# Water pipes, bongs, etc..... carb or slide???



## parabear (Jul 23, 2010)

Ok, so I have amassed several various glass pieces over the years, both carbed versions and slide versions. I have heard many debate on other forums before, and i just want to clear the air a bit. A properly made bong, whether carbed or slide, will work great when used PROPERLY!!!!

i have heard people complain about carbed spilling water... I have never had that issue in my carbed pieces... but mine also has a special stopper that deflects airflow down towards the water, and a stopper on a little chain that is easy to remove, and prevents spills/leaks. This bong is my best hitting bong, as it allows the user to get a fast hard heavy hit when clearing the piece. No stale smoke, and quick and easy to use with one finger removing the stopper. 

the only thing about carb bongs... is getting used to the variance that each piece has in position of carb, etc. there are even higher end pieces with push button carb valves and the like. I have even made one using an old saxophone valve that I altered to fit. 

My slide pieces include both a triple perc ice bong with an ash cather and a precooler, with inline diffuser, a small glass joint piece, and my inline triple chamber water pipe (PITA to clean this one). the slide bongs/pipes are easier to use for teh most part, but one has to also know how to use glass joints, and the like. Also, some just pull the bowl, some like to pull the stem. On my triple perc piece, i prefer to pull the whole assembly out to clear, as it makes it hit much faster/harder. however mulitple chambers and percs are harder and take longer to clear than a the non-carbed/perced pieces. 

IMO... one is not necessarily better than the other, because either one is very effective when used properly, on a well made/designed piece. yeah there are many cheap pieces with carbs in the wrong location, bad location, wrong size, etc. My carb piece uses a special valve, and has 3 possible carb locations, the rest blocked with a stopper for more customization. Same with pipes, you pick it up before you buy it to see if it feels right to you. 

Many people constantly break bowls/stems on slide pieces, because they are either using cheap glass. look for any presence of air bubbles, poor weld lines, etc. when picking glass pieces and accessories. single piece construction is always optimal, however costs much more. The price difference seems to be about $200+ between a one piece bong and a 'welded' piece. my first ashcatcher i paid $20 for... the weld at the bottom, where the joint attaches to the body, was utter shit. One day it broke off right at the weld, to which i have since fixed it using special glass adhesive to ensure a good airseal. It is the kind of ash catcher that uses a little bit of water, not to filter water through, but to prevent the ash from 'splashing' as it would if it was dry. I also use the glass bead 'screens' in my glass bowls to reduce the amount of ash overall. 

Carbon filters are BAD... Carbon abosrbs EVERYTHING, that it does not immediately react with. this includes THC. granted, wouldn't be long before the carbon was resin coated and thus became ineffective, but also would quickly clog up and restrict airflow. One could easily design an ash catcher using the filter-free sediment depositing airflow systems used in buildings and industrial/military equipment. It allows a vehicle with an airfilter to be able to handle sand storms and the like, I am certain such a design could be used to design a kick ass ash catcher. Now what I want to know is, where are all the bong designs that are spill-proof?


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