Top 10 Glass Brands to Watch for in 2017

This article is sponsored by Smoke Cartel, an online retailer and head shop made up of a close-knit team of glass lovers dedicated to making sure you get the best possible smoking gear.

There are multitudes of visionaries and innovators in the glass industry, and sometimes it can be overwhelming browsing through collections of pipes and smoking accessories—there’s just so much out there. However, 2017 is the year of the bong, so if you’re looking to upgrade your smoking arsenal, it’s best to know what brands to keep your eye out for.

Below, the glass experts at online headshop Smoke Cartel share the 10 vendors they are most excited about in 2017.

Glassheads

If you’re looking for a classic and unbranded look, Glassheads offers some neat tricks (such as this classic Glow in the Dark Spoon) and some sweet treats (like the iconic Donut Hand Pipe). The brand features a robust catalogue of hand pipes and bubblers for those who like to take their gear on the go, and the master glassblowers at Glassheads enjoy combining their craftsmanship with their aptitude for observation. All together, it makes for an eclectic assortment of knick knacks perfect for any smoker.

ELEV8

Finding good smoking accessories for concentrates is hard! Luckily, the recently launched ELEV8 is offering some of our favorite must-haves of the moment. With ELEV8, you can look dapper and act practical at the same time: The ELEV8 Enail, for instance, is an effortless and luxurious way to smoke while optimizing your temps, and will save you a lot on butane and fragile torches in the long run. The Pineapple Silicon Wax Container will keep your concentrates safe and tasty, and allow you to show off your style in the meantime.

UPC

Based out of California, UPC is the manufacturer to check out if you’re more of a utilitarian smoker. The brand standardizes all of its pipes and bongs to be the exact size and shape needed for optimized filtration, which makes for one of the most high-functioning lines around. One puff out of their Classic Beaker Bases or Showerhead Bubblers, and you’ll be a believer. UPC has maintained reliability for years now, making it one of the standout brands we recommend to new smokers or anyone looking to get back to the basics.

China Glass

If you think Chinese glass can’t be high-quality, we suggest rethinking some of your assumptions. China Glass comes from a team of master glassblowers from the Hebei province of Northern China. Based on classic Chinese ceramic arts, China Glass emphasizes an uncluttered and refined aesthetic that’s rare to find in the smoking industry, with elegant bongs such as the “Liao Dynasty” Vase and the “Kublai” Hammer. China Glass is as beautiful as it is dynamic, and the wide variety of body shapes offered in their inventory will provide every smoker with a unique and personalized selection.

Sesh Supply

Ah, Sesh Supply, a beloved affiliate of Smoke Cartel that we’ve been working with for years now. Inspired by the gods and goddesses of Greek mythology, Sesh Supply manufactures grand and iconic bongs that combine uncommon percolation systems with extraordinary body designs. The brand is especially well known for the spinning propellor perc, a percolator popularized through their “Scylla” Beaker Rig. Sesh Supply has since pushed the boundaries of what smokers previously thought possible with the incredible “Hydra” Triple Recycler. Available in a multitude of colors, Sesh Supply bongs are for the smoker who likes to stand out.

High Tech Glass

High Tech is one of those rare vendors that seems to just get better and better every year. We saw High Tech reach a new level of popularity with our customers with the colorful Trap Tube 2.0, and now they are just plain impressing us with their stylish and tasty Mule Kick Perk A Cola. Designed with concentrate in mind, High Tech has been in vogue since we started Smoke Cartel and doesn’t seem to have any intention of slowing down.

Kraken Grinders

What good is good glass when you don’t do the right prep work? Grinders improve the potency of your stash by keeping your pollen safe and optimizing airflow in the bowl of your piece. Kraken Grinders offer some of the best grinders available on the market, their most well-known being the multi-tiered 2.5” 4-Piece Grinder. They also have a new Pollen Press available, which makes compressing your dry herbs easy as pie!

Chubz Glass

Chubz Glass is a Smoke Cartel-exclusive glassblower who operates as a heady artist right out of our studio. Chubz focuses on monster-themed pieces, such as the “Leech” Chillum and the Little Fumed “Mongrel” Rig. These pipes contain character like no other, and the glassworking talent shows with the attention to detail and the liveliness of each individual piece.  Perfect for your mantle, we highly recommend a Chubz piece for any creature-lover or character collector.

Empire Glassworks

Empire Glassworks has earned a stellar reputation in the glass industry for some of its incredibly detailed designs and unique styles of hand pipes and bongs. This year, Empire is expanding its adorable collection even further with handpipes such as the Avocadope Pipe and dab rigs like the Boba Tea Mini Rig. This is a great go-to brand for the smoker looking to find the ideal piece for their home. Fortunately, their new releases are tastier than ever, and we can’t wait to see what they’ll come up with next!

BoroTech Glass

BoroTech is a brand new vendor and hands down one of the defining brands of 2017. BoroTech shows off its dynamism and capabilities with a wide range of products: some simple like the “Sigurd” Side Arm Beaker, others complex like the “Midgard” Inverted Showerhead to Sprinkler with Fab Body. BoroTech Glass was started by glass enthusiasts just like you, who wanted something more out of the traditional glass pipe. Now, they’re putting out bona fide chimera pipes that function like the wild beasts they are, and we can’t get enough of them.

Keep an eye out for these brands and others at your trusted online headshop, Smoke Cartel.