Do you really need an ice catcher?

An ice catcher allows the smoke to go through ice for a longer time, like as it goes all the way up the tube.

 

The base of my bong is pretty wide and I fill that up with ice cold water and I dump as much ice as will fit from the bong to the tip of the stem....it works wonders. You really dont need an icecatcher, but it is nice to have.

 

Its basically the same thing man. Unless your a glass enthusiast, you really don't need it.

 

Most decent quality bongs have ice catchers, its usually only cheap china glass bongs that do not, and that glass is so low quality that dropping ice might break the down stem...

 

It def makes it easier to take big hits because the smoke isn't hot, but If you don't have them its no big deal. Personally I like them, but its just preference.

 

i had a bong with out an ice catch, but the tube was tapered so the ice got stuck any ways about half way down, and as they melted they would go a little further down. and thats key because a falling ice cube would break the fuck out of your downstem lol.

but if your bong is not tapered slightly and you just let the ice chill in the water, ive heard it that can also break the down stem.


if you do deside to get an ice catch, make sure the notches are close together, make sure there PERFECT, if you dont know what i mean, you will when you see a bad ice catch if there not all the same length and what not it will fall through while the ice is still big, and you guessed it, break your downstem.

 

lol, sorry dont mean to sound like a dick

i heard it gets cold enough for the heat of the smoke to break it, its never happend to me, but it sounds perfectly possible, and i heard it on this site lol

 

I dont own a bong myself, so take what I say with a grain of salt. But ive been told its better to not use ice at all if there isnt any icecatchers. But its not necessary, you an easily find entry-level bongs with icecatchers. something like Curved Cylinder bong - Dutch - Grasscity.com probably meets your standards, and about as cheap as any decent bong out there.

 

OP, can you really not afford a bong with an ice catcher? I have no advice on using ice without an ice catch but, you can get a really cheap bong with an ice catch. My bong, is a little midget bong, no name, thick glass, and it has an ice catcher. It was 40 dollars at my local head shop. Most bongs have an ice catcher, you can find many under 70 that do. I dont think cost is a reason to have/not have an ice catcher, its all about preference.

To give you the idea of what I have



I'm pretty much using this with no color, and its a littls shorter. Is it the best bong ever? No, but its cheap until I can upgrade. It's 35.00 online, ice pinches are a pretty standard thing now, with bongs at any price level.

 

I use ice in my hookah. if you get the small cubed ice particle things, those float on top of the water while also keeping it cold. I would suggest using those, it's what I do and it makes hits scary smooth!

 

My friends love throwing ice in my bong but usually when im by myself I never use cubes . But I suggest you get a bong with a couple of ice pinches cuz It def makes a difference in heat of the smoke.