The Rundown on Sovereignty's 8-arm Perc

The Sovereignty Glass 8-arm is a near perfect model of the classic 8-arm tree perc. There are many other companies that use the 8-arm (or any other number of arms) perc, but very few are able to match the quality of seals, airflow, proportions, and symmetry of Sovereignty’s 8-arms. Not to mention the quality of the bottom perc, which really is the most important part of the piece.

What is an “8-arm”?

The 8-arm is slang for a bong that usually has 2 or more chambers: the bottom chamber connected to the joint, and the top chamber(s) which contain the 8-arm perc. The 8-arm perc is similar in style to a tree perc, but has individual tubing to disperse the water when it’s carried from the bottom chamber to the top. A single arm is basically a tall and narrow tube with slits or grids at the bottom, which create the bubbles. These arms are arranged in a cylinder shape around a tube in the center, which pulls the water up into the arms, and out through the slits/grids at the bottom of each arm. The number of arms in the cylinder determines the name of the perc, hence 8-arm. Sovereignty also makes a larger 12-arm.

Which 8 arm is the best?

Over the years, the team at Sovereignty has narrowed down the 8-arm combos into a few main categories of variations: 1) neck size, 2) bore/tubing size, 3) color, and 4) the bottom perc(s). There are also other options like reduction bands, sandblasting, cold work, flared lips/joints, etc., but for the sake of simplicity we’re going to stick with those 4 main categories. The bottom perc is arguably the most important factor when making a decision on which 8-arm to buy, but we’ll save that breakdown for last since it’s pretty complex.

1. Neck Size

There are 3 different neck sizes commonly found on Sov 8-arms: 38mm, 44mm, and 50mm. 38s and 44s are common, while 50s are a bit rarer. The neck size primarily affects 1) how your lips fit around the mouthpiece, and 2) the airflow. Like most things in glass, it's really up to personal preference, but some have strong opinions on 38 vs 44 necks: a poll on my IG story resulted in an 80:20 split for 44s vs 38s.

38mm

44mm

50mm

Never has an inv4

Sometimes has an inv4

Usually has an inv4

Smallest size, least airflow, mid-size rips

Most common size, a lot of airflow, big rips

Rarest size, huge airflow, massive rips

Emphasizes the bottom perc the most

Can be hard to feel the bottom perc

Hard to feel bottom perc

Easy to finish in 1 rip

Sometimes hard to finish in 1 rip

Hard to finish in 1 rip

I'd recommend choosing your neck size based on how big you want your rips to be. If you're looking for a daily ripper, I'd go with a 38. If you're looking for something to take big rips with, go for the 44 or 50 (if you can find one). However, keep in mind 80% of heavy smokers chose the 44 over the 38.

2. Bore Size

The bore size is also known as the tubing size, and is very important when choosing an 8arm. This refers to the width of the bottom 2 chambers, which contain the bottom perc and the 8arm. There are 1) Double and 2) Triple bores: the difference in function between each is massive.

A double bore means the bottom chamber is the same width as the 8arm chamber, resulting in 2 different tube sizes when considering the neck. A triple bore means the bottom chamber is skinnier than the 8arm chamber, resulting in 3 different tube sizes.

Double

Triple

Wide bottom perc chamber, same width as 8 arm chamber

More narrow bottom chamber than 8arm chamber

A lot of airflow, more volume

Perfect amount of airflow, focuses on bottom perc

Horizontal percs are most common, others can be rare

Made with all perc types

Less common than Triple bore

Most common

I prefer triple bores. Double bores have a lot of airflow and are made less often, making them harder to find. I personally think the triple bore has the perfect proportions for airflow; the Double bore has almost too much volume, sometimes resulting in more stale/hot smoke. However, that's just my opinion!

3. Color Accents

Sovereignty has a common system for pricing their production pieces, usually based on the amount of color. There are 5 main categories for color accents: 1) Clear, 2) Minor, 3) Partial, 4) Full, and 5) Custom. I'm only going to focus on the middle 3 tiers here, because clear is obviously no color, and customs are hard to come by. In 2023, Sovereignty has been adding color to the seals between chambers.

Minor

Partial

Full

Bridge, connections, tips of 8arm only

Bridge, base, connections, & cap of 8arm

Mouthpiece lip, base lip, full caps

Base is not colored

Easily noticeable

Sometimes has colored joint and/or seals

Very little color

Very obvious

4. The Bottom Perc

The bottom percs from Sovereignty Glass need a full article on themselves, which will come soon. The best way to know what you like is to try it. Overall, most horizontal percs are smoother, fixed & natural percs are usually more choppy and chug harder. My personal favorites are the g-line and fixed 4.

Horizontal

Fixed

Natural

Stemline

Fixed 4

Imperial

G-line

180 Grid

Inv-4

3-line

360 Grid

Gridcap

Mini 3-line

360 Gridcap

Note: Fixed grid percs may have a reduction band added.

Summary

Overall, this subject is vast and very opinion-based. Any combination will get some lovers and some haters, so you really have to go with what fits you. There are rarer combinations than others: the g-line 8 arm is rarer than a stem-8, etc. Sovereignty has done a great job of including a wide variety of combos in 2022 and 2023. In the future, I'll update this article with more details, prices, and pictures! Thanks for reading :)

Find Sovereignty Glass 8 arms on GlassPass!