When smoking pipes first became popular, they were mostly made of clay or wood and in a straight style. With the development of the smoking industry, the variety of smoking pipes has increased greatly, giving consumers more options than before. There are smoking pipes made of ceramics, metal, silicone, acrylic, resin, and other materials, as well as various cute animal shapes, cool monster shapes, and various popular character shapes. The variety of different pipes is dazzling and overwhelming. Among the new smoking pipes that emerged after 2010, the most popular is the silicone smoking pipe.
Why is the silicone smoking pipe so popular?
Other materials, whether it’s wood, glass, clay, or metal smoking pipes, all encounter the same problem, which is that cleaning is very difficult. Glass and clay smoking pipes are usually one-piece due to their fragility and difficulty in connecting parts. A one-piece pipe means that it cannot be disassembled for cleaning, and the dirt hidden in the pipes and corners can only be cleaned with a very small brush inserted from the mouthpiece or bowl. Because the pipe opening is narrow and long, it is impossible to see the inside clearly with the naked eye, and it is impossible to know whether it has been cleaned thoroughly. This usually means that it is impossible to completely clean this type of pipe at home. If it is too dirty and cannot be cleaned thoroughly, it will greatly affect the taste of smoking, and the repeated burning tobacco residues can also harm your health. Therefore, after the smoking pipe is particularly dirty, you can only spend a high price to find a professional cleaning company to clean it, or throw it away.
Wood and metal smoking pipes, although not all integrated, still encounter the same cleaning problems due to their hard material. Since these types of pipes have almost no elasticity, it is still difficult to visually inspect the bends and grooves inside the pipe during cleaning, making it difficult to clean thoroughly. There are also other materials such as resin or acrylic, whose unstable chemical properties make it difficult to clean tobacco residue once it adheres.
Silicone smoking pipes can perfectly solve these problems.
Currently, many silicone pipe manufacturers design their molds to create multi-piece assembled silicone pipes. A finished pipe is assembled from multiple parts that can be separated for cleaning and then reassembled. This allows for thorough cleaning without risking damage to the pipe’s performance.
Additionally, silicone pipes are highly elastic and can be bent and folded at will, returning to their original shape once released. This means that when cleaning, if there are hard-to-reach areas, the shape of the pipe can be adjusted to reach them.
Silicone pipes also have high thermal stability, with the chemical bonds of the molecules not breaking or decomposing even at high temperatures or under radiation. They can withstand both high and low temperatures, with a temperature range of -50 to 220 degrees Celsius. Their chemical and physical properties change very little with temperature.
Silicone pipes also have high weather resistance and are not easily decomposed by UV light or ozone. They have better thermal stability and resistance to radiation and weathering than other polymer materials, giving them a lifespan of several decades when used in natural environments.
It is the high heat stability and weather resistance that make silicone pipes safe for daily use, as they do not produce harmful substances for the human body, allowing consumers to feel more secure and at ease. Additionally, because they are made of organic silicone, they are more environmentally friendly than other materials. Their durability also saves smokers a lot of money on repeated pipe purchases.
How do we choose a high-quality silicone pipe?
When selecting a silicone pipe, we should first choose a type based on our preferences and smoking habits, whether it be classic straight, Sherlock-style, or spoon-style. After choosing the type, we should then examine the material of the silicone pipe.
In general, the most obvious way to feel the difference in quality is through the smell of the silicone pipe. Smelling the pipe directly can determine if the material is of good quality. A good silicone pipe should have no odor, while platinum-cured silicone pipes may have a slight, but not overpowering, fragrance. Some manufacturers may cut corners by using waste materials or lower quality curing agents, resulting in a strong, pungent odor in the silicone pipe.
In addition to the raw materials, workmanship is also an aspect we need to pay special attention to. A good silicone pipe not only requires good materials, but also exquisite workmanship.
- Use your hands to bend the silicone pipe and see if the hardness is appropriate. It is not convenient to use if it is too soft or too hard.
- Check the mold line of the silicone pipe to see if it is properly processed. For a good silicone pipe, there should be no burrs at the mold line, only a flat and imperceptible fine line. Of course, some products are designed with the mold line directly at the opening of the product in order to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the product, making the mold line “disappear” by overlapping with the opening line, thereby maximizing the display of the product’s design beauty.
- Check the material of the combustion bowl. Generally, there are two types of materials for the combustion bowl: metal or glass (excluding pipes of the same material). Metal materials are relatively cheap, but many suppliers use unknown metal materials, which may be made from some waste or scrap metal, and this kind of metal combustion bowl will produce harmful substances to the human body at high temperatures, and long-term use will cause relatively large harm to human health. Therefore, when purchasing silicone pipes with metal combustion bowls, we must confirm with the supplier that the material of the metal bowl should be 304 food-grade stainless steel or higher.
The combustion bowl made of glass material, although not as prone to harmful substances as metal. However, when choosing, also pay attention that many suppliers will use low-heat-stable glass materials to make combustion bowls in order to reduce costs. This kind of combustion bowl is extremely prone to sudden rupture at high temperatures. If operated improperly, there may even be a risk of injury. Only combustion bowls made of borosilicate glass have high heat resistance and stability, and will not release harmful substances at high temperatures, which will not affect our health. Therefore, when selecting a glass combustion bowl, you must confirm with the supplier whether the material is borosilicate glass.
In conclusion, silicone smoking pipes are a popular choice among smokers due to their durability, ease of use, and affordability. When choosing a high quality silicone smoking pipe, consider the material used, the design and size, the construction quality, and read reviews and recommendations. By following these tips, you can ensure that you get a high quality silicone smoking pipe that will provide you with a satisfying smoking experience.
