Product Name: Ongrok Personal Air Filter
Brand: Ongrok
Category: Smoking Accessory
Star rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Summary: a portable personal air filter for sneaky smoking
I never considered hiding my weed smoke until I lived in a van.
When I rented I knew my neighbors didn’t care about the smell because I wasn’t the only one in the houses who smoked. When I lived in the house my partner owned I certainly wasn’t afraid. But when I considered moving into a van, I knew there would be times when I needed to hide my cannabis consumption.
Edibles and topicals don’t smell, but for stoners, the scent of weed is a dead giveaway for a stoner, and under the wrong circumstances that could be dangerous.
Most of my travels take me through legal states, but not everywhere in the US is cannabis-friendly. Some states are medical only while others still exist under full prohibition. And after nearly 6 months on the road, I can say with certainty that even in legal states there are still areas where you can get in trouble for smoking.
What’s a plant lover to do?
Use a personal air filter like this one from Ongrok.
A Brief History of Stoner Air Filters
Back in the day, stoners would make their own air filters, called “sploofs”, by stuffing paper towels or toilet paper rolls with dryer sheets, coffee filters, or rags. These worked well but were certainly limited in how much they actually hid the smell of weed smoke. Thankfully in 2023, getting a personal air filter is as simple as clicking the checkout button.
I had never used an air filter prior to trying this one, so I admit my experience is limited. But I have put this filter to the test, and I can confidently say it works well.
Why I Like the Ongrok Personal Air Filter
The design of Ongrok’s air filter is a simple one: a rectangular body made of high-grade plastic that houses a replaceable filter cartridge. Its filter is small and sleek; it doesn’t look like anything that would be associated with “marijuana use” and is inconspicuous should you leave it out.
The top has a circular opening made of silicone for your mouth and the bottom is punctuated with small holes to allow the air to pass through. It’s made of several layers of carbon as well as a HEPA-grade filter.
The filter cartridge itself has a limited shelf life that is based on usage rate. Ongrok suggests around 500 exhales per filter. I’ve had this filter for around 3 months and haven’t had to replace the cartridge yet. Ongrok suggests storing the filter on its side to allow air to pass through while not in use to extend its shelf life.
The biggest appeal of a personal air filter is the privacy it gives you to enjoy your cannabis. Smoking produces odors from the burning plant as well as the exhale, and this filter takes care of almost all of the smell from the exhale.
For that reason, it works best for smoking bowls, be it a dry herb bowl, bubbler, bong, or any other kind of water pipe because there is less odor produced when the bowl burns versus a joint or blunt. I don’t recommend using this filter with joints, simply because the odor of the burning joint negates any privacy that the filter gives you on the exhale.
To use the filter, light your bowl, take a hit, and exhale slowly into the filter.
It works best when you get a complete seal of the filter around your mouth. Having a beard, mustache, or any other kind of facial can keep the filter from sealing, and some smoke may escape. Regardless, there is still significantly less odor for using the filter than not.
I have used this filter in states where cannabis isn’t legal (looking at you, New Hampshire) but also in areas where cannabis is legal but not welcomed. I choose to use it in circumstances where I feel that the odor of weed smoke could make me a target or “get me in trouble” with other people or law enforcement.
Even in 2023, the odor of cannabis can be a trigger for police calls and harassment and no one should have to deal with that to take a medicinal plant. This air filter makes it easy to feel safe while consuming, no matter where you are.
Purchase this product: Ongrok Personal Air Filter
Disclaimer: this air filter was sent to me by my friends at Headshop.com