A gravity bong, also known as a geeb, is a cannabis consumption method that uses two empty plastic bottles to funnel smoke through water and push it into the consumer’s lungs. Gravity bongs work by submerging a small bottle with a bowl of cannabis on top in a larger bottle or bucket of water. While lighting the cannabis, slowly draw the bottle out of the water to fill with smoke from the burning cannabis. Unscrew the lid, put your mouth over the bottle’s opening, and push the bottle down to let gravity propel the cannabis smoke into your lungs. Voila!
Do gravity bongs get you higher?
The short answer is yes. Gravity bongs force heavily concentrated smoke into your lungs, filling them to capacity beyond the average hit from a pipe or joint. When you inhale the contents of the smoky bottle into your lungs, you are essentially breathing in the smoke from an entire bowl of cannabis in one go. For this reason, gravity bongs are certainly not for the faint of heart. A tried-and-true method of old school cannabis consumers, it delivers a powerful hit of THC that may be too much for an inexperienced cannabis beginner.
However, if you’re looking for a bit of nostalgia and feel like getting crafty with your cannabis consumption, here’s a handy guide to creating your own gravity bong using a few everyday household objects. (Disclaimer: Inhaling combustible materials from a plastic smoking device may be hazardous to your health. Proceed at your own discretion!)
Are gravity bongs worth making or buying?
If you’re new to cannabis or have a low tolerance, you probably don’t want to start with a gravity bong. But for intermediate to advanced consumers, making a gravity bong is a fun, easy DIY project that ensures a fast delivery of your favorite strain. Not the crafty type? You can buy gravity bongs to add to your collection of hardware and bust one out whenever you want a unique and potent smoke session.
Are water bottles safe to use?
Many homemade bongs or smoking devices are made using single-use plastic bottles, which contain PETE or PET (polyethylene terephthalate) that can release chemicals when heated (like how the water from a bottle that’s been left in a hot car can taste odd). You may pull these chemicals into your lungs when applying heat to your gravity bong.
Research is still being conducted on what sort of impact this type of exposure may have on your health. Many cannabis consumers prefer to use glass or silicone smoking devices and avoid plastic as a precaution. If you choose to make homemade gravity bongs and other smoking devices out of plastic materials, be aware of the risks and proceed with caution.
Gravity bong method 1: Bucket bong
The first —and arguably most common — type of gravity bong is known as a bucket bong. Bucket gravity bongs use water to push smoke up and out of an empty bottle and into your lungs.
What You’ll Need
You’ll need to assemble the following to make a bucket bong:
- An empty plastic bottle
- A container filled with water (it needs to be larger than your bottle, as you’ll eventually need to push the bottle down into the container)
- Scissors or box cutter
- Drill
- Downstem and bowl, or alternatively, aluminum foil
Step 1: Make the bong
Begin by cutting the empty bottle in half. From here on out you will be using only the top half of the bottle, so feel free to toss the bottom half in the recycling bin.
Step 2: Prepare the bowl
You have a couple different options for this step. First, you can use an actual downstem and bowl — the same kind of downstem and bowl combination you’d use in a regular rig. This route requires you to drill a hole into the bottle top of your bottle. Press the downstem into this hole and slide the bowl into the downstem.
Tip: For best results, the hole you drill into the lid should be almost the exact same diameter as your downstem. When the downstem fits into the hole, it should be as airtight a fit as possible.
Alternatively, you can make a DIY bowl using a piece of aluminum foil. For this option, take a square piece of foil and fold in half to give it a bit of thickness. Place the foil over the top of your empty bottle. Gently press down with your fingertip to create a slight depression in the foil. Next, use a paperclip, toothpick, or some other tool to poke several small holes in the foil.
Step 3: Fill a bucket with water
At this point your bong, including downstem and bowl, is all ready to go and it’s time to fill your container with water. Don’t fill it all the way to the top, as you will eventually push the bottle down into the water and you want to avoid spilling.
Step 4: Get ready to smoke
You’re almost ready to spark up and take your first hit. Start the process by packing your bowl with a pinch of ground-up cannabis. Next, hold the geeb in one hand and gently push it down into the water.
Step 5: Light your herb
Keeping the gravity bong submerged in the water, use a lighter or hemp wick to ignite the cannabis. As it produces smoke, slowly and smoothly begin lifting the bottle up out of the water. This creates a vacuum that sucks the smoke down out of the bowl and into the empty bottle.
IMPORTANT: DO NOT LIFT THE BOTTLE ALL THE WAY OUT OF THE WATER OR YOU’LL LOSE ALL YOUR SMOKE!
Lift the bottle up enough that it pulls all the smoke down into the bottle but does not fully emerge from the liquid.
Step 6: Inhale
With the bottle now full of smoke, remove the downstem and bowl and place your mouth over the bottle opening. Gently and slowly push the bottle back down into the water. This will force the smoke up out of the bottle and into your lungs. If you don’t want to clear the entire bottle at once, continue holding it in the water and put the downstem/bowl back on top to trap the smoke.
Think about it. When you light a bowl and you let the water escape, all of the smoke is being pulled downward into the bottle. There’s nowhere else for it to escape. When you light a bong, if you aren’t pulling super hard the whole time, some smoke is bound to escape. So yeah, I would say that gravity bong is the most efficient way to smoke.