Aside from their gender, the most crucial consideration when buying water pipe accessories is their size. This is also another area where new smokers tend to get tripped up. Let's go over some of the most common bong joint sizes and what they mean for your water pipe and dab rig accessories.
Standard Bong Joint Sizes
In case you're not sure what a joint is, it's the part of your water pipe or dab rig that you insert your downstem or other accessory into. These joints generally come in three sizes: 10 mm, 14.5 mm, and 18.8 mm. But 14.5 mm and 18.8 mm are considered the most common of the three bong joint sizes.
The 10 mm joint is also referred to as micro or nano. You'll find this bong joint size on smaller dab rigs and water pipes, as the name suggests.
A 14.5 mm joint can simply called 14 mm. The only difference between the two is that 14.5 is the technical term while 14 is just more convenient to say.
An 18.8 mm joint is also referred to as either 18 mm or 19 mm. It just depends on which way you prefer to round your numbers. Like the 14.5, 18.8 is shortened for convenience.
Buying Accessories
Once you figure out the size of your water pipe or dab rig's joint, you can buy your accessories of the same size. So, if your water pipe's joint is 14.5 mm, you'll want to buy a downstem or other accessory that's also 14.5 mm.
Remember, though, to also consider your joint's gender! Unlike joint sizes, your water pipe accessories have to be the opposite gender in order to fit properly. For example, if your joint is 18 mm and female (has a large opening that an accessory would be inserted into), you need to buy 18 mm male accessories that will insert into the joint. Vice versa if your joint is male — you would buy accessories that can be placed onto the joint.
This stuff is kind of complicated, right? It might seem that way at first, but once you know your water pipe or dab rig's measurements and gender, it's smooth sailing to an even smoother smoking session.
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