Which Fruits And Veggies Make The Best Bongs & Pipes?

Have you ever been caught without a pipe? Perhaps your vaporizer ran out of battery on your travels? Or, do you simply fancy something a little different from time to time? Well, sometimes it pays off to be a little more inventive when enjoying a smoke. And what’s more inventive than turning something you’d normally eat into an implement for cannabis smoking?

That’s right; you can create your own bong or pipe using fruits and vegetables found in your home (or at the supermarket). Smoking your favourite strain out of a fruit or veggie bong isn’t just for the desperate, and while it won't count as one of your five daily servings of fruit and veg, it's still an excellent idea for a multitude of reasons.

Why use a fruit or vegetable as a bong?

• Fun
• Great in a pinch
• Many options
• Potentially heightens taste
• No cleaning required

So, why would you want to craft a pipe out of produce, anyway? First, it's fun, and no doubt a conversation starter. A good social smoking session should not only feature the finest strains, but also lots of laughter, lighthearted conversation, and, most of all, fun. Introducing some fruit and veg bongs into your rotation will give all would-be marijuana MacGyver's a run for their money.

Fun aside, there's not a stoner on the planet who hasn’t found themselves in a pinch at least once. If you've got weed but no way to smoke it, it's simply a case of checking the vegetable drawer in the fridge or the fruit bowl on the dining table.

Not only a novel way to experience your herb, you might be surprised at just how tasty this smoking method can be. In addition to the awesome taste of your strain, the flavour has the potential to be enhanced by the choice of vegetable or fruit you use. Fancy a slightly sweeter taste? Easy, smoke out of an apple. Or, if you have something a little more savoury or earthy in mind, load up a squash for when the mood strikes. The possibilities are essentially endless, and only limited by your imagination.

And finally, once you’re all done smoking, there’s no cleaning or maintenance required. Simply toss it in the bin!

The difference between a fruit bong and a fruit bowl

There are a few factors that differentiate a fruit bong (aka water pipe) from a fruit bowl (aka traditional pipe). However, both are perfectly doable, so don't be afraid to branch out and try something new.

When it comes to crafting a fruit or veggie bowl, there's very little required in the way of additional tools, and it’s overall a very straightforward affair. Simply create a bowl and some air paths and you are ready to go. It really is as easy as that.

Those looking to create a water pipe will need a little more in the way of equipment—namely, a downstem and a mouthpiece from a glass pipe. Of course, if you're feeling inspired, you can fashion these vital tools out of other vegetables (such as a carrot!) or other household items.

However, if you've already got the parts, you're good to go. Creating a bong might seem like a tall order, but it needn't be; a fruit bong will essentially work in much the same way as its glass counterpart. Take a large vegetable or fruit—a pumpkin or watermelon would suffice—cut off the top, and scoop out the insides. Now, you have to fill the bottom with a bit of water, and add the mouthpiece and downstem as the vital finishing touches.

Now that you’re aware of the discrepancies between creating fruit or veggie bongs versus bowls, let’s get into some examples to help you bring your cannabis smoking sessions to unprecedented levels of freshness.

The most popular fruit bowl: apple

Arguably the most well-known fruit smoking sidekick is the humble apple. Found in abundance, a stoner never has to look far to find an apple, whether at home or at the local grocery store. The apple is a sturdy solution; it's tough and won't squish as you hold it in your hand, making it the ideal pipe. Of course, adding a little extra sweet flavour to your herb is only seen as a positive, and apples offer this in spades.

Materials for an apple bowl

Thankfully, there's very little needed to create an apple pipe. All that's required for a successful smoke is as follows:

• Apple
• Weed
• Knife
• Pen or skewer

How to make an apple bowl

As touched upon earlier, the process of creating an apple pipe is an effortless one. Just be sure to take your time and be patient as you carve it out.

1. Start by taking your knife and cutting a bowl out on top of the apple, removing the stem. The indented shape of the apple naturally functions as the perfect bowl. The size of the bowl is entirely up to you.

2. Now, take a pen (without tip or ink chamber) or a skewer and make a channel from the bottom of the bowl to about the middle of the apple. The hole doesn't have to be huge, because you don't want your weed to fall in. A skewer is probably better suited for this than a pen, as it makes the hole just big enough.

3. Then, make a hole from the side that connects to the vertical channel, and your apple pipe is ready. You can also use the pen as a mouthpiece.

   If you have a screen handy, it's worth using. If not, you can either poke a few holes in aluminium foil or smoke without a screen.

4. All that's left to do is pack out the bowl tightly with your finest weed, and use your lighter to heat. Take a pull to experience flavour like you've never known! Incredible, sweet-tasting sensations are your reward. This is one pipe that's hard to put down, and it’ll last you a few sessions!

Note: Some smokers choose to add a carb hole to their apple pipe, allowing for greater control over the size of the hits. It’s easy to create, and simply requires another, small hole connected to the bowl and mouthpiece.

