Some of my fondest cannabis memories start with a clean, water-filled trash can and an empty two-liter bottle. At this point, I’m sure some readers are furrowing their brows, wondering what in the heck I’m talking about — what I’m talking about, dear reader, is a gravity bong. The bottle cap would have a little bowl piece affixed to it that flowed into the 2-liter bottle with the bottom cut out. The open end of the bottle is submerged in water up to the neck, as you light the bowl the smoke fills and lifts the bottle out of the water. Once full, we’d unscrew the cap and inhale while pushing the bottle down into the water. Oftentimes, I’d end up with a mouthful of questionable water with my hit. Even so, there wasn’t anything like it so I always accepted a GT, or “gravity toke,” when it was offered.
Enter Stündenglass Gravity Hookah: the luxury counterpart to the tried and true 2-liter bottle set-up. A quick web search will show Reddit threads expounding how the Stündenglass is overrated and overpriced, that it just chugs and inevitably wastes cannabis. Many have seen a video of Seth Rogen absolutely biffing a hit from a prototype of the gravity hookah which made the rounds a few years ago. Despite the negative reviews from Reddit weed bros, I had to find out for myself whether this seemingly genius device was worth its weight.
When the box arrived I was overwhelmed by all of the pieces but the directions were simple. With some diligent reading, I was able to get the device up and running in mere moments. Using the piece is just as easy, the first step is to load the ground flower into the bowl piece. Then I hover the fire over the herb and tip the 360° glass bulbs over, which pulls the flame down into the bowl. Once cherried, the hookah will keep the flower going so just wait and watch the glass fill with milky smoke. Here is another point of Reddit contention, many commented on the color of the smoke in the Seth Rogen video. It was yellow and ominous, the type of smoke that you know will give you deep, painful coughs. Maybe it was the size of the bowl he packed, the quality of the weed he loaded, or the fact that he kept the flame right on top of the bowl the entire time; but my smoke was always a delightful, milky white.
I used the bowl piece to smoke ground flower from my neighborhood shop, but there is also an aluminum bowl attachment that is designed for hookah coals. I found the experience to be delightful, but my preferred method of smoking is a 1-2 foot beaker bong so I prefer a piece that chugs a little bit. To gauge the spectrum of cannabis smokers, I had a few friends try it as well, which led to mixed results. My intermediate friend coughed a lot and took way too big of a hit on accident, but soon we discovered the ability to stop the smoke by turning the piece to the side. This is a real game-changer, especially when you’re seshing with your vaxxed friends. My micro-dose friend would just take sips and give me the rest of the rip, so I may not recommend the full-sized Stündenglass for people who smoke very rarely or only in small amounts.
A lot of reviewers claim that this type of device is meant for college life where the aim of smoking pot is to get super tanked and watch 4 hours of How Did This Get Made, but I simply don’t agree. There is always the option to pack a smaller bowl or stop the smoke halfway through and share, you don’t have to take a monstrous hit every time you rip the Stüudenglass. And for those like my micro-dosing friend who need a less voluminous option, there is now the Stündenglass Kompact which features one-third of the smoke volume and comes in a compact travel case.
It’s not a secret after that review, I really dig the Stündenglass Gravity Hookah. In my experience as a bong-ripping, long-time cannabis enthusiast, it’s an efficient way to soothe the most clenched mind. The biggest barrier for this piece is the price, which doesn’t get any smaller with the smaller unit. But if you’re in the market for a well-engineered high ticket item that hits hard, then this is the one for you. And for those interested, on Friday, November 26, Stündenglass is offering 10% off the original, Cookies, and Dr. Greenthumb Gravity Hookahs.