Bongs or Water Pipes have been around for thousands of years, in fact, researchers recently discovered what is believed to be one of the oldest water pipes used. It was found in Russia and is over 2,400 years old. Things have changed a lot since then and with the introduction of boro glass bongs have taken many shapes over the years. At Brothers with Glass, we focus on American made glass from companies you can trust. We have been in this industry since 2010 and have seen lots of amazing innovation in the glass world. Over the years we have worked with awesome companies like Chameleon Glass, HVY Glass, Goo Roo Designs, Liberty 503, ZOB Glass, C2 Custom Creations and Realazation Glass just to name a few. Most of these artists we have been working with for close to a decade and they all strive to continue to improve and innovate the American art form of functional glass.
There are many different types of glass pipes that fall into the category of being called a bong. Glass water bubblers or any glass pipe that has a downstem that can be submerged in water falls into that category. By doing so you force the smoke to travel through the downstem into the water being held. This cools down the smoke allowing for a faster, cooler and even allowing for a larger hit to be taken with ease.
Water filtration is a big part of how cool your smoke gets. The more basic design that's been around for some time is a simple hole poke which offers little diffusion and cooling of the smoke. More complex designs like the showerhead or gritted uplines have been created to slice and dice the smoke bubbles into as little bubbles as possible. After all smaller bubbles make for a cooler smoke. One way you can tell your smoke is going to be hot when you inhale is when it starts to turn yellow. A good quality well-designed glass percolator will help prevent this and greatly enhance the overall experience.
The amount of percs helps increase diffusion but adds drag so in some cases to many perc can actually be a bad thing. Quality American Bong makers know this and that's why you don't see some of the crazy designs you see from imported glass coming from America.
The shape of a bong is not as important to the function as the percs are. The shape is more about how the pipe feels, and how well it holds the percs inside. They take all shapes and sizes but some common ones are beaker bottom, strait, Can Style, Gravity, Recyclers, Sidecars, and spubblers to name a few! The beaker bottom bong has been around for a long time and is one of the more widely used and recognized bong.
At Brothers with Glass, we like to offer a wide variety of Bongs, water pipes or bubblers that will fit the budget of any shopper. That's why we carry glass from all around the world. And while we focus most of our glass on American made we have some quality imported products to and as always being The Honest Headshop you can clearly see where every bong you buy is made so you know for sure what you are getting!