Bong Bowl Sizes: "Standard Grindings" for Bongs

On this page we show the different "standard grindings" for bongs, and we explain the difference between them all. What are the advantages of these standard grindings, and what do you need to know in order to buy the right bong, bowl, dabbing banger, downstem or nail? Read all about standard bong bowl sizes.

What is a “Standard Grinding”?

The "grind"or "joint" of a bong or waterpipe is the attachment between the bong and the downstem, the ash catcher or pre-cooler and the bong, between the downstem and bowl, etc. This joint is often a glass "socket", where one part fits into the other one.

You can probably imagine that it wouldn't be very handy if all bongs, bowls, downstems and other bong parts would have a different sized grinding or socket; it would be nearly impossible to connect them together and build up a collection of bowls and accessories. But luckily, most bong manufacturers use the same sizes for their products nowadays, which means that nearly all bongs and accessories can be connected, with or without the use of an adapter. These "standard grindings" are the solution!

Male and Female Standard Grindings

First we will explain the difference between male and female bong grindings. It can be confusing sometimes, but in reality it's very simple: the male part goes into the female part. That basically means that you always have both a male and a female grinding.

Imagine that you have a bong with a female standard grinding and a bowl with a male grinding. To connect them, you basically insert the bowl into the bong. Had it been the other way around (a male bong with a female bowl), then the bowl wouldn't go "into" the bong, but it would be placed "over" the male grinding of the bong. You insert the bong into the bowl, instead of the other way around. This configuration is often seen on dab rigs, in order to prevent the bong's standard grinding from breaking due to thermal expansion of the glass.

It is always a good idea to have a good look at the product images in order to determine whether you need male or female accessories for your bong, so that you don't accidentally order the wrong bowl or downstem.

The different "Standard Grinding" / Bong Bowl Sizes

SG10 (10mm)

The SG10 (10mm) grinding is the smallest standard grinding, and is often used on small oil rigs and unique / special bongs. The SG10 is not very common, and is sometimes also referred to as a "micro grinding" or "nano grinding". It is often better to use a SG14 or SG19, whereas they let through more air and make it easier for you to draw the bong full of smoke. But for small bongs and oil rigs (where people usually draw the smoke more gradually) an SG10 standard grinding is sufficient.

SG14 (14,5mm)

The SG14 (14,5mm) is one of the most common sizes. The SG14 standard grinding is used on many different bongs, waterpipes and accessories. There are countless bong accessories available with an SG14 grind, such as downstems, precoolers and bowls. 

SG19 (18,8mm)

The SG19 (18,8mm) is the other most common standard grinding. There are many bongs and accessories available with an SG19 grinding. The advantage of this size is that the 18,8mm bowls and downstems are great for airflow, whereas they leave through a lot of air. This makes it easy and comfortable to smoke.

Many bongs are equipped with an SG19 standard grinding for the downstem. The inside of the downstem is often a so-called "inside cut" SG14 (14,5mm) grinding. So in fact, the downstem acts as a bong adapter. Although the SG19 has better airflow than the SG14, it will not be a very noticeable difference. 

SG24 (24mm) and SG29 (29,2mm)

The SG24 (24mm) and SG29 (29,2mm) standard grinding are fairly rare sizes that are not only used for downstems, but sometimes for connecting whole bong parts (such as the Nautilus bong). When it's used for downstems, it's usually a very special downstem with several diffuser pipes or percolators. They are very uncommon an do not fit on many bongs.

Standard Grindings and Bong Adapters

Now that you know which standard grindings there are, you also know that you can't simply connect them all 1 on 1. But fortunately there is a solution for that: bong adapters. With a bong adapter (or bong converter) you can connect almost any bong part (downstems, bowls, precoolers) to any bong. A male bowl on a male bong? No problem! You can also easily turn an SG19 bong into an SG14 bong, or the other way around. Have a look at all bong adapters here.

Universal Bong Bowls

Why would you pick a certain size bowl and stick with that, if you can also just buy a universal bong bowl? Of course you can think of some good reasons, but that doesn't take away the fact that a universal bong bowl is incredibly handy. We have several different universal bong bowls in stock, one of which is the titanium Black Leaf Rock 'n' Roll Bowl