If you are trying to find a great glass head shop in your area, then we are here to help. We carry a huge selection of products, with over 1500 products in stock at any given time. If you are interested in knowing a little more about the kinds of products that we have in stock, today we will be looking at the kinds of pipes and other smoking products that we offer.
Glass Pipes
If you are visiting our glass head shop, you are going to be instantly drawn to our cases and cases of glass. For smokers, glass pipes are always the best option. Glass pipes are inert so they will not add any flavor, leaving you with smoke that is nice and flavorful. Wood and metal pipes can both add flavor to smoke that many smokers will find upsetting. Glass pipes are made using borosilicate glass. This is the same material that is used to make glass baking sheets because it does not expand as much as other types of glass when heated. This makes it ideal because boro glass pipes can handle the extreme differential heat that occurs when smoking.
Dry Pipes
The most basic glass pipes are dry pipes. Dry pipes, as their name implies, are designed to operate dry just like a traditional wooden smoking pipe. Dry pipes come in all shapes and sizes and knowing the advantages and disadvantages of different designs is important if you want to find the best pipe to fit your needs. Dry pipes are definitely a classic and they are something that everyone should own.
Spoon pipes are the most common dry pipe option. Most of these pipes have a vaguely spoon-like shape that makes them a great general option for smokers. Spoon pipes are distinct from other pipe designs because they are largely hollow. This hollow body gives smoke plenty of time to cool. In order to clear the smoke from this internal chamber, most of these pipes will have a third hole on the side known as a carb that can be covered while smoking and released to empty the pipe.
Spoons can still vary wildly in design, ranging from cute little pipes to massive long Gandalf pipes and everything in between. The variety of different spoon designs make it easy to find a pipe that will be a perfect fit for you. Spoons are the perfect pipe to keep on a coffee table or to take with you to go smoke with friends. A good thick walled glass spoon is a pipe that will last years if properly cleaned and maintained.
A more compact dry pipe design is the chillum. These pipes have a straight design with a bowl on one end and a mouthpiece on the other end. Basically if you have a pipe that you hit like a cigar, it is a chillum. This straight pipe design makes these pipes extremely easy to use and compact enough to carry. Traditionally, chillums were constructed from stone or clay, but modern chillums made from glass are far more common. They can be smoked directly or gripped between the palms to make an improvised cooling chamber for your smoke.
If you are looking for an even smaller pipe to take on the go, then a one hitter might be the perfect option for you. These small pipes are usually designed to look like cigarettes and are referred to as bats. They are basically tiny chillums with a small bowl at one end. Typically bats are paired with a wooden case called a dugout that will have a chamber for keeping ground herbs and another chamber for holding the bat. All you have to do is dip the bat into the herb chamber until it is packed, and then take a hit. Bats come in a variety of different materials. Metal bats are common, but glass and quartz bats are always gonna offer a superior flavor.
On the opposite side of the dry pipe spectrum from the one hitter is a steamroller. Steamrollers are designed to deliver massive hits of smoke very quickly. To put it bluntly, they are not for the faint hearted. The main body of a steamroller is just a tube, usually with almost completely open ends. A bowl is either attached to the top of the tube or built into the tube itself. One end of the main tube is covered with the palm of a hand while the other end is used as a mouthpiece. Once the tube has filled with smoke, you can open up the tube and the difference in pressure will force all of that smoke into your lungs.
Water Pipes
One step up from a dry pipe is a water pipe. These pipes, as their name suggests, pass smoke through water. The process of percolating through water helps to cool the smoke and remove some water soluble compounds from the smoke. A huge section of our glass head shop is dedicated to our selection of water pipes.
Just like dry pipes, water pipes come in all shapes and sizes. Some of the most common water pipes are tubes. These pipes have a long tube shaped mouthpiece and a chember of water at the base. Most high quality glass tubes have downstems and bowls that connect used ground glass on glass joints. The standard sizing on these ground glass joints makes these pieces easy to customize or find new parts for.
Choosing the right water pipe to meet your needs involves knowing what you value from a pipe. Do you want a really finely filtered smoke? A huge hit? Or maybe a really fast shot of smoke when you pull the bowl? All of these factors can be influenced by the kind of pipe you use. If you don’t have a chance to try out a bunch of different water pipes, then it is important to know the various factors to consider before choosing a new water pipe.
