I’m all too aware with the drawbacks of in-person shopping, even while brick and mortar stores do provide the immediate satisfaction of purchasing and using a piece on the same day. I’ve observed that a lot of stores take inexpensive goods that cost less than $30, put on a fictitious brand name (like “Click,” which is frequently ridiculed online), and then treble the price—or worse—just to defraud consumers. I recall a Reddit user complaining that after paying $70 for a silicone item that was advertized as “high-end,” it felt “like a cheap plastic toy” in his hands. It was terrible to read about.

Additionally, Global – Hookah every time I go to such vintage stores, their inventory is utterly out of date; the shelves are typically filled with nothing but the ugliest plastic pieces and silicone tubes that resemble Stone Age artifacts. I have to laugh at the adage “buying in-store prevents breakage from rough shipping” that store owners use to attempt to keep me around. Glass is readily broken by couriers, but I purchase silicone, which is nearly unbreakable and impervious to shipping accidents.

My online purchasing experience, on the other hand, is completely different. I can readily find factory-direct prices that give amazing value, such as those on Grasscity or DHGate, and opening a parcel feels like an early Christmas surprise. The stale inventory offered in traditional stores is completely destroyed by the sheer number of creative designs available online.

whether I finally got my hands on the silicone bong I’d been eyeing, I quickly realized that it has the most well-liked hidden feature: I can just wrap it up and fit it right into my bag whether I’m traveling or camping—it’s the perfect travel buddy. The best water-cooled vaping experience is provided by the soft, flexible silicone joint, which fits my vape pen well. I now get what the seasoned enthusiast meant when he said, “Cooled vapor is the Gods’ smoking experience.”