Beaker vs. Straight Tube: Your preference?
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sour
Well-Known Member
This is just a few scattered thoughts on the two types. Straights are known usually to have less drag. Beakers have a sturdier base and are less prone to tipping. Straights have that nice clean, purring rip sound, while beakers have more of a heavier "chug" sound. Beakers have more room to use diffuser beads for more filtration if your into using that sort of thing. As long as there isn't too much water in a beaker, the drag shouldn't impact your rips too much to matter. Just my 
forgot to answer the last part to your question, what would I buy. I'd buy a straight these days, I go for efficiency.. before I started vaping I had my eyes on one of the US Tubes straights. I currently own an Illadelph 18" baby beaker which is 5mm thick, and a matching Illadelph ashcatcher. Pretty nice piece but US Tubes is what I'd get this time around. Then again, If I had the money, i'd go for a Toro stemless or something from Sovereignty Glass.
forgot to answer the last part to your question, what would I buy. I'd buy a straight these days, I go for efficiency.. before I started vaping I had my eyes on one of the US Tubes straights. I currently own an Illadelph 18" baby beaker which is 5mm thick, and a matching Illadelph ashcatcher. Pretty nice piece but US Tubes is what I'd get this time around. Then again, If I had the money, i'd go for a Toro stemless or something from Sovereignty Glass.
rbrown13
from the land of milk and honey (Oil that is...)
Sour hit the nail on the head with the beaker having a "chug" I think this is what I like about most beakers and the stability thing. I have an AMG 20" beaker with a single perc and I love the way it hits, I used to have almost the same piece in a 24" and that extra bit made it uncomfortable to hit.
caseball2051
Well-Known Member
in the fall when i was shopping for them, i was torn between the EHLE 250ml and the HVY mini from aqua labs.
I chose the EHLE because of the way it looked. I didnt like the beaker. Just my opinion though
I chose the EHLE because of the way it looked. I didnt like the beaker. Just my opinion though
mnmlh
Well-Known Member
A beaker will be harder to get the last remaining bit out of compared to a straight when you are clearing the tube. For the intended purposes, straight tubes probably function best overall, but you loose some stability. The straight tube has a better chance of being strong too, because there is no decrease in the thickness of the glass from creating the flange at the bottom. I'm not sure if this is as much of an issue on the very high end, but at least in the case of my HVY mini, the beaker part is significantly thinner. The EHLE 250ml is probably just about perfect, and is next on my list.
minnesnowta
Vaporist/Glass Head
Straights clear alot faster as well but if you enjoy ice straights are a pain in the ass because the water level rises extremly fast. I sold my straight and bought my migrant beaker and love it but I still miss my straight. You get bigger hits with a beaker though just because of the air volume. The extra weight of the water on bottom with the beaker does make it waaaay more strudy. But I never had a problem with my straight tippin.
My next tube is gonna be a straight tube bubbler. No ice pinches, small air volume and lots o' diffusion.
My next tube is gonna be a straight tube bubbler. No ice pinches, small air volume and lots o' diffusion.
AgentGraves007
Well-Known Member
i got a relatively small (the smallest one they had) Delta 9 beaker with an ice catcher thingy for less than 100 at the store; it's worked well for me. it seems really really durable and works great for what my needs are (usually using alone or with 1or2 other people. with vaping, i think it's actually kinda nice that it's not huge! the other day i crushed up ice on my house's blender, resulting in snow pretty much, and i got baked off one bowl of schwag through my DBV and this Delta 9.
I've been more drawn to beakers in the past but recently sold a couple of my beaker bongs and replaced it with a nice straight tube. I just wanted something different since I've owned a few beakers but never a nice straight tube.
I do prefer the straight tube now as it's quicker to clear and more efficient than a beaker, but the beakers are better if you're using ice because you have more room to work with the water level as the ice melts.
I do prefer the straight tube now as it's quicker to clear and more efficient than a beaker, but the beakers are better if you're using ice because you have more room to work with the water level as the ice melts.
timmyduboy
Well-Known Member
i like straights because of the clear-- makes them easier to smoke and tastier, but it all depends on the height...for a taller tube, i'd prefer straight, but a smaller beaker is sturdy, convenient, and provides the same volume as a taller straight...
all preference in the end
all preference in the end
wowthisisrandom
Glass/Vape Enthusiast
I love my beaker, I like to leave the bottom empty and just fill my perc and the icecatcher. You get the most giant thick vapor hits that fill up the whole tube. So smooth and gets you ripped in like 2 seconds. That's my preference, although I also like a simple straight, they clear real fast with minimum drag. My
Purple-Days
Well-Known Member
Maybe I'm a relic, but here is a beaker.
This is a tapered flask, formally called an Erlenmeyer Flask
This is also a flask, a Round Bottomed Flask.
I have a feeling you all don't mean 'beaker' when you say beaker.
Beaker is also a mug, in England. Beaker is an assistant scientist on the Muppets and might hold a beaker.
This is a tapered flask, formally called an Erlenmeyer Flask
This is also a flask, a Round Bottomed Flask.
I have a feeling you all don't mean 'beaker' when you say beaker.
Beaker is also a mug, in England. Beaker is an assistant scientist on the Muppets and might hold a beaker.