Size is the first and most obvious factor to consider. The size of your water pipe is going to impact how hard it hits and how large of a hit that you can get out of it. Pipes of all sizes can be used to smoke dry herbs, but smaller water pipes are the best option for concentrate use. Compact water pipes make great dab rigs because they are small enough to preserve the flavor of the vapor. If you are just looking for a pipe to smoke out of, then anything from a handheld bubbler to a massive tube will get the job done.
Another thing to consider when choosing a water pipe is percolation. Even the simplest handheld bubblers will have a basic downstem that will dip below the water line and create bubblers. This little downstem is the most basic option in terms of percs in a water pipe. A lot of pipes with removable downstems will have slits cut in the sides near the end of the stem. This is known as a diffused downstem and it is designed to create smaller bubbles and increase the surface area between your smoke and your water.
Some water pipes will use far more advanced percolators in their bases, but these pipes will typically have a fixed downstem because the large percolator cannot be removed for cleaning. It is important to keep these more advanced percs clean, but it is worth it for the incredibly smooth smoke that they produce.
On top of the perc in the base, some water pipes will also feature percolators in the tub. Every additional layer of percolation is going to do two things. First, it is going to make the resulting smoke cooler and smoother. Second, it is going to add more draw resistance to the pipe.
This is the classic trade off: the more filtration in a water pipe, the harder it will be to clear. If you do not have powerful lungs and want to be able to clear your pipe in one hit, then a 2 foot tube with 3 percs and an ash catcher might not be the pipe for you. If you like a little resistance and super smooth smoke, then a tube with extra percs might be perfect for you. You will always get the best smoking experience when you clear your water pipe in one hit because smoke will become stale when it interacts with fresh air.
If you want a pipe that you can get big hits from easily, then sometimes it is better to go simple. The fastest and most basic water pipe will just be a straight tube with a simple diffused downstem. This setup will produce fast hits and will typically have ample cooling time. Another common option is a beaker bottom tube. The larger bottom chamber will increase the draw resistance but also makes the base of the tube larger and heavier, making them a very stable option.
One way to chill out your smoke without adding more percs to a pipe is to just cool it down with ice. A lot of water pipes will have a pinched section of their tube that makes it easy to fill the tube with ice. This ice will help to cool the smoke down right when it is inhaled, offering a nice and smooth experience. If you want to get the best results from an ice pinch, using a cube or two as a solid base followed by crushed ice will offer super cool smoke. It is always important to draw your pipe after using your ice pinch, as the melting water can overfill the base.
In addition to large water pipes with ground glass connections, we also carry plenty of handheld bubblers. These smaller pipes have a built-in bowl just like a dry pipe, but with a downstem built in and a small chamber for water built in. These bubblers are a great option for smokers who want a low maintenance water pipe that is far more compact than larger tabletop models.
We also briefly covered the fact that smaller water pipes can make great dab rigs. As a glass head shop, we carry a wide range of glass parts for smoking dry herbs and vaping oil based concentrates. The right nails, dabbers, carb caps, and other accessories are all designed to turn almost any water pipe into a rig, but some pipes will be a better choice than others.
Rigs are designed to turn oil based concentrates into vapor by having a hot “nail” to dab the oil on and a spout that draws that vapor through the rig to cool it. When used properly, rigs can produce a nice, cool vapor that can easily condense inside the pipe. Using a smaller pipe will make it easier to get a satisfying dab while also maintaining the flavor of your vapor.
Hopefully these tips are enough to give you a better idea of what kind of pipe would be the perfect fit for you. If you need any more help making a choice, then one of the best resources is your local glass head shop. For smokers in South Florida and Fort Lauderdale in particular, we are happy to be that shop. Buying a new glass piece is an investment and actually getting to inspect a pipe in person before purchasing it is always the best option.
Our glass head shop is packed with amazing pipes and plenty of other smoking products. If you need some glass pipe accessories, general smoking accessories, a pack of rolling papers, or any other smoking gear, we are here to help. We are constantly looking for new pipes and products to add to our shelves, so be sure to pay us a visit to see what kind of great options we have to offer.