Time To Get Serious(kinda)

[johnb73]

considering i just ordered my KM i have decided i should try to "upgrade" everything. for the most part i found all my answers using the "search" function but,
i figured it would be a good idea to see if opinions changed and what kind of info i could get with this thread.

I have been smoking mostly nahkla(spelling?) and al fakher sense i started but i can never get the same taste that i got from the hookah bar i first tried hookah at.
This is where my first question comes in...
Which Shisha is the most flavorful(in general consistency), i was told starbuzz, is this true?

Funnel bowl... Is it worth getting one? or is my home made funnel(metal ring with a 1/4" hole in the middle of a clay bowl all wrapped in foil) good enough?

Coals... I have been using three kings quick lites, will i notice a difference if i were to try naturals? Is it worth it to switch to naturals? i know this is an argued topic BUT...
Which naturals would be most worth me buying if i were to switch?

In general Tell me what you think i should look into upgrading and any suggestions are welcome as long as they are somewhat constructive...

Thanks much

EDIT:
i should probably fix that shisha question...

I have ony ever smoked al fakher and nahkla.. i was more asking what shisha is consistant with having the MOST flavor so i can give it a try and see if i like it
Edited May 6, 2008 by johnb73

[indian_villager]

Shisha: Stick to whatever you like....thats the point of it! Whatever flavors you like just do it you don't need to shell out all that money for starbuzz unless you like particular flavors they offer.
Funnel Bowl: Just do it! Get a small one it really makes a difference!
Coals: After naturals I swear I went back once and the QL's just don't compare.

[johnb73]

Shisha: Stick to whatever you like....thats the point of it! Whatever flavors you like just do it you don't need to shell out all that money for starbuzz unless you like particular flavors they offer.
Funnel Bowl: Just do it! Get a small one it really makes a difference!
Coals: After naturals I swear I went back once and the QL's just don't compare.

i should probably fix that shisha question...

I have only ever smoked al fakher and nahkla.. i was more asking what shisha is consistant with having the MOST flavor so i can give it a try and see if i like it

Thanks for your help, i appreciate it Edited May 6, 2008 by johnb73

[Johnny_D]

It's my opinion that Nahkla has been the most consistent over the years. Al Fakhir also has a popular following.

Starbuzz is more modern [and overpriced in my humble opinion]. Lots of other tobacco's around on the market for you to try out

And Natural style coals are much better!

JD

[johnb73]

It's my opinion that Nahkla has been the most consistent over the years. Al Fakhir also has a popular following.

Starbuzz is more modern [and overpriced in my humble opinion]. Lots of other tobacco's around on the market for you to try out

And Natural style coals are much better!

JD

not saying i dislike Nahkla, but some of the flavors dont have a huge taste to them. Al Fakher is my favorite, pineapple is AMAZING and so full of flavor

[Majid]

-I switched to natural coals after 3 years and haven't used QL since. I use cococha coals myself, they're cheap and last ages. I saw the prices for coco nara (basically the same but available in the US) and they're more expensive so see what suits you the most price wise, there's lots of different natural coals at various prices.
-A good hose, airtight with easy draw makes a significant difference. It's more comfortable, sisha burns less, you get more smoke from it.

[johnb73]

-I switched to natural coals after 3 years and haven't used QL since. I use cococha coals myself, they're cheap and last ages. I saw the prices for coco nara (basically the same but available in the US) and they're more expensive so see what suits you the most price wise, there's lots of different natural coals at various prices.
-A good hose, airtight with easy draw makes a significant difference. It's more comfortable, sisha burns less, you get more smoke from it.

-i wish somewhere near me sold naturals so i could try them before i buy a whole box.

-im hoping the hose that comes wiht my KM will be suitable, i have been reading bad things but maybe i will be lucky.

[ryno]

-I switched to natural coals after 3 years and haven't used QL since. I use cococha coals myself, they're cheap and last ages. I saw the prices for coco nara (basically the same but available in the US) and they're more expensive so see what suits you the most price wise, there's lots of different natural coals at various prices.
-A good hose, airtight with easy draw makes a significant difference. It's more comfortable, sisha burns less, you get more smoke from it.

