HookahDuck Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Hahaha, I've been thinking about posting this for a while. I'd like to hear some of your guys' misconceptions about hookah- either before you started smoking or while you were first learning.I'll list a few of mine....1. I thought loosening the purge valve would allow more air into the base and make the smoke less harsh.2. I thought some hookahs were just "harsh" and others are smooth- basically a luck of the draw sort of thing that had nothing to do with setup.3. Really.. I had no clue what made some sessions harsh, and others not.4. The whole headache thing confused the hell out of me.5. I tried lighting japanese coals with a ligher- and would try to smoke with only a corner of it lit, only to get frustrated and think I just "didnt have a good hookah".6. I ran water through my cheapy non-washable hose before every session.7. I could care less about brands of tobacco- only what flavor it was.8. I would meticulously try different intricate patterns in the foil trying to make my session better.9. I used Rolland quick lighting coals. 10. I thought the level of water in the base played a huge part in determining if the smoke would get harsh or not. I assumed I always had it wrong, and thats why I was having bad sessions.11. I would use several layers of tinfoil once I found out that heat was making my tobacco harsh- thinking it would keep more heat out.12. I would ONLY used filtered water. I thought that was very important.13. I smoked Al Waha tobacco. 14. I would ONLY smoke a hookah which had ice in the base.15. I thought I knew what I was doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HookahDuck Posted February 20, 2006 Author Share Posted February 20, 2006 16. I would pour a little water into the hose intentionally so it would catch some of the crap in the hose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yashman19 Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 [quote name='HookahDuck']Hahaha, I've been thinking about posting this for a while. 13. I smoked Al Waha tobacco.[/quote] Hey, watch yourself... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HookahDuck Posted February 20, 2006 Author Share Posted February 20, 2006 [quote name='Yashman19'][quote name='HookahDuck']Hahaha, I've been thinking about posting this for a while. 13. I smoked Al Waha tobacco.[/quote] Hey, watch yourself... [/quote]17. A personal favorite of mine was Al Waha mixed fruit-like tobacco which was scraped off the floor at the end of the day.I tried some of it again the other day. I really cant believe I liked the taste of that stuff at one point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjt486 Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 I was in on the water level, partially lighting japanese coals. The friend who introduced me to hookah missed the concept of fluffing the tobacco, once he made a mixed bowl of orange, cherry, lemon lime (every flavorhe had at the time) and had to really pack it hard in the bowl to make it fit. Needless to say, that was tough to draw from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishdog Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 18. I tried to hurry the process... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dizzing Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 heh, a lot of the things you listed are still conceptions that i have about hookah smoking ... i think you've prematurely labeled them as "mis" conceptions ;)such as.. filtered water. the tap water at my house is HORRID... the other day i figured out that it's probably because the dupont factory complex is directly across the river from the water treatment facility. that leaves treated water sitting in outdoor reservoirs. right by the chemical factories... and the river... that the water to be treated came out of ... bleh.and water level can play a pretty big part to some degree, although this is largely a function of stem vs. base design and shouldn't be a problem on any commercially manufactured pipe. however once you start improvising, you may run into problems with this where you have to do interesting things to the stem length. but yes, i can relate to a lot of your misconceptions as well... some good memories Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buford Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 I can't believe I counted Nakla mixed fruit as a favorite - I smelled what was left of a box the other day and... oh man, I'm tempted to just throw it away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Attila Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 [quote name='Buford']I can't believe I counted Nakla mixed fruit as a favorite - I smelled what was left of a box the other day and... oh man, I'm tempted to just throw it away.[/quote] ugh, same here. i liked it a lot, but the last time i smoked it it was really awful... maybe it dried out or something, but for the last time it was terrible... i'll have another try soon, because i basicly liked that stuff (pf course i won't buy it again, but for everyday usage it was nice)... and i still have a full 250g pack of it :/ (christmas present) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dizzing Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 heh, nakhla seems to be really guilty of "aging".... a fine aged strawberry has quite a kick indeed :-Dmixed fruit, however, does not seem to benefit so well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Attila Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 i'm smoking it again right now... well, a lot better than the last time, i don't know what was wrong... i'm aware of all the negative opinions here about this shisha but... definitely not the one i want to impress my friends with, but i guess i won't throw it out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunsboy Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 People used to tell me that smoking one bowl of alwaha apple is like smoking a full pack of cigarettes ... I thought that using apple as a bowl would make a huge difference, but it was just a waste of apples. It makes the smoke a little cooler but using ice would be easier and better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iheartvarg1 Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 [quote name='HookahDuck']6. I ran water through my cheapy non-washable hose before every session.7. I could care less about brands of tobacco- only what flavor it was.[/quote]been there on both of those oh the good old days of misinformation and if you say you don't like al waha, give african kiwi a smoke and tell me if you still feel the same way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghunfrytimma Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 hookahduck...i had always thought about making a post like this also..so i commend u for starting it!well....in my early days of hookah smoking i had the junior hookah u recently bought and it smoked well until it broke by the vase which ive already warned you about....but..when i first started smoking hookah i had such a lack of patience that at time if i didnt think the smoke was thick i would actually take a lighter and light it right next to the coals on top of the foil as someone took a draw..i guess it worked...but obviously burned the mas'ell...i felt pretty stupid after being on this forum for the first time...also ive heard the common idea that one bowl of hookah is equivalent to "half a cigarette"..i also did the typical overpacking of the bowl....i would also sometimes after packing a bowl make a whole in the middle of it and spread the tobacco out so it was around the edges forming an "0" shape in the bowl so it would draw better....well these are some of my early misconceptions upon first smoking hookah.....im glad i can say im farely more experienced now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarbyFett Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 Thanks to this site i started pretty good. I read almost everything on this forum before i bought my hookah so i had a reasonable amount of knowlege when i started. though i just figured out the whole....lighting another coal to finish the bowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HookahDuck Posted February 21, 2006 Author Share Posted February 21, 2006 I should have included the health misconceptions!Ie: The water filters out all of the carcinogens and 1000 hits from a hookah hose is equvilent to one cigarette. