Bowl
A bowl (also called a slide) is the removable chamber where you pack ground flower for use in water pipes, bubblers, and some handpipes. It's a simple component, but size, design, and build quality significantly affect your experience.
Key features:
- Removable for easy packing and cleaning
- Joint sizes (10 mm, 14 mm, 18 mm) determine compatibility
- Bowl depth affects capacity
- Handle design impacts handling during use
- Glass quality determines durability
Bowls connect to your piece via ground glass joints — standardized sizes that ensure a secure, airtight seal. The most common sizes are 14 mm and 18 mm, although a 10 mm size is also available for smaller pieces. Male joints insert into female joints on your downstem or piece. Getting the right size and match is essential — a 14 mm male bowl won't work with a 14 mm male joint.
Bowl depth determines how much flower you can pack. Deeper bowls work well for group sessions or extended solo use. Shallower bowls are suitable for personal sessions and help you conserve materials. Some bowls include built-in screens or restrictors — small glass formations that prevent the flower from pulling through into your water.
Handle size and shape matter more than you'd think. A substantial handle stays cool enough to touch even during use, letting you remove the bowl to clear your chamber. Minimal handles look clean but can get uncomfortably warm. Many high-quality bowls feature decorative elements or color work on the handle, which doubles as a grip point.
Working with bowls: Bowls slide into your downstem, which is the tube connecting to your water chamber. When you're packing, grind your flower consistently and don't pack too tight (restricts airflow) or too loose (material pulls through). During use, you'll remove the bowl to clear the chamber — this is called pulling the slide (or clearing it). Many people keep multiple bowls around: different sizes for solo versus group sessions, or backups for when one's being cleaned. A bowl's the most frequently handled component, so having extras makes sense. Ash catchers sit between your bowl and downstem if you want to keep your main piece cleaner.