There’s nothing worse than scoring some bud and realizing that you don’t have anything to toke it out of! Fortunately, ganja smokers can be pretty ingenious when they need to be, or even just when they want to do something a little out of the ordinary and add something new to their smoking routine. Whichever situation applies to you, with some creativity, you can turn pretty much anything into a weed smoking apparatus – including a water bottle!
If the need ever arises, as long as you have a water bottle on hand, you can whip up a fun and effective way to enjoy your weed. Heck, you don’t even need to be in a bind; if you’re just looking to have some fun and want to impress the crew you’re toking with, a water bottle bong is the perfect solution.
What is a water bottle bong? How do you go about making one? Keep on reading to find the answers to these questions!
What is a Water Bottle Bong, Anyway?
The answer to this question really is as simple as you think… A water bottle bong is exactly what it sounds like; a water bottle that has been transformed into a functional bong. All you need is an empty water bottle, a little bit of elbow grease, and some creativity, and you can fashion your very own water bottle bong.
These smoking apparatuses aren’t intended to last a long time. Rather, they’re meant to be a stop-gap measure when you don’t have anything else that you can use to smoke out of, or, as we said, when you want to switch things up and have some fun. Really, a water bottle bong should be a one-time use devise. If it’s done correctly, it can be highly effective and it can just be a fun, unique way to smoke your weed.
Where did water bottle bongs originate from? That one is a trick question to answer. Nobody really knows. They’ve been around for a long time, and the first person to create one probably did so because they didn’t have anything to smoke out of, realized they had a water bottle on-hand, and decided to put their creativity to work.
Water Bottle Bong Features
Water bottle bongs work pretty much the same as any other type of bong. While the design can vary, the basic features are the same. Here’s a look at those key features:
- A water bottle bong features a bowl that slides into a “stem”, which is inserted into the body of the bong, or the water bottle.
- The chamber needs to have an air-tight seal where the stem entered the bong’s body.
- The chamber should also feature a carb or a choke (whichever you prefer to call it) on the back end, opposite where the bowl sits. This will allow you to empty the smoke out of the chamber into your lungs.
- The bottom part of the water bottle, the reservoir, should hold a small amount of water. The water cools the smoke after it’s been heated, allowing for a smoother, cleaner, more enjoyable hit.
- When you light the bowl, block the carb or choke, put your mouth on the top of the water bottle and inhale. As you inhale, the smoke will travel from the bowl, down through the stem, travel over the water, and up into the chamber.
- Remove your finger from the carb or choke and use the other hand to remove the bowl from the bong. Inhale to clear the ganja smoke out of the chamber.
How to Make a Water Bottle Bong
Making a water bottle bong is pretty simple and straightforward. Here’s a look at what you’ll need and how to go about using all of the gear to assemble this unique and effective ganja smoking device.
What You’ll Need
- A water bottle; preferably a 16 ounce plastic water bottle that is straighter rather than cylindrical
- A lighter, a match, or a hemp wick
- A plastic pen or a marker
- A sharp knife, such as an Exacto knife or a Swiss Army knife, tweezers, scissors, or some other type of metal poker
- A toothpick or a needle
- Aluminum foil
- Some water
- Your favorite strain of ganja
How to Build Your DIY Water Bottle Bong
Once you have all of your supplies assembled, use the following steps to assemble your bong.
- Clear out the water bottle. Start emptying any liquid in the water bottle and thoroughly clean it.
- Fashion a stem. This part goes into the bong through a hole in the body of the bottle and down to the bottom of the reservoir. Disassemble a plastic pen or marker, remove the ink, and the hallow plastic body will serve as your stem.
- Make a hole in the water bottle. This is where the stem will be passed through. Choose a spot that’s about halfway up the body of the bottle and use a marker to highlight the spot. Use a knife, tweezers, scissors or a poker of some sort, heat the tip, and poke it through the bottle at the spot you marked out. While the plastic is still hot, push the plastic stem through the hole.
- Make a carb. Or a choker. Use the same method you used to make the hole for the stem, except on the opposite side of the bottle. The hole should be about the side of a pencil eraser.
- Craft a bowl. Fashion a bowl out of tin foil. Place the foil over the end of the stem, create an indentation for the bowl and push down a bit into the body of the stem to secure it in place. Use a toothpick to punch a few holes in the bottom of the bowl.
And there you have it – your very own water bottle bong!
Puffco Budsy Water Bottle Bong
Now, if Jerry-rigging your own bong out of a cheap PET plastic bottle isn’t your idea of a fun time, or you’re just over the age of 20 and want to smoke out of water bottle bong that has a percolator and ceramic bowl built-in and can actually be washed and re-used then the Puffco Budsy is worth looking into!
Yup, this water bottle bong is made by the same inventive folks who brought us the Puffco Peak e-rig that has become so popular. Coming in at just under $50 this is a relatively cheap water pipe compared to other more premium metal/glass alternatives, AND it serves duel purpose as a legitimate 420ML (heehee) water bottle. when not being smoked out of obviously (unless you enjoy bong water like a freak).
The Budsy really is a discreet smokers best buddy. You can carabiner this to your backpack and walk through a police station and nobody would likely be the wiser as to what you’re packing in terms of paraphernalia.
The downstem is purposefully designed to look like a plastic straw-like extension of the cap itself. The ceramic bowl for your flower is engineered directly into the screw on cap. If Q were to issue stoner James Bond a travel pipe this would be it. The Budsy is really a nifty bit of engineering.
Concerts, wilderness hikes, low profile travel, camping, or secret agent stuff; it doesn’t matter because with the Puffco Budsy you can have a luxury water-cooled smoking experience wherever and whenever you please, and at just $50 it’s a hell of a bargain too in our opinion.
How to Use Your Water Bottle Bong
Once your bowl is assembled, it’s ready for use. To use the bowl, pour some water into the bottle, but not too much. Place a small amount of weed into the bowl; don’t pack it down too hard. Place a finger on the carb or choke. Place your mouth over the top of the water bottle. Light the ganja, inhale, and when the chamber is full of smoke, remove your finger from the carb while pulling out the slide, and inhale.
Cleaning is going to be the big problem for single-use DIY water bottle bongs because the thin flimsy nature of the plastic makes it hard to wash. With something like the Puffco Budsy on the other hand you can wash it vigorously like any other re-usable water pipe.
Ultimately homemade water bottle bongs are cool for impressing your friends or rigging up a cooled filtration system in environments where nothing else is available, but for a mere $50 we’d go with the Puffco bottle because it was engineered from the outset to be a functional water pipe (with percolator and built-in lid bowl) and for that reason is the easier to use, better smoking option.
