A look back at the Proto-Pipe, the perennial gold standard of stoner technology

I’ve seen several knockoffs in stores around Berkeley. A pal had one and it worked pretty well except the parts didn’t quite fit together as nicely, and the rubber mouthpiece was clear silicone instead of black. I’ve seen silver-colored ones too in the shops on Telegraph (but not at Annapurna, the best and oldest shop on the avenue). I’ve had several Protos in my time, now sporting the Proto-Rocket!

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My personal favorite is still the “one-hitter”, a dugout with fake cigarette. But now that weed is legal so many places it’s not as necessary (and in fact you’re more likely to get the stink-eye for a cigarette than for weed.)

wood-and-stone-tobacco-smoking-pipes-dugouts-gorilla-glass

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I’ve had a number of ProtoPipes over the decades, starting with the really old one with no lid and a strip of leather glued on the front to protect against heat (I have since learned that the makers called this one “The Contrivance”, wish I till had it! A friend found it at a concert and traded it to me but it was lost at sea decades ago). They are still made in Willits, CA, my home state. The main issue with the ProtoPipe was that sometimes the resin trap would get stuck in place; my most recent one almost always required a little hammer-tap to get it out for cleaning. The good news is that there is a new model called the Proto-Rocket which improves on the old design by having a swing hatch on the bottom (similar to the lid on top) instead of a metal plug. Much easier to clean and one less loose part to lose! They are still very much in business! https://protopipellc.com

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For me, that would have required a 400-mile round trip to Kansas City using gas money I didn’t have. :man_shrugging:

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I knew a fellow at uni who owned a head shop in B’klyn. Amongst his store’s other paraphernalia, he sold the following (all of which he invented):

  • A chess set where each captured piece was made to provide a hit. Capture a piece. Take a hit.

  • A Frisbee bong. The bong was centered in the frisbee and could be tossed from user to user. He and a fellow in Germany ended up having to co-share a patent; they had invented their frisbee bongs independently.

  • A fantasy toy ‘village’ with clear plastic tubes topped with ‘pogoing’ ping-pong balls, with the action driven by toking users.

The items showed up in Easy Riders magazine ad sections. The magazine also featured short articles on his custom-rolled joint made to look like the starship Enterprise (with sad looking nacelles); and his motorcycle helmet, rather nicely enhanced with a clear-epoxied-on coating of marijuana seeds.

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Rich kids I knew had those. They looked much like the one in the vid, but everything easily came apart when they needed cleaning. I also remember those pipes never burned anyone, unless they grabbed the bowl.

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My BF has decided these are the way to go:

and…

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Since they also could be used to make cigarettes, I’m pretty sure they were more widely available, maybe not with that branding. I think that I even bought one from Johnson Smith catalog.

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Vaping has ignited concern over toxic effects of inhaling off of heated metal. Back in the day, the healthy alternatives to diy aluminum foil pipes were head shop aluminum smoking devices.

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Joint roller isn’t a bad option. The only problem is they come out so good that you go through your whole bag :wink:

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Love my Proto, which I acquired in the '80s. It can be hard to clean if you don’t clean it regularly (i.e., after your long camping trip or on tour). It taught me to take care of my things if I wanted them to last! Joints typically make me cough. These days it’s mostly the water pipe.

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Like other old ents, I’ve never seen one. Maybe they never made it to Canada? Of course, now i want one!

The chess pieces holding a hit leads me to think of a new chess challenge: take a piece, take a toke from a conveniently located toking device. I envision a 2-hose hookah to ensure same cannabis for both players. Pawn=1 toke, bishop/rook/horsey=2 tokes each, queen=5 tokes.

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It’s possible that our friend’s ability to fabricate the products went up in flames when his head shop burned down; I’m not kidding.

As to the chess piece bongs, the maker Joe Sarkis wondered too what degree players’ chess skills would be deteriorated as the game moved on toke after toke. He saw that as a fun bonus!

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You don’t get Rizla in the US then? They’re 99% of the rolling paper market in the UK, but then I get the impression that a lot more people roll their own cigarettes over here, compared to the US.

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