You’ve heard of one-hitters, bats, and other slender, portable pipes. Enter the chillum pipe: a simple but powerful one-hitter. But what is a chillum pipe used for?
This article delves into the chillum pipe: what it is, what it’s used for, and how to use it. Use this article as a guide for everything chillum and enhance your portable pipe usage for the better.
What is a chillum pipe?
A chillum pipe is a small, hollow pipe with a bowl and a mouthpiece. Unlike other pipes, this smoking device typically lacks a carb hole, meaning users are unable to control airflow through the pipe.
Chillums are traditionally tapered conical pipes used for smoking cannabis. These smoking devices are thought to have originated in India, with history in other locations such as Nepal, South America, Jamaica, Asia, the Middle East and South Africa.
Following this tradition, these pipes were originally made out of clay, stone, animal bone, or wood. Now, chillums are typically made from glass or lightweight, less destructible aluminum.
Nowadays, chillums come in a number of designs and sizes. Generally, their bowls are small enough to house enough cannabis for one to two good, strong hits. This quality puts them in the same category as one-hitters and bats, though their history and traditional shape make them unique in their own right.
What is a chillum pipe used for?
A chillum pipe has a variety of uses. Most prominently, chillum pipes are excellent for microdosing cannabis on the go. Because of their small bowls, chillum pipes only hold enough weed for one to three hits.
Therefore, this type of pipe is frequently associated with one-hitters and bats. While this type of pipe won’t get you zooted, it’ll certainly get you moderately high with little effort or maintenance.
If you’re looking to chase that mild high outside the house without the effort of rolling up, chillums come in handy. With a small bowl and a convenient slender, conical shape, these smoking devices can be slipped into any bag or pocket and taken with you wherever you go.
How to use a chillum pipe
Traditionally, chillums are smoked using a two-handed grip. In this grip, your hands cover the mouthpiece, and someone else lights the bowl for you. Smoke is then inhaled through your balled fist rather than from the mouthpiece directly. This method makes sharing chillums easier, friendlier, and more sanitary.
However, if your chillum’s bowl is the perfect size for you and you alone, that’s okay, too. Follow these steps to learn how best to utilize your chillum for the perfect portable smoking experience.
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Pick your favourite weed
Acquire your favorite strain. Remember, you only get two or three hits from the bowl of a chillum pipe, so choose wisely. This weed will burn fleetingly.
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Grind your cannabis
Grinding your cannabis before smoking has numerous benefits. Grinding your weed first will make the texture more workable and easy to pack into your bowl. Additionally, this process typically makes your weed last longer. With your cannabis ground into a fine texture, you’re maximizing the amount of weed you can get out of your flower while also maximizing the amount of weed you can fit into your bowl.
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Pack your bowl
To pack a perfect bowl, place a small nugget of cannabis at the bottom of your bowl. This step will prevent debris--or scooby snacks--from pulling through the pipe into the mouthpiece and into your mouth. When adding your ground weed on top of this tiny nug, make sure you’re firmly packing it into the bowl.
However, avoid pressing too hard on your weed: pressing will restrict airflow and make it extremely difficult to hit your pipe. After all, fire needs oxygen in order to survive: your weed cannot burn without airflow.
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Learn to hold your chillum
Whether you’re holding it with the traditional two-hand grip or raising it to your mouth like a joint, chillum pipes can take some getting used to. Without spilling your packed bowl, raise the mouthpiece of the chillum to your mouth using your preferred hand.
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Light your dry herb
After learning how to hold your chillum, carefully raise your lighter to the bowl. Flick on your lighter and lightly suck in, drawing the flame to dry herb.
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Puff
Inhale. Following ancient stoner lore, some suggest holding the smoke for a couple of seconds in your lungs to give your body time to absorb the cannabinoids from the plant. Exhale. Repeat as desired until your bowl is cashed or completely smoked through.
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Empty and clean your pipe
When your bowl is spent or completely burned into ash, gently tap out the ash and burned flower from the bowl. To avoid build-up of tar and debris, clean your chillum pipe frequently, if not after every use. For simple cleaning, dip a cotton swab in isopropyl alcohol. Gently use the cotton swab to wipe out your bowl and clean your mouthpiece.
To sum it up
Excellent for just getting a taste of your cannabis, chillum pipes have a long tradition of portability, discreteness, and convenience. These pipes are perfect for moments when you’re not trying to get crazy high. Instead, chillums provide a moderate high in a personal-sized package: their bowls hold two or three hits, perfect for solo sessions.
FAQs
What is the point of a chillum?
A chillum is a petite slender pipe with a small bowl and a mouthpiece. Similar to a one-hitter pipe, chillum pipes are great for getting moderately high on the go.
Is a chillum the same as a one-hitter?
Though a chillum pipe serves a lot of the same purposes as a one-hitter, they have traditional differences. Originally, chillum pipes were tapered conical pipes, thought to have got their start in India. Now, chillums come in a variety of different shapes and designs.
How many hits is a chillum?
Chillum pipes have small bowls perfect for smoking on the go. They usually provide 2-3 hits of whatever dry herb you pack into the pipe.
