Picking The Hookahs

[KLD]

Well as most of you know my hookah lounge in Nebraska will soon be opening. The time has come to pick out which hookahs I will be using! My budget it around 1g, Looking to get around 15 hookahs. Give me your honest opinion on what you would like to see in my lounge! I prefer it to be brass cored, have 4 holes on the bottom of the heart for maximum pull,maximum 2 hoses, 28+ inches, thick glass, auto-seal(questionable), and obviously an all around appealing look. Thank you!


So far my options are:
J and R:
Syrians:
Pros: VERY high quality, 4 holes on bottom of heart, brass cored, 28+ inches, auto-seal
Cons: Very traditional, hoses are short and not so appealing, Pricey

Hookahcompany:
Egyptian - Amer Khalil Mamoon:
Pros:Brass cored, 28+ inches, decent quality, long appealing hoses, cheap, looks all around good
Cons:Stem rusts on some, only two holes on bottom of heart, non auto-seal

Hookah-shisha:
Syrian - Engineer,Glyph:
Pros:Brass cored, 28+ inches, good quality from what I hear, fairly long hoses, very appealing
Cons: Pricey, Not sure on the holes on bottom of heart

[Akkbar]

i was going 2 say mya acrylic: great smoke and DURABLE. if it were me, id have mostly acrylic with a few nice syrians 4 the high rollers

[nofrendo]

I would say the KM, from what I've heard these provide that absolute bang for your buck

Personally, I prefer the Syrian for smoking with friends...

But how many people that go to your lounge will be able to really appreciate that?

[leadpipecinch21]

if i were you i'd get 10 or so acrylics, 5 or so nice syrians or egyptians(anything traditional), and then one or two very nice hookahs(glass myas? maybe 2 vortex's or a couple of the gyros?) for the people that 1) come in on a regualr basis and spend a lot of time(money) at your place or 2) those rich guys that you know will blow a load of cash if you set them up right.

i'd also give the syrians out to some randoms, and take real good care of them, so randoms that walk in know you're quality, and will tell their freinds.


the acrylics provide a nice, consistent smoke, are easily repairable, and while they're not exactly the best lookers, they do look nice, and are almost impossible to tip over...a very good thing in a lounge. i know that setup would bust your budget, but i think a set up like that would roll over better than just having a bunch of syrians.

[SafeSearchOff]

just get a boatload of full-size acryllics. they smoke great, and have autoseal for the hookah nubs. theyre also incredibly durable and easy-peasy clean-up. then, if you want, like leadpipe said, get 5 nice ones and just keep them on reserve for regulars or people who dropped a huge bill last time (i went to a hookah bar with 3 people last friday, dropped $100, hope we get something nice next time...)

4 holes on the bottome is not necessary. hell, i doubt how many people on the forum actually have a 4 hole'd hookah. i'd say max 5 or 10. its not a necessity in the slightest. if you decide to go with a good egyptian or syrian, they tend to have bigger holes punched for the hose valves than the purch valve.


reccomend acryllics, though.

[Allia22]

My shop has a H-S Glyph, and I'm honestly not all that thrilled with it. Yes, it's pretty, and it seems to be a very sturdy hookah, but the autoseal system sucks, and the draw's consistantly tight no matter how much you clean/replace every thing.

[KLD]

My shop has a H-S Glyph, and I'm honestly not all that thrilled with it. Yes, it's pretty, and it seems to be a very sturdy hookah, but the autoseal system sucks, and the draw's consistantly tight no matter how much you clean/replace every thing.

Yep, thats my dilema. Use a auto-seal system which will always pull tight and require you to "de-rust" the ballbareings or don't get the auto-seal and pull magnificent all the time, but the people might be confused about putting your finger over your hose while the other person is pulling

[SafeSearchOff]

thats a simple fix - use all 1 hose hookahs. thats how my favorite hookah bar does it. 1 hose, 26" mya acryllics. i love it there.

[KLD]

thats a simple fix - use all 1 hose hookahs. thats how my favorite hookah bar does it. 1 hose, 26" mya acryllics. i love it there.

I guess, but acrylics they are known to strip seeing as they "screw" on to the glass and they have a modern look to them and as of now all my decor is set up for middle-eastern.

[SafeSearchOff]

well, i'm still a large advocate of acryllics in a hookah bar. are you going to make the custome pay if osme1 accidently knocks over the hookah and completely wrecks it? go for the indestructability of the acryllics, and slightly change your theme from middle-eastern to hipster middle eastern. this is the cafe i frequen: http://www.cafearabicanj.com/ and i really like the environment, they have large couches, supr comfy cafe chairs from spain, and ottomans/padded wall couches

[MechAnt]

The Acrylics' screw on base is more of a blessing than a curse. There is a small grommet between the base and the stem that seals when you screw them together and provides for an amazing seal. Also, the stem and base screws are VERY durable and won't strip on you anytime soon. As long as you're not yanking them apart, there is no chance for them to strip. Also, the Acrylics have surprisingly good weight to them. Plus, if you order then en mass, you are guaranteed great quality in all of them rather than taking the chance of a few duds. Also, acrylic replacements are very cheap. ($15 retail, I can't imagine how cheap wholesale) Edited October 7, 2007 by MechAnt

[New2Hookah]

J & R Has nice syrians, as does HS, but Syrians might be a little too expensive for a lounge just starting off, eh?

