Vortex Hookah Bowl

[m4yhem]

I switched over to a Vortex Bowl (yeah, go ahead and send me fanboy complaints) from the Myas...

I just don't see myself spending a whole lot of money on a bowl (greater than $10), so I figured it was worth a try... I picked two of them up for $5.60 ea from homeofthehookah.com (unfortunately they are only in blue and white).

I pack the shisha light and fluffy, and cover with foil... and poke about three rows of wholes around the edge, SMALL holes

Then I rotate a 3 Kings 40mm around the outside... I usually go through about 4 charcoals in one bowl.

The difference was huge. Less tobacco, longer lasting flavor, smoother... I get smoke within about 15 seconds of placing the charcoal too.

Call me a hypocrite but I just can't spend money on a phunnel, however I would eventually like to get one of the glass phunnels...

Fits my Mya Bambino tightly, and also covers most of the gommet so coals in the tray won't burn the bottom of the rubber.

[grapeslice]

I tried the Vortex bowl today and WOW! I was using the standard bowl that came with my Mya Saray Pineapple glass hookah and this bowl makes a huge difference. It starts smoking in a hit and half and stays smoking for a VERY long time. And it doesn't start to burn! I had to get a larger connector for it, but it works fine now. I am also using the Three Kings coals and I split each one into three pieces and then light 4 pieces and place them around the center. The bowl uses a little more shisha than I had been using.. but it lasts so much longer that I am actually using less per session!

[rjuchno]

Well I just bought a vortex bowl from Hookah Rush in downtown Columbus and I'm about to try it out. Lets see, I am using a relatively small hookah, and this bowl is fairly small also. We are smoking Hookah Hookah Banana flavor. (It's one of those hookah shots, they gave it to me for free. I haven't had good experiences with hookah shots, usually they're extremely dry, but this bowl is apparently supposed to help this particular brand smoke better.) For coals, also from this store we bought the all natural coconut coals. If you haven't tried these, I recommend them absolutely. They have little to no taste, and they last a long time-only problem is we have only been able to light them with an electric stove or hot plate.

Anyways, when packing the bowl, I just sprinkled the tobacco in instead of packing it down like I normally do with my superchief or phunnel bowl. Just put tin foil on the top and poked holes in it like I would for a normal phunnel bowl. Heated up 2 of the coconut coals and placed them on opposite sides of each other.

The tobacco heated up fairly quickly, then again there's not too much in here. In about 3-4 hits, I was getting decent amounts of smoke. We ran into a small problem, since my hookah is small it was hard to draw through, but when I placed it on my 36" hookah, that was not a problem, so I guess it was the small hookah. With this large hookah, we have an ice chamber, diffuser and Nammor hose. In comparison to my phunnel bowl, it smokes Hookah Hookah tobacco amazingly better. With this bowl on the larger hookah, it smokes very smooth.

Overall this bowl is very nice, and it is a good alternative to a phunnel or superchief.


I'll post again later on how long the bowl lasted, and how it smokes other tobacco. (I also have Starbuzz and Al Fakher brands.)

[dizzbizz]

I had bought a small Tangiers phunnel before I bought my Vortex. I wasn't displeased with it I was just so damn curious of the Vortex bowl. Nonetheless I ordered one. I was very pleased, but I noticed one quarter of my shisha was burning and not heating like it should. So I emptied my Vortex bowl and checked it thoroughly. To my surprise one of the four holes was plugged with clay. It was cut in the circle shape, but the clay that was supposed to be extracted was not extracted. Then I became frustrated. So I had at it with a small Phillips screwdriver and tried to drill and chip it out. Twenty minutes later I cleared the hole, smoked it, and enjoyed it. Other than the hole being clogged I can say its a great bowl holds a lot of shisha and smokes fantastically. In comparison to my Tangiers I'd say its a score less. The Tangiers is just a genius piece of work.

8/10

[Allstar]

I have smoked my vortex about 10 times now. WOW. It is getting to the point where I don't want to smoke anything else. I pack it with tangiers about up to the holes, and off to the races. I noticed big puffs of smoke with my nammor hose, but throw this into the mix and wow they are huge with no effort. I will suggest this to anyone looking for a new bowl.

[Stuie]

[color="#FF0000"][size="3"][b]Vortex Bowl[/b][/size][/color]

[b]Height: [/b] 3”
[b]Bowl Diameter: [/b] 2-1/4”
[b]Bowl Depth: [/b]3/4”
[b]Bowl Capacity:[/b] 25-35g

[b]Construction: [/b]Ceramic
[b]Appearance: [/b] Very Nice
[b]Cleanability: [/b]Easy to Clean
[b]
Price:[/b] $9.95

[b]Purchased From: [/b]SaharaSmoke.com
[b]
Overall:[/b] 7/10 The bowl smokes well. But it’s not great. Heat retention isn’t great. As you smoke the bowl gets weaker in smoke volume. I wouldn’t use it with Tangiers again, but it is okay for others shishas.