-i wish somewhere near me sold naturals so i could try them before i buy a whole box.

-im hoping the hose that comes wiht my KM will be suitable, i have been reading bad things but maybe i will be lucky.

I would just go ahead and order some naturals online, and if you don't like them, you can trade or sell them on here. Alot of people lately have been talking good of coco naras, but I'm partial to Exoticas, but opinion changes with everyone, and both work fine.

edit- If you like Nakhla, I'd suggest trying some Layalina shisha, they take about the same setup to smoke the same, and is full of flavor (at least to me) Edited May 6, 2008 by ryno

[Alademuerte]

considering i just ordered my KM i have decided i should try to "upgrade" everything. for the most part i found all my answers using the "search" function but,
i figured it would be a good idea to see if opinions changed and what kind of info i could get with this thread.

I have been smoking mostly nahkla(spelling?) and al fakher sense i started but i can never get the same taste that i got from the hookah bar i first tried hookah at.
This is where my first question comes in...
Which Shisha is the most flavorful(in general consistency), i was told starbuzz, is this true?

Funnel bowl... Is it worth getting one? or is my home made funnel(metal ring with a 1/4" hole in the middle of a clay bowl all wrapped in foil) good enough?

Coals... I have been using three kings quick lites, will i notice a difference if i were to try naturals? Is it worth it to switch to naturals? i know this is an argued topic BUT...
Which naturals would be most worth me buying if i were to switch?

In general Tell me what you think i should look into upgrading and any suggestions are welcome as long as they are somewhat constructive...

Thanks much

EDIT:
i should probably fix that shisha question...

I have ony ever smoked al fakher and nahkla.. i was more asking what shisha is consistant with having the MOST flavor so i can give it a try and see if i like it

Shisha: Honestly, I'm right with JD, Starbuzz is overrated, overpriced.. It's .05 nicotine content, which in my opinion, does not justify the price.
Nakhla is awesome in my opinion, I pair it up with Tangiers and Al-Waha.
But Al-Waha is a good price, try a bunch of flavors from them..

Phunnel: Honestly, if your using a homemade phunnel and you like it, just buy a real phunnel... I think the fact that you have to do less work justifies the cheap $12 price tag.

Coals: Naturals are amazing.. I havent smoked QL's since like a year ago almost. For your first time, honestly dont buy lump coals. Like the romman lemonwood and such. Get finger coals, or the exoticas. Or even the coco-nara's since everyone rave's about them, I just havent had the opportunity to try them yet.
Then once you learn a bit about naturals, you can try the silver tab's..
I like to rotate all the time, I try different naturals every time I order coals.. So I do believe I have tried every natural coal I find on the internet.

[Nikon1323]

if your looking for new shisha flavors/ brands i would def. go with layalinas awesome fruit flavors of course AF just great....and then i have just gotten into fantasia which has some unique flavors but the 5 diff flavors i have smoked (triple apple, pink lemonade, margarita, cotton candy, candy cane) have all been awesome and have alot of flavor..plus they are soaked in flavor so a funnel goes great with it

[theotherone31415]

It's my opinion that Nahkla has been the most consistent over the years. Al Fakhir also has a popular following.

Starbuzz is more modern [and overpriced in my humble opinion]. Lots of other tobacco's around on the market for you to try out

And Natural style coals are much better!

JD

not saying i dislike Nahkla, but some of the flavors dont have a huge taste to them. Al Fakher is my favorite, pineapple is AMAZING and so full of flavor

i am so shocked to hear that you liked al fakher pineapple. it gets pretty consistently bad reviews on here and when i tried it i threw out the bowl 10 minutes in.

as for the original post...

phunnel is absolutely worth it. but only a small. even if you have like 7 people smoking the small is STILL good. medium is such a tobacco waster i can't even talk about it.

best tobacco is iffy. al fakher is consistently good for the most part. probably the most used tobacco in the states from what i hear. starbuzz has some amazing flavors. it doesn't get you buzzed (which i appreciate sometimes) and it's expensive. but it lasts FOREVER. others are good as well. it's not really brand but brand + flavor. like some brands have horrible apple for example but great other flavors (im thinkin' romman; their chocolate and good times is pretty ill).

