From pipes and bongs that take more turns than a lost driver to vaporizers that look like smartphones, the weed market is pretty crowded. But the best one-hitters are a niche that every stoner should know for convenience and portability alone. A no-frills smoking tool that’s often small and tubular—in some cases even designed to mimic the look of a cigarette—one-hitters work sorta like skinny pipes in that you pack them and light them, except they’re designed to hold only enough herb for a single hit. Primarily made from glass or metal, they’re also pretty painless to clean.
The Best One-Hitters, According to GQ
If discretion is the goal, or you only need a liiitle bit of weed to get you through the work day, a one-hitter is an easy way to sneak in a quick high. Think of it as a small, simplistic gateway into the wide and weedy world of cannabis gear. On that front, make sure you’re entering the game with the right knowledge (We got you.) and the best recs (Believe us: We got you.) Without further ado, the best one-hitters that really make that single puff count.
The Best One-Hitter, Overall: Vessel Helix
One of the biggest qualms about one-hitters is how hot the smoke can be. Because of the short distance between the bowl and the mouthpiece, the smoke doesn’t have time to cool down, sometimes causing a burning sensation in the mouth. The Helix by Vessel solves for this with a clever double-helix design that sends smoke wrapping through two-and-a-half times the surface area before it reaches your lips. We agree that the smoke is cooler than other one-hitters we’ve tried, and the size of this device makes it easy to tote around with ease. We liked the feeling of the Helix’s brass construction, ultimately finding it to be the most enjoyable smoking experience of all the one-hitters that we tried.
The Best Glass One-Hitter: Cannastyle Iridescent Twisted Chillum
This iridescent twisted glass one-hitter by Cannastyle—which they refer to as both a one-hitter and chillum on their website (we explain more down below)—has a satisfying texture in the hand and a glossy borosilicate glass sheen that’s irresistible to some people and most crows. I found the Cannastyle one-hitter to be a good visual fit with my colorful collection of modern cannabis accessories so it’ll be sticking around for sure.
The Best Looking One-Hitter: House of Puff Le Pipe
Stoneware has a quiet class that House of Puff has captured well in their four-inch one-hitter, available in nine colors. It’s been treated with a food-safe glaze but should still be hand washed only. Its slightly longer length was a conscious design choice to cool the smoke so it doesn’t burn your lips, but it’s still compact enough to tote around easily and discreetly. Pack it, light it, tap it out, and store it away for next time.
The Best Novelty One-Hitter: Edie Parker Candle
Get lit with one of the most attainable items from Weedie Parker, Edie Parker’s line of cannabis accessories. This birthday candle-shaped one-hitter. The brand makes a ton of great pipes and fun weed accessories, but there’s something funny about carrying around a candle that’s actually a pipe. It’s crafted from 100% borosilicate glass, is just over five inches long and comes in a few colors in case you actually want to stick this in a birthday cake.
The Best Portable One-Hitter: Jaunt Stem
Jaunt’s one-hitter comes with a waxed leather sleeve for safely and easily carrying the pipe wherever you need. Aside from the travel accessory, the Stem is a great pipe, because of its longer length (it’s five inches), was ingeniously designed with a flat mouthpiece so that it won’t roll around when you put it down, and has a matte finish so that it’s grippy and won’t easily slip out of your hands when in use.
The Best One-Hitter for Microdosing: Dynavap M 7 Vape
Technically, by using a stainless steel cap that covers the bowl and heats the weed rather than burning it, the Dynavap “M” Plus is considered a vaporizer. That’s a bonus for anyone looking to avoid any potential negative side effects from smoking, but another of the piece’s winning features is its ability to change the size of the chamber to hold half of its normal capacity, allowing for even greater dosing control in case you need just a little hit and aren’t looking to get out of this world.
The Best Durable One-Hitter: ElevateJane SilverStick
This matte silver one-hitter is made from aircraft-grade alloy that is very sturdy, making this an appropriate unit to accidentally spill onto a sidewalk. It comes with a silicone end cap to keep in the smell, 15 cotton filters, and a steel poker for loading in flower. Also, its bowl is larger than comparable one-hitters, which means you can get around four to six draws compared to just a couple.
What’s the Difference Between a Chillum and a One-Hitter?
The terms “chillum” and “one-hitter” are sometimes used interchangeably, and they do share similarities, with some key differences, too. A chillum is a traditional smoking pipe originating from India, typically made of clay, wood, or stone. Chillum bowls are larger, sometimes resulting in more of a conical or “bat” shape that’s wider at one end, and allowing for more than one or two inhales.
On the other hand, a one-hitter is a more modern, if just as rudimentary, smoking device designed for single-use sessions. They’re usually smaller and more uniform in width than chillums, and made from materials like metal or glass. Some models can be used with carrying and loading accessories called “dugouts,” which have space for the one-hitter to tuck into as well as a spot to store and then load your ground flower.
Chillums also require a certain level of dexterity to use in the traditional sense, which involves cupping the hands together to form a sort of palm pipe, and then inserting the lit chillum vertically in between the ring and pinkie finger.
How Do You Use a One-Hitter?
Because one-hitters are so simple in design, with your mouth inhaling from one end and the weed filling the other, yours probably isn’t going to come with a manual when you buy it. To use a one-hitter, simply grind up some flower, pack it tightly into the tip or bowl of the device, light and inhale. The trick is to get the grind and pack density just right. The grind should be fine enough to let the air through, but coarse enough not to get sucked down into the pipe. And the bowl should be packed tight enough to not spill out when smoked horizontally, but loose enough to draw the flame through. You’ve been warned: Get this wrong and risk tasting your weed or its ash in the literal sense.
How We Tested
One-hitters are super easy to use, and a crowded market makes it easy to get lost in the weeds when shopping for one. We tested a handful of one-hitters, the ones we knew were the most popular with potheads, and evaluated them based on the smoothness of the pulls, the heat of the smoke, and the ease of use. The ones were didn’t personally test were vetted based on other users’ reviews and their popularity amongst the hobbyist community.
