So, you’ve picked up a new bong at your local head shop and are excited to get home and use it. At first, everything is fine and dandy. Your new bong, which is far superior to that old hand pipe of yours, is working out great, and you couldn’t be happier. However, after a couple of days of repeated use, you notice a distinct change in flavor that gets worse with every hit. What you’re tasting is your dirty bong water. One way to combat this issue is to clean your water pipe regularly. If you’re a daily smoker or simply hate cleaning, having to do so multiple times a week (if not more often) doesn’t sound too appealing. There just so happens to be a cool little device that can greatly reduce bong cleanings. And that device is known as an “ash catcher.”
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What is an Ash Catcher?
If you are unfamiliar with what an ash catcher is, they are a simple accessory that you place in between your bong and your bowl that will “catch the ash” before it reaches your bong. It sounds simple enough, but there’s more to it than just trapping your burned ash. When the ash catcher traps any ash before entering your bong, this helps to keep the bong water clean. This, in turn, preserves the waters filtering capabilities for much longer. Not only that, but ash catchers also help to trap toxins and any bits of weed that may have slipped through the bowl. More often than not, you’ll even find a percolator housed in the ash catcher’s chamber. Unless it’s a dry ash catcher, which in all actuality still uses a tiny amount of water. It just uses far less water when compared to your average ash catcher. Now, we want to make it completely clear that just because you use an ash catcher in your setup doesn’t mean that you’ll never have to clean your bong again. It merely helps to increase the amount of time between cleanings. Instead of having to clean that big and unwieldy bong every day, you can prolong that to every few days, or even weeks, depending on how often you smoke. Ash catchers typically come in three different joint sizes: 10 mm (uncommon), 14 mm (most common), and 18 mm (fairly common). If you’re like most people who despise having to clean their bong, an ash catcher could be exactly what you’ve been looking for.
How to Use an Ash Catcher?
We can tell you what ash catchers are and sing their praises till we’re blue in the face, but if you don’t know how to properly use one, what good are they? And they couldn’t be any simpler to use. First, you need to fill your ash catcher with the appropriate amount of water. You’ll want to make sure that the slits or holes of your ash catchers’ percolator are fully emerged, or it won’t filter your smoke properly. It is worth noting that if you have a dry ash catcher, it still requires a tiny amount of water to catch the ash, despite the moniker. Once you’ve filled your ash catcher with the appropriate amount of water, you’ll want to grab your bong and remove the bowl. Next, take your ash catcher and place the downward-facing joint into your bong where the bowl previously was. Take the bowl you previously removed from your bong and place it in the upward-facing joint of your ash catcher. It’s recommended that you test the water level of your ash catcher before lighting up a bowl. If you’re getting some nice bubble action and there’s no water reaching your lips, you should be good to go. Load up your preferred cannabis strain, spark it up, and let the fun begin!
Why You Need an Ash Catcher?
Sure, the primary reason people use ash catchers is to “catch the ash” before it enters their bong. However, the benefits of an ash catcher don’t end there. A lack of ash in your bong’s water means cleaner and cooler hits, less time spent cleaning your bong, and more time spent smoking. And if nothing else, they look pretty cool when they’re in action.
Fewer Bong Cleanings
We don’t know about you, but we have never met anyone who enjoys having to clean their bong. So, any time we can cut back on the number of bong cleanings is a win-win in our book. And that’s where the ash catcher steps in to save the day. Say, in an average week, you smoke an 8th of weed through your bong. You’ll notice that after a week (if not sooner), your bong will begin to emit an odor and the water will change to an opaque black color. You’ll barely even be able to taste your cannabis due to all the ash and particles altering the flavor of your smoke. This will also hinder the filtering properties of the water since your smoke is pulled through all that nastiness. Now, if you were to throw an ash catcher into the mix, it’d be a completely different story. You could possibly go weeks without having to change your bong water. However, you’ll still want to clean your ash catcher regularly to preserve the quality of your smoke. But seeing as how ash catchers are typically much smaller than your average unwieldy bong, the cleaning process is usually a cakewalk.
Filter and Cool Your Smoke
Every time you use a water-filled bong, you filter the smoke through the water before it reaches your lips. For some people, this is more than enough filtration. Especially when compared to smoking from hand pipes or joints which don’t filter your smoke at all. However, there are others who require more filtration than your traditional bong can provide. For those people, it’s recommended they utilize the power of the almighty ash catcher. Popping one of these bad boys onto your bong can make a world of a difference. An ash catcher can also help reduce any throat irritation that can come with using a traditional bong. Additionally, the cooling effect may be quite beneficial depending on the size and shape of your bong (beaker, straight tube, zigzag, etc.). Quite often, that harshness that you feel in the back of your throat, and sometimes in your lungs, is due to the heat that’s necessary for cannabis combustion. If your bong is on the smaller side of the spectrum, this will be more of a prominent issue. Ergo, adding an ash catcher to your collection can help to alleviate some of these issues. You’re improving the quality of your smoke, which in turn improves the quality of your sessions, which leads to a better overall experience.
Spice Up That Old bong
The last reason why you should have an ash catcher in your collection is that they’re an effortless way to bring some life to that drab bong you’ve had sitting on your shelf collecting dust. Maybe the bong doesn’t feature a percolator or a diffused downstem, so you’d like to add some filtering power to your setup. Or, as we previously discussed, perhaps you prefer more filtration than what your bong currently boasts. Adding a top-notch ash catcher to your setup will increase and, in some cases, double said filtration. What about those people who are more than satisfied with their bong’s filtering properties but would like to improve their bong’s aesthetic? They can pick up a stylish ash catcher solely for the “cool factor.” And with the plethora of options available, finding something to match your needs and personal preferences won’t be an issue. As long as you pick an ash catcher that can accommodate your bong in joint size and overall size, you’ll be sitting pretty in ash catcher city!