Looking To Buy A New Hookah

[PJCrusader]

Well my little pumpkin hookah I despise. So I have been searching around and looking to buy a new hookah. I just have what may be a stupid or silly question since it could come down to preference.

I was looking at this KM http://www.thehookah.com/khalil-mamoon-kaf...ah-27-inch.html but I have read a few things about quality of the KMs and I am not too sure what to make of it all.

I have also been looking into Mya's but it seems everything I find that is in the height of that is much more expensive.

Should I just fork out the extra money, or go with the KM?

[mushrat]

Well my little pumpkin hookah I despise. So I have been searching around and looking to buy a new hookah. I just have what may be a stupid or silly question since it could come down to preference.

I was looking at this KM http://www.thehookah.com/khalil-mamoon-kaf...ah-27-inch.html but I have read a few things about quality of the KMs and I am not too sure what to make of it all.

I have also been looking into Mya's but it seems everything I find that is in the height of that is much more expensive.

Should I just fork out the extra money, or go with the KM?

Well, Im a mya fan so....

Atleast you realize that it will really come down to what YOU want.

[antouwan]

it really is perference. that km specifically though, is extremely durable and completely solid, i have one model of the larger version, and bought anolther just like it for my friend, and his was just as sturdy. so if you're worried about km quality or whatever, that pipe is the way to go.

[inino]

both smoke great. whatever you think looks better, go with that.

[PJCrusader]

it really is perference. that km specifically though, is extremely durable and completely solid, i have one model of the larger version, and bought anolther just like it for my friend, and his was just as sturdy. so if you're worried about km quality or whatever, that pipe is the way to go.

Thank you for that info.

I was leaning towards that particular hookah. Mostly because the price is pretty nice, and I am still not looking to spend alot of money.

[mushrat]

ill say this, the Mya will long outlast any KM.

Pay less now, pay more in about 2 years.

[mattarios2]

mya's are definitely the most solid hookah in my eyes, if you are looking to be able to just beat the thing, go with the mya, if you are gonna use a hookah and take care of it, I say you could go either way. I know of many people on this forum who have had their km's for years with no issues, mine have all been solid as well, but i wash them after every smoke, sometimes i wait a couple smokes before cleaning it if the flavors i've smoked don't overpower the next one i smoke.

But there is a chance you will get a shitty km, it's happened to people before.

But in your case the kafae is solid brass. So no worries there.

Only gripe i have with mya is after a couple years, it starts to smell nasty, i have had 2 mya's and on my third now, i'd wash them after every couple smokes and after a long time they started to smell horrible. It is because of the rough brass on the inside of the pipe. If you go with mya get one with a smooth stem, not rough.

[PJCrusader]

mya's are definitely the most solid hookah in my eyes, if you are looking to be able to just beat the thing, go with the mya, if you are gonna use a hookah and take care of it, I say you could go either way. I know of many people on this forum who have had their km's for years with no issues, mine have all been solid as well, but i wash them after every smoke, sometimes i wait a couple smokes before cleaning it if the flavors i've smoked don't overpower the next one i smoke.

But there is a chance you will get a shitty km, it's happened to people before.

But in your case the kafae is solid brass. So no worries there.

Only gripe i have with mya is after a couple years, it starts to smell nasty, i have had 2 mya's and on my third now, i'd wash them after every couple smokes and after a long time they started to smell horrible. It is because of the rough brass on the inside of the pipe. If you go with mya get one with a smooth stem, not rough.

Well I plan on taking care of it well. I am OCD about cleaning, and it would be cleaned after every use.

[SuburbanSmoker]

Well if you take good care of it you shouldnt have to worry about it fallin apart on ya. but if you are taking it places with everything thrown into a garbage bag or something, you may want to stick with myas =P

[Tom1]

ill say this, the Mya will long outlast any KM.

Definitely. The replaceable parts greatly contribute to how long they last; Mainly being the down stem. Like to leave your hookah in water and it corrodes or rusts? No problem.


The only two bad things about MYA's would be the price, and the uneven down stem which can make cleaning them a pain.