Purple-Days
Well-Known Member
I have never been around much glass of the sort you all are talking about, but I have caught on that it is a strange language. I thought a shower head was well . . . 
and a pinch was . . . well, uhh you can't fight the forward march of the language...
and a pinch was . . . well, uhh you can't fight the forward march of the language...
vorrange
Vapor.wise
Hello everyone,
I am currently choosing my first glass, and like most of you, this question arises!
From what i read here and in my googling around i can point a few differences between the two,
the straight tube offers a quicker pull, and also smoother and less dense. It also tends to be more prone to tipping since it doesn't have as much water weight as the beaker and the base is usually smaller.
But the fact that is smoother and less dense, is much more positive in a combusting point of view.
From the people who just vape, what is your take on this? Do you still think it is smoother and "airier" than a beaker or while vaping the difference is not as big?
And also, do you find it better that is less dense or would you prefer the denser hits since they will probably ( i am speculating here) be tastier?
I am currently choosing my first glass, and like most of you, this question arises!
From what i read here and in my googling around i can point a few differences between the two,
the straight tube offers a quicker pull, and also smoother and less dense. It also tends to be more prone to tipping since it doesn't have as much water weight as the beaker and the base is usually smaller.
But the fact that is smoother and less dense, is much more positive in a combusting point of view.
From the people who just vape, what is your take on this? Do you still think it is smoother and "airier" than a beaker or while vaping the difference is not as big?
And also, do you find it better that is less dense or would you prefer the denser hits since they will probably ( i am speculating here) be tastier?
SD_haze
Well-Known Member
vorrange said:Hello everyone,
I am currently choosing my first glass, and like most of you, this question arises!
From what i read here and in my googling around i can point a few differences between the two,
the straight tube offers a quicker pull, and also smoother and less dense. It also tends to be more prone to tipping since it doesn't have as much water weight as the beaker and the base is usually smaller.
Straight tubes aren't necessarily more prone to tipping.
A beaker bong with curved corners at the bottom can be tipped over quite easily. A beaker with straight edges is much more stable.
Straight tubes are actually pretty stable. Well made platforms can be extremely stable and durable.
If you're someone who lounges about as you vape and like having a bong in your lap, a beaker feels more natural, but if you're someone who regularly keeps your bongs on a table and hits them on such, a straight tube might be a better choice.
The #1 advantage IMO for the straight tube is the faster clearing. You have more lungpower for taking bigger hits or bringing the vapor deeper into your lungs.
Iv'e tried filtering my vapor with many different forms of glass, from a straight shot, to a beaker, to the bubbler in my sig and more. And I can say, I feel I have a nice bubbler now but I will admit my plain beaker bottom Sheldon black seemed to give the most flavorful and big hits. I also dont care for straight shots because to me its not enough water for the vapor to travel to in my opinion. A beaker is perfect for vapor because I dont think tree percs and all that snazzy stuff make it much smoother, it seems to all come down to what volume of water it must pass through, and the beaker is a clear winner.
vorrange
Vapor.wise
Nosferatu, thanks for your answer. When you say there is not enough water in straight tubes for the vapor to travel, what do you mean exactly?
Do you mean that there is not enough water to evaporate and form vapor? Is this somehow connected to the milkier hits people associate with beaker style bongs?
Do you mean that there is not enough water to evaporate and form vapor? Is this somehow connected to the milkier hits people associate with beaker style bongs?
No I just meant the longer the vapor is passing through water the cooler it is getting. So with a beaker with a downstem ending down near the corner, if you fill the water level high, the vapor spends more time underwater each hit, and its a large volume of water. With most strait tubes the downstem isn't submerged as much under water, but I guess there are exceptions.
The water in the peice doesn't evaporate and get picked up with vapor, that is just the way vapor looks, you can whitewall a bong dry with vapor. Diffusion is good I guess but in my experience my bubbler with the nice showerhead diffuser doesnt cool a hit any more than my bong that is the same size beaker wize. It seems to change the texture of the exhaled vapor a bit, and when having the water level high in the bubbler, like I do with my bong, the flavor is lessened. So as of now my bubbler is for smoking and my little beaker for the biggest vapor hits that retain the most flavor due to less diffussion is my guess. I sold all the past strait tubes I've ever bought, they just dont cool the vapor enough..
The water in the peice doesn't evaporate and get picked up with vapor, that is just the way vapor looks, you can whitewall a bong dry with vapor. Diffusion is good I guess but in my experience my bubbler with the nice showerhead diffuser doesnt cool a hit any more than my bong that is the same size beaker wize. It seems to change the texture of the exhaled vapor a bit, and when having the water level high in the bubbler, like I do with my bong, the flavor is lessened. So as of now my bubbler is for smoking and my little beaker for the biggest vapor hits that retain the most flavor due to less diffussion is my guess. I sold all the past strait tubes I've ever bought, they just dont cool the vapor enough..
MarcellusWiley
Dab Trotter
I'll second Nosferatu on the approximately 12' Beaker Bottom Sheldon Black, I have one I've used for over a year with vapor and sometimes the hits still surprise me, can really melt my face off with the EQ sometimes 