naturals are a pain in the ass to light. unless you got a stove/torch of some kind and a place to light em where you don't mind burned stuff, don't buy em. i like my 3 kings. i've had just as good smokes with them as with exotica or romman lemonwood (which honestly isn't as bad as the rep it gets. it's cheap at least)

[liquidglass]

here's my .02 cents


Shisha: Honestly I like Starbuzz, AF and Fantasia. I think starbuzz could be priced a bit cheaper say 15 bucks a tin. But they're trying to build a business and keep it "exclusive" right now so we'll see the price drop later. I would recommend picking up some 100gram tins for 10.90 (WorldHookah.com) lowest I've seen on the 100gram tins. Just to try them out and have them around, with a phunnel bowl from what I know, it'll last a long damn time.

I would personally recommend Fantasia: pink lemonade and blueberry (that's b/c those are the only two flavors I've had)
and as far as AF shisha: KEEP IT, it's a great brand that's never let me down, try the strawberry (except for the double apple that was dissapointing)

bowl: I'm getting a phunnel, you should to, plain and simple.
(also i made my phake phunnel and it smoke awesome)


coals: a lot of people knock QLs and sometime I can understand why but honestly some of them aren't that bad.

If you're going quicklights stick with the Golden Coals

if you want natural, then listen to everyone else I don't have experience with lots of naturals.

[johnb73]

here's my .02 cents


Shisha: Honestly I like Starbuzz, AF and Fantasia. I think starbuzz could be priced a bit cheaper say 15 bucks a tin. But they're trying to build a business and keep it "exclusive" right now so we'll see the price drop later. I would recommend picking up some 100gram tins for 10.90 (WorldHookah.com) lowest I've seen on the 100gram tins. Just to try them out and have them around, with a phunnel bowl from what I know, it'll last a long damn time.

I would personally recommend Fantasia: pink lemonade and blueberry (that's b/c those are the only two flavors I've had)
and as far as AF shisha: KEEP IT, it's a great brand that's never let me down, try the strawberry (except for the double apple that was dissapointing)

bowl: I'm getting a phunnel, you should to, plain and simple.
(also i made my phake phunnel and it smoke awesome)


coals: a lot of people knock QLs and sometime I can understand why but honestly some of them aren't that bad.

If you're going quicklights stick with the Golden Coals

if you want natural, then listen to everyone else I don't have experience with lots of naturals.

i think we have the same taste glands in terms of shisha... strawberry was so good but i got sick of it after about an hour of smoking it.

general consensus has led me to believe i should get a funnel, therefor i will be ordering one next week

i will probably order some coals(i think im reading coconaras are my best bet) and a 100g tin of starbuzz as well

[NickReppinThe909]

coco naras, small phunnel, stick with al fakher i get some of my best sessions from AF, get a razan hose and a heba diffuser if you plan on smoking while watching a movie and you should be sittin pretty

[johnb73]

coco naras, small phunnel, stick with al fakher i get some of my best sessions from AF, get a razan hose and a heba diffuser if you plan on smoking while watching a movie and you should be sittin pretty

thanks nick, very good post IMO

[NickReppinThe909]

thats what im here for to teach and be teached lol. nice ball python BTW

[liquidglass]

coco naras, small phunnel, stick with al fakher i get some of my best sessions from AF, get a razan hose and a heba diffuser if you plan on smoking while watching a movie and you should be sittin pretty

Lol damn sounds good to me. I've been wanting to try the coco naras (if you order from their website shipping is ultra cheap) I think those might be my next to compliment my phunnel bowl that's coming.

But for now I'm running a fake phunnel, nammor hose, heba diffuser, Af, sb, fantasia. lol

Thanks for the idea though

i think we have the same taste glands in terms of shisha... strawberry was so good but i got sick of it after about an hour of smoking it.

general consensus has led me to believe i should get a funnel, therefor i will be ordering one next week

i will probably order some coals(i think im reading coconaras are my best bet) and a 100g tin of starbuzz as well

I feel you on that strawberry, that's why I use it to mix. Try strawberry/vanilla or strawberry/orange or even watermelon with it.

