Whether you are a “serious” stoner or just someone who has simply outgrown their raggedy handpipe then you’ve probably seen the Heir Waterpipe mentioned at least a couple times if you’ve ever searched for “premium” quality bongs or “best quality bongs” or even “aesthetic bongs”.
That’s because the brand and more specifically their flagship size 13 Waterpipe are frequently included in “top 10” type lists for discerning stoners.
Keeping your trusty old bong running as long as possible is commendable, but there also come moments in our lives wherein upgrades are worth the expense.
Whether the impetus for your purchase is a recently broken glass piece or simply wanting to switch from smoking exclusively doobies to having a water-filtered option as was my case, Heir stands as a good option for those looking for a balance of beauty and functionality.
But before I share both the pros AND the cons I’ve found living with my size 13 Waterpipe over the years, let me explain a little bit more about how I ended up buying this bong over others.
What Features Make a Bong “Premium”?
While there are many different solutions that utilize different materials and designs depending on your specific needs, for me, Heir offers some key features that not all bongs have and that ultimately led me to drop my hard earned cash on one back in 2021.
My bong requirements were simple, I wanted something that was:
- Durable (thick borosilicate, thick metal, thick ceramic)
- Modular (ease of cleaning and parts replacement)
- Aesthetic (something that can live on the coffee table)
If you are going to spend $200+ on a bong (the Heir Waterpipe currently retails at $220) then you want it to be constructed of materials that are tough and will hold up to long-term regular use.
Likewise, if you’re serious enough to invest this much in a piece it is also likely you’re going to use it a lot so a pipe that can be broken down into smaller pieces is enormously helpful when it comes to cleaning or replacing individual pieces down the road if necessary.
While there are plenty of sturdy metal and sexy borosilicate options out there, I thought the Heir bong struck a nice balance between durability and aesthetics.
Overview of the Waterpipe’s Key Features
The Heir Waterpipe checks my durability, modularity, and aesthetic boxes because of some really brilliant design that went into this piece.
From the 7mm thick glass chamber with extra thick 10mm footing for stability, to the high gloss-fired ceramic mouthpiece that fits perfectly into the palm of your hand, the quality in materials are immediately obvious.
The solid metal bowl with broad, angled lip is gnarly in its hefty weight yet elegantly grooved around the perimeter so that loading and smoking a tactile treat.
The long eight-slotted, ceramic down stem with built-in splashguard draws all smoke through quite some distance (and water) to cool even egregiously powerful rips.
I was over the moon when I first got my pipe in 2021 and rode it quite hard the first year as the luxurious materials were a tactile delight and the large chamber resulted in relatively big rips (IMO) meaning I could spark up once and be set for the evening.
A ball of hemp wick (I’ve been very happy with my Hippy HempWicks) is a mandatory accompaniment to a waterpipe like this for maximizing flavor and thus enjoyment of your top-shelf, diamond tier, dankness.
Trouble in Paradise: My Heir Gets Sidelined
Through the first month of ownership I was ripping my pipe on the daily, washing it probably every 2-3 weeks or so depending on how much grime was accumulating on the inside of the glass chamber.
Separating the ceramic mouthpiece from the glass chamber was always a moderately finicky affair, delicately trying to align the mouthpiece with the chamber for smooth threading and unthreading.
There were often times where it would take multiple attempts to get the mouthpiece fully seated and airtight because it seemed to get hung-up/cross-threaded when about 60-75% of the way tightened.
Heir is a small local company and their glass chambers are hand crafted so I just assumed there were some human-level imperfections in the alignment of the threaded metal collar on the chamber.
Some finnicky threads was something I figured I could live with given the overall quality and smokeability of the pipe.
Unfortunately, as time wore on the threading issue persisted and seemed to only get worse wherein it would get locked in place, meaning it wouldn’t thread further together but also wouldn’t allow me to back out and unthread either, leaving me stuck half-threaded.
For some background I’m no Bob Vila, BUT I’ve used pretty much every type of drywall anchor invented and I’ve also had to tap stripped bolt holes in motors.
As such, I do understand the importance of not over-torquing various mating materials and thus made sure to take extreme care when assembling and disassembling my ceramic/glass bong.
After a few months of consistently fighting lockup issues with the mouthpiece and chamber things took a turn for the worse and I started to hear cracking sounds when doing the back and forth dance of trying to separate the mouthpiece and vessel.
