The built-in glass pocket inset on the side of the bong base frees up a hand when carrying your gear from room to room. And once you get used to putting your lighter in the side pocket, you'll stop losing your lighter because you're too ****** to remember where you just set it down! At first I thought the glass pocket might make the inside hard to clean. Some tar and debris can collect around the pocket area, but the cleaners I use nowadays easily get all the gunk out. I prefer bongs with slanted stems, so this one is perfect. The 12" size is as big as I like to go. For me, it provides a jumbo ****. The style is classy. I bought the "Color Changing Fume" version. and I enjoy it. The bowl, downstem and entire bong are high quality.