accessories

[logan91]

& nbsp? dont know what the hell that is

[dizzing]

well, in my opinion, you don't really need much of that...tongs are definitely a plus (although in fact, i don't own a pair and i smoke pretty much daily - much to the chagrin of my carpet ).a screen AND foil - definitely a nice choice, although you can get by with just one or the other - or better yet, neither; just buy a pack of regular old aluminum foil (don't get heavy duty, or anything that looks sheisty) and cut squares out of it (my personal choice).  the charcoal carrier is a great idea, but one can be made out of an old tin can for free (or the price of a can and a coat hanger), that's what i use to this day.the brushes are definitely a good idea, but for that price it seems a little pointless.  you can clean your vase with 10:1 water:rubbing alcohol with some salt thrown in, just let it soak/swish it around, whatever.  you can use this solution to clean the stem as well, but it's not as good.  i guess if you had to pick one, i'd say go with the stem brush - but what i do is just use a rifle cleaning kit for my stem to get it spotless, or an old trumpet cleaning snake when i'm feeling lazy.  both of these are fairly inexpensive, but hey, go ahead and buy that stem brush if you want.  it's probably cheaper anyhow.windcover: this is something you'll really be glad you have, esPECIALLY if you do much smoking with that screen instead of foil.  it increases the evenness of the heat and thus the smoke density from your shisha.plastic tips are something that i, honestly, have never used except for one time when the hookah cafe gave me one.  i think they suck.now, as for tobacco- don't skimp here.  this is where you want the best - i recommend tangiers or al fakher, but your mileage may vary and there's probably a tobacco out there for everyone.  coals? well if you really want to save money in the long run, just get some bulk natural coals and a blowtorch like you said (should be able to pick up a blowtorch, with a can of gas, at your hardware store for like 20 bucks).  to save money in the short term, just get rolls of natural coals.  nours or japanese-style coals are great too, lit also with a blowtorch, but are the most expensive option.  they can also be lit on your stove, if you wanna save the 20.for websites: www.socialsmoke.com ... they offer 15 percent discounts for hookah forum members and everyone gives their service rave reviews.so, to summarize, the only accesories you list there that i'd really say to go for are the stem brush and tongs.  it'd be nice to get the screen and windcover too, but not necessary. hopefully this helps you in some way

[dunhillsharp]

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about the accessories,

tongs - i have one that came
with my hookah, and i use it to manover coals when they are on the
hookah, but i always use kitchen tongs when cooking my coals on the
stove.

metal screen - one of these
came with my hookah, but after trying it several times, i quit using it
because i got a much better burn and smoke with foil.

foil - i just use kitchen foil... probably cheaper than pre cut stuff

coal carrier - well you could buy or make one... or be like me and just use an old frying pan

vase brush - i dont know why you would need anything other than hot water to clean out the vase

stem brush - i wish i had one,
but i dont know if you really need it. Certainly there is alot more
gunk in the stem than the base, so it is probably useful. I just blast
really hot water through mine.

wind cover - i have one,
although i dont know where it is (someone borrowed).  It is really
nice if you want to smoke outside in the spring and have everyone that
walks by give you looks. Of course they gave looks when my fraternity
had a deer that one of the guys shot hanging from a tree on our lawn.
Which we then butchered and processed with our stomachs.

plastic tips - i have used these when i or other people are sick... probably better not to smoke when you are sick though.

[mushrat]

Ok...
I like screens..i'm in the minority mind you, but thats just me.
The wind screen is good, keeps sparks off your carpet.
If you arent going to use a screen, dont bother with the foil, just do like dizzing suggests and use rynolds or some such.
Coal carrier is cool..i use one from [url="http://www.hookahwholesale.com"]www.hookahwholesale.com[/url] its nice but the old percolator was better.
stem brush is a must...vase brush..not so much.
So decide where you want to buy your ma'asell, then pick up a few accessories from that site to make the shipping more reasonable...
Oh, and the code for socialsmoke is "hookahforum" in the promo space.
$.02

[Sonthert]

For like, $5, you can have an entire roll of regualr foil that will last a year and you don't need to buy a screen. I've found hoods tend to overheat the tobacco, too.

[PipeSmokeMcGee]

heres some ideastongs - yeah, tongs are very helpful.  i like the ones with a ridged edge so you can kind of cut the coals into multiple pieces
metal screen - easier and cleaner to fool with, but i don't find that they work as well (for me anyway)
foil - ditto mushrat ,dunhillsharp , and dizzing: just get a roll and kroger and cut it... i find that you can get 3 perfect size squares out of each width of the foil.
coal carrier - tin can would work good
vase brush - don't know how helpful that would really be
stem brush - i have found that this is helpful, but you can make one from fishing line and a rag
wind cover - get a soup can and clean it out really good.  then you can cut out both the bottom and the top and tap some holes in the side (avoid the cans with the rounded bottoms that you can't cut with a can opener...get one that has the same edge on the top and the bottom)
thats just what i think.  follow your heart, my friend. follow your heart