The most popular vegetable bong: pumpkin

The pumpkin is one of the most popular and beloved options when it comes to making a vegetable bong. Due to its size and shape, it makes the perfect vessel for water and the accompanying accessories. It's easy to find a pumpkin to suit your needs, whether you're after a handheld gourd bong or a monster squash for a social smoke. It's the perfect vegetable for the occasion.

Materials for a pumpkin bong

The creation of a pumpkin bong is a little more hands-on than its apple pipe peer, and requires a little more equipment as a result.

• Pumpkin
• Weed
• Downstem
• Mouthpiece
• Knife
• Large spoon
• Drill
• Water

How to make a pumpkin bong

Now that you have all of your equipment ready, let's begin.

1. First, take your knife and cut around the stem to create the “lid” of your bong. Once cut, remove, and use a spoon to scoop out all of the seeds and pulp from the inside of the pumpkin. Now hollowed, you've basically created the base for your bong.

2. Now we need to add the downstem and mouthpiece for this pumpkin water pipe to really take shape. This can be done using a drill with a bit that's of around the same diameter as the mouthpiece and downstem. Try and measure this up before attempting to drill. Of course, you want to create as tight a fit as possible to avoid any smoke escaping. Position the holes on opposing sides, with the downstem ultimately being slightly submerged in the water to produce cooler smoke.

3. Now that the parts are in place, you can pack out the bowl connected to the downstem and fill the pumpkin with a little water before placing the lid back into position. Take your lighter and heat the bowl as you take a pull from the mouthpiece. Inside, you'll hear the water bubbling away as you get a savoury, flavourful, and, most of all, smooth pull from the pumpkin. Not just perfect for Halloween, this is a gourd gift for the whole year round.

What are the best fruits or veggies for a homemade bong or pipe?

While we've so far covered the apple and pumpkin, there are numerous other vegetables and fruits you can use to create a bong or pipe. With that in mind, we've picked out a few of our personal favourites from the garden patch.

The eye-catcher: melon

Whether a ripe cantaloupe or a juicy watermelon, you can't go wrong. This refreshing fruit is similar to the pumpkin in the sense that you cut the top, remove the insides, add the accessories, and you've got a great bong ready to go. With a low-key, sweet accompanying flavour, take your strains to the next level.

The sweet smoker: pineapple

For that sugary hit, look no further than the pineapple. The perfect bong shape, this is a sturdy and sweet fruit that will add a tropical twist to your next smoking session. You'll feel like you're sitting on a sunny beach after one try.

The versatile vessel: cucumber

A streamlined smoking solution with serious potential for hefty hits, the cucumber already has the pipe shape down. Simply cut a mouthpiece into one end that connects to a bowl at the other, and you'll have a perfect pipe that won't leave you in a pickle.

The perfect product: squash

Available in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and colours, the squash is another vegetable that's begging to be used as a smoking device. Whether you pick zucchini or butternut squash, create a bowl, or hollow one out to make a bong, and you're in for a wholesome treat.

The backup bowl: banana

While not as robust as the apple, the banana can be used as a bowl in a pinch. Its sweet, pulpy insides will add some additional sugary notes to your pulls. Create a bowl in the same way you would with other fruits, but note that this smoking device won’t last very long.

The “not just an emoji”: aubergine

Whether you know it as eggplant or aubergine, this vegetable can easily be converted into an excellent pipe, and makes for great pulls. Carve a bowl and mouthpiece into the firm flesh, and you'll be ready before you know it.

The sharp smoker: grapefruit

Time for the grapefruit to have a bit of a makeover. Synonymous with breakfast, this citrus wonder also has its place in cannabis culture. With the perfect palm-sized shape, it can be transformed into a bowl that offers up a tart, sour flavour sure to enhance all manner of strains.

The potato pipe: sweet potato

A root vegetable that resembles the shape of a tightly loaded joint, the sweet potato was destined to be included on our list. With a tough exterior and insides, carve yourself a bowl, and enjoy a savoury smoke with a little sweetness on the side.

Have weed, but no way to smoke it? No worries!

There you have it—that’s our breakdown of some of the best fruits and vegetables to use if you don't have any rolling papers, bongs, or vaporizers to hand. Of course, we've only touched upon a few different ideas, but the options are limitless. Anything can be a bong if you're brave enough! Whether that be other foods like cakes or bread; who are we to say? Let your imagination be your guide, and you'll be enjoying a great smoke that's guaranteed to raise a smile from you and your smoking buddies.

Adam Parsons

Professional cannabis journalist, copywriter, and author Adam Parsons is a long-time staff member of Zamnesia. Tasked with covering a wide range of topics from CBD to psychedelics and everything in between, Adam creates blog posts, guides, and explores an ever-growing range of products.

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