Marcus Richards
Suck, puff, pass?
Dan didn’t know how to use a water pipe, so he tried to mimic what he had seen everyone else doing. However, right after using the lighter Dan accidentally exhaled, and water came gushing out the bowl. On his second try, he was so determined to only inhale, he regretfully took a hit that was 5x larger than his lungs could handle.
Over 182 million people use cannabis worldwide, yet unfortunately, not all of them know how to use water pipes. Exhaling at the wrong time, inhaling too much, or having the wrong water levels can be a recipe for disaster.
However, when you know how to use a water bong correctly, it can be a game-changing experience. The smoke is smoother, everything tastes better, and it’s an all-around fun time! Read on to learn everything you need to know about using a water pipe.
How to Use a Water Pipe
The first thing you need to know about how to use a water pipe is where the bowl’s located. Looking at a water pipe, you’ll notice that towards the base, there’s a bowl with a stem attached to it.
The bowl is the area you’ll be putting your cannabis. After filling your water pipe up with the right amount of water, you’ll fill the bowl with cannabis, you’ll slide the stem of the bowl back into the bong.
Next, you’ll place your mouth over the top of the water pipe, or the mouthpiece. While holding the bong with one hand, you’ll use the other hand to put a lighter up to the bowl.
Lighting the Bowl
To avoid wasting any of your marijuana, you’ll only need to hold the lighter over the bowl for a quick moment. Once the marijuana shows it’s burning, you can slowly inhale, filling the tube up with smoke.
Now, you’re ready to gently lift the bowl up and away from the bong. Once you have the bowl out of the bong, slowly inhale the smoke from the tube.
Avoid Stale Smoke
While you don’t need to rush, it’s best to not delay too long to inhale, otherwise, the smoke will become stale in the tube of the water pipe. Inhale as long as you feel comfortable, you don’t have to clear all of the smoke out of the water bong.
Prepare Your Space
Watching a new piece shatter on the floor is one of the quickest ways to ruin any smoking session. Here are a few ways to help prevent your bongs from breaking:
- Clear the table off completely
- Make sure the table’s steady
- Have everything you need nearby
Oftentimes, a water pipe will break because someone accidentally knocks it over, while trying to grab something else. To avoid this scenario from becoming your reality, go ahead and completely clear off the surface the pipe will be on.
How Much Water You Need
Before you try to take your first hit, you should be positive you have the right amount of water in your pipe. Here’s how to make sure you have the right water levels:
- Submerge every perculator in water
- Cover each chamber fully with water
- Test out by inhaling without any smoke
When water pipes have too much water, the user can accidentally suck it up through the pipe’s tube. However, if you have water levels that are too low, then you won’t get the smooth smoking experience your pipes capable of providing. To get the right amount of water in your water pipe, make sure the water level covers all of the different perculator openings.
Best Ways to Get Water in Pipe
If you have a simple water bong, that just has a downstream and tube, the water filling process is a cinch. All you’ll need to do is pour water through the opening at the top (the mouthpiece). Pour water in through the mouthpiece until the downstream is completely underwater.
If your water pipe has percolators or chambers, you can still pour in the water through the mouthpiece. Since the idea is to submerge each of the percolators in water, pouring in the water through the mouthpiece, allowing the water to flow down to each chamber and perculator on the bottom. If the water seems to get stuck in the percolator or chamber area, try gently tilting your water pipe sideways.
Use Your Ice Pinch
One of the best parts about learning how to use a water pipe is discovering ways to enhance the smoking experience even more. If your water bong has an ice pinch feature, make sure you take full advantage of it.
Putting ice in your bongs will make the smoke even smoother when you’re inhaling it. On top of filtering the smoke through the water, the ice will also cool it before it ever enters your mouth.
To get the full use of your ice pinch, fill the tube part of the bong up with ice as high as you can, without the ice poking out over the top. When you put your mouth on the water bong, you shouldn’t feel the ice cubes touching your lips, if you do, take a few out.
Finally, be aware that since the ice will eventually melt, you’ll need to monitor your water levels. Once the ice starts to slim down, pour out a little bit of water from the stem until the water levels look like they did before you began.
Enjoy Your Time
Learning how to how to use a water pipe is an exciting experience. Now that you know how your water bong works, don’t delay in putting it to good use. All you have to do is prepare your space, get your water levels right, grab a lighter, and enjoy your time!
We find that many individuals enjoy their smoking sessions, even more, when they find fun ways to entertain themselves to enhance their high. For more ideas on how to add a dose of fun into your life, check out our Entertainment section.
