In an industry where marketing often overshadows substance, Thick Ass Glass (TAG) has built its reputation on a refreshingly different approach: exceptional engineering that prioritizes function over flash. Founded in 2013, the company has steadily grown a devoted following of enthusiasts who appreciate its no-nonsense focus on durability, performance, and value. As competition in the glass smoking accessories market continues to intensify, TAG has doubled down on its commitment to quality and customer education. I sat down with founder Brian Handschuh to discuss how the company selects manufacturing partners, the specific technical challenges of creating specialty glass products, the importance of ice catchers in bong design, and how TAG approaches innovative features without sacrificing reliable performance.
Dhruv: Brian, thanks for taking the time to chat. Let’s start with something not many companies discuss openly: manufacturing partnerships. How does TAG select its production partners, and what standards do you maintain throughout the manufacturing process?
Brian: Thanks for having me, Dhruv. Manufacturing partnerships are absolutely critical to our success, even though they happen behind the scenes. We’re extremely selective about who we work with because every piece that bears the TAG name has to meet our engineering standards—no exceptions.
Our approach is different from many companies that simply source the cheapest available products. We start by auditing potential partners’ facilities, looking at everything from their annealing processes to quality control systems. We need to know they can consistently maintain the glass thickness we require—especially at stress points like bases and joints, where we use up to 16mm thick glass compared to competitors’ 3-6mm.
Once we establish a partnership, we don’t just send designs and hope for the best. We provide detailed specifications for every aspect of production—the exact borosilicate composition, precise temperatures for working and annealing the glass, and quality control checkpoints throughout the process. Many of our manufacturing partners initially pushed back, saying our specifications were unnecessarily stringent, but we’ve been unwavering on this.
We also perform regular quality testing on production batches. We’ll randomly select pieces and subject them to stress testing, measuring actual wall thickness at multiple points, and checking for proper annealing using polarized light to reveal stress points.
This rigorous approach costs more and takes more time, but it’s the only way to ensure we’re delivering on our promises to customers. Anyone can claim their glass is “thick” or “durable,” but we back it up with actual engineering specifications and quality controls.
Dhruv: That’s fascinating. Are there specific technical challenges in creating glass smoking accessories that might surprise people who aren’t familiar with the production process?
Brian: Absolutely. Glass work is a complex craft, and functional smoking accessories present unique engineering challenges beyond just making something that looks good.
One of the biggest technical hurdles is maintaining consistent wall thickness during production, especially around complex features like percolators or joint connections. When glass is heated for forming, it naturally wants to thin out as it’s stretched or blown. Creating a piece with uniform 9mm walls requires precise temperature control and skilled craftsmanship.
Joint work is particularly challenging. The joint is where your bowl connects to the bong, and it needs to be perfectly sized for an airtight seal while also being strong enough to withstand repeated use. Creating a joint that’s exactly 14mm or 18mm with the proper taper angle requires precision down to a fraction of a millimeter. Many manufacturers cut corners here, which is why joints are often the first point of failure in cheaper glass.
Percolator production presents another set of unique challenges. Take our super slit puck percs—creating those numerous, evenly spaced slits requires specialized tools and techniques. Each slit needs to be the right size for optimal bubble formation without compromising structural integrity. Many competitors use fewer, larger slits because they’re easier to produce, but this significantly impacts diffusion quality.
Perhaps the most technically demanding aspect is proper annealing. This is the controlled cooling process that relieves internal stress in the glass. Rushed annealing creates microscopic stress points that lead to cracks and breaks later. Proper annealing can take hours or even days for thicker pieces, which is why many mass producers skip or shorten this step. We never do—our annealing processes follow precisely calculated temperature curves based on glass thickness and composition.
These technical considerations aren’t sexy marketing points, but they’re the difference between a piece that breaks after a few months and one that becomes a reliable companion for years.
Dhruv: Let’s talk about a specific design feature that many users appreciate: ice catchers. What makes a good ice catcher design, and how has TAG approached this feature?
Brian: Ice catchers are a perfect example of a feature that seems simple but requires thoughtful engineering to execute properly. For those unfamiliar, an ice catcher or ice pinch is a constriction in the neck of a bong that holds ice cubes above the water chamber, cooling the smoke as it passes over them.
A well-designed ice catcher needs to balance several factors. It must be strong enough to support the weight of multiple ice cubes without creating a structural weak point in the neck. It needs to hold the ice securely without restricting airflow too much. And it should be positioned at the right height—too low and the ice melts too quickly from water splashing; too high and you lose cooling efficiency.
