Twenty-Two Smoke Shop Terms to Know

Book of terminology open on table beside bright orange wall

Whether you’re new to the smoke shop scene or a seasoned enthusiast, the range of products and terminology can feel overwhelming. From glassblowing techniques to pipe styles and concentrate tools, smoke shop lingo covers a lot of ground. That’s why we’ve combined our earlier guides into this comprehensive glossary of 45 essential smoke shop terms – a quick reference to help you understand the language of the industry and shop with confidence.

Adapter: This simple attachment converts between is used to protect your piece from a banger’s excessive heat. Adapters can also change the angle, size and sex of your piece’s joint.
Ash Catcher: This adapter filters smoke from a water pipe, lowering the amount of tar which enters its main chamber. Ash catchers are meant to keep your water clean and free of unwanted debris.
Atomizer: A vaporizer’s heating element is also known as an atomizer. This is the component of a vaporizer that actually does the vaporizing of your ejuice. It’s heated by an electrical charge, and that heat is transferred to the dry herb or wick material, releasing the smoke or vapor.
Banger: A type of quartz nail used for smoking concentrates or herb.
Beaker Bong: A type of bong which is typically created from a lab beaker or shaped like one. Before smoke shops like ours were online and on every corner, access to glass pieces was much more limited. In those days, science lab glass was often modified and used in place of legit water pipes – hence, the original beaker bongs.
Bong: The most known form of a water pipe. Bongs generally have tube-shaped mouthpiece, a stem rising at an angle from the water inside through the bong’s outer wall, and a bowl to hold smoking material.
Bowl: The bowl-shaped component of hand pipes or water pipes in which smoking material is placed, lit on fire and inhaled.
Bubbler: These water pipes use downstems to draw smoke through water from the device’s bowl. This cools the smoke just prior to inhalation, giving users a more enjoyable smoking experience. They’re named for the bubbling of water when users inhale.
Carb: The tiny hole on the side of your pipe is best known as a carb. When smoking, users cover the carb with their finger or thumb while the herb in a bowl is heated and inhaled. When the carb is uncovered partway through smoke inhalation, cool, outside air can follow the built up smoke into users’ lungs.
Chillum: A small, straight glass hand pipe. Chillums don’t have carbs. Their size and structure make the experience of smoking a chillum closely resemble the use of a joint rolled in paper, but unlike rolling papers, chillums don’t add flavor and they’re reusable.
Cone: Some rolling paper brands like RAW offer pre-rolled cones. Fill these cones with your ground-up legal herb of choice, and they’re ready to smoke.
Dabber: Dabbers are smoke shop accessories used to scoop concentrates onto your nail for use.
Diffused Downstem: Unlike traditional downstems (which we’ve defined just below), diffused downstems have slits on their bottom surface to filter their smoke, much like a percolator would.
Downstem: Downstems direct smoke from your bowl slide downward into the water of your water pipe, where it’s then filtered.
Dugout: Dugouts are usually compact devices made of metal or wood. They usually contain a small compartment for the storage of dry herbs.
Dry Piece: Many smoking devices use water filtration. Those that don’t – like chillums, sidecars, and sherlocks – are otherwise known as dry pieces.
Filter: A filter – otherwise known as a screen – helps to separate herb material from the remainder of a pipe. Without a filter, fresh or ashed material would easily fall through to a pipe’s interior and be inhaled by users along with smoke.
Glass Blunt: Glass blunts are a category of hollow, simplistic glass hand pipes. Each contains a smaller hollow tube in its interior which also functions as the glass blunt’s mouthpiece. To use a glass blunt, pack the interior straw with your desired supply of herb and push the mouthpiece tube forward as you smoke. This pushes the ashes from the pipe’s interior, removing them as they appear. The appearance and functioning of glass blunts resemble standard variety paper blunts and other forms of rolled paper.
Hand Pipe: As their name suggests, these pipes are compact enough to fit in a user’s hand. While hand pipes are most often made of glass, other hand pipe materials are also common including metal and silicone.
Incycler: A type of recycler bong for consuming dry herb and concentrate.Like other recyclers, incyclers use a two-chamber system for filtration. However, most recyclers have two adjacent chambers, while the second chamber of an incycler is housed inside of the first.
