How to Use a One Hitter and Dugout (Step by Step)

Quick answer: To use a one hitter, grind your herb fine, then twist the bowl end down into it until it's packed firm but not tight. Light the far end while you draw slowly, clear it in one go, and tap the ash out. With a dugout, you fill the storage side, push the one hitter in with a quarter turn, and it comes out loaded.

Somebody hands you a little metal tube about the size of a cigarette and says it's a pipe. It doesn't look like one. There's no bowl sticking up, no stem, nothing to hold on to really, just a tube with a hole at each end. And then there's the box it came out of, which has two holes in the top and no obvious way to fill either of them.

That's a one hitter and a dugout, and between them they're about the simplest setup there is. It takes a couple of minutes to learn. We'll go through what each one is, how to use them step by step, and how to keep them clean, because a pipe this small does clog if you ignore it.

What Is a One Hitter?

A one hitter is a small, straight pipe that holds enough for a single draw. That's where the name comes from. One end is the bowl, the other end is the mouthpiece, and there's a narrow channel running between them. You'll also hear it called a bat, a taster or a pinch hitter. They're all the same thing.

So why would anybody want a pipe that small? Mostly because of the size. Our Taster Bat is two inches long, which makes it the smallest thing we make, and it goes in a pocket or the front pouch of a bag without you noticing it's there. That's why you'll hear them called stealth pipes. There's nothing to put together and nothing left burning afterwards. It's one small bowl and one draw, and then you're done. Plenty of people carry one alongside a bigger pipe and don't think of it as a replacement.

What Is a Dugout?

A dugout is the case that goes with it. It has two compartments side by side. One holds the one hitter, and the other holds your ground herb, so the pipe and the supply travel together and there's only one thing to remember when you leave the house.

The clever part is how you load it, which we'll get to in a minute. Dugouts used to be mostly wooden boxes with a sliding lid. Ours is machined from aircraft-grade aluminum instead. The Aluminum Dugout One Hitter has a lid that clicks shut over an airtight chamber, so it locks in odors while it's closed, and a poker tool that sticks to the body with a magnet so it doesn't get lost in a drawer. Closed, it just looks like a small metal case, which is about as discreet as a pipe setup gets.

Do you need a dugout to use a one hitter? No. The pipe works fine on its own. The case just saves you carrying a separate container.

One Hitter, Chillum or Spoon Pipe?

These three get mixed up a lot, and the difference really comes down to size.

A chillum is basically a one hitter's bigger cousin. It's still a straight pipe that you light from the front, and it still has no carb hole to cover and release, so there's nothing to time. Our Aluminum and Glass Chillum Pipe is 3.5 inches long. A spoon pipe is a different animal. It holds more and it's the one to pass around, but it isn't going in a shirt pocket.

How to Use a One Hitter, Step by Step

These steps work for any one hitter, metal or glass, with a dugout or without one.

1. Grind your herb fine. This matters more here than with a bigger pipe. The channel is narrow, and coarse pieces either won't pack or they block it. A grinder gets it even in a few turns.
2. Twist the bowl end down into the herb. Don't press it in with a finger. Push the open end into the pile and give it a turn, and it loads itself evenly.
3. Check the pack. You want it firm, not tight. Draw through it before you light it. If air moves easily, you're good. If it feels like sucking on a blocked straw, it's too tight, so poke it loose and try again.
4. Light the far end while you draw. Hold the flame to the tip and pull slowly and steadily. Slow is the whole trick. Pull hard and you'll drag bits of herb through to the mouthpiece.
5. Clear it in one go. There isn't much in there, so one draw usually finishes it.
6. Tap out the ash. Tap the bowl end gently against your palm or an ashtray, or blow through the mouthpiece. If anything's stuck, a poker clears it.

One thing to know before you go back for a second round. A pipe this short warms up quickly, because there's hardly any distance between the flame and your fingers. Give a metal one a minute to cool down between loads.

How to Use a Dugout

This is where the two-holes-in-a-box thing starts to make sense. The dugout does the packing for you.

1. Fill the storage side with finely ground herb. Tip it in loosely and don't press it down. If you compress it, the pipe can't pick any up.
2. Push the one hitter into the herb and give it a quarter turn. It comes out packed. You're loading by twisting, which is why the grind needs to be fine.
3. Light it and draw, the same way as above.
4. Tap or poke the ash out before it goes back in the case. Putting a pipe away with ash still in it is how the case gets dirty and the next load tastes of the last one.
5. Click the lid shut.

And that's really all there is to it. After the first couple of tries you'll do the whole thing with one hand.

Metal or Glass?

One hitters come in both, and people have strong opinions about it. We make both, so we'd say it depends on where the pipe is going to live.

If it's going in a pocket with your keys, get metal. Aluminum doesn't care about being dropped, sat on or carried loose, and glass really does. That's pretty much the whole argument for a metal one hitter, and at this size it matters more than usual.

Glass has one thing going for it, and it's a big one. It adds nothing of its own to the taste. The usual complaint about a cheap glass one hitter is that a bare tube pulls ash straight up the stem. Our Frosted Glass One Hitter Pipe has an ash catcher built into the body and a screen already fitted, so that doesn't happen. It's borosilicate too, which copes with being heated over and over much better than ordinary glass does.