Edit: I have a Kafea too, very good hookah. Edited March 26, 2009 by Tom16689

[PJCrusader]

I ended up going with the Kafae. Thanks for all the input from everyone =)

And Mush yes I would rather pay less now and worry about later, well later

[Arcane]

Only gripe i have with mya is after a couple years, it starts to smell nasty, i have had 2 mya's and on my third now, i'd wash them after every couple smokes and after a long time they started to smell horrible. It is because of the rough brass on the inside of the pipe. If you go with mya get one with a smooth stem, not rough.

yeah...that's my biggest gripe too. i can't seem to get a brush down the stem without it getting all chewed up. i like my KMs stem, nice and smooth all the way down - looks like a rifle barrel to me.

[Anxiety]

just got my black mya gryo and i must say totally wroth the price tag....dominates my km trimal and mz in looks/pull/durability. As mush said, pay more now and have it last, than keep paying.

[likespaceships]

Get whatever you think looks better. Both will smoke good and last you a good while as long as you take care of it.

[Sonthert]

I've never had a KM die.

Here's my hookah inventory:
5 Al Ashry-Dead
5 Brass Syrian 5-8 y/o-Dead
4 Syrian Brass, hand-painted shanks- 4-7 y/o-Dead
1 Syrian brass 1 y/o-dead (It had a manufacturing defect...I used it rather than selling it)
1 Brass Egyptian, 11 y/o-retired, but in very bad shape (1st hookah I ever bought)
1 Syrian Brass 8 y/o "Versace"-Retired (1st common chamber I ever saw...its been retired for 3 years and it wasn't used much when it was in the lounge)
A number of lesser or crummy pipes that were used and then retired before they died.
1 Egyptian brass core-9 y/o Not used much.-Retired
1 Syrian brass 10 y/o "Old Nour" just died in the past 6 months...my friend bought it at the same time I bought my 2nd hookah. Exactly the same pipe.
In lounge use:
10 brass Syrians 6-7 y/o "Old Nour"
2 brass Syrian 4 y/o "Old Nour"
6 Syrian Brass < 1 y/o "Old Nour"
6 Egyptian Brass/stainless < 1 y/o (The silver version of the Scarab)
1 KM 5 y/o
2 No name Egyptian Brass Core 8 y/o
2 KM 2 y/o pears
1 New Nour Syrian Brass Sample 1 y/o
1 KM Tri Metal <1 y/o
1 Brass Syrian 3 y/o (Not a Nour)
1 Brass Syrian 9 y/o "old Nour" 3 rd Hookah I ever bought
1 Brass Syrian 10 y/o "old Nour" 2nd Hookah I ever bought
1 Brass Egyptian, no-name 11 y/o
1 12 y/o brass KM, slight physical damage to downstem

When I look at an old KM and compare it to a new KM, I don't see the same thing. I don't see the solidity (except with modern tri-metals). The quality isn't wht it was 12 y/o or 5 y/o. On the other hand, the KMs I see compared to the Myas, much better. The Myas always feel like they did something to make a shortcut, somewhere on the pipe. KMs are fairly consistent in terms of the pipe feels like it was made to the same specifications throughout the pipe. Only in some of the new pears do I see a shortcut in the tray-plates. Would it be reasonable to say that my 12 y/o KM (although it may be older than that, actually) is similar in quality to the tri-metals and the lower-line KMs from 10 years ago have long since died? Sure. Did they make lower line KMs 10 years ago? I don't honestly know.

The newer hoses I've seen from KM are lower quality and a general absence of 3-piece leather hoses from KM is the big sticking point there. The jars have also gone down in quality. I've also never had a KM returned for any reason, that I've sold. Thats why I sell them. I know I can confidently sell them and know someone can't have a legitimate complaint about their quality. What I don't want to see is a steadily reducing quality in them. Thats why I start being Chicken Little when I see a trend in the shipments. So far, the KM shanks have been very good to excellent in quality.

In a like sense, I just asked George what his return rate/problems with hookahs they've sold is on KMs vs. Myas. Here is what he said:

He characterizes the return rate from factory defects as similar. Mya's problems are easier to fix, replacement parts are easier to strap on and off, but there are more problems down the stretch after the fact. The biggest problems are broken brass threads in the downstem, and broken threads in the main tube section, which seems to be made of some lighter, less durable metal. Additionally, the Romanian Bohemian jars have a lot of breakage problems in shipping. Presumably they would be more prone to break down the stretch. KMs have less wear problems and are more durable in the long-run, but problems that do occur are larger and harder to fix but there are a lot less of them. He also characterized Myas as by far the most reliable of the Chinese hookahs, other Chinese products having much higher failure and return rates.

