How to Select Your Go-To Pipe: Water or Dry

Whether you’re adding to your glass collection or purchasing your first water pipe, you want to select a product that will last all year long. However, between dozens of products, the selection process can become overwhelming for smoking rookies. 

What your choice comes down to is preference. There is no ”best” product—but there are a few characteristics per item that you’ll need to consider. 

Water Pipe

Water pipes consist of a bottle or vertical tube that branches off into a smaller stem and a bowl or nail joint. This type of apparatus will span a bubbler, bong, or dab rig. Though typically made of glass, water pipes are occasionally made of wood, acrylic, clay, or silicone. 

To smoke a water pipe, fill the tube partially with water. Light the substance in the bowl or nail, then inhale. 

Why Choose a Water Pipe?

Water pipes are popular for their profusion of benefits. These include: 

Cooler Smoke

Nothing dampens your session like a hit of popcorn lung or too-burned product. Fortunately, bongs draw smoke down-stem and into the water, rising through bubbles that cool through the pipe’s vertical section. Thus, users experience a milder draw, enabling them to take longer drags. 

Enhanced Filtration

Most bongs and dab rings come with built-in percolators that reduce the chances of inhaling toxins. Water pipes are efficient in filtering out harmful chemicals by diffusing smoke. 

Flexible Modification

The possibilities with water pipes are endless. Smokers are spoiled for choice regarding bubblers, table-top pipes, larger and smaller pieces, and more than a handful of features. 

With a water pipe, your bong is entirely your own—from the attachments you purchase to how you prefer to smoke. 

What to Look Out For in a Water Pipe

No smoking apparatus is perfect—and the same goes for the beloved water pipe. 

Hard to Clean

Because of their size, the availability of attachments and modifications, expansive base designs, and numerous chamber and percolation options, water pipes can be a nightmare to clean. 

Always filter out dirty water after smoking—leaving it can create buildup and grime. Never skimp on your washing regime—it can cancel out your bong’s filtering effects. 

They’re Not That Practical

Except for a bubbler, water pipes are far less discreet than most products and difficult to use on-the-go. Plus, spill any dirty water on your car seat, and you’ll be reaching for fresh air in a second. 

Dry Pipes

Dry pipes feature a simple tube design with a bowl on one end and hole to inhale smoke on the other. They are made with clay, metal, ceramic, wood, or glass and come in various shapes and designs. 

Why Choose a Dry Pipe?

Dry pipes are not very fussy products, which is precisely why lots of smokers favor them. Other benefits include:

Simplicity

Dry pipes are straightforward and intuitive even for newbie smokers. Raw, unfiltered smoke preserves the taste of tobacco, which some smokers prefer. They are easy to clean and pocket—perfect for traveling. 

Portability

Compact and discreet, dry pipes are inconspicuous and won’t likely break in transit for lack of added components. All you’ll need is your pipe, your tobacco, and a lighter, and you’re good to go. 

Affordability

Dry pipes are available in many designs—though even the most ordinary of products will get the job done. Even after an accident, you won’t have to chalk up an arm and a leg to replace your hand pipe. 

Because dry pipes provide a harsher smoke, users will smoke slower and less frequently, preserving product for much longer. 

What to Look Out For in a Dry Pipe

Dry pipe fans and adversaries split down the middle. Here are a few reasons they may not suit your tastes. 

Too Much Simplicity

A hand pipe’s greatest strength is also its biggest weakness. With a dry pipe, there isn’t much room for modification. Because of a lack of filters, ash can shoot into the mouth more often than you’d like. 

Harsh Smoke

Dry pipes are hotter and, therefore, smoke is harsher. A lack of filtration and smaller travel distance between bowl to mouth can be irritating to the throat.

Conclusion

Ultimately, which type of pipe reigns supreme is up to you. If you’re a homebody without much need for a portable option, a water pipe might suit you best. However, a dab pipe takes the cake if you love to get a drag in on the road. 

Whatever you prefer, we have it for you at MM Tech. From heavy-duty bongs to smaller, dab bubblers, you can take our quiz to find out which smoking vessel will most satisfy your tastes. 

Is there a cannabis enthusiast who hasn’t used a bong?

The whole idea behind M&M Tech! is LESS is more. Cannabis users shouldn’t have to need dozens of different percolators —especially in the 2000s, 2010s, 2020s and beyond.

You should be able to simplify your smoking routine, and pare down to just a few items that allow you to have your best sesh. That’s why our ice catch water bongs, are perfect for HUGE rips and amazing flavors! and our line of honeycomb percolators—known as “Lattices”—that are hand woven and provide the most amazing flavors ever

M&M Tech waterbongs come in a variety of colors and tube thickness. They start as low as $67 each and sold on the M&M Tech website.

M&M Tech products come in many styles to suite your needs from dabs to dry herbs. M&M Tech Starter Beaker , a small durable beaker featuring a ice pinch for cool, flavorful hits for dab or herbs; M&M Tech Fortress Beaker, a super thick glass bong for the most clumsiest of hands;M&M Tech Lattice OG, an hand made lattice percolator disc for maximum diffusion, cooling, and best flavors, when having a sesh