When it comes to cannabis smoking paraphernalia, it’s hard to find a more-worthy material than glass. Smoking out of a glass bong has a lot of advantages, except for... Oops! [crash] You guessed it! Gravity has struck again, breaking your bong to the point of making it unsafe or unusable. What smoker doesn't know the pain of watching a "ride or die" glass piece be dropped and shatter?
As a result, silicone bongs and rigs have been gaining in popularity, finding a market with frequent travelers and clumsy stoners, alike. Some smokers will never give up glass, but if you find yourself breaking a lot of pieces, using a silicone bong just might be your answer.
A leading online headshop, DankStop, has a huge selection of glass and silicone bongs, as well as insights into differences between glass vs. silicone bongs and rigs.
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What is Silicone?
Silicone is a man-made polymer with a rubbery texture, consisting of silicon and oxygen that can be created in almost every shape and color. Silicone is also incredibly durable. As one DankStop representative articulated, "Silicone is nearly impossible to break. Run it over with a car, or hold the torch directly to it. It doesn't matter."
There is no danger attributed to smoking out of a silicone bong, silicone is non-stick, non-toxic, and can easily withstand high temperatures ? It's also used to make baking sheets and oven molds.
Besides the potential "whoopsie" factor of breaking a glass piece, what are the other benefits of a silicone bong over glass?
Cost
Pipes, rigs, and bongs made of glass are often priced based on the time it takes to make. The bigger, more intricate, and more colorful glass pieces are going to take longer to make and, therefore, cost more to buy. But with silicone smoke-ware, size and color options are much less expensive.
Although the color varieties in glass are endless, the options available in silicone are currently limited.
Travel Advantages of Silicone Bongs
Many early adopters of silicone stemmed from concern about taking their glass bongs and rigs on the road and wanted better options. They were right to convert over to silicone. "Traveling with a silicone bong is safer and much easier than transporting glass," said the DankStop expert.
This combined with their indestructible nature, confirms why silicone pipes and bubblers are so popular among smokers who like to hike, camp, and explore nature. Some silicone bubblers are small enough to fit into a coat pocket, making them an ideal water-filtered pipe for covert travel.
Ease of Use
One of first and best properties of silicone is that it is non-stick; this makes cleaning silicone concentrate-pipes, dab rigs, and nectar collectors significantly easier.
Silicone offers the convenience of being light-weight, flexible, durable, and easy to clean. With a silicone pipe, you can just throw it in the dishwasher whenever it gets dirty.
When is Glass Superior to Silicone?
One of the biggest plusses going for glass is how conducive the material is to experimentation and artistic embellishment.
It's true; at this time even the best online headshops have a smaller selection of silicone pipes, bongs, and rigs compared to the hundreds of glass pieces available. You can find triple-percolated glass bongs with a three-pinch ice catcher disguised as dragons, rocket ships, or any other shape your heart desires. The same just can't be said of silicone, yet.
Non-Silicone Parts
Most silicone smoking devices have some non-silicone components, the most common being down-stems and bowl-pieces. Some silicone bongs have become quite intricate with their features, even including glass or silicone percolators.
Though it should be noted that the general consensus is that "built-in percolators of a glass bong are more effective than anything made out of silicone," a DankStop representative said.
There are also some qualities that an opaque material like silicone will never have. As evidenced by a DankStop expert's comment, "I like to be able to see my smoke. I can only see that with clear glass." That might be something to consider if like to take smaller, measured hits.
Personal Preference
If you always seem to have "butterfingers" even before you get the munchies, then a silicone bong seems like a good choice. Likewise, if you are interested in taking bong-rips at the summit of a mountain you just climbed.
Other folks will always revert back to a glass piece if given the chance. Whether you choose a silicone bong, a glass rig, or something in between, there really is no wrong way to enjoy the product.
DankStop is a proud partner of Leafbuyer Technologies, Inc.