Inline: Inlines are also known as the “sideways stems” of water pipes and ash catchers. They usually have multiple piercings throughout their surface.
Lathe Made: “Lathe made glass” is created using a specialty glassblowing process in which creators blow through a tube known as a “lathe” onto pieces as they’re formed. The use of lathes lets glassblowers add unique shapes to the structures of their lathe made pieces.
Linework: The colorful, striped patterns on glass pipes.
Mini-tubes: Smaller version of traditionally sized bongs.
Nail: Nails are a platform used to heat concentrates. They can be made from a number of materials including quartz, titanium and glass.
Nectar Collector: These small hand pipes are used for concentrates. They’re traditionally tube-shaped. Some models are designed for water pieces while others are made for dry pieces. To use a nectar collector, simply drag the tip of a nectar collector across concentrates and inhale the resulting vapor.
Nano Rig: Nano rigs are smaller versions of traditionally sized dab rigs.
Percolator: The filtration devices found within water pipes are otherwise known as percolators. They’re made in several different styles, each with their own unique advantages. Percolators cool smoke down before its inhaled to make smoking more comfortable and enjoyable.
Pollen Catch: Screens in the bottom of grinders, or pollen catchers, catches plant matter while allowing for the passage of pollen.
Pre-cooler: Attachments which are added to water pipes and bongs for the cooling of gases, smoke or fluid. Pre-coolers also catch falling ash before it fills your water pipe.
Pyrex Glass: A durable, non-toxic type of borosilicate glass used in bongs and water pipes. It’s known for its impressive resistance to high temperatures.
Quartz: Like Pyrex glass, quartz is a type of quality glass often used in water pipes and bongs. While it lacks the shock-resistance of Pyrex glass, Quartz is able to withstand significant temperature changes without breaking.
Recycler: This type of water pipe prevents water from reaching the mouthpiece of a piece, instead diverting water back to the water pipe’s base. Water and smoke pass between chambers of a recycler, then back down and through the main chamber. This creates a loop of filtration which cools the smoke.
Reversal Glass: Glass with colorful striped patterns and a spiral design at each end. Glass featuring this type of design may also be referred to as “wig wag glass.”
Rolling Paper: Rolling papers are thin, small pieces of paper used to wrap legal herb into a joint. Rolling papers are often made from fibers like flax, hemp, and rice paper.
Sandblasted Glass: Sandblasted glass is made when sand is mixed with high-pressure air to etch designs into quality glass.
Sherlock Pipes: These pipes have a bowl sitting lower than their mouthpieces, which are positioned just above. They get their name from their visual similarity to the iconic pipe used by Sherlock Holmes.
Sidecar: The neck of a waterpipe can also known as a “sidecar.” It protrudes upward at an angle from the side of a water pipe – the perfect placement for users’ mouths.
Slide: Bong slides may also be referred to as “bong bowls.” These bowls are removable from the main pipe. Glass-on-glass joints typically connect the bong slide to the main piece.
Soft Glass: Some of the most vibrant colors can be found in soft glass. As a thicker alternative to typical glass, it’s an excellent choice for frequently used water pipes and other pieces.
Spoon Pipe: A popular variety of pipe, named for its resemblance to a standard spoon.
Straight Tube: A type of water pipe. Straight tubes differ from many other popular water pipe options, as their structure is completely straight.
Tree Percolator: A percolator type featuring glass, tube-like arms inside of its water. Tree percolators are also known more simply as “tree percs.”
Carb Cap: Before placing a dab on a nail’s center, a glass top called a “carb cap” is placed over the nail of a dab rig. When users take a dab, airflow is directed into the pipe through the carb cap.
Wig-wag Glass: A type of glass pipes and water pipes featuring colorful striped patterns, spirals and waves.

Now that you’ve got 45 essential terms under your belt, you’re better equipped to browse the aisles of a smoke shop – or explore an online head shop – with confidence. Whether you’re shopping for a first pipe, upgrading your collection, or just curious about the lingo, this glossary offers a handy reference for the most common terms you’ll encounter.

At 710 Pipes, we’re proud to stock a huge variety of water pipes, hand pipes, vaporizers, and smoking accessories – available both online and at our Denver, Northglenn, and Broomfield smoke shops. Shop in person seven days a week, or order from home and have your favorites delivered right to your door.