Due to my love for bonging I have been asked by quite a few women over the past year & more recently if I could show them how to use a bong as they had tried in the past but for one reason or another they couldn't get on with it. Here's some info on bonging as well as a tutorial video made especially for you Cannababes wanting to try it for the first time or trying it again.
Why I hated bongs...
I've been using this plant for 12yrs almost exclusively in spliffs mixed with tobacco & a brief stint with an Iolite Handheld Dry Herb Vapourizer, but never enjoyed a hit on the bong.
A few guys had tried to teach me and my boyfriend in Bath even bought me a cool looking basil bush thing that looked like a chemistry set. (way to intimidating for a first timer). I'd used it once, then with no clue how to wash it it sat on the window sill until it fell & smashed.
The guys who has tried to teach me before taught me wrong. There seemed to be only one way to suck a cone according to them & that was 'Rip it! Rip it! RIP IT!'. I'd be all puffed out before the tobacco & herb mix reached my lips. I would cough up a lung, be teary eyed & drooling. My throat would hurt & I would struggle to smoke a spliff for the rest of the night. This is NOT the way to teach someone as as I have found after speaking to so many female cannabis users, is a sure way to put someone off sucking a cone.
History...The word bong comes from the Thai word 'buang', a bamboo tube used to smoke herbs. The first bongs were made out of horns, bamboo & primitive pottery & dated back as far as 1100-1400CE
The Advantages of using a bong...
There are a few advantages to smoking your herb through a bong.
You get more bang for your buck, you're taking a bigger hit than when yours smoking toke by toke. As you're only filling that little bowl instead of a whole blunt, your stash can stretch that bit further. I couldn't get over the amount of money I was saving but feeling just as elevated.
Water filters the smoke to provide a smoother & cooler hit than smoking a blunt. It filters out more ash, tar & other carcinogens than smoking rolled blunts. If you wanted to increase the filtration there are ash catchers that add that level of filtering & cooling.
Using pure cannabis in your bowl rather than a tobacco mix will be so much less harsh on your lungs & your head. That uncomfortable nicotine rush spoils the effects of the healing herb for me. It also turns your water into a disgusting brown colour & doubles the amount of cleaning involved due to the extra chemicals & tar. Its best to change the water in your bowl regularly.
You can taste your herbs better! I have found that removing the tobacco, the dense hot smoke & the paper you're able to taste more from your herbs.
You can also use the colour of the ash as a gauge for the quality of the herb you are smoking. Grey/black ash: not flushed correctly, poor quality. Bright White Ash: Flushed of all chemicals & quality herbs.
Ready to smoke a bowl?
Your bong is typically made up on the main body/chamber leading to the mouth pipe, a bowl (which may or may not have a gauze) & down piece which leading into the water (sometimes these are separate sometimes they are one in the same). Some bongs may also have a 'rush' hole.
Fill the bong with a few inches of water so that the end of the down pipe is submerged. Too much & you could end up with a mouth full.
If you have a tool to scoop your herb, use that to fill your bowl, or a teaspoon handy. For your first go, just put a little bit in there. There's no race, there's no awards for biggest bowl hit. Just do what you feel comfortable.
Smoking a bowl...
Use a reliable lighter. Most of the cheap see through lighters don't cut it. I prefer a clipper. If you have a torch lighter & are not using a silicone or wooden bong, they are perfect. Just make sure you can tilt the lighter to the bowl & not burn yourself.
Practice holding the bong & lighter in your hand for a moment just to see which hand feels more comfortable in the positions. This will prevent mishaps, burns or dropping things.
When your ready & relaxed, get comfortable. Take a steady deep breath, exhale naturally, don't force anything. Put your mouth over the mouthpiece, hold the flame to the bowl and gently inhale.
Don't take a deep gasping breath. If its more comfortable for you, don't seal your mouth entirely around the mouth piece, just enough to get a pull through the bowl & water.
When you've inhaled enough, take your finger off the rush hole, or lift the bowl out to allow fresh air to flood the chamber. You can do this at the end of your inhale or take your hit, exhale & return to clear the last of the smoke.
If you do not clear all the smoke from the chamber it turns stagnant & tastes absolutely foul.
Maintenance of your bong...
Make sure you change the water in the bong once a day if your regularly hitting it. After a while the water will smell & change colour. Reeeeeally not good for you.
If you're using a gauze as I am in the video, be sure to change these maybe one a day depending on frequency of your use. They clag up & cannot be washed & used again. The metal disintegrates. You can find these very cheap on ebay, amazon or your local head shop.
Every now & again you'll need to deep clean your bong. This isn't as difficult as it looks.
I use isopropyl & rock salt. the iso melts the tar & the rock salt acts as an abrasive. If you leave the tougher dirt to soak with occasional shaking, you should have a sparkling clean piece.
I really hope this helps & I really hope to see your own bong videos!! If you post on the socials, please do tag @buddymary_sw on FB or Instagram & #letsfeminisethestigma
If you have any more questions or any feedback please do get in touch or leave a comment!!!
Brilliant tutorial, very informative.
Also I absolutely love that tapestry you have in the background 💚💚💚
Awsome tutorial buddymary, that’s very professional i like the music and your settings, was funny your torch lighter didnt work at first, you dont have luck with lighters and when you pulled the second bong out was class. Great tutorial shame I can already suck a cone but the video was spot on. 🤘
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