General Tips For Buying A New Hookah

[tuyop]

I've been lurking here for a long time and I like the forums a lot. But now I'm looking for a new hookah and the product reviews are confusing because everyone loves every hookah they buy it seems.

So I've been smoking out of a cheap chinese generic pumpkin hookah from Turkey and I want something that maintains the taste of the smoke better, doesn't rust, etc. I'm starting a new job in the fall so money really is almost no object. I'm willing to part with ~400 USD for a new hookah if it's great.

I really like the look of a lot of Mya hookahs, particularly the Mya Paragon from hookah-shisha.com, which it seems like a lot of people have around here.

However, I'm not looking for recommendations, I'm wondering what I should look for in general as far as hookah shopping goes. I generally smoke with 4-6 people, so do I really need more than one hose? What kind of stem design is the best and why? How can I tell the quality of materials used if it's not in the item description, like, for instance why is the Mya Obelisk 100 dollars more than the Paragon?

I'm also open to suggestions, I just wanted to be clear that I'm looking more for a hookah buying FAQ from experienced people that's better than the ones you usually find using google.

Thanks for the help everyone.

[SimplexCoda]

Ok: Well you say you usually smoke with 4-6 people. Thats quite a few, but in my opinion multihoses are not good for much. I have never heard of ayone having much success with multihoses because you will have a very hard time having more than person smoking at a time. Also you say you want one that wont rust. I dont really think its possible to have one that wont rust ever. But a hookah that has a brass downstem will last much much longer. Also you want one that has a nice wide downstem, hoseport, and purge valve. Also you say your willing to spend about 400 bucks. HOly crap. Any hookah I know of in that price range will smoke like crap. Those hookahs are made for show not for smoking. A great hookah can be bought for 100 bucks. As for suggestions what you will get from me is try out Khalil Mamoon brand. What you get from the rest of the forum is the same plus Magdy Zidgn.

[n0s]

I agree that mutli-hosers suck, but they vary... my 2 hose QT smokes like a champ while my best friend's 3-hose nefertiti (ripoff i'm almost positive) does not do well at all.

I personally would invest in 2 very nice single hoses and a good stockpile of supplies. I'd go with a KM tri-metal and a mashal (if you can find it) or an MZ, then get a couple nice phunnel bowls and a good amount of shisha.

[tuyop]

I agree that mutli-hosers suck, but they vary... my 2 hose QT smokes like a champ while my best friend's 3-hose nefertiti (ripoff i'm almost positive) does not do well at all.

I personally would invest in 2 very nice single hoses and a good stockpile of supplies. I'd go with a KM tri-metal and a mashal (if you can find it) or an MZ, then get a couple nice phunnel bowls and a good amount of shisha.

Can you guys post the best places to look for these hookahs? Like, where you got them from? I live in Canada so sometimes shipping is tricky. I'm glad that I won't have to spend much though. Thanks for the help so far!

[AKammenzind]

Dunno what all the hate on multi-hosers is about. I've smoked egyptians from socialsmoke, and from hookah-shisha (all 3-hosers) and they've all been great... every bit as good as a one-hoser. Just last night we had 7 people on one 3-hoser with no problems at all... smoked great. We often have 3 people hitting at once, all the time... and no problems. Ever. I don't dig the whole auto-seal bit either. Hookahs smoke better without 'em, and even the dimmest of acquaintences can figure out how to cover the hose, and it's not any sort of problem...

Nothing against 1-hosers. Just that for big parties it's convenient to have just one hookah, with three hoses, rather than three with one. Especially with people who don't smoke hookah much, and have no idea how to move coals around.

[Stuie]

I have a 3 hose Pharaoh that smokes like a champ.

I also have a Mya Obelisk Depending on how many people are over one hose to four...man I love those adapters!

Mya's are brass core chrome plated. If the Mya stem is solid it's like that all the way through. If if it's a cloisonné stem that brakes down the stem on the inside is an aluminum tube, like on the Obelisk.

The Obelisk is more expensive because it has a cloisonne stem and hose. The Cloisonne is a beautiful and more expensive process than chrome plating brass.

I recommend Mya's I am one of the few big fans of them here. Especially if you smoke with 4 - 6 people it might be nice to take hose adapters on and off to smoke depending on your group.

What I did on my Obelisk was by the one hose and buy more adapters, cause I am replacing all my hoses with Nammor hoses and I didn't want to waste my money on Cloisonne hoses I was going to never use.

Hope that helps.

[Rani]

I agree that mutli-hosers suck, but they vary... my 2 hose QT smokes like a champ while my best friend's 3-hose nefertiti (ripoff i'm almost positive) does not do well at all.

I personally would invest in 2 very nice single hoses and a good stockpile of supplies. I'd go with a KM tri-metal and a mashal (if you can find it) or an MZ, then get a couple nice phunnel bowls and a good amount of shisha.

Absolutely agree. For that much money you can really set yourself up nicely with plenty of shisha, coals, and at least a couple great pipes. www.gothookahs.com has MZs at great prices. You could even pick up three of the smaller ones at around $150 and still have $350 left over for all the goodies starting with tobacco. Show pipes are stupid. I have one show pipe. Really beautiful. Smokes okay, whereas all my other pipes that cost much less, including the little 19" Sahara I started with, out smoke it every single time. It's not bad, it's just not great. And my MZs and KMs downright put it to shame. Skip the show pipe and set yourself up with a great smoking pipe and all the goodies instead.

'Rani

[ryno]

But on the other hand a single hose is one of the best things to buy. IMO you should get two, one multihose, and one one hose, just for you. Whenever I have friends over they all get to use the 4 hose and I keep my one hose (Natalia) to myself. (of course we share, but everyone knows that one is mine)




As for shisha, get whatever kind you like, you'll figure out what you like over time.

Same goes with coals, just try each kind until you find one you like.

+1 to that

At school, I had my 3 hoser, and my friend (arp1908) had a singe hose rotator. We'd get them both going and let other ppl smoke the 3 hose, and we'd share his rotator.

[stryet]

I spend my money on quality--you can't go wrong with genuine Mya or Khalil Mammoun. For sure, those will be worth what you pay. I too don't like multi-hose...just don't. But when you do smoke with a bunch of people, however, I would suggest a lazy susan to put underneath. It instantly turns anything into a rotator, without the rotator premium.

[n0s]

I'd recommend a KM from worldhookah, they are by far one of the best vendors i've ever dealed with, neal is the man

For an MZ, I just ordered one from gothookahs.com, I've nothing but amazing reviews from them and i'm awaiting the arrival of my first one.