Since there are so many smoking methods on the market today, you need to find which one works for you. One of the most common methods is a bubbler, a hand-held pipe involving a bowl, stem, and carb hole. This smoking accessory is similar to other options you can find online or in smoke shops, such as pipes.
However, bubblers are reminiscent of a more extensive and powerful smoking accessory that is one of the most popular smoking consumption methods for cannabis users today.
Click here to see the main differences and similarities between the two.
What is a bong?
Before you can compare bongs vs. bubblers, you need to know the characteristics, risks, smoking methods, and after-effects of using a bong. Although these can produce strong and long-lasting highs, we do not recommend using a bong for your first-time smoking experience. Since some setup involves moving parts, using another method could be safer for beginners, such as edibles, joints, or other simpler accessories.
However, for advanced users who enjoy long-lasting highs, a bong could be the way to go. A bong, also called a bubbler or billy, is a water pipe used to ingest cannabis through the long stem. With various shapes and sizes, bongs can be customized and personalized to meet your unique needs.
Some bongs are basic, with just a bowl and a chamber to hold the smoke before inhalation. However, others are colorful, multi-faceted, and come in different shapes, making it a more exciting and fun smoking experience to have with friends.
However, regardless of shape and size, all bongs help filter and cool the smoke in the chamber that comes from the burning flower at the side of the bong. Bongs have a small bowl that holds the dried flower. When you light the flower, it burns, filling the chamber with smoke. Wait for the smoke to fill the chamber to the desired level until you want to inhale – at this point, you need to remove the carb cap and inhale the smoke in the chamber.
If you want to help your lungs, smoking from a bong can feel better. Instead of a dry and scratchy take like you would get from weed in the rolling paper, blunts, or other methods, inhaling from a bong is often cooler and smoother. However, although it feels better, it is still putting smoke directly in your lungs – which is harmful no matter what.
What is a bubbler?
When comparing a bong to a bubbler, you need to know how a bubbler works. A bubbler is a hand-held water pipe similar in construction and function to a bong, containing a mouthpiece, bowl, stem, and chamber. Most bubblers have bowls that can’t be removed or alternated, along with a percolator that moves your smoke. To clear out the smoke to inhale, you can remove the carb cap from the hole.
If you compare the bubbler vs. bong, the main difference you will see is the size of the apparatus. A bubbler is much smaller and more portable, whereas a bong is less transportable and often used in households. A bubbler is hand-held, more discreet, easy to use, and portable.
How to use a bubbler
The smoking steps to using a bubbler are simple and often considered slightly easier for beginner users to figure out than a bong.
- Add water to the chamber – the first step of using a bubbler is to add water to the water chamber. Before you do anything else, like worry about the flower or the rest of the apparatus, add a tiny amount of water to the chamber. You need enough water to make sure it can bubble but not too much that it overflows onto the mouthpiece.
- Pack the bowl – the second step of using a bubbler is to pack the bowl with the weed flower you chose. When you ensure the water level is correct, grind your cannabis strain, whether it be Indica, hybrid, or Sativa, and add it to the end of your bubbler pipe. Make sure it is not packed too tightly so that you can’t get good airflow.
- Spark the herb – the next step of using a bubbler is to light the herb in the bowl. If your bubbler has a hole where the carb cap goes, ensure the cap is inserted, or your finger is over the whole. Hold the pipe to your mouth and pull in with your lungs. Simultaneously, light the portion of the weed flower in the bowl. As you continue inhaling, the smoke from the weed flower will overflow into the bottle and the water, creating bubbles and filtering the smoke.
- Clear the chamber – the final step of using a bubbler is to ‘clear’ the chamber. You can do this when you are done with your hit, and you don’t want to inhale any more smoke by removing your thumb from the carb hole and clearing the chamber of your pipe by inhaling the rest of the smoke.
How much water do you use with a bubbler?
Before you can use a bubbler, you need to know how much water to use with this apparatus. The amount of water you use with bubblers depends on the size of the accessory -a s we said earlier, some are small, and some are big. Larger water chambers require more water, as you might imagine than smaller water chambers.
In general, a good rule of thumb is to not add too much water. You need only a small amount to ensure you filter the water and avoid inhaling toxic particles. Before packing the bowl with weed, pour water into the water chamber. At this point, you can test the water level by seeing if you can blow bubbles into the chamber.
If there is too much water, it will spill out onto the edge. If it is too little, you won’t see any bubbles. The goal is to find a happy medium between the two water levels.
Bong vs. bubbler
The main difference between a bong and a bubbler is these two characteristics:
- Size – a bubbler is much smaller, more transportable, and more discreet than a bong.
- Bowl and downstream – most bongs use a cone-shaped bowl, whereas most bubblers have no downstream and only have a fixed bowl.
Conclusion
As you can see, bongs and bubblers have some similarities and differences that set them apart from each other. Although bubbles are more transportable and easier to use, bongs provide a long-lasting and intense high that some advanced users may prefer.