How to Make a Homemade Banana Pipe [Video Guide]

The majority of people would probably agree that bananas are not only a quick, healthy snack, but are also quite tasty. As it turns out, bananas are even more useful than we initially thought, serving as an excellent way to create a do-it-yourself (DIY) cannabis pipe.

Nothing sucks more than really wanting to smoke a bowl but not having any device or paper to hand. Sometimes, desperate times call for drastic measures, and when you are scrambling to make a pipe from a banana, that is usually the case.

Although there are lots of ways to make DIY pipes, a banana is a reasonably quick (if unusual) method. Considering how easy it is to find one, it makes for a wonderful on-the-go alternative to glass that you can compost. It is also fully biodegradable.

Apart from benefiting from this fruit’s nutritional value (bananas are a very good source of vitamin B6, manganese, vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber, potassium, biotin, and copper), you’ll also have a blast at rigging this fruit into a pipe which gets the job done.

VICE has put together this brilliant video on how to make your very own banana pipe. If you want to see the instructions written step-by-step, we’ve included them below.

Making a Banana Pipe: The Easy Way

Ingredients/Materials You’ll Need

Gather the following household materials to create a banana pipe:

A pen or plastic straw
Scissors or a knife
A fresh, hard banana

When choosing your banana, avoid overripe ones with patches and blemishes on the skin. If you use a soft banana, the mushiness on the inside creates an almighty mess. The best option is a semi-ripe banana that is slightly green or completely yellow.

Although you ‘only’ need a scissors/knife and a pen or plastic straw, you’ll make things more comfortable if you have additional tools. For example, a small teaspoon is excellent for carving a bowl from a banana’s end. A small square piece of tinfoil acts as a useful gauze and stops you from sucking ash through the pipe.

It shouldn’t take long to get your hands on these items! Now, it is time to create a DIY banana pipe.

Make a Banana Pipe: Step 1

Cut off the tip of the banana in one clean, even stroke. Don’t destroy the piece that you just cut off; you’ll need it for the next step.

Make a Banana Pipe: Step 2

Cut the very end of the tip off with a knife or scissors to separate it into two pieces. The larger of the two pieces will serve as your bowl piece. You can dispose of the smaller one.

Using a pen or plastic straw, push the banana flesh out of the larger of the two pieces that is meant to serve as your bowl. Set aside the hollowed-out part for later.

Make a Banana Pipe: Step 3

At the open end of the banana where you cut the flesh, put a hole through the banana using your pen or a plastic straw. Insert the tool into the soft banana meat until you’ve reached the halfway mark. Pull the pen or straw out and make sure that the chamber you just created has a clear passageway through the banana. You’re going to end up pulling smoke through this chamber so you won’t want any blockages.

Make a Banana Pipe: Step 4

At the top of the banana where the chamber you just created ends, insert the pen or straw through the banana skin to make a connecting hole. This is where you place your bowl piece to smoke your marijuana effortlessly. Blow through the chambers to see if the two are correctly connected. If there’s a fluid passage of air from one chamber to the next, you have successfully joined the two.

You might have to suck out any excess banana that is lingering in the hollow pipe chamber if there is a blockage. Make sure that your top chamber does not go through the entirety of the banana. Instead, it should stop approximately half-way through the width of the banana.

Make a Banana Pipe: Step 5

Using your scissors or a knife at the top hole you just created, carve out a little more space to ensure that your bowl piece fits properly and sits snugly along the bigger part of the banana pipe. Fit your little banana bowl piece into the hole you just carved out.

The bowl piece should not fall out easily but should not get stuck either. Continue carving and adjusting until you get the proper fit and the feeling of a well-constructed pipe.

Be gentle with your movements and incisions. You don’t want to over-carve and end up with a ruined pipe. It is a delicate process.

Make a Banana Pipe: Step 6

Pick your favorite cannabis strain (or whatever you have to hand), and just as with a normal bowl, prep your reefer using the grinding method of your choosing. Place the bud into the banana pipe’s bowl piece.

Place your mouth at the tip of the banana where you made the opening of your chamber, and suck the smoke as you light up the weed inside the bowl. Enjoy taking delicious, banana-sweet rips that are also discreet. You can get rid of your banana pipe quickly once you’re finished with it.

Final Thoughts on How to Make a Banana Pipe

There are several reasons why making a banana pipe might be on your to-do list. If you often travel and don’t want to carry around potentially incriminating paraphilia, a banana pipe or another disposable alternative is the way to go.

Additionally, if you are on a budget and don’t have the money to spend on glass or another traditional option for smoking marijuana, a banana pipe is an extremely cost-efficient choice. It costs around $1.00, depending on where you buy the pen and the banana from.

You can find a banana almost anywhere you go, so there is always a fair chance of finding the materials you need for this unique pipe. Don’t like the taste of banana? Try another fruit or vegetable such as an apple, melon, potato, or cucumber.

Banana pipes, of course, aren’t the only easy way to get high on-the-go. There are many DIY solutions for building pipes or other cannabis-smoking devices. Here are our top 3 go-to selections:

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