Our approach at TAG has been to create three-point ice pinches that provide maximum strength while minimizing airflow restriction. We reinforce the glass around the pinch points to prevent stress fractures, which is a common failure point in cheaper designs. We also position our ice catchers strategically based on the overall dimensions of each piece—generally in the upper third of the tube where cooling is most effective without being too close to the mouthpiece.
One detail we’ve refined over the years is the angle and depth of each pinch. They’re angled slightly downward to prevent ice from slipping past while allowing water from melting ice to drain back into the chamber rather than pooling at the pinch points. It’s a small detail, but it prevents overflow issues as ice melts.
What many people don’t realize is that adding an effective ice catcher actually increases production complexity significantly. The neck needs to be heated to the right temperature to form the pinches without compromising the structural integrity of the tube. It’s one of those features that’s worth the extra engineering effort because it dramatically improves the smoking experience by cooling the hit without adding drag or complexity.
Dhruv: TAG offers a range of different percolator designs. Can you explain the functional differences between them and how customers should choose what’s right for their needs?
Brian: Percolators are probably the most misunderstood component in glass design. People often assume more percs or more complex-looking percs automatically mean better filtration, but the reality is much more nuanced.
Each percolator design creates a different kind of smoke diffusion based on how it breaks up the smoke into bubbles. Here’s how some of our main percolator types differ functionally:
Honeycomb percs feature multiple small holes in horizontal discs. They create extremely fine, consistent diffusion with relatively low drag. The smoke is broken into hundreds of tiny bubbles, providing excellent cooling and filtration. They’re ideal for people who want maximum smoothness without the restricted airflow that some other high-diffusion percs can create.
Tree percs have multiple arms extending from a central tube, each with slits or holes at the bottom. They provide excellent diffusion while creating a visually appealing bubble effect. The advantage of tree percs is customizable diffusion—more arms mean more diffusion but also more drag. They’re perfect for those who want to watch the diffusion process happen.
Showerhead percs direct smoke down through a tube and then out through slits in a wider chamber. They create consistent, powerful diffusion with a distinctive visual effect. These work well for people who want strong filtration with minimal splash-back.
Matrix percs combine aspects of both honeycomb and showerhead designs, creating a grid-like pattern of holes. They provide extremely thorough diffusion while maintaining good airflow. These are ideal for users who want maximum filtration but still want to take substantial hits without excessive restriction.
When choosing between them, customers should consider their priorities. If smooth, cool hits are the absolute priority and you don’t mind a bit more drag, multiple honeycomb percs might be ideal. If you want good filtration with maximum airflow, a single showerhead could be the better choice. For the best balance of diffusion and flow, our matrix percs often hit the sweet spot.
It’s also worth considering maintenance. Tree percs can be more challenging to clean thoroughly, while honeycomb percs are generally easier to maintain despite their many holes. Showerhead designs tend to be the most cleaning-friendly while still providing excellent function.
The most important thing to understand is that more complex doesn’t always mean better—it’s about finding the right percolation style for your specific preferences and usage habits.
Dhruv: How does TAG approach innovation while ensuring reliability? What’s your process for introducing new features or designs?
Brian: That’s a great question that gets to the core of our product development philosophy. Innovation is essential, but not at the expense of reliability—which has unfortunately become common in this industry where novelty often trumps function.
Our innovation process always starts with identifying an actual problem or opportunity to enhance the user experience. We don’t chase trends just to have the latest design gimmick. We ask: “Will this genuinely improve filtration, durability, user experience, or maintenance?”
Once we identify an opportunity, we move through several development phases. It starts with theoretical modeling—using fluid dynamics principles to predict how a new percolator design will diffuse smoke, for example. Then we create prototypes and test them extensively in real-world conditions, measuring factors like draw resistance, cooling efficiency, and structural integrity.
What sets our approach apart is our willingness to abandon ideas that don’t meet our standards, even after significant investment. About 60% of our design concepts never make it to production because they don’t deliver meaningful improvements or they compromise reliability. Many companies would push these products to market anyway just to have something “new,” but that’s not how we operate.
A good example of our approach was the development of our recycler designs. Recyclers were gaining popularity for their ability to continuously cycle water, preventing stale smoke build-up. Rather than rush a design to market, we spent over a year testing different configurations to optimize water flow paths, drain rates, and chamber proportions. The result was a recycler that actually functioned as intended, not just one that looked the part.
