I started last summer, so I guess I've got a valid reply here. The first time I smoked Good 'Ol MJ was out of a 5/8" socket with a buddy, lol.
I've smoked glass pipes, metal pipes (I like them better than glass) glass bongs, joints, regular wooden pipes, "Kervorkians" (which is like a bucket bong without the bucket - poke a hole in the bottom, fill with water, screw cap on, light weed, drain water), cardboard tubes with tinfoil, and about four or five different gravity bongs/bucket bongs. I like like gravity bongs the best so far. Cheap, easy to make, and holy cow will they knock you on your butt off one good hit! Less lung burn, imo. I've made a few gravity bong incarnations that went south pretty quickly. The trick is in getting a good sized bottle with a cap that's pretty thick plastic. I tried a huge Poland Springs bottle that worked
really well for about six or seven hits. Then the bowl piece melted through the cap because it was too thin. If you can find them, the 3 liter Gatorade bottles work best. It's a big hit, and the cap won't melt through in a hurry. Easy on the lighter though, you don't have to continually torch your weed, the draw will keep it burning.
I really wanna try smoking a hooka sometime. That, and an apple, just for the novelty.