Look into Egyptian Hookahs, 90% of bars use the standard 32\" Egyptian Hookah. They smoke well, last forever, and take a beating. Acrylics are nice, but as far a opening a bar, you want the most bang for your buck. Acrylics are expensive. So ask around to your wholesalers for 32\" Egyptians. I know HC, HS, SS, and J & R all have 32\" Egyptians and they all wholesale. good luck

[ZenSilk]

H-S doesn't have any brass cored Hookahs, including their Syrians. The only brass cored Syrians are JandR and the one Syrian from HookahCompany. Acrylics are great, very durable, sturdy stem, easy to use.. but unless you have a very new-age looking hookahbar, i don't think they will fit in all to well... but they might. I prefer those.

If you wanna spend that much money on a Syrian hookah.. they are definetely worth it, but i would go with brass cored ones beacuse they last much longer.

I also have the KM Amer, and it's great. I don't know if it's too good for a hookah bar though, it only has one hose. The base is thick and large, near impossible to tip over. The one-hole in the stem means it's very traditional. One hole leads to the purge valve, one hole leads into the hose. Having more holes doesn't necassarily make a Hookah better or worse. Having 4 holes just makes the smoke spread out more in the heart. The amount of smoke depends on the persons's drawing ability, rather than the holes. So it really does not matter.

Auto-seals are alomst manditory in a Hookah Bar, as ALOT of newcomers come into the bar wanting to try it out, and they NEVER plug the hoses.. because they dont know they have to, and having to keep reminding them is stupid. So auto-seal creates less hassle and tension. But it is always good to have some nice Egyptians for the veterans, i say.
And seeing as how more newcomers come in then veterans, style shouldn't be too much of a concern. Being manageable,durable,and easy to use are always great qualities, and the Acrylic by Mya has all of these. I own a 1-4 hose acrylic (i have 4 stem adapters), and i use it whenevr i have 3 or more people over at my house, or if i'm bringing it to a party.

[SafeSearchOff]

Having 4 holes just makes the smoke spread out more in the heart. The amount of smoke depends on the persons's drawing ability, rather than the holes. So it really does not matter.

not necessarily true.  the most smoke you can get is restricted not to how thick your hose is, or how good you are at drawing, its confined to the smallest path.  So even if your using a nammor hose, and your a human smokestack over here, if the 1 hole leading to the hose valve is super small, your not going to be getting more than can travel through htat hole in that amount of time.  4 holes allows the smoke to flow more easily, and draw more smoke.  if 1 person were to smoke a 1 hole egyptian, and then smoke a 4 hole, it won't make a huge difference, but the difference is there.

[ZenSilk]

Just harder to clean.

[KLD]

Just harder to clean. wink.gif

On the contrary all of my hookahs are 4 holed and are very easy to clean, but anyways I'm swaying towards KM's solid brass amer and tri-metal hookahs due to the price, quality, hoses, and brass core. Edited October 8, 2007 by KLD

[KLD]

Double post.. woopsies Edited October 8, 2007 by KLD

[MechAnt]

My local lounge uses one hose KM Hafas. They smoke great and the one hose really isn't much of a problem. If anything, it'll convince them to order another one

[KLD]

My local lounge uses one hose KM Hafas. They smoke great and the one hose really isn't much of a problem. If anything, it'll convince them to order another one

Can you post a picture of a KM hafa, I can't seem to find them on HC or on google :-(

[MechAnt]

HC had it for a while but I guess not anymore. Hmm...

Allia's sig picture, that's a Hafa. She uses it as her main pipe iirc Edited October 8, 2007 by MechAnt

[ZenSilk]

Are the downstems on the amer and tri-metal brass? I can't tell. Brass-cored could mean anything.

[KLD]

Are the downstems on the amer and tri-metal brass? I can't tell. Brass-cored could mean anything.

The downstems could be made of wax for all I care, downstems are a dime a dozen, but I'm guessing they are stainless Edited October 8, 2007 by KLD

[HookahCulture]

The best hookah lounge here uses Mahmoon hookahs.
They're built tough from a legendary manufacturer and made for frequent use.
Keep em clean and they'll take care of you!
Get some nice washable hoses or flavor-coded other ones.
Well either way, flavor code them with colored electrical tape.

[SafeSearchOff]

The best hookah lounge here uses Mahmoon hookahs.
They're built tough from a legendary manufacturer and made for frequent use.
Keep em clean and they'll take care of you!
Get some nice washable hoses or flavor-coded other ones.
Well either way, flavor code them with colored electrical tape.

these "legendary" hookahs you speak of are what everyone writes as "KM"

[Rani]

well, i'm still a large advocate of acryllics in a hookah bar. are you going to make the custome pay if osme1 accidently knocks over the hookah and completely wrecks it? go for the indestructability of the acryllics, and slightly change your theme from middle-eastern to hipster middle eastern. this is the cafe i frequen: http://www.cafearabicanj.com/ and i really like the environment, they have large couches, supr comfy cafe chairs from spain, and ottomans/padded wall couches

Ahem.... Okay artist type talking again here. Buy the acrylics for their indestructibility and cover the bases with cloth "bags" similar to those that are made for wine as gifts. Add spangles, jewels, whatever to glitz them up and no one will ever be the wiser about what's inside the bag. By glitzing them up, they'll be as exotic as your decor. And what's more should one happen to hit the floor hard (even acrylic can break) all the dangerous shards are confined within the bag lessening the likelyhood you're going to get sued by someone getting cut on a shard of acrylic or glass if you end up with glass bases. You can make one a big circle with a drawstring, a square that velcros around, whatever. Get your girl involved if you're not a creative type. Also that allows you to invest more in the piece that really counts: The stem. Since you want to buy 15 or so, get with the retailers and see what a deal you can work out. As busy as they are, even they don't sell 15 hookahs on the average online sale. I'm sure they'll work something out.

'Rani