[johnb73]

thats what im here for to teach and be teached lol. nice ball python BTW

thanks man, i love my princess

Lol damn sounds good to me. I've been wanting to try the coco naras (if you order from their website shipping is ultra cheap) I think those might be my next to compliment my phunnel bowl that's coming.

But for now I'm running a fake phunnel, nammor hose, heba diffuser, Af, sb, fantasia. lol

I feel you on that strawberry, that's why I use it to mix. Try strawberry/vanilla or strawberry/orange or even watermelon with it.

ya i noticed their site is probably the cheapest you can do for them.
strawberry and orange sounds like it would be tasty, ill definately give that a shot

[cymptom]

I'd stick with the Three Kings. When I first started smoking about 3 years ago, I feel like I was misled by the general idea that "naturals" are the superior choice for the serious smoker. I guess it's easy to see how they get this reputation -- just by virtue of being a greater hassle to use, I think it gives people the impression that there must be some kind of payoff for the trouble. But I've experimented quite extensively with just about every major brand of "natural" charcoal and, with the exception of Golden Canaries, have not found any to perform any better than Three Kings. In fact, Exoticas, Nours, Stargates, Bulk Natural, and Easylites all impart a rather unpleasant quality to the smoke.

In my experience, a good indication of the quality of the coal is the composition of its ash -- the darker and less dense the ash, the cleaner burning the coal. Denser ash with a white or yellowish coloring is what you'll get with most natural coals. The ash from Three Kings is medium density, grayish in color. Golden Canaries have black ash that is very sparse.

As for concerns regarding chemicals in quicklight coals -- I've never understood where this idea comes from. The chemicals added to make the coal self lighting burn off during the lighting process. After that, it's no less "natural" than any other coal as far as I can tell.

[johnb73]

As for concerns regarding chemicals in quicklight coals -- I've never understood where this idea comes from. The chemicals added to make the coal self lighting burn off during the lighting process. After that, it's no less "natural" than any other coal as far as I can tell.

that was my understanding from the first time i ever used them.. put a coal on while it was still lgihting and made myself sick, now i wait til its slightly ashy

[cymptom]

Well yeah, you gotta wait until it stops sparking, otherwise you're breathing in some nasty crap.

[johnb73]

indeed. i learned that the hard way and almost passed out... life is good now tho haha

[liquidglass]

Well yeah, you gotta wait until it stops sparking, otherwise you're breathing in some nasty crap.

AMEN



I do have a question though, have you tried the Golden Coals (quick lights) I feel like they beat the hell out of 3kings. Because they use natural veggie compounds to light, so the smell isn't as bad and it won't taint the shisha like the gun powder quicklights will do sometimes.


But as a general rule if you're going to use a quick light that sparks and stinks, keep it OFF the shisha until it's fully lit, becuase when it's lighting it can a) throw coals particles into the shisha the smoke from it will get into the shisha and taint the first few hits or c) it will (dare I say 'flash') burn the shisha under it since the outer layer is burning and you've just wasted a small bit of shisha.

Just an idea I've based on my experience.

[cymptom]

My very first hookah order came with a box of Golden Quicklights. They worked fine for me then, but obviously that doesn't say much since it was my first hookah experience and I didn't know much about what I was doing. I do remember that they would randomly explode though. I'd be in the middle of a nice smoke session and the coal would explode, sending 5 burning chunks in 5 different directions.

[johnb73]

My very first hookah order came with a box of Golden Quicklights. They worked fine for me then, but obviously that doesn't say much since it was my first hookah experience and I didn't know much about what I was doing. I do remember that they would randomly explode though. I'd be in the middle of a nice smoke session and the coal would explode, sending 5 burning chunks in 5 different directions.

that doesn't sound very fun to me...

my roommate drops a coal on his carpet pretty much every time he smokes... he will probably be responsible for my apartment building burning down