Smoke Shop Glossary: Terms Explained

Plain definitions for the terms that turn up in product listings. No jargon for its own sake. Some items referenced here are 21+ only.

Glass and water pipes

• Percolator (perc) — a chamber that breaks smoke into smaller bubbles to cool it. Named by shape: tree, honeycomb, showerhead, inline.
• Downstem — the tube carrying smoke from the bowl into the water. Measured from the ground joint to the tip, not end to end.
• Joint size — the diameter where two glass parts meet. 10mm, 14mm and 18mm are standard, and each is either male or female. They are not interchangeable.
• Ash catcher — an attachment that traps debris before it reaches the main chamber. Sold in 45° and 90° angles to match the joint.
• Beaker vs straight tube — beaker bases hold more water and tip over less; straight tubes clear faster.
• Bubbler — a hand pipe with a small water chamber.
• Chillum — a straight one-hitter with no carb.
• Carb — the hole you cover and release to clear a pipe.

Concentrates and dabbing

• Banger — the bucket-shaped dish heated with a torch.
• Carb cap — a cover that restricts airflow over the banger so it works at a lower temperature.
• Terp pearls — small balls that spin inside a banger to spread material across the surface.
• Dabber — the tool used to place material. Scoop, flat and needle tips suit different consistencies.
• Quartz vs titanium — see our banger comparison.
• E-rig — an electrically heated rig, no torch.

Vaporizers

• Conduction — heating by direct contact with a hot surface.
• Convection — heating by passing hot air through the material.
• 510 thread — the common screw fitting between a battery and a cartridge.
• Coil resistance (ohms) — lower resistance draws more power and produces more vapour.
• MTL / DTL — mouth-to-lung, a tight cigarette-like draw; direct-to-lung, an open airy one.
• Pod — a self-contained cartridge holding liquid and coil together.

Grinders and accessories

• Two-piece / four-piece — see our grinder comparison.
• Kief — the fine powder collected below a four-piece grinder's screen.
• Activated carbon — highly porous carbon used in smell proof bags. It adsorbs odour molecules onto its surface, and it saturates.
• Readability — the smallest increment a scale displays. Not the same as its accuracy.
• Tare — zeroing a scale with a container in place.

Hemp cannabinoid terms

Definitions only. What may be sold or shipped varies by state and is handled at checkout, not here.

• CBD — cannabidiol, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid.
• THCA — the acidic precursor to delta-9 THC in the raw plant. Converts when heated.
• Delta-8 / Delta-10 — isomers of THC with a double bond in a different position.
• THCP — a cannabinoid with a longer alkyl side chain than THC.
• HHC — hexahydrocannabinol, a hydrogenated form.
• Total THC — delta-9 THC plus 0.877 x THCA. Many states measure this way rather than delta-9 alone.
• COA — Certificate of Analysis, a third-party lab report of a batch's cannabinoid content.
• Full spectrum / broad spectrum / isolate — the full cannabinoid profile; the profile with THC removed; a single purified cannabinoid.