We’re also not afraid to make incremental improvements that might not be immediately visible but significantly enhance performance. We regularly refine details like downstem angles, joint reinforcements, and percolator slit sizes based on ongoing testing and customer feedback. These aren’t flashy innovations that drive marketing campaigns, but they create a noticeably better experience.
The ultimate test for any innovation is longevity—does it stand the test of time in daily use? Many trendy designs look impressive initially but become frustrating after a few months due to cleaning difficulties, fragility, or diminishing performance. We’re interested in creating innovations that customers still appreciate years later.
Dhruv: TAG products are used for smoking various materials. How do you approach designing pieces for different consumption methods, and what considerations go into making something versatile?
Brian: Different materials have distinct combustion or vaporization properties, which directly impact how we engineer pieces for optimal function. The needs of flower smokers versus concentrate users are substantially different, and understanding these differences drives our design decisions.
For flower use, combustion produces hotter, more robust smoke with more particulate matter. These pieces benefit from greater water volume, more extensive percolation, and often ice catchers for additional cooling. Our beaker bongs with diffused downstems or multi-perc setups excel here because they provide the cooling and filtration needed for a smooth experience with combusted material.
Concentrate use involves vaporization rather than combustion, which produces less volume but more potent vapor. Here, the priorities shift toward flavor preservation and efficient vapor delivery. Concentrate rigs tend to be smaller with less water volume and more focused percolation. The goal is to provide just enough diffusion to cool the vapor without over-filtering it and losing delicate flavor profiles.
For versatile pieces that can handle both materials effectively, we focus on several key design elements:
First, appropriate chamber sizing—large enough to provide adequate cooling for flower but not so large that concentrate vapor becomes stale before inhalation.
Second, adaptable percolation—designs like our matrix percs that provide thorough but not excessive diffusion work well for both applications.
Third, optimal airflow paths that maintain enough resistance for proper flower combustion but don’t restrict the lighter vapor from concentrates.
The joint size also plays a role in versatility. While 14mm joints are the industry standard and work well for most applications, 10mm joints are often preferred for dedicated concentrate use due to their more direct airflow. For truly versatile pieces, we typically use 14mm joints that can accommodate both flower bowls and concentrate attachments.
Water level adjustability is another consideration for versatile pieces. We design many of our multi-purpose pieces with clear water level indicators that show optimal fill lines for different materials.
Ultimately, while we do create specialized pieces optimized for specific materials, our most popular products tend to be those that perform admirably across different uses—giving customers flexibility without significant compromise.
Dhruv: What’s your take on the debate between beaker-style versus straight tube bongs? What are the functional differences, and why might someone choose one over the other?
Brian: This is one of those fundamental design questions that reveals a lot about personal preferences and smoking styles. Both designs have distinct advantages, and understanding these differences helps customers make the right choice for their needs.
Beaker bongs feature a wide, flared base that narrows into a straight neck. This design provides several key benefits: increased water volume for better filtration, greater stability due to the wider base, and reduced splash-back since water has more room to move without reaching the mouthpiece. The larger water chamber also creates more consistent hits, as the increased water volume modulates the draw resistance. These are ideal for daily smokers who value stability and smoothness, or for anyone who tends to accidentally knock things over.
Straight tubes maintain the same diameter from base to mouthpiece, creating a more direct path for smoke. This design delivers faster-clearing hits with less drag, making them perfect for experienced smokers who want powerful, direct rips. The streamlined shape also makes them easier to clean since there are no hard-to-reach corners where residue can accumulate. They’re typically lighter and more compact than equivalent beaker designs, though this comes at the cost of some stability.
The functional difference comes down to the relationship between water volume, drag, and clearing speed. Beakers provide more diffusion through increased water contact but take slightly longer to clear. Straight tubes deliver a more immediate hit with less restriction but slightly less filtration per unit of water.
For most beginners, I typically recommend beakers because the added stability and water volume provides a more forgiving experience. For experienced users who know exactly what they want from their sessions, the choice often comes down to specific preferences:
If you value smooth, well-filtered hits and don’t mind a bit more drag, beakers are excellent. Our 9mm beakers with 16mm bases are virtually tip-proof and provide outstanding filtration.
If you prefer rapid clearing with minimal resistance, straight tubes deliver that direct experience. Our reinforced straight tubes maintain durability while providing that clean, quick draw.
