Upgrading To A New Hookah & Shisha

[Vladimer]

Hello everyone, i've been lurking around these forums checking out posts for the past month or so and figure i'd finally say hi and post a few questions. So hello

Currently using some no name hookah that really isint performing up the task and some nakhla - peach shisha which after reading some reviews online is not very great. I bought the hookah from some local place in the city before i really knew anything about anything.

Now i have a few questions if you'll bear with me.

First off for the hookah itself im looking for something pretty robust since i move it around quite alot. Theres alot on these boards about the Mya's but im looking for a more modern look. For example the espresso hookah they have listed on hookahcompany.com Something sleek, modern and tough. Now i cant really find much info on that one so besides that it says that its made of stainless i really have no idea on the actual quality of it. It should also be able to handle 2 hoses. So if anyone has any ideas on anything similar im very open to suggestions.

Second, im trying to find a good price on AF and tangiers that ships to canada at a good price if there not located in because i really dont want to waste more money on mistakes lol

and lastly, i've read alot of good stuff about the 'phunnel' bowls, would these work on any hookas? or do most stems come in very different sizes that it wont fit and would this be better to use the square charcoals with these?

I know its alot of questions but if anyone can help me out here that would be awesome.

Thanks

[mattarios2]

get a mya if you move it around alot, I think they look very modern and on top of that myas can be upgraded to 4 hoses (almost all of them).

Buy the af and tangiers from mnhookah.com they will ship to canada.

The phunnel will fit on any hookah as long as it the type of hookah where the bowl sits on the outside of the stem and the stem sits on the inside of the bowl I believe it is called a male hookah stem or something along those lines.

[Click]

A MYA is going to be a more "modern" looking hookah such as the Mya Acrylic HERE

Phunnel bowls are great imo. Like mattarios said they will fit on any hookah as long as it the stem accept a female bowl. So any MYA would work. The coal that you use on a phunnel doesn't really matter.

Some of the most liked coals are:

Coconaras - Squares made of coconut shell
Exotica - Finger (square shaped so they don't roll)
Golden Canarys - Japanese Style Square coals

Edit: That Acrylic is just an example of a tough, semi-portable hookah. Edited September 13, 2008 by click

[Vladimer]

Thank you for the help and clearing it up

After checking the site out the Mya Vortex is really what im looking for. It looks gorgeous but it appears all colors but amber are out of stock and it seems to be on most internet sites.

Ill probably toss them a e-mail about it but any ideas how often they usually get new stock in?

It also says you can make it 2 hose with adapter, do they include the auto seal adapter or is it the standard one that they put in because it looks like they sell only the standard adapter on there site

[hookah hippie]

my friend has a vortex and it is really nice he travels a lot as well and takes it with him

[*Veritas*]

If you plan on traveling with your hookah alot make sure you get a good case for it. i had one hookah break on me because the stupid carrying box it came in broke apart, and another hookah break because i didnt think i really needed a case that badly since i didnt travel far with my hookah. just goes to show how right i was with the last one. i will always have good cases for all my hookahs in the future. a little money spent know could save you lots of money and headaches in the future.

[Click]

I thinking that the most difficult part will be the shipping to Canada. I would guess that if it was just a hookah then you wouldn't get charged a tobacco tax at customs. Hookah-shisha.com has a lot of MYA's. Most of the MYAs except the really small ones like the QT can be made into four hose. Auto seal hose adapter that have a metal BB for the seal. You can buy them at any time and just screw them on.

But when you switch to auto seal hose adapters you can't purge the hookah. Purging is when you blow into the hose to "purge" out the stale smoke that remains in the vase. Just something you gotta give up if you use auto seal adapters.

[SmokinMoose]

Order from MNHookahs.com they have AF at good prices and myas.

Also get some coconara's from them, they are good natural square coal.

They know how to ship to Canada to help reduce the chances of getting charged any duties.

[EternalSoil]

I thinking that the most difficult part will be the shipping to Canada. I would guess that if it was just a hookah then you wouldn't get charged a tobacco tax at customs. Hookah-shisha.com has a lot of MYA's. Most of the MYAs except the really small ones like the QT can be made into four hose. Auto seal hose adapter that have a metal BB for the seal. You can buy them at any time and just screw them on.

But when you switch to auto seal hose adapters you can't purge the hookah. Purging is when you blow into the hose to "purge" out the stale smoke that remains in the vase. Just something you gotta give up if you use auto seal adapters.

An auto seal hose adapter is the same as a purge valve but you can use it for a hose and it looks weird when you dont have a hose in it.

(theoretically, i havent used them but the concept is the same...)

[szemek]

An auto seal hose adapter is the same as a purge valve but you can use it for a hose and it looks weird when you dont have a hose in it.

(theoretically, i havent used them but the concept is the same...)

Technically, but using just one auto seal adapter, one person still needs to plug their hose. If using two autoseal adapters (or more), no body has to plug their hose, but no body can blow into the hookah at all. hence, no purging.

[EternalSoil]

Yeah it would be best to have one non-autoseal so you can still purge then have someone take their thumb off to purge.

you can actually make autoseals with a small screw, a ballbearing, and a drill... thats all they are.

[rigor]

Welcome Vladimer!

I'm actually a new member myself, and this will be the first real post I've done in regards to helping out, after a couple months of lots of searching and reading.

I was in the exact same position you are about 2 months ago. My wife and I picked up a cheapie hookah, some QL coals, and some Nakhla shisha, after being introduced to hookah smoking by a friend. We didn't really know too much of what we were doing, and have gone through a lot of trial and error learning. Thankfully, not only now do we have a nice hookah, more flavor, getting huge clouds and smoking really well, it didn't take much time, thanks to this great forum!

No matter which hookah you decide on, be sure to buy a good hard case for it, if you plan on doing any traveling at all with it - it will save you the possibility of wasted money in the long run, and most cases can be used for various hookahs. It seems most Mya's come with nice hard cases from what I've seen.

We recently bought a Mya Vortex, and absolutely LOVE it! It's beautiful, made of high quality, breaks down well, replacement parts (if ever needed) can easily be found and and fit easily due to modular design... and Mya's smoke REALLY nice - I've smoked from a few different ones now. They are a bit more pricey, but they are superb quality, and you wouldn't be disappointed. Mya's can be easily upgraded to more hose stems at any time, auto-seal or not. Having the auto-seal rocks though, and purging won't really be needed once you get your heat management down.

Do yourslef another favor and just move on to natural coals right away. They don't have any smell or taste to ruin your session. You can buy a little portable single electric burner for like $10 if you look in your local drug stores, which makes lighting the coals extremely easy. We prefer not to use out stove as it's gas, and make a bit of a mess. I've tried the Belgian naturals, as well as Exotica's, and both were fantastic. I'll be trying Coconara's next as a comparison.

Also, definitely get a phunnel bowl! They are fantastic, and seem to make your sessions last longer, as well as bring out a bit more flavor. We got a small one, and it's great for 1-3 people, and we seem to average about 1.25 hour sessions on it with good shisha and heat management.

Hope some of this information is helpful, and feel free to post or PM me if you have any further Q's.

Happy Smoking Edited September 14, 2008 by rigor