quality bubbler! i went the same route, and its great. i have 6 arm perc and portability. best of both worlds.
I'd go with a quality straight tube: (SYN 45mm x 5mm $120) or (HVY 50mm x 5mm $95) What bubbler would you get for $100? Scientific ones start around $150ish
What he said... $100 will get you a pretty sweet ass bubbler, but wont go far with a bong, and you'll probably just be disappointed with it. You can chill with a crazy one-of-a-kind bubbler, and then save a little money, and down the road you can buy a high end bong if you still want to go that route.. Around here, bubblers are actually not a hot item.. People usually go with bowls or bongs, so seeing a nice bubbler is always cool and mixes it up a little. Plus people are always impressed with high quality glass of any type, more than the common old waterpipe that anyone can pick up..
just giving an update, i had the choice between a triple bubbler for about $60 and a bong with a diffused downstem with a 6 arm tree perc, but the way the mouthpiece on the bubbler was positioned, you would burn your forehead or bangs extremely easily. Also it's less time consuming to fill up the bong. I received a pipe (was looking for one, they were all too expensive though) ), a few lighters, a few glass screens, a matching bowl, and a diffused downstem all included with the original price of the bong. $90 well spent.
Is all that ice sitting on the tree perc? or is there a splash guard/ice pinches that I'm not seeing.
Agreed... people often break percs on cheaper (and occasionally, even very high quality) glass pieces, just during a simple salt and iso shake.... you may get away with adding ice a few times, but adding and removing ice repeatedly is not going to end well. If you've ever seen those dorky 'bong wars' videos, you'll notice that most of the glass tested can take a decent, hard clunk on the first hit... then the next tiny, little tap, destroys the weaker piece.. your fragile little percs likely won't last long with much direct contact with ice, even if you think you're being gentle when you add it! Just a heads up! I'd hate to hear you lost your investment just a week or two into its purchase.
there are ice pinches. my friend wanted to try crushed ice so i said why not, but i guess I won't be doing that again. thanks everybody
The extreme cold from the ice also can make the glass break more easily due to a temp difference with the outside air (ever take a hot glass out of the dishwasher and immediately pour cold water into it) But just try to be gentle with it. I angle my bong and slide the ice down the side of the tube, instead of dropping it straight in.. I also do half cubes, one at a time so theres less weight. I'm sure I'm being overly cautious as its 7mm glass, but I want my bong to last me forever... But dont be afraid of it. I LOVE doing the crushed ice full up like that, it just sucks having to constantly be emptying the water out after it all melts.. Thats a great buy for $90 though. Good job on that. I would have expected a bong like that to cost 90 and some change without any extras.. Plus its a good little size for passing around easily, just dont hand it off to a girl because they break pieces like nobodys business haha.. I like it man, happy toking.. Milkvid?