How to take a hit from a bong?
So, you’ve never hit a bong before? Nobody is judging, we all had to start our smoking journey somewhere, and this guide will get you up to speed and ripping cones properly in no time.
If you’re new to bongs, or smoking in general, you probably have a million questions running through your head. How do I do this? How much weed do I need? How much water does the bong need? How high will this bong get me?
This guide helps steps you though the basics.
- Choosing the perfect bong
In general, all bongs work primarily in the same way, so choosing the perfect bong really comes down to personal preference. Do you want a small bong? A cheap bong? A fancy bong? It’s completely up to you.
As a general rule of thumb, the larger the bong and larger volume of water the smoke in your bong is filtered through, the smoother the bong hit will be for you. If you’re looking the absolute best experience, we’d recommend something the size of Smoke Monkeys own Octopussy Bong. However, if you’re new to smoking and hitting bongs, something more modest like the Straight Shooter Glass Australian Bong might be a better choice.
- Components of a Bong
A typical bong set up generally consists of the following components:
- The Bong itself;
- The stem
- The cone piece
- The water; and
- The weed
The first step in setting up your bong correctly is to fill it with water. The water in your bong provides a critical function – it helps filter and cool the smoke before it reaches your mouth. Without water smoking weed through a bong can be a very harsh and unpleasant experience.
If you have a basic designed bong, you simply need to fill the bong with enough water such that the down-stem is submerged in water.
If you have more complex bong with a perc, or multiple percs, you’ll want to fill up the bong such that all the percolators are submerged in water. This ensures that the smoke is filtered and cooled with water as it travels through each of the percolators.
Don’t overfill your bong with water or you might get some splash-back when you inhale…You’ll quickly find out the perfect water level for you bong after a few hits.
- Packing your bong
The next step in the process is to pack your bong with weed. Before you start, you need to grind that herb up. If you’re serious about smoking, to save you time, energy and your product, Smoke Monkey recommend using a simple herb grinder to get the most out of your bud. Simply place a couple buds into the teeth of the grinder, close the lid and twist back and forth, and your weed will be perfectly ground. Smoke Monkey grinders are a cheap ad effective option to get the most out of your bud.
However, an old-school pair of scissors or hands can still do the trick.
Once you have ground up your weed, pack the cannabis into your cone piece, or bowl. A bong cone piece is the funnel that sits on top of the down stem. You don’t want to pack the cannabis too tightly as it will restrict air flow. There’s no need to overdo it here…you can always pack more later.
- Lighting and hitting the Bong
Here comes the best bit.
Grab your lighter, take a seat and get comfortable.
Pick up your bong and hold it however comfortable.
Put your mouth tightly around the mouthpiece with your lips inside the piece and pressed against the rim. You want to make an air-tight seal with the mouthpiece, so the smoke can’t escape.
Light the lighter with your free hand. Hold the lighter so it’s vertical and light it with your thumb, keeping your other fingers away from the flame to not get burnt. Bring the flame to the edge of the cannabis and ignite.
- Inhaling the Smoke
Inhale slowly as you’re lighting the cannabis. The smoke shouldn’t be going into your mouth or lungs just yet. You’re just using your inhale to draw the smoke through the water and any percs, and up into the smoke chamber. As you’re inhaling, you should start to see water bubbling and the chamber getting cloudy as it fills with smoke.
If you’re new to smoking bongs, don’t overdo it. Only fill the smoke chamber partly for your first few hits as a bong hit compared to a joint can be overwhelming.
Once the smoke chamber is filled with smoke, stop inhaling, but keep your mouth sealed around the mouthpiece to prevent the smoke from escaping.
When you’re ready to inhale, pull the bowl out of the stem and inhale the smoke in the chamber. Use the same hand you used to light the bowl to pull the bowl out of the stem. When you’re inhaling the smoke, inhale deeply so it goes into your lungs.
Hold the smoke in your lungs for a few seconds. Holding the smoke in for longer won't get you higher, and it could be worse for your health. Holding the smoke in for 2-3 seconds will be enough to get you high.
Exhale the smoke.
You’re done. Congratulations on your first bong hit.
If you're all done with the bong, remove the bowl and pour out the water. We strongly recommend to thoroughly rinse and clean the bong as soon as possible after smoking! Take it from us, it’s a lot easier to keep a bong shining clean if you don’t let the smoke stains settle in for a few days.