Can't decide? The chillum we mentioned earlier is a bit of both. You draw through a removable glass insert, and the part that hits the floor is aluminum.

Common Problems and How to Fix Them

Most of what goes wrong with a one hitter comes back to the pack or the grind, so that's the first place to look.

If it won't draw, it's clogged, and on a pipe this size the clog is nearly always at the bowl end and not somewhere down the stem. Push a poker in from the bowl end and it'll clear. This is exactly what the magnetic poker on our dugout is for.

What about bits of herb or ash coming through to your mouth? That's usually a loose pack or a hard pull, and sometimes both. Pack it a little firmer and draw more gently. If it keeps happening, a glass one hitter with a screen sorts it out for good.

If the herb falls out before you've lit it, you pressed it in and didn't twist. Twisting is what makes it hold. And if the pipe comes out of the dugout empty, the herb in the storage side is either too coarse or it's been packed down too hard. Loosen it up with the poker.

Then there's heat. A short pipe gets hot because the smoke barely travels any distance. Letting it cool between loads helps. If it still bothers you, a longer path is the real fix. Our Aluminum Multi-Hitter coils the airway into a spiral inside the body, so the smoke travels further than the outside of the pipe suggests.

How to Clean a One Hitter and Dugout

There's a quick clean and a proper clean, and you need both.

The quick one happens every time you use it. Tap the ash out, blow through the mouthpiece, and run the poker through if anything's left. It takes five seconds and it's most of what keeps the pipe drawing well.

For the proper clean on a metal one hitter, here's what we'd do.

1. Soak it in isopropyl alcohol for at least 20 minutes. A small glass or a zip bag is fine. Keep the alcohol away from flames.
2. Run a pipe cleaner through it. Go in from the bowl end, since that's where the residue collects. The Accessory Cleaning Kit has two kinds, soft ones and bristled ones for older buildup.
3. Rinse with warm water until you can't smell alcohol any more.
4. Let it dry completely before you use it or put it back in the case.

The dugout itself is easier. Empty the storage side, tip out any dust and wipe the case out dry.

A glass one hitter can have the same alcohol soak. Or you can leave it overnight in our All-in-One Cleaner and rinse it in the morning. We'd keep that one for glass, though. We don't recommend the cleaner for aluminum.

How often? If you use it every day, about once a week. Otherwise you'll know when it's due, because the draw gets tighter and the taste goes stale.

Which One Should You Get?

If you've never used one and just want to see whether you like it, start with the Taster Bat. It's the bare aluminum pipe with no case, and it's the cheapest way to find out.

If you already know you'll carry it every day, get the dugout, because having the pipe, the storage and the poker in one case is what makes it practical. If flavor matters most to you, go for glass. You'll find all of them in dugouts and one hitters.

One Hitter and Dugout FAQ

What is a one hitter?

A one hitter is a small, straight pipe that holds enough ground herb for a single draw. One end is the bowl and the other is the mouthpiece. It's also called a bat, a taster or a pinch hitter, and it's usually between two and three inches long.

What is a dugout?

A dugout is a pocket-sized case with two compartments, one for a one hitter and one for ground herb. You load the pipe by pushing it into the herb side and twisting. Older dugouts are wooden boxes with a sliding lid, and newer ones are often aluminum.

How do you pack a one hitter?

Grind the herb fine, push the bowl end down into it and twist. Twisting packs it evenly and stops it falling out. It should be firm but not tight. Draw through it before lighting, and if air doesn't move easily, loosen it with a poker.

Can you use a one hitter without a dugout?

Yes. A one hitter works on its own, and you can load it from any small container of ground herb. A dugout just keeps the pipe and the herb in one case and makes loading quicker.

Do you need to grind herb for a one hitter?

Yes, and finer than you would for a larger pipe. The channel in a one hitter is narrow, so coarse pieces won't pack properly and tend to block it. A fine, even grind also lets the pipe load itself when you twist it in a dugout.

Why does my one hitter get hot?

Because it's short. There's very little distance between the flame and your fingers, and metal carries heat quickly. Let it cool for a minute between loads. A longer pipe, or one with a coiled airway, gives the smoke more distance to cool down.

How do you clean a one hitter?

Tap out the ash and blow through it after each use. For a deeper clean, soak it in isopropyl alcohol for at least 20 minutes, run a pipe cleaner through from the bowl end, rinse with warm water and let it dry completely.

How much does a one hitter hold?

A small pinch of ground herb, enough for one draw. The exact amount depends on how wide the bowl is and how firmly you pack it. The storage side of a dugout holds far more, enough for several sessions before it needs refilling.

What is the difference between a one hitter and a chillum?

Mostly size. Both are straight pipes that you light from the front, with no carb hole. A one hitter holds a single draw, and a chillum is a little longer and wider, so it holds a few.

Is a one hitter for weed?

Several customers report that a one hitter works extremely well for that, but it isn't the intended use of ours. ONGROK one hitters and dugouts are made for dry herbs, and the steps in this guide are the same either way.

ONGROK products are not meant to be used for any illegal purpose.