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghunfrytimma Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 ahh..yes the health misconceptions..i think new hookah smokers fall victim to those more than anyone....but on another note i do wonder if there is any truth at all to any of these statement...as we all know there have been posts on the health risks of smoking hookah on a habit like regular basis...and the bottom line is..it is not helpful to ur health by any means....and indeed can cause very serious health conditions...but i am wondering if there has been any legitimate research in comparison to hookah smoke/ing and cigarette smoke/ing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 [quote name='HookahDuck']Hahaha, I've been thinking about posting this for a while. I'd like to hear some of your guys' misconceptions about hookah- either before you started smoking or while you were first learning.I'll list a few of mine....1. I thought loosening the purge valve would allow more air into the base and make the smoke less harsh.2. I thought some hookahs were just "harsh" and others are smooth- basically a luck of the draw sort of thing that had nothing to do with setup.3. Really.. I had no clue what made some sessions harsh, and others not.4. The whole headache thing confused the hell out of me.5. I tried lighting japanese coals with a ligher- and would try to smoke with only a corner of it lit, only to get frustrated and think I just "didnt have a good hookah".6. I ran water through my cheapy non-washable hose before every session.7. I could care less about brands of tobacco- only what flavor it was.8. I would meticulously try different intricate patterns in the foil trying to make my session better.9. I used Rolland quick lighting coals. 10. I thought the level of water in the base played a huge part in determining if the smoke would get harsh or not. I assumed I always had it wrong, and thats why I was having bad sessions.11. I would use several layers of tinfoil once I found out that heat was making my tobacco harsh- thinking it would keep more heat out.12. I would ONLY used filtered water. I thought that was very important.13. I smoked Al Waha tobacco. 14. I would ONLY smoke a hookah which had ice in the base.15. I thought I knew what I was doing.[/quote]Well done, sir! I also commend you! I have sat here for a long time, biting my nails down to my elbow, worrying about if I should comment on what I call superstitions, but I never did, and you did. You seem like a very logical, problem-solving person. This is what I have decided:Most of the superstitions are caused by changes in humidity. Changes in humidity can drastically change smoking conditions in a night, a week, even a few hours, if the weather is volatile. People try one thing, find that it works poorly, then try something else and it works well, they then assume it was the thing they changed, when in reality, it doesn't, at all, the humidity level changed, and thats what improved or shat on the smoking. I have tested at 30 different variables regarding smoking a hookah. Here's what I have found affects the smoking, in order from highest to lowest:1. Quality/style of Tobacco2. Quality of Coals3. Humidity effects4. Water quality.5. How you pack your bowlFiltered water if you are talking about filtered tap water, does little to change things. US tap water is VERY, VERY clean. There's little you can do to improve it. If you are talking about well-water, rich in rust and other heavy minerals, there is alot to improve it. Dizzing, I believe, draws well water which can be very crappy. It can make a difference for country folk. My mother's family's water is so hard, they need a water softener (which removes heavy metals) to make the water OK for household use. I used the water in a hookah and noticed an immediate difference. As far as my list goes, the most important things must be things that people agree on more so than more "superstition" based things. We were talking about holes in the foil...how much could it matter, really? Nobody agrees, it must be less important or superstition-based stuff...no offense, people, keep poking your holes, its your hookah! I'm just a crackpot. What are things most people agree about...what brands are good (even though we may prefer a different style), what charcoal are good (Does anybody think Diamante or Kingsford are any good?). I just hope, if I can contribute one thing to this fine site, that numbers 3 and 4 are important, moreso, than commonly recognized.Thank you again, HD, you are a god, in my book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HookahEnthusiast Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 It seems we have a fairly new group of active posters on the forum....so when i came across this thread i thought it could use a "bump", so we can see what some of the newer members to the forums misconceptions might have been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skiracerj1 Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 When I first started I was definately guilty of packing the bowl way to tight, and smoking my self into headaches. Also I believed the misconception that moving the coal(s) around actually did something worthwhile, but i've found it works just the same to slap that sucker in the middle and just ash the coal every once in a while Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djnick Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 i always thought ice would make for thicker smoke, but i havent seen it affect anything too much. Also diffuser was supposed to improve the hookah but that has been unproven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HookahDuck Posted April 5, 2006 Author Share Posted April 5, 2006 Thanks for bringing this one back up.I missed the part where Tangiers called me god. Neat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornellius Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 Water level does not matter much but it is important if you want some force while you are inhaling. I love spending some force... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Abides Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 The diffuser is proven at least in my eyes. I placed one on both of my hookahs and far prefer it to just an open stem. In my opinion and due to my own experiences it does indeed make the smoke less harsh and provide better filtration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gib0r Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 you sit on a throne of lies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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