How to Tell if Your Bong is Glass or Acrylic

Not all bongs are constructed with thesame materials.And figuring out what material you’re working with may even behard to decipher. Figuring out the material in play can be particularlyimportant, especially in situations where you’re sampling someone else’s bong.Perhaps you want this piece at home, you need specific care recommendations, orperhaps you’re just curious. Either way, this guide aims to explore how youfigure out what material is used to create a bong and what these materials meanwhen used in the bong context.

Glass bongs are the most common material seen in bongs. Glass is easy to work with and can be extremely versatile for aesthetics and crazy designs. When investigating a bong’s material, glass bongs with often exhibit the following:

• Visual Clarity - The walls of a glass bong will be visually clear, even if there is color or other aesthetics in the walls.
• Design Aesthetics - The versatility of glass leads to fancier aesthetics with bongs as glass can achieve what other materials cannot.
• Weight - Glass isn’t light, especially thick quality made bongs. The weight of quality and craftsmanship will be immediately apparent when you pick it up.
• Texture - Glass provides a tremendously smooth texture to the walls of your bong. There shouldn’t be any bumps or crevices that aren’t a part of an aesthetic. Glass bongs will often feel cold to the touch.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Glass Bongs

Glass is the most common bong material for good reason. The taste it provides to your session cannot be matched and the maintenance afterwards could not be easier. Glass provides a high floor for the quality of your sessions.

On the other hand, there are a few minor drawbacks to using glass as well. Mainly, as with any product made of glass, there are durability concerns. You cannot drop a glass bong out a window and expect to only pick up one piece at the bottom. What’s more, you’re usually paying more for a glass bong up front, which can be particularly detrimental to those who are accident prone.

Aside from glass bongs, acrylic bongs are usually the second most common material used and will provide you with the most hesitation when figuring out what material you’re dealing with. Acrylic at its most basic is a transparent plastic that can be colored and molded into bongs.

The major features of acrylic bongs are as follows:

• Color Variety - Acrylic bongs are known for coming in any color in the rainbow. Acrylic is easy to produce in whatever color you want, and more often than not, acrylic bongs won’t be colorless and clear.
• Design Flexibility - Being a plastic, acrylic is extremely workable, allowing them to be worked into a variety of shapes.
• Lightness - Acrylic bongs are extremely lightweight, which is immediately apparent when picked up. Glass is much heavier.
• Durability - Again, the plastic nature of acrylic bongs makes for lightweight, durable bongs. Bongs of this nature will be quite durable in the face of everyday bumps and scuffs.
  
  

Pros and Cons of Acrylic Bongs

The cost-effectiveness of acrylic bongs is a feature that attracts some. These bongs are cheap to make and cheap to buy; the lightweight shape makes for an extremely portable piece.

On the other side of things, while it's easy to get into a session with an acrylic piece, many users find that the smoke quality doesn’t live up to the statute of glass. What’s more, cleaning the piece afterwards becomes more difficult. Acrylic pieces usually have some more crevices and corners for resin and debris to accumulate, dirtying the bong and making sessions taste different.

Glass vs. Acrylic: A Side-by-Side Look

Side by side, glass and acrylic bongs may appear similar. That is usually where the similarities end as you notice a drastic difference in weight and thickness as soon as you pick each bong up. Glass bongs will be much heavier in your hand. When smoking, you’ll notice a truer taste when using glass compared to acrylic. Cleaning the glass afterwards will be easier.

Choosing Based on Lifestyle and Preferences

Ultimately the choice between the two bong materials comes down to personal lifestyle choices and preferences. If you’re looking for a quality, at home piece awaiting your return from work to blast you into the stratosphere, glass is your choice. If you’re accident prone, or looking for a quick fix on the go, an acrylic bong will better fit that style of use. Consider the environment your bong will live in to find what material is best.

Cleaning and Care for Glass Bongs

Care for glass bongs is extremely easy! Even in the face of constant use, replacing your water every day/every other day and doing deeper cleans about every 10 days with isopropyl alcohol will keep your bong looking brand new for an extended period of time. The more often you clean, the
easier it’ll be to remove all resin and debris.

Maintaining Acrylic Bongs for Optimal Performance

Maintaining acrylic bongs is more tedious than glass. The same isopropyl alcohol may not work here. Instead, the plastic bong is better exposed only to water or a dedicated plastic bong cleaner to prevent any damage. When resin builds up on the walls, you’ll need to track down a long brush to reach the crevices and corners inside.

When purchasing a bong, finding a reputable brand and dealer is huge for routinely finding quality products. Giggle Glass is precisely the platform that can connect you with a great quality piece to fit your life. Simply consider what your smoking lifestyle is and what you need from a piece. Then, go on Giggle Glass or reach out to the artists to find/create the perfect glass piece for you. Whether it's a fancy bong or a simple bowl, Giggle Glass is the one stop shop for quality smoking products.