I asked George Egho at thehookah.com the same question and he characterized them this way. Mya are incredibly consistent, what you see in the picture is what you get and the return rate because of aesthetics is lower because of that. The KMs have more aesthetic returns because of superficial differences and variances in them. He also agrees that down the stretch there are more problems with Myas, but are relatively easy to fix.

Does that clarify matters?

Edit: I should also add that the styling of KMs has improved in the past 3-4 years. The older ones look like they we're designed in the Soviet Union or something.

[Fluffy]

ill say this, the Mya will long outlast any KM.

Pay less now, pay more in about 2 years.

exactly, myas live forever and have much better quality control.

I've never had a KM die.

Here's my hookah inventory:
5 Al Ashry-Dead
5 Brass Syrian 5-8 y/o-Dead
4 Syrian Brass, hand-painted shanks- 4-7 y/o-Dead
1 Syrian brass 1 y/o-dead (It had a manufacturing defect...I used it rather than selling it)
1 Brass Egyptian, 11 y/o-retired, but in very bad shape (1st hookah I ever bought)
1 Syrian Brass 8 y/o "Versace"-Retired (1st common chamber I ever saw...its been retired for 3 years and it wasn't used much when it was in the lounge)
A number of lesser or crummy pipes that were used and then retired before they died.
1 Egyptian brass core-9 y/o Not used much.-Retired
1 Syrian brass 10 y/o "Old Nour" just died in the past 6 months...my friend bought it at the same time I bought my 2nd hookah. Exactly the same pipe.
In lounge use:
10 brass Syrians 6-7 y/o "Old Nour"
2 brass Syrian 4 y/o "Old Nour"
6 Syrian Brass < 1 y/o "Old Nour"
6 Egyptian Brass/stainless < 1 y/o (The silver version of the Scarab)
1 KM 5 y/o
2 No name Egyptian Brass Core 8 y/o
2 KM 2 y/o pears
1 New Nour Syrian Brass Sample 1 y/o
1 KM Tri Metal <1 y/o
1 Brass Syrian 3 y/o (Not a Nour)
1 Brass Syrian 9 y/o "old Nour" 3 rd Hookah I ever bought
1 Brass Syrian 10 y/o "old Nour" 2nd Hookah I ever bought
1 Brass Egyptian, no-name 11 y/o
1 12 y/o brass KM, slight physical damage to downstem

When I look at an old KM and compare it to a new KM, I don't see the same thing. I don't see the solidity (except with modern tri-metals). The quality isn't wht it was 12 y/o or 5 y/o. On the other hand, the KMs I see compared to the Myas, much better. The Myas always feel like they did something to make a shortcut, somewhere on the pipe. KMs are fairly consistent in terms of the pipe feels like it was made to the same specifications throughout the pipe. Only in some of the new pears do I see a shortcut in the tray-plates. Would it be reasonable to say that my 12 y/o KM (although it may be older than that, actually) is similar in quality to the tri-metals and the lower-line KMs from 10 years ago have long since died? Sure. Did they make lower line KMs 10 years ago? I don't honestly know.

The newer hoses I've seen from KM are lower quality and a general absence of 3-piece leather hoses from KM is the big sticking point there. The jars have also gone down in quality. I've also never had a KM returned for any reason, that I've sold. Thats why I sell them. I know I can confidently sell them and know someone can't have a legitimate complaint about their quality. What I don't want to see is a steadily reducing quality in them. Thats why I start being Chicken Little when I see a trend in the shipments. So far, the KM shanks have been very good to excellent in quality.

In a like sense, I just asked George what his return rate/problems with hookahs they've sold is on KMs vs. Myas. Here is what he said:

He characterizes the return rate from factory defects as similar. Mya's problems are easier to fix, replacement parts are easier to strap on and off, but there are more problems down the stretch after the fact. The biggest problems are broken brass threads in the downstem, and broken threads in the main tube section, which seems to be made of some lighter, less durable metal. Additionally, the Romanian Bohemian jars have a lot of breakage problems in shipping. Presumably they would be more prone to break down the stretch. KMs have less wear problems and are more durable in the long-run, but problems that do occur are larger and harder to fix but there are a lot less of them. He also characterized Myas as by far the most reliable of the Chinese hookahs, other Chinese products having much higher failure and return rates.