What’s interesting is that many enthusiasts eventually own both styles for different occasions or materials. A beaker might be perfect for casual daily use, while a straight tube might be preferred for more intense sessions where maximum airflow is desired.
Dhruv: The internet has created more educated consumers in this market. How has this affected your approach to product descriptions and marketing compared to traditional retail channels?
Brian: The rise of educated consumers has completely transformed our approach to marketing and product information. In the past, glass was often sold primarily on aesthetics or general claims about quality without much substantive information. Today’s consumers are far more sophisticated—they understand percolation physics, material properties, and engineering principles. They’re not just asking “does it look cool?” but “how does it function, and why?”
This shift has been incredibly positive for us because our engineering-focused approach aligns perfectly with what educated consumers value. Rather than making vague claims about quality, we can be specific about exactly what makes our products superior—9mm wall thickness, 16mm bases, reinforced joints, precise percolation designs based on fluid dynamics principles.
In our product descriptions, we’ve moved toward much more technical detail. We specify exact dimensions, glass thickness at different points, percolator slit counts, and functional characteristics. We explain not just what features a piece has, but why those features matter for the smoking experience.
Our blog content has evolved to include in-depth educational articles that explain concepts like percolation physics, glass annealing, and airflow dynamics in accessible language. This isn’t just marketing—it’s creating a more informed marketplace where consumers can make better decisions.
What’s particularly interesting is how this approach differs between online and traditional retail. In traditional retail, customers can physically handle the piece and see the thickness and quality firsthand, but they often lack access to detailed technical information. Online, we need to convey that physical quality digitally while providing the technical details that many retail salespeople might not know.
We’ve responded by creating more detailed product photography that highlights key engineering features and producing videos that show actual function rather than just appearance.
The rise of review culture and forums like Reddit has also influenced our approach. When consumers can easily share their experiences and make side-by-side comparisons with competitors, honesty and accuracy become essential. If we claim our glass has certain properties or performance characteristics, we know those claims will be thoroughly tested and discussed in public forums.
Ultimately, more educated consumers have pushed the entire industry toward greater transparency and higher standards, which benefits companies like ours that have always prioritized engineering excellence over marketing hype.
Dhruv: Let’s talk about joint sizes and compatibility. This seems to confuse many buyers. Can you explain the different sizes and how customers should approach this aspect when making a purchase?
Brian: Joint sizing totally throws new buyers off, but nailing it is huge for how your piece works and what accessories you can use. It’s all about three things: joint size, gender, and how they shape your hit. The standard sizes are 10mm, 14mm, and 18mm—small, medium, and large. Those numbers are the inner diameter for female joints or outer diameter for male ones. The 14mm is the go-to because it hits that sweet spot between airflow and resistance. But we’ve also got 28mm joints, which we think are the ultimate for beakers. With a 15mm inner diameter, the 28mm downstem can handle huge diffusers—think 12-arm trees or double super-slit UFOs. It takes 18mm male slides, keeps a compact vibe like the 18/14mm downstems, and gives you insane airflow for flower.
Then there’s joint gender. Female joints have an opening where male accessories slide in; male joints stick out to fit into female pieces. Most bongs rock female joints for male bowls, while dab rigs often go male for female bangers. Easy way to tell: if it’s got an opening, it’s female; if it’s poking out, it’s male.
The size and gender combo changes everything. A 10mm joint keeps airflow tight—perfect for controlled dab hits but maybe too snug for flower. The 18mm opens it up, great for flower but sometimes too loose for concentrates. The 28mm? It’s next-level flow for big diffusers, no drag holding you back.
When you’re picking a piece, think about what you’re smoking. Flower loves the 14mm, 18mm, or 28mm for that easy pull; concentrates lean toward 10mm or 14mm for precision. Check your gear too—if you’ve got bowls or downstems already, make sure they match or grab an adapter. And how do you like your draw? Bigger joints like 18mm or 28mm feel open and light; 10mm tightens it up for more resistance.
Here’s a trick: use a dime to measure—it’s about 18mm across. If it almost fits but won’t drop in, you’re probably at 14mm. At TAG, we mostly run 14mm female joints since they play nice with tons of accessories, but we’ve got all the sizes, including 28mm, so you can match your setup and vibe.
Dhruv: How do you guys decide which percolation styles to use in your pieces, and what’s the process like for testing them?