[img]http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm126/tunes4x/Hookah%20Bowls/VortexEmpty.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm126/tunes4x/Hookah%20Bowls/VortexFull.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm126/tunes4x/Hookah%20Bowls/VortexSetup.jpg[/img]

[SaintPendulous]

definatly works better without the grommet that u can order with it, it restriced airflow, way better once i took it out and right away i noticed the difference

[Mokutou]

I purchased a Vortex bowl a little while back after getting annoyed with the messy clean-up of my standard Mya bowl. I didn't like how the juices from the shisha dripped down and covered everything from the grommet to the place that holds the ash tray. I had heard that vortex bowls last longer too, with as much or less shisha. So I bought one. WOW. What an improvement!! My shisha is far more flavorful and lasts forever. I can easily go through five our six Golden quicklights before I even think the bowl might be nearing it's end. I gave my Mya bowl away after the first time I smoked from the Vortex. I did notice that I had a hell of a time smoking Tangiers out of it, so I ordered a Phunnel to see if there is a difference as everyone says, but either way, this Vortex bowl makes for a very enjoyable hookah session. Worth every penny!

[followthereaper]

-You will want a mod grommet with it

-smaller coals as well, I had 40mm goldens and to much of the coal was touching the middle clay part for my tastes.

Seams to greatly diminish juice flowing down into the vase and I never had a problem with airflow. Packs probably around 20-25 grams.

Unfortunately my hookah fell on a cement floor and my vortex broke. I have a Tangiers phunnel on the way though.

I would give this a [b]8/10[/b] coming from someone who hasn't tried a Tangier's Phunnel yet. I would choose this bowl over a standard Egyptian.

[Blaskomc]

Ive had a vortex for my qt for a while. I always hear people saying to not go that route, but honestly i like it. Every time i use it i use it like i would if it was a phunnel, packed the same holes the same ect ect. ive had sessions with this bowl lasting well over 2 hours. there are some obvious flaws to this bowl however, seeing how the holes are on the sides of the spire, there is always juices running down my stem, and all over the grommet and coal tray. this bowl is pretty easy to clean however hot water and a scrub pad and you cant almost all the burnt grime off with enought time and effort you can have it looking like new. over all my opinion on this bowl definatly a 8/10. ill still use it from time to time, if anything for the smaller batches of tobacco i have lol

[southernhookin]

I use vortex only now. It has been the best bowl I have found so far and I've tried many a bowl. The shisha lasts longer, rarely burns, just works well. I need to buy a back up for when I inevitably break this one.... finally succeeded in burning 2 fingers on my hot plate for natural coals.... could've been worse! Need to find a good floor "table" to protect those inevitable drops of red hot coals on my floors....

So despite burning my finger the other day, having frequent frustrations with my own creations of flavors and having to remix, repack, refoil, re-poke, re-heat, etc etc.... tonight gave up for awhile....no satisfaction! Til now had some great ice cream, took a break, prepped another set up with what seems to be a favorite flavor of Ace of Spades (Fantasia) with coconut AF. Only natural coals, quick lights--wouldn't use again ever. Finger coals have been best.

Rambling....
Vortex: excellent.

[navy876]

[quote name='Stuie' timestamp='1268703583' post='457289']
[color=#FF0000][size=3][b]Vortex Bowl[/b][/size][/color]

[b]Height: [/b] 3"
[b]Bowl Diameter: [/b] 2-1/4"
[b]Bowl Depth: [/b]3/4"
[b]Bowl Capacity:[/b] 25-35g

[b]Construction: [/b]Ceramic
[b]Appearance: [/b] Very Nice
[b]Cleanability: [/b]Easy to Clean

[b]Price:[/b] $9.95

[b]Purchased From: [/b]SaharaSmoke.com

[b]Overall:[/b] 7/10 The bowl smokes well. But it's not great. Heat retention isn't great. As you smoke the bowl gets weaker in smoke volume. I wouldn't use it with Tangiers again, but it is okay for others shishas.

[img]http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm126/tunes4x/Hookah%20Bowls/VortexEmpty.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm126/tunes4x/Hookah%20Bowls/VortexFull.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm126/tunes4x/Hookah%20Bowls/VortexSetup.jpg[/img]
[/quote]I would honestly say you over packed it by a long shot! Vortex works phenomenal with less Shisha. Its something you practice with, and the out-come is beautiful.

[Al(TYE)muHarib]

After reading all of the great reviews for this bowl, I had to get one for myself. I picked it up from a local smoke shop and tried it that night with my Mya Chic; what a difference over the standard Mya bowl! Not only does the Vortex allow you to smoke at least 1.5 times as long, it also increases the quality of the flavor by catching any drippings as well as increasing smoke density. It's also super easy to clean! The only issue is that the bowl was to large to seal to the grommet. Instead of buying a mod grommet, though, I just soaked a paper towel, wrapped the stem in it and slid the bowl on. It worked just as well as the mod grommet and didn't cost a cent. Great product, worth the price, a must-have for any shisha enthusiast. 10/10

[Elijames21]

Keeping in mind that my  hookah is only around 20 inches I hated the vortex bowl. I got a vortex bowl included with the sahara hookah I got. Maybe, I'm not tapping it's potential but I prefer the standard egyptian bowl. It uses a lotta shisha, and I'd rather have a bowl that will burn throughly with one, maybe 2 coals, that way I get a fresh bowl every time. I got more smoke from an egyptain as well and that was easier to get smoking.