How to Choose a Weed Pipe for Beginners

Thinking about buying a weed pipe for the first time?

Weed pipes are great for beginners because they’re easier to use than bongs, more portable, and affordable. Many models include a carburetor—a small hole that lets you fine-tune the strength, smoothness, and dosage of your hits, making them extremely versatile.

The challenge is that there are dozens of variations in model, material, size, and features. In this guide, we break it all down so you can find the perfect pipe for your needs!

Key takeaways:

• One-hitter/chillums: Microdosing (no carb)
• Glass spoon pipes: Best for beginners, versatile
• Bubbler pipe: Water filtration (cleaner smoke)
• Steamroller: Strongest hits
• Sherlock: Smoother hits (flavor focused)
• Glycerin pipe: Zero cough experience
• Metal pipes: Indestructible, smooth
• Silicone pipes: Budget, travel friendly

What should I look for in a weed pipe?

The best pipe to startwith is a glass spoon pipe. It provides excellent heat resistance for smoother hits, delivers pure flavor, and features a carburetor that lets you adjust airflow for stronger, smoother, or smaller hits. 

When choosing a weed pipe, it’s all about experience. For stronger hits, go with a steamroller, and for health-conscious smoking, a bubbler offers water filtration. Travelers should focus on materials like silicone and metal for durability, while flavor enthusiasts will love the purity of glass.

What’s the difference in weed pipes?

The difference in weed pipes is size and shape which impacts airflow. 

Airflow determines how strong or soft a pipe hits. Think of different pipes in terms of tolerance levels. One-hitters are perfect for small doses, spoon pipes for medium hits, and steamrollers for a powerful punch. Glass blunts are great for sharing, while helix, sherlocks, and glycerin pipes offer cooling features for smoother, cough-free sessions.

Choose based on your needs:

• One-hitters: For micro-dosing
• Spoon pipes: Medium strength (versatility)
• Steamroller pipes: Stronger hits
• Sherlock pipes: Deeper bowls and smoother hits
• Glycerin pipes: Cooling chamber (no cough)
• Helix pipe: Cooling vortex for smoother hits
• Bubbler pipe: Water filtration (cleaner smoke)
• Glass blunts: Higher tolerance and social smoking

Check out our visual guide to every type of weed pipe for a full breakdown.

What are the best materials for weed pipes?

The best material depends on your needs. Borosilicate glass offers a pure taste and spreads heat evenly for cooler hits, but is fragile. Metal pipes are nearly indestructible, perfect for travel. Wood absorbs heat, making it great for extended sessions, while silicone is unbreakable and comes in vibrant colors.

• Glass: Pure flavor, smoother hits
• Metal: Durable, portable
• Wood: Absorbs heat for back-to-back hits
• Ceramic: Hand-made and heat resistant
• Silicone: Accident friendly, easy to clean

Smart Choice: If you plan to smoke at home, we recommend starting with scientific glass, which is the highest standard of glass pipes. The transparency lets you see the smoke, helping you gauge when to inhale, and it offers the best flavor and experience. For on-the-go smoking, wood, silicone, and metal are great options.

Does the length of a weed pipe matter?

The length of a weed pipe determines how hot the smoke will be. A longer stem allows hot smoke more distance to travel, giving it time to cool before reaching your lungs. A shorter pipe, with less travel distance, leads to a hotter, harsher inhale. 

Sherlock pipes have the longest stem, making them known for smoother hits. Glycerin pipes force hot smoke through winding coils, extending the travel distance by up to 6 inches. While chillums and one-hitters have the shortest distance, their smaller bowls reduce heat due to less combustion.

Longest pipes:

• Sherlock pipes: extended stem
• Glycerin pipe: coil extends the stem

Does pipe size make a difference?

Pipe size affects portability, airflow, and potency. 

Larger pipes have stronger airflow for deeper hits, but what increases potency is the size of the bowl. For example, smaller pipes like one-hitters are portable but also deliver gentler hits with their smaller bowls and less airflow. Steamroller pipes have larger bowls and increased airflow for a harsher more potent hit. 

• Small(1-3 inches): Discreet, portable, gentler, less potent
• Medium(4-5 inches): Portable, medium hit, medium potency
• Large(6+ inches): Smoother and stronger hits, less portable

What type of pipe is strongest?

The strongest pipe is the steamroller pipe. It features the largest carburetor, a small hole that controls the airflow. When you release your thumb from the carb, it allows air to push all the smoke into your lungs in one powerful hit. This design clears the entire pipe in a single, potent inhale.

Pipes that feature carbs for stronger hits:

• Steamroller pipe: Largest carb, strongest hit
• Spoon pipe: Regular carb, medium hit
• Bubbler pipe: Regular carb, water filtration

What is the smoothest weed pipe?

The smoothest type of pipe is a glycerin, sherlock, and bubbler pipe. Glycerin pipes use frozen tech to cool hot smoke for smoother hits, Sherlock pipes have extended stems that allow hot smoke more time to cool before reaching your lungs, and bubblers use water filtration to absorb heat from smoke. 

Pro-tip: If you want a pipe that doesn’t burn your throat choose a glycerin pipe. It forces hot smoke to travel through frozen glycerin which cools hot smoke by 300 degrees for a smooth, cough-free experience. 

What is the safest pipe to smoke out of?

The safest pipe to smoke from is borosilicate glass, the industry standard for glass pipes, bongs, and dab rigs. Borosilicate glass is non-toxic and chemically stable, so it won’t release harmful chemicals since it's BPA and lead-free. Its resistance to thermal shock prevents toxins from being released during inhalation.