Brian: Oh man, choosing percs is like the secret sauce of what we do—it’s where engineering geekery meets real-world smoking. It’s not just slapping something cool-looking in there; every style’s got a job, and we’re obsessive about getting it right. It starts with the piece’s purpose. Flower setups need heavy hitters—think multi-stage diffusion to wrestle down that hot, chunky smoke. A 12-arm tree perc might kick things off in the base, splitting the flow into a dozen streams for max water contact, then maybe a honeycomb disc higher up to break it into finer bubbles. Dabs are a different beast—vapor’s smoother but hotter, so we lean toward quick-and-dirty options like a showerhead with tight slits or a compact inline. Those keep the flavor punchy without drowning it in too much water.
The testing process? That’s where it gets wild. We don’t just blow smoke and call it good—there’s a whole system. First, we mock up prototypes, sometimes 3D-printed, sometimes hand-blown if we’re feeling old-school. We hook them up to airflow meters and pressure gauges to clock the drag—too much resistance, and it’s like sucking a milkshake through a coffee stirrer; too little, and you’re gulping air with no finesse. Then we run actual smoke and vapor tests. For cooling, we’ve got thermal sensors tracking how much heat’s dropping from entry to exit—flower smoke might start at 300°F, and we want it down to something you’re not coughing your lungs out over. Vapor’s trickier; it’s hotter out the gate but needs to stay tasty, so we’re watching that temp drop without over-chilling the terpenes away.
But numbers only tell half the story. We do blind pulls with the team—everyone from the designers to the warehouse crew gets a go. It’s like a taste test, but for feel. Is it smooth? Does it stack right? Are you fighting it or flowing with it? We’ll tweak slit sizes—say, nudge them from 0.8mm to 1.2mm—or adjust spacing if the bubbles are too big and sloppy or too tiny and fizzy. Sometimes we’ll even cut a perc apart post-test to see where ash or resin’s gunking it up, then redesign to dodge that clog. For a big flower piece, we might spend weeks dialing in a double-perc combo—tree plus UFO, maybe—ensuring the first stage doesn’t choke the second. Dabs are faster; a single showerhead might get three rounds before it’s dialed.
We’ve had flops too—like this one time we overbuilt a triple-stack perc for a beaker. Looked insane, but the drag was brutal, and the bubbles barely moved. Straight to the scrap pile. It’s a grind, but that’s how we land on percs that don’t just sit there—they work. Every piece we ship’s been through that wringer, so you’re not guessing if it’ll perform.
Dhruv: To wrap up, what’s one piece of advice you wish every customer knew before making their first quality glass purchase?
Brian: If I could give just one piece of advice, it would be this: invest in quality the first time rather than learning the hard way through multiple replacements. A well-engineered piece that costs $150-$200 might seem expensive compared to cheaper options, but if it lasts for years rather than months, it’s actually the more economical choice in the long run.
Focus on the fundamentals—glass thickness at stress points, joint quality, and basic functionality—rather than getting distracted by flashy but impractical features. A simple beaker with thick glass (9mm+ walls, 16mm base) and a good diffused downstem will provide a better experience than a thin-walled piece with multiple percs that don’t function properly.
Take the time to research and understand what you’re buying. Look at glass thickness specifications, read reviews from actual users, and ask questions about engineering details rather than just aesthetics. A reputable company will be happy to provide this information because they’re proud of their engineering.
Remember that this is ultimately about enhancing your experience. The right piece becomes something you enjoy using every day, not something you’re constantly fixing, replacing, or frustrated by. When you consider how often you’ll use it, spreading that initial investment over hundreds or thousands of sessions makes the value proposition clear.
Quality doesn’t have to mean expensive, but it does mean thoughtfully engineered. That’s the philosophy that guides everything we do at TAG, and it’s the approach I recommend to anyone entering this market.
Dhruv: Brian, this has been incredibly informative. Thank you for sharing your expertise and passion for quality engineering.
Brian: Thanks for the thoughtful questions, Dhruv. Education is a huge part of our mission at TAG, so conversations like this are valuable opportunities to help people understand what makes for a truly quality piece. At the end of the day, we want customers to have the best possible experience, whether they choose our products or not—though obviously, we believe our engineering-focused approach delivers exceptional value for those who appreciate quality that lasts.
As Editor-in-Chief of Southwick News, Dhruv Patel combines his background in computer science from UC Berkeley with his Stanford journalism training to pioneer innovative approaches to digital news delivery.