This ultimately led to the glass splintering around the collar and the whole pipe being tucked away under my bathroom sink, unusable.
Resolution Process with Customer Support
After far too long sitting in the dark collecting dust under my sink the time had come for a bit of spring cleaning and I was left with the choice of either recycling the whole thing or trying to get ahold of someone at Heir to help solve the problem.
Given the amount of money I’d originally invested in the piece I decided to go the customer support route to A) try to find out what was causing my lockup problems and B) find a solution so I could resume ripping my bong.
Since it was the glass that had given first I’d assumed I just got unlucky and there must have been something out of spec with either the chamber or the externally-threaded metal collar that rings the top of the chamber.
I contacted support about the issue who asked for photos and a description of the issue after which they said because so much time had passed (I was long past the 30-day warranty window) that I would have to buy a replacement chamber.
They did offer a 10% off code which was a nice gesture but when I tried to use it, it didn’t work.
Acknowledging I was far outside the clearly stated warranty window I went ahead and bought my own replacement glass chamber (a key benefit of a modular pipe mentioned above) and a 14mm adapter while I was at it.
The replacement chamber arrived quickly and I was excited to get to use my pipe again except I couldn’t because when trying to mate my original mouthpiece with the new replacement glass I was still experiencing the dreaded lockup issues.
Not wanting to break a second glass chamber I reached back out to Heir customer support to let them know I was still experiencing issues and asking for help.
They once again asked for photos (I sent photos and video of the actual stuck piece) and then again, without commenting on any of the descriptive media I’d sent, said there was unfortunately nothing they could do.
At this point I had to do some math and realized I was out a total of $349 ($234 retail for the pipe in 2021 and then $40 for a replacement chamber and $10 for a 14mm bowl adapter I got when ordering the replacement chamber) and could not justify spending an additional $65 for a second mouthpiece.
It was only after laying out the math of just how much I’d spent on their products to simply overcome what seemed apparent to me to be a manufacturing defect with the mouthpiece itself, did they offer to ship a replacement mouthpiece free of charge.
Sure enough with the new ceramic mouthpiece they shipped me mated up smoothly with the new (2nd) glass chamber I had recently purchased.
Finally, I could rip my precious Heir again and that I did, now with my 14mm adaptor to accommodate a recently acquired 14mm injector style ball vape.
*Just a note on the 14mm adaptor, while it works, the design and material of the silicone are quite slippery on the ceramic mouthpiece, so it doesn’t stay seated, requiring regular pressure applied from atop.
So if you’ve been considering the silicone adaptor I’d suggest exploring other avenues unless you mind keeping your finger on it to hold it in place whilst lighting up.
A Promising Brand With Room for Improvement
Now complete, I love everything about my Heir waterpipe, and if you’re reading this considering one for yourself I do wholeheartedly recommend it despite my earlier trials.
The gorgeous design makes it a beautiful accompaniment to any coffee table and the sheer heft of the thing really does exude “heirloom quality” when used.
Should you choose to go with an Heir waterpipe though I highly recommend threading and unthreading the mouthpiece and chamber a dozen or so times once you receive it just to ensure the two pieces are mating correctly, before your 30-day warranty window expires.
While I really like that they offer a library of replacement parts, from a fan’s perspective, I would also like to see a longer warranty window, given the robustness of the materials themselves and the overall premium price point this bong goes for.
To be frank, the whole customer service experience left a lot to be desired.
The responses felt templated and it was frustrating to describe the problem in detail, with text, photos, and video…only to not have any of them directly addressed.
No company is perfect and wonky things sometimes happen, I totally get it. Kaizen made Toyota what it is and that is very much a continual improvement mindset.
If you were to subtract the lackluster customer support and initial threading issue I’d score my Heir Waterpipe a 9/10.
With a longer warranty and improved support this waterpipe would be perfect 10/10.
The design is like nothing else and I’m happy with every other aspect of the pipe, including the big clouds she produces when properly ripped.
The large glass chamber and unrestricted mouthpiece make for truly voluminous inhales, even with my ball vape.
Now that everything’s movin’ and groovin’ the way it should I hope to continue to use this bong for the rest of my life, wherever that may take me.
So if you’re looking for a robust water-cooled smoking experience that is big enough to pass around the party for impressive rips and which can be easily cleaned afterwards, all while looking like an utter art piece, then look no further.
