How to Pack a Bowl

Pipes and bongs are one of the most common tools you can use to smoke your cannabis buds. They come in different colors, shapes and sizes that adjust to any of your needs and preferences, leveling up your smoking game. However, you may have already bought one of these items and come to the realization that you don’t know how to properly pack a bowl. 

While learning how to pack a bowl may seem as a skill that takes time to master, it is not difficult at all. With a few basic cannabis supplies, packing and smoking a bowl will be an extremely easy task to complete, especially if you're using one made of glass. 

All pipes come with a round basin in which you pack your weed. This component is connected to an airtight channel that will allow the smoke to travel through the bowl, down the channel and into your lungs. Some pipes will also contain a second air channel, called carb, used to regulate the airflow for each hit. These components vary in size and shape, but the method to load a bowl will always remain the same in essence. 

The most common pipes that contain a bowl are called “spoon pipes”, because of their shape. However, you can also find some variations, such as bubblers and bongs. These utilize water to filter the smoke before it goes into your lungs to deliver a mild smoke and cool it prior to inhalation.

How to pack a bowl of weed

To begin with, make sure you have everything ready to pack your bowl. Other than your pipe or bong, you will need a grinder, a lighter or hemp wick to light your weed, and if you want to, a tamping tool. The latter will help you pack your bowl evenly and make the process much easier.

Start off by grinding your cannabis. Place a nug into the grinding teeth and break it down evenly. Do not exceed, however, and just make sure that the little pieces of weed are almost the same size. This will maximize the airflow and make the combustion process easier. 

If you don’t have a grinder, you can also use your hand or a pair of clean scissors.Just make sure the ground weed you get is even and not too fine.

In order to properly pack a bowl of weed, you have to start small. Load your bowl with a light layer of ground herb at the bottom, since packing it too tightly will make it difficult for the smoke to easily flow to the air channel. Additionally, you may want to pack your bowl with slightly bigger pieces of pot at the bottom so you don’t inhale actual bits of ground flower.

Slowly load your bowl and gently tamp the weed with your finger, a tamping tool or the flat end of a lighter. When you reach the top, make it slightly denser to produce an even smoke and maintain the burn. Once everything is settled, ignite your ground weed with a lighter or hemp wick and enjoy a smooth smoke.

How to pack a phunnel bowl

If you want to smoke with a hookah, the process of packing a phunnel bowl with dry cannabis is not difficult at all. You may want to mix your dry cannabis with tobacco or flavored shisha in case you want to improve your smoking experience.

In case you have a phunnel bowl for your hookah, which is a doughnut-shaped bowl, you just have to follow the same steps you would use for packing a pipe bowl. Take your dry flower and fill the bowl just below the outer edge. Make sure you are not tamping it too tight.

Once you have packed your phunnel bowl, cover it with foil and poke holes on top of your dry cannabis. This will create a vacuum effect that will force more air through the center of the bowl. While some users like to poke holes on top of the opening of the phunnel bowl, we suggest you try each time you smoke, since the more holes you poke, the more airflow will be created, thus delivering a stronger smoke.

How to pack a vortex bowl

Unlike a phunnel bowl, a vortex bowl doesn’t have a spire in the center, but small holes placed all around the center. Follow the same process you would with a phunnel bowl: load the dry cannabis into the bowl without pressing too tight in order to create space for airflow. Then, cover with foil and poke holes all over the surface. The main difference between a vortex and a phunnel bowl is that the first one is mostly used to pack shisha with more juices. For this reason, you may want to mix your dry cannabis with some wet shisha to have a better smoking experience with this type of bowl.

How to pack a bowl with a big hole

Sometimes you can come across a pipe that has a hole too large to contain any ground weed. You can’t just add bigger pieces of cannabis to your bowl, as it won’t combust evenly and will make all your flower go to waste. If you want to learn how to pack a bowl with a big hole, there are only two recommended ways to go about it.

The first method to properly pack a bowl with a big hole is to place a slightly bigger nug at the bottom to stop weed from going through. While this alternative delivers a harsher smoke into your lungs, it will definitely do the work if you don’t have any other option.

On the other hand, the most common solution is to get a screen for your pipe bowl. You can get it at a smoke shop and partially cover the hole. This is a much better option, since these screens are created for this specific purpose. Please refrain yourself from using foil or any other type of material that creates toxic fumes, since they will go directly into your lungs and create long-term health risks.