If the tip of your cartridge is tapered then you can gently push it through the opening at the tip of the Pen Pal when you want to use your vape cartridge normally. This keeps the Pen Pal as a shield. However the shape of the tip is not perfectly round so may not fit flush if you use it this way with a bong. Don’t push to hard, you don’t want to break the cartridge. Don’t push the glass part of the cartridge up into the tip of the Pen Pal or cover the little vent holes at the base of the cartridge with the adapter.