How To Smoke A Bong (Perfect Bong Hit)

Smoking a bong might sound easy, but not many people know how to smoke a bong properly to get the perfect bong hit. It doesn't have to be difficult to get the perfect bong hit, but by making sure that several elements are done right you can truly get the most out of your bong hit and enjoy your herb to the max. In this guide to getting the perfect bong hit, we explain everything you need to do before you light your bowl.

What is a bong?

If you don't know what a bong is, let me explain it briefly. A bong is a waterpipe that's often used for smoking cannabis, hashish or cannabis extracts ("dabs"). The difference between a bong and a "regular" waterpipe (hookah, shisha) is that you inhale through a hole in the top or a fixed mouthpiece, instead of one or multiple tubes. Whereas a shisha or hookah is designed to be smoked over a longer period of time (between 10 to 30 minutes), a bong is usually smoked by taking one or two big hits before putting it away again. Of course you can smoke a bong more slowly as well, but that's not how most people use it. The cool thing about a bong is that it gives you a "kick" like a joint could never give you, so use that to your advantage.

Who said a bong can be too big? (King Bong Challenge in Coffeeshop Willie Wortel's Indica, Ganja Book of World Records)

How does a bong work?

A bong is actually a simple device that is fairly easy to operate. First, let me explain some of the important terms so that you fully understand everything we're explaining.

Basic Bong Terms

Bowl: the part of the bong you pack and light your herbs in

Downstem: Many bongs have a "downstem", the (removable) pipe that spreads the smoke into the bong water

Screen: A screen is a filter that you can put in the bong bowl, to prevent the herbs and ashes from getting sucked into the bong

Diffuser: a specially designed bong part (can be a fixed part or a special downstem) that improves the cooling and filtration of the smoke by distributing the smoke more effectively

Kickhole / carbhole: a hole in the smoke chamber of many bongs that can be used to "clear" the bong (draw out all the smoke) so you don't need to lift the bowl

So, the first step is to fill your bong with water. After that, you load it with your weed (or whatever you're smoking). If your bong has a carbhole, you plug it with your finger, light the bowl, and start inhaling. The bong will now fill up with smoke; you then release your finger from the hole (or lift the bowl), inhale a little more, and draw all of the smoke out of the bong. Sounds simple, right?! Now let's get into a little more detail.

How much water should you put in the bong?

One of the most important things to do when smoking a bong, is to fill it with the right amount of water. Too little water and the smoke will not be cooled and filtered properly, and too much water results in a leaking bong or water getting inside your mouth. So clearly, getting this right is crucial to enjoying your bong the way it's intented. We already have a blog post with a video on how to fill your bong with the correct water level, so be sure to check that out! 

How much weed, and should you crumble it?

After putting the right amount of water in your bong, you need to fill the bowl with weed. Or if you're smoking hashish, you fill it up with hash. The best way to smoke hash in a bong is to crumble it as small as you can, otherwise it will burn too slowly and for too long, and you won't be able to get a proper hit. But on the other hand, if you prefer to smoke your bong like a hookah (over a longer period of time), bigger blocks of hash can be the perfect solution for you.

If you're smoking weed, it's best to grind or crumble your herbs similar to when you are rolling a joint. This means: it's good to grind it up very small, but not like powder. If the chunks of herb are too big, they won't burn properly. Grind it up too fine (like powder) and it will have a negative impact on the airflow, making it harder to draw while the herb doesn't burn as evenly.

Now, should you add tobacco? That's a matter of personal preference. We think one of the advantages of a bong is that you don't need to use tobacco to smoke properly, even when you only have a little bit of weed. So we say, NO! But if you want to smoke weed with tobacco in your bong, we aren't going to stop you. It both works fine.

Another option is to smoke concentrates ("dabbing"), but that's a very different subject. Read more about dabbing here.

How to light your bong properly?

When you filled your bowl and your bong is ready to light, you simply take the lighter and light it, right? Well, you could, but there's many different ways to light your bong. One choice you will have to make is the lighter that you'll use to light your bong. A simple disposable lighter, a zippo, a torch lighter or an electric (plasma) lighter? To be fair: all of them will do the trick. But we're talking about getting the best possible smoking experience from your bong here, so what's the best option? Forget lighting a bong with a zippo, because it will negatively influence the pure taste of your precious herbs (you don't want to taste lighter fuel, right?). Let's have a closer look at the other lighters you could use.

What is the best lighter for lighting your bong? Have a look at the video below.

Bong tips & tricks

With the information listed above, you should be able to get a very good bong hit. But there's more! With the "tips and tricks" below, you can improve your smoking experience even further.

• Cornering a bowl (Light a small corner of your bowl if you're not going to smoke all of it, to preserve the flavour of what's left)
• Pre-coolers, diffuser downstems and other bong upgrades (to improve cooling and filtration, making the smoke much more pleasant)
• Smoking a joint in a bong