The Point of Ash catchers?

Pretty useless if you think about it - keeping ash out of your bong but purposely putting it into your AC. But I still have a couple and use them. It's a lot easier to clean the small AC compared to big bong. The bong water still smells/stains but you can change it after sessions to keep clean.

 

That is pretty much the conclusion simply put. Just not "aesthetic" because an AC adds a chamber and diffusion (a purpose, other than collecting ash which we kind of ruled out). Someone with a single chamber might buy it just for that rather than getting a new tube with perc. Some like the double chamber with AC too. Thing about an AC is it takes 1 second to remove but a perc built into a tube is permanent. If I feel like less diffusion on my double chamber I remove the AC, same with my single chamber. Or add it for more diffusion.

A tree, showerhead, circ etc style AC is worth it, regular 1 hole/boring/bad design not worth it. All about design and quality.

On that note the disc diffusion slides are indeed amazing for ash catching, and anyone who uses metal screens should check the RooR or EHLE screen slot. I stopped using metal screens as they're a pain/$ but those were best for no drag and never falling out. I use ice pinches and regular slides but most ash falls in (I ruled it out as better than dirty metal screen tho). The regular hole design adds a bit of drag comparing the disc, hole, and IP obviously. I like to have all on hand.

You don't have to buy anything you don't like/want/need, just learn what fits you/your budget and go from there. People basing off others is where mistakes are made, along with buying before truly learning (I thought there was nothing to learn at first). I have 3 ash catchers so no one can tell me it's not worth the money.