Perfect Sessions?

[Glassjaw]

So, no matter what, every time I smoke I encounter either a harshness that needs to be corrected or what have you.

I simply come with the question, Has anyone ever smoked a perfect session? Have any of you ever smoked a hookah without experiencing an imperfection or hiccup, or are they a part of hookah no matter what you do?

I'm not saying I want to know how to pack better, as, not to brag or wave my E-Peen around, I am completely comfortable with my and my friend's abilities to pack and thing we have it essentially down to a simple science, per se.

I am just curious as to if experiencing a shitty smoke during a pack is perfectly normal, or have some of you mastered it?

[racemyghost]

well since you dont want to learn how to pack better, then i wont bother asking any questions about your setup.

95% of my sessions come out perfect.

[Hojo]

Sometimes it is more than packing; coals can make a huge difference. Too much heat can create harshness, as well as not moving the coals around. Also, it might be worth it to double up on the foil or punch smaller holes to keep from burning. There are so many ways to ruin a bowl that it is actually pretty hard work to keep everything from falling apart.

As far as perfect sessions go, I smoked a bowl of AF Mint with my friend this past weekend that was as close to perfect as I could ever ask.

[Glassjaw]

To clarify things, I'm not talking about a session which is shitty entirely. Just encountering a harsh smoke and then fixing it, or something similar. I'm talking about a short bout of poor smoking, which is quickly fixed to obtain a perfect smoke. IE, when a coal dies out and needs to be replaced, or a wind cover (we use tinfoil windcovers) needs to be opened up a little for less heat.

I suppose I should re word my question.

Has anyone ever smoked a session without having to fix a single thing while smoking, all the while having perfect smoke?

[liquidglass]

THAT kind of perfect session is hard to pull off because of natural coal lighting times, but I would say I've gotten mine down pretty well I have more coals lighting up just as the others are ready to burn out and it can work seamlessly.

Not saying I'm perfect, but it all comes with practice

[Tuscani]

I would say 90% of my sessions come out perfect... usually something goes wrong when some douche tries to take over prep or coal placement... I had an awesome 4 hour session right after I got my phunnel bowl and tangiers shipment in. Huge clouds of smoke, and didnt get harsh at all.

[cr15p3rz]

well considering you're always gonna have to put on new coals no session would be perfect according to you but i think mine are pretty damn good

[SmokinMoose]

To clarify things, I'm not talking about a session which is shitty entirely. Just encountering a harsh smoke and then fixing it, or something similar. I'm talking about a short bout of poor smoking, which is quickly fixed to obtain a perfect smoke. IE, when a coal dies out and needs to be replaced, or a wind cover (we use tinfoil windcovers) needs to be opened up a little for less heat.

I suppose I should re word my question.

Has anyone ever smoked a session without having to fix a single thing while smoking, all the while having perfect smoke?

Lol ya when I smoke a one coal session.

Changing a coal is a part of smoking.

My definition of a perfect session would be to catch the harshness before it gets way too harsh, and to ensure that your coals are changed at a timely manner and that the amount and quality of smoke is consistent all throughout your session.

So according to that defn I have perfect smoke 98% of the time.

[modisess]

smoking with the 2nd set of coals always ends up with coal flavored shisha for me...

[jezter6]

I've had a few, but I always consider that I will need to make some adjustments here and there to keep it from going major south. It's rare that I have a "shitty" session where it ruins to the whole thing, but I almost always have something that I gotta take coals off and purge a minute then go back to smoking.

Working with heat like this it's just too easy for something to go slightly wrong when you get up to get a drink or take a leak, so I consider any bowl with only minimal adjustments as close to perfect as I can be and I'm happy with 95% of my sessions.

[steeeeeeve]

when i first started i was very similar having to do heat management alot but now i only get harsh once every 10-20 sessions if that, its not really down to knowledge just experience give it some time and youll have it perfect almost every time

Steve

[rigor]

Agreed with what pretty much everyone here is saying - it all comes with experience. After a couple weeks of basically making my hookah smoking every night a science experiment, I've gotten down heat management very well. I generally use a wind cover to get my bowls going thick a bit faster, and I can now tell before things get too hot, that I need take the wind cover off, as well closer to the end of the coal life, that it's safe to use the wind cover again to get a little extra life out of the coals/heat. I essentially never get any harsh smoke any longer, "perfect" sessions nearly all the time. It's all about learning how much coals you need on a certain bowl, or certain brand of shisha, as well as what hole pattern works best on your setup.

[Bulldog_916]

Perfection in hookah is always being chased. No matter how good you get it, there is better that can be done. Better tobaccos come out. Better coals come out. Better hookahs come out. It will never be perfect. You can only get close. You arent chasing a ghost, you're just chasing to be chasing. 90% of my sessions are great smoke-wise. But they arent perfect. Nor is the flavor 100%. You just have to keep going and trying new things.

Sounds like philosophical bullshit, but that's what hookah is to me. A chase.

[chrisrbts]

I didn't really want to read through the entire thread so sorry if i repeat anything someone said.

With natural coals you will learn how long they burn and how long they take to light and eventually you can time when to light a coal based off of how long you have been smoking. There are always additional factors to consider, such as how hard someone pulls, which can cause for brief sessions of harshness which can be quickly fixed (i have one friend who for some reason hasn't grasped the concept of slow long pulls and just pulls as hard as he can whenever it gets passed to him, even though he has owned a hookah for over a year).

With quicklite coals i have learned to start with one full coal and then add half coals as the smoke starts to hit light. When i add this half coal i put both the smoke full coal and new half coal on upside down and then once it starts to get light again flip both coals. I then add half coals for the rest of the session using the same philosophy. Using this method it smokes perfect 99% of the time without ever having to purge the smoke and no harsh hits.

I think any experienced hookah smoker has their own techniques to smoke their hookah effectively and the more you smoke the better you will get at it.