have you tried it? Let’s learn some more about these bongs.
What’s A Gravity Bong?
A gravity bong is a type of bong that uses two bottles (or other sources of containing liquid) to push smoke through water and into the user’s lungs. The two bottles must be different sizes for the bong to work: one small and one larger. The smaller bottle is submerged into the larger bottle (or bucket) that is full of water. The cannabis is placed in a bowl made from the cap of the smaller bottle. While lighting the bowl, the smaller bottle is pulled up to make way for smoke to fill in. Then, the cap is removed and the smaller bottle is pushed down into the water, forcing the smoke to funnel upwards and into the user’s lungs.
The way that gravity bongs work is actually how they got the name. Gravity is pushing the smoke through the bottle, through high pressure of the water. In fact, this water pressure can be so high that the smoke seems to shoot out the of the mouthpiece, coming out quickly and strongly. This, of course, allows for large hits to be taken very fast. Wonder how the high from that will turn out…
Typically, a bowl from a gravity bong is finished in just one hit, similarly to a snapper (however on a much bigger scale). Snappers work by loading up a small bowl and completing it in one hit. Gravity bong bowls, on the other hand, are also completed in one hit, but the bowl size is usually much bigger. Sure, you can change this, but to take an authentic gravity bong hit, you’ve got to load up a good-sized bowl.
Since gravity bongs deliver very large hits each time, they are not recommended for rookie smokers. Gravity bongs should be used only by those who know what they are doing. Only by those who can handle such large hits. If you cannot take a large hit, stay away from gravity bongs (try snappers instead).
If you do want to try one, they can be a fun time with smoking buddies. Even just making one from home can be fun in itself. Most gravity bongs are homemade. There are some that can be purchased, usually made of glass and of better value; but you can save money (and get creative) by making one of your own! At the bottom of this post are instructions for making a gravity bong.
A Special Kind Of Bong
So, since gravity bongs are different than regular bongs, does this make them better? Well, that depends how you look at it. It depends on what you smoke weed for in the first place. Are you smoking to get a mild high to get through the day, or do you want to get as high as possible? Do you smoke often, or are you pretty new to it? Both of those questions will determine whether a gravity bong is better, for you. Remember, everyone uses cannabis for many different reasons, so one person’s answer may not be your’s as well.
There are a few different things that should be thought of when deciding if gravity bongs are better than regular bongs. Things like: even though water is used in both, smoke from a gravity bong is still unfiltered. The smoke does technically come in contact with water, but it never passes through it. The water is only used to push the smoke from the bottle to the smoker’s mouth. Because of this, gravity bong hits may be harsher compared to hits from a bong with water filtration.
Of course, one obvious difference between regular bongs and gravity bongs is the way that they are hit. Regular water bongs rely on blocked airflow to build smoke up inside the bong, then released airflow to clear it. The gravity bong, as discussed above, relies on gravity and water to build up smoke, then gravity and water pressure to clear it. As a result of this difference, gravity bongs give off much larger hits, thus getting the user higher much faster. These large hits, however, are usually bigger than the user can even inhale. Common gravity bongs give off so much smoke, which leads us to the next point.
Some stoners like to use their weed to the max. “Never let any smoke go,” may be the motto for some. Wasted smoke is not very efficient, and some stoners cannot stand wasting smoke. Those stoners must not smoke blunts, then. Anyways, smoking from a gravity bong may be an easy way to waste a ton of smoke. The hits can be so big that the user cannot inhale it all, letting the rest blow away. Sure, this isn’t a big deal for most of us, but just in case you are one of those stoners who may be tight on money, or just likes to be cost-efficient, you may not like gravity bongs so much.
How To Make Your Own
You’ve made it to the end of the post, where the instructions for a homemade gravity bong are. You either decided to try one out for yourself, or you’re just curious about how one is made. Either way, here it is.
First, you’ll need a few things from around the house:
- Two plastic bottles, one bigger than the other (or one bottle and a bucket)
- Aluminum foil
- Box cutter
- Poking tool
- Some cannabis (duh!)
Step 1: Grab your box cutters (you could also use a sharp knife) and cut off the bottom of the smaller bottle. The more that you cut off, the less smoke it will be able to hold, so keep that in mind. If you want large hits, only cut off about 1/2-1 inch of the bottom.
Step 2: Now, cut the top off of your larger bottle and fill it with water. Cut only the top off that funnels down, until the sides of the bottle are parallel and straight. If you are using a bucket, skip the cutting and only fill with water. Then, let the smaller bottle float in the water.
Step 3: Remove the cap from the smaller bottle and carve a hole in the middle of it. This hole should be big enough to draw air through, but not big enough for cannabis to fall through.
Step 4: Grab your aluminum foil and cover the cap in it. Then, make a small bowl on the top of the cap out of the foil. This will serve as your bowl that holds the cannabis. If you have a small glass bowl from another bong, you may be also able to use that instead of foil.
Step 5: Using your poking tool (this can be a nail or something else sharp and thin), poke some holes in the bottom of your foil bowl. Poke about 3-5 small holes in. If you are using a glass bowl, skip this step.
Your gravity bong is now complete! Load some cannabis into the bowl, then pull the smaller bottle up (but not all the way out of the water). While slowly pulling up, light the cannabis. Smoke will fill the inside of the bottle. To clear it, unscrew the cap and push the bottle down into the water. Just be mindful of those giant hits! Thanks for reading!