Most pipes are safe to smoke from with some slight nuances. Silicone pipes are safe only if it’s platinum-cured silicone (not tin) and ceramic is safe as long as the pipe is glazed completely. Porous surfaces trap resin which harbors bacteria. The only pipe you want to avoid is acrylic pipes, which are almost non-existent now.

Easiest to clean pipes

One of the downsides of hand pipes is they get dirty fast. Unlike bongs, there is less surface area in a pipe, so resin begins to immediately coat the inside of your pipe leading to clogging. Removing resin from your pipe is tough, but some cannabis pipes are much easier to clean than others.

Did you know? Silicone pipes are naturally anti-microbial meaning they are much cleaner than other pipe materials and best of all you can remove resin from silicone with hot water and soap. All other pipe materials need special cleaning formulas to remove resin.

Why bowl size matters

When choosing a weed pipe, bowl size is key to managing how much cannabis you consume. Smaller bowls (chillums) are great for conserving cannabis, making them great for stretching your stash or microdosing. Wider and deeper bowls like spoon pipes and sherlocks are great for sharing, cornering, or customizing hit strength.

Bowl size also impacts how your ground cannabis should be packed. If your weed pipe is not packed correctly, you’ll end up pulling fresh herb through your pipe into your mouth, or worse if packed too tight the cannabis will not burn evenly and your bowl will extinguish before completing the inhale reducing the potency of your hit and potentially wasting flower.

Bowl sizes and packing methods:

• One-hitter/chillums: Small bowl (tight pack)
• Spoon pipe: Wide bowl, medium pack
• Sherlock: Deep bowl, medium pack
• Glycerin: Wide bowl, loose pack (condensation)
• Bubbler: Inverted cone bowl, medium pack

Choosing based on price

Price and budget matter when choosing a cannabis pipe. Pipes can range anywhere from $5 to over $100 depending on features, material, and brand. More expensive pipes generally feature more aesthetic, craftsmanship, and cooling features to reduce the harshness. 

For more affordable options choose any basic glass pipe or silicone pipe which will usually be under $20. While one-hitters and chillums are generally more affordable, remember they also limit the potency, capacity, and air flow.

Advanced pipe features

As the cannabis industry progresses so too does the innovations. Weed pipes have tons of new features, and below we’ll break down all the latest tech so you understand exactly what you are paying for.

Key features to enhance your smoking experience:

• Carburetor: Increases and decreases airflow
• Percolators: Filter and cool smoke (bubblers)
• Maze and Dimples: Waterless filtration and cooling
• Stable base: Prevents tip-overs (steamroller, bubblers)
• Glycerin: Frozen tech to cool smoke for no coughing

Choosing based on experience 

Matching your pipe to your experience level is also a great way to choose a hand pipe. Pipes that are easier like one hitters mimics smoking from joints, where as intermediate pipes like steamroller and spoon pipes require an understanding of carb control. More advanced setups use water filtration (bubblers), frozen tech (glycerin), or require a controlled inhale (helix).

Beginners:

• One-hitters
• Chillums

Intermediate:

• Steamroller
• Spoon pipes
• Bubbler pipes

Advanced:

• Glass blunts
• Glycerin pipes
• Helix pipes

Hand-made pipes (heady glass)

Heady glass is hand-made pipes that double down as art pieces. Hand-blown glass offers unique designs, textures, shapes, and colors. Some pipes feature color-changing glass that shifts hues as resin builds up, and some have intricate stripes and iridescent finishes.

Hand-made pipes are more expensive but are very durable (thickness) and feature some advanced glass-blowing techniques such as:

• Fuming: Color changing
• Implosion: Color bursts
• Wigwag: Spirals
• Reticello:Fishnet
• Linework: Geometric mazes
• Sandblasting: Frosted

How to choose a quality pipe

Always make sure you buy high-quality pipes. If glass make sure it’s scientific glass (borosilicate) and over 1.5 mm in diameter thickness. Buy from trusted suppliers like Hemper, Grav, or Goody Glass. If silicone make sure it’s platinum-cured not tin-cured. Metal pipes have an anodized finish and ceramic a complete glaze in the interior of the pipe. Avoid plastics and cheap materials usually found in local smoke shops.

Tips for choosing a high quality pipe:

• Buy from reputable sellers 
• Inspect for defects (cracks, chips, uneven surfaces)
• Thickness (1.5 mm or more)
• Scientific glass (borosilicate)
• Platinum-cured silicone (not tin)
• Metal should have an anodized finish
• Ceramic should be completely glazed

Final thoughts

Choosing the right weed pipe can be tricky with so many options available, but finding the right pipe that matches your lifestyle, needs, dosage, and comfort level is critical. Choosing a pipe that’s too strong may be too harsh or potent, where as picking a pipe that isn’t strong enough will have you reloading over and over, wasting cannabis.

For most beginners, a glass spoon pipe is the perfect entry pipet. It offers versatility, pure flavor, and a carburetor for adjusting airflow. However, your choice should ultimately depend on your specific requirements:

• For micro-dosing: One-hitters or chillums
• For stronger hits: Steamroller pipes
• For smoother, cooler hits: Sherlock or glycerin pipes
• For cleaner smoke: Bubbler pipes with water filtration

Ultimately, the best pipe for you depends on your personal preferences and smoking habits. Don't be afraid to experiment with different types as you gain experience. Remember, the goal is to find a pipe that provides the most enjoyable and comfortable smoking experience for you.