How To Use a Bubbler

Although less common than bongs or bowls, smokers still love bubblers for their smooth rips and undeniable flare.

Bubblers come in a huge variety of shapes and designs that make them stand out from the average pipe.

In fact, these little water pipes are often chosen as standout pieces in glass collections - bubblers tend to make you go “Wow!”.

The perfect combination of form, function, and artistry, this article is all about bubblers, how to choose the right one, and how to use one.

What is a Bubbler?

Bubblers are bong-pipe hybrids featuring small water chambers and elongated mouthpieces. Like bongs, bubblers are cleared in one of two ways.

After taking a hit, you either release the carb hole or lift a removable hitter piece from the top to create airflow.

Like pipes, bubblers feature elongated mouthpieces and can usually be held in one hand.

The benefit of using a bubbler is that it cools and filters smoke like a bong, but in a much smaller, more compact piece. You need less water to use a bubbler, and much less space to store or carry one.

As mentioned before, bubblers are usually artistically designed with interesting colors, patterns, and shapes.

You may not choose a bubbler as your daily driver but they’re perfect for groups or parties thanks to their awesome designs and big, easy rips.

How to Choose a Bubbler

Bubblers come in a huge variety of shapes and colors and shopping for one can be dizzying. There’s no real right or wrong answer when choosing a bubbler, but here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Good bubblers stand on their own, either using just the base of the chamber or a combination of the base and the mouthpiece. This not only makes the bubbler easy to store, but also keeps it from leaking water when not in use. If a bubbler looks unstable, like it will tilt over easily, pass on it for another piece.
• Glass thickness is important for every piece, but because bubblers are so oddly shaped and prone to falling over, they especially need thick glass. Look for no less than 3mm glass, and choose borosilicate glass whenever possible. Check out our selection of thick glass bubblers from BadassGlass. Each piece on our site is hand selected for its killer design.
• Bubblers range from about 5-10” long and 2-5” tall. That’s a big difference in size and weight, so keep this in mind when shopping. Do you want your bubbler to be portable? Will it fit in your hand? How much water will it need? Will it be a pain to clean? Answer these questions before making your choice.

Looking for a great bubbler for beginners? We recommend a piece like the Fat Bottom Bubbler Pipe. This beautiful bubbler features a broad base for excellent stability, thick glass for added durability, and even a diffused downstem to cool and filter your smoke.

How to Use a Bubbler

Before smoking from a bubbler, you want to add water. How much water? Well, that depends on the size of the chamber. We recommend filling the chamber up halfway to start, making sure that the water level doesn’t reach high enough to flow back up the bowl piece or down the mouthpiece. More water means more filtration, but it can also lead to backsplash and flooding.

Do you need water to use a water bubbler? Nope! Bubblers work just fine as dry pieces too in case you don’t have any clean water handy. Thankfully, bubblers take much less water than bongs so you’ll rarely be without.

We briefly mentioned above that bubblers work like bongs or standard pipes. Taking a hit requires you to either hold your thumb over a carb hole while you draw and then lift your thumb to inhale, or to lift a removable hitter piece in order to clear the hit. Below are some examples of each.

So, hit a bubbler as you would a bong depending on the carb style. Be sure to use enough water and be careful of setting it down upright when you’re finished.

Bubblers from BadassGlass

Check out our selection of glass bubblers right here at BadassGlass. We stock only the best bubblers made from thick glass right here in the US. Find brands like Sw3rve, Diamond, Glob Squad, and more so you know you’re getting the best glass from blowers right in the USA.