whats up guys? so i really want a bong and i was originally thinking of getting a big name like a roor, ill, toro, etc. I decided that if i was gonna go with one of those I wanted a toro. But I live right outside philly and last time i was at every headshop here none of them carried toro and the other big names like ill and roor were horribly overpriced. So there is a small headshop that has all custom stuff by smalltime blowers and the bongs look decent and have percs and everything. so my question is, are the big name bongs really that much better than a quality bong made by a local blower? if they really are does anyone know of any shops in philly that sells toros at decent prices? as of now im thinking I buy one of the bongs from the small shop and then get a nice inline or ashcatcher from a big name. so what do you guys think? thanks bros
If you outline what you're looking for and what your price range is I'm sure we can help you find what you want.
there's a big difference between 'local blown' and 'china' the headshops think those terms are interchangable, don't fuck with it unless you know damned well what to look for. and i doubt any roor, however overpriced, would be more expensive than what you planned to drop on a toro (they go from about 400 for a very basic tube, to 650+ for anything double chamnered)
I'm looking for something pretty big thats not completely basic, i'd like some percs and anything beyond that is optional. I don't want to order online because I'd really like to pick it out in person and I am very close to camden I just dont know of any of the headshops there. The small shop I go to has good quality local glass and I'm very confused about what China glass is but the glass they sell there is always very thick and durable. I'm willing to spend about 400$ but I would really like to keep it closer to 300$
I'd go ahead and look at those "locally blown" bongs and at least consider them. Just because its not name brand doesn't mean it can't be a good bong. A few things u should look at are the glass thickness, the joint and the bottom. As far as glass thickness goes, 5mm is standard for legit companies/blowers. That being said, if you're unsure about a bong, I'd go with at least a 7mm tube just to be safe. 9mm tubes, if blown right, can be like glass baseball bats. The joint is something you also need to look at. Go look up some pictures of the joints on a US tubes, Roor, Sheldon black, SG and notice how they look, how clean the seam is, how even then weld is and just get a good picture in your mind of what a good joint should look like. Then go look at the joints of some cheap ass China bongs and notice how they're unevenly welded, perhaps bubbled or thin. And then know to stay away from those. Yeah, if you know what a good joint looks like, then you won't get ripped with a cheap bong. Also the base. This is important to look at as well. In straight shooters, the base doesn't matter as much but you should still look for a few things. Look to see if the base is the same piece of glass as the rest of the tube. This can really add to the strength if the blower blew out the base from part of the original tube instead of welding on a base. Second, if the base is welded on, check to see if its a solid weld much like you would look at the joint. For beaker bongs, make sure the glass on the bottom is the same thickness as the rest of the bong. Some cheap blowers will just heat the bottom of a beaker/bubble bong and blow it out from there which thins out the glass (stretches it). Sometimes you'll be looking at a 7mm beaker bong and the base is blown out so that its ony 3-4mm thick. I hope this makes sense, lol. Just go ahead and look at the "local" bongs they have, and perhaps ask them for the names of some of the blowers and then ask GC if we've heard of them. EDIT: also, if you're not buying a name brand bong, don't get ripped on price. If a ROOR would cost u 300 bucks then don't spend 300 on a similar off-brand bong.
china glass is glass made in china. lol. no but seriously china glass is made in china and is pretty bad quality (usually, i have seen some pretty badass china glass bongs), such as joint welds, beaker thickness if its a beaker bottom, fucked up percs, thin glass in general, and just usually not heated or tempered right so there is a lot of stress being put on the hardened glass even when its just standing still. ive seen china glass shatter from just being tipped over because of microfractures that are caused by the stress and glass tension. its really sad because you arent paying for quality, but your paying for shipping costs pretty much. if you can spend 300 than just go find a local blower and have him do something custom for you. ive seen people get rediculous deals that way. my friends bong is kindof a toro knock off, its an inline with an 8 tree perc and looks exactly like a toro just instead of the toro logo it has his name and a bunch of copper leaf pot leaves on it. he got that for 325 with a custom worked downstem and bowl. just look around. youll find what you want. it just takes time to find the right piece for YOU
thanks for all the tips to look out for I think I'm gonna probably just look for a high quality one at the small headshop but if that doesn't work out finding a local blower doesn't sound like such a bad idea. thanks guys
id really reccommend finding a local blower. you can get a MUCH better piece than going to a headshop