Smoke Density: Nakhla or Al Fakher?

[Marcus9638]

Hey Guys,
Being pretty new to this, I've only sampled the Romman shisha that was included with my hookah when it arrived.  The smoke density was decent but not as thick as what I've seen in some pictures here and there on the net of people exhaling giant clouds of smoke.
I've read some reviews where members say that Al Fakher produces the thickest smoke and other that say it's Nakhla.  For those of you that have tried both, which do you think produces the thickest smoke?  Any feedback would be appreciated.
Marcus

[Mathazar]

Well,  to be honest,  my personal favorite ma'assel is
Romman.  I've smoked all three that you mentioned,  but I
found Romman to have the greatest smoke density, and the best
flavors.  Now some people on the forum have been bashing me for
pushing the most expensive ma'assel on people,  but once again
,  in my personal opinion,  Romman is the Premium of the 3
brands. 

There is another brand available that you may want to order some samples of.  Go to:

www.Shisha-Emirates.com

Click on Shisha on the left side of the page,  then click on
Deluxe,  then click on Havana........The 50gram samples are $4.60
a box.  I was told by the owner that the flavors to get are: 


Bahraini Apple (no licorice flavor at all)

Special Apple (Sour Apple,  much stronger than Eskandarani Apple)

Grapefruit

Special Grape

and

the other assorted flavors you can try at your own discretion,  as
we didn't discuss those.  One person already wrote a review on the
Grapefruit,  and he gave it a 7 out of 10,  stating that it
both smells & tastes like Grapefruit,  but it's got an odd
aftertaste.  He liked it,  but he said some people may not
like the aftertaste.  But, it's not like you're buying 250 gram
jars,  these are samples and their priced pretty competitively.

Hope that helped 

[cypress]

My personal favorite line is Al Fakher. For the price you cant beat it.
Some flavors of Romman are good but I can get AF for 10 bucks and
Romman cost 19. Either of the two you will be happy with.

[MR Bubble]

Smoke thickness is tough for me to compare between Al Fakher and Nakhla. I have great success in fixing my bowls of Nakhla, and therefor have excellent smoke density. Nakhla is a really picky massel. It will taste like an ash tray if you don't spend enough time experimenting with it, but once you do find success, it is wonderful. Al Fakher is very user-friendly. It's hard to not have a good smoke with AF. If you get your Nakhla fixed just right, it has great smoke thickness. The difference between the two smoke clouds (in my opinion) is in the quality of smoke cloud. AF tends to be thick and "silky" looking for me, whereas the Nakhla is just thick.
MR Bubble

[brother812]

I am smoking some Romman orange right now. i just got 7 50g packs of it today to give it a try and i am getting very good smoke out of it. i just started smoking 3 weeks ago give or take a few days and i have tried Al Waha, Al Fakher, Nakhla, Layalina, Fumari and now Romman. the best one for smoke density has been AF so far but the Romman is close once i got the heat right for it. tonight is the first for golden coals too so i am trying to figure their heat out.
what kind of coals are you using? how many are you using? i have found your heat management will make or break a smoke. with the right heat i have gotten good smoke from all the brands i have smoked.
the differences between AF, Romman and Nakhla, i think Mr Bubble said it in another post about the expensive brands being girlie smokes, the AF and Romman are very smooth smokes not much more than air with allot of flavor to it the Nakhla that i have tried on the other hand is a bit more harsh...... well that really isn't right the smoke has more substance to it i feel like i am smoking something when i am smoking Nakhla. but i have been smoking 1-2 packs of camels for going on 20 years so my idea of smooth is probably allot different than someone who hasn't smoked before.
on a side note and a bit off topic i have found Al Waha double apple gives me a 6 pack of Budweiser, skull splitting, brain oozing out my ears headache. i have had some killer hangovers with headaches that felt like my head would explode and they don't even compare to these headaches. anyone else have this problem with any brands or flavors?

[MR Bubble]

brother812, I think we can connect here. I too have been a cigarette smoker for more years than I want to admit. You pretty much said the same thing I've been saying for a while. I just have a hard time being satisfied with the "premiums," and have to resort to the "old faithful" to get smoke satisfaction. But I'm learning to adjust my heat for the premiums (they tend to take a wee bit more heat) to get that same feeling. Here is my standard setup with Nakhla:
My holes are more like small slits in the foil I make with my tongs. No magic number, but they are about 1/8th inch long. I make these slits around the outter edge of the bowl, one in the middle, then a ring around the inner portion. Maybe 18 in all. My favorite coals (for being quicklites) are 3 kings. I take one tablet and break it into 4 evenly sized pieces. I light them, then but em on once lit. When they are broken up like this, they dance around a little and distribute the heat more evenly.
MR Bubble

[mushrat]

Brother: ah yes...hookah head. I have gotten some killer headaches, but thats usually just from smoking too many bowls of ANY brand. I'm not normally a smoker so i usually put it down to nicotine poisoning and too much smoke in my sinuses....but if your a pack a day smoker you wouldn't tend to have that problem...now im going to have to do some research....
Marcus: I've found its a matter of heat control. wYou can get clouds of smoke out of any of the brands if you get the heat juuuuuust right. If you find you are not getting much smoke add another chunk of charcoal. if it starts to burn, pull it quick, let is cool, add a smaller piece. Or put it off to the side of the bowl and not directly in the center. Heat management has becoe sort of a ritual with me. I use Bulk charcaol btw. Large chunks i have to hack up myself with a knife. best smoke in town.