I asked George Egho at thehookah.com the same question and he characterized them this way. Mya are incredibly consistent, what you see in the picture is what you get and the return rate because of aesthetics is lower because of that. The KMs have more aesthetic returns because of superficial differences and variances in them. He also agrees that down the stretch there are more problems with Myas, but are relatively easy to fix.

Does that clarify matters?

Edit: I should also add that the styling of KMs has improved in the past 3-4 years. The older ones look like they we're designed in the Soviet Union or something.

The parts on a mya will most likley degrade because of "minor accedental abuse" Things such as screwing the threads in way to tight and putting to much water in the vase, and rusting auto seel bearings.

ive also never herad of a mya having any real problems like rusting or falling apary "literally".

overall i think mya is a much better brand than km for a few resons. first of all they make the best small hookahs around. these make the best starter hookahs and best "laptop hookahs" as i call them. my second reason is multihose kms are a joke. if i invite someone over to smoke i dont think they should have to hold there thumb over the hose.i think its anoying, it dosent alow you to chill in a comfortable way. with myas you have the autoseel system witch allows groups of people to do other activties as they smoke. also on a side note traveling with a km is a hastle, many of the Large mya hookahs break down into several parts making them easy to travel with and all small myas are great travel hookahs.

[Lesiu]

If I were you I would also try one on Nargilem like NP 320, it the greatest hookah I have ever smoke it's around 150$ but it's definetly worth those money it comes with great nargilem bowl and nice hose.

[PJCrusader]

I've never had a KM die.

Here's my hookah inventory:
5 Al Ashry-Dead
5 Brass Syrian 5-8 y/o-Dead
4 Syrian Brass, hand-painted shanks- 4-7 y/o-Dead
1 Syrian brass 1 y/o-dead (It had a manufacturing defect...I used it rather than selling it)
1 Brass Egyptian, 11 y/o-retired, but in very bad shape (1st hookah I ever bought)
1 Syrian Brass 8 y/o "Versace"-Retired (1st common chamber I ever saw...its been retired for 3 years and it wasn't used much when it was in the lounge)
A number of lesser or crummy pipes that were used and then retired before they died.
1 Egyptian brass core-9 y/o Not used much.-Retired
1 Syrian brass 10 y/o "Old Nour" just died in the past 6 months...my friend bought it at the same time I bought my 2nd hookah. Exactly the same pipe.
In lounge use:
10 brass Syrians 6-7 y/o "Old Nour"
2 brass Syrian 4 y/o "Old Nour"
6 Syrian Brass < 1 y/o "Old Nour"
6 Egyptian Brass/stainless < 1 y/o (The silver version of the Scarab)
1 KM 5 y/o
2 No name Egyptian Brass Core 8 y/o
2 KM 2 y/o pears
1 New Nour Syrian Brass Sample 1 y/o
1 KM Tri Metal <1 y/o
1 Brass Syrian 3 y/o (Not a Nour)
1 Brass Syrian 9 y/o "old Nour" 3 rd Hookah I ever bought
1 Brass Syrian 10 y/o "old Nour" 2nd Hookah I ever bought
1 Brass Egyptian, no-name 11 y/o
1 12 y/o brass KM, slight physical damage to downstem

When I look at an old KM and compare it to a new KM, I don't see the same thing. I don't see the solidity (except with modern tri-metals). The quality isn't wht it was 12 y/o or 5 y/o. On the other hand, the KMs I see compared to the Myas, much better. The Myas always feel like they did something to make a shortcut, somewhere on the pipe. KMs are fairly consistent in terms of the pipe feels like it was made to the same specifications throughout the pipe. Only in some of the new pears do I see a shortcut in the tray-plates. Would it be reasonable to say that my 12 y/o KM (although it may be older than that, actually) is similar in quality to the tri-metals and the lower-line KMs from 10 years ago have long since died? Sure. Did they make lower line KMs 10 years ago? I don't honestly know.

The newer hoses I've seen from KM are lower quality and a general absence of 3-piece leather hoses from KM is the big sticking point there. The jars have also gone down in quality. I've also never had a KM returned for any reason, that I've sold. Thats why I sell them. I know I can confidently sell them and know someone can't have a legitimate complaint about their quality. What I don't want to see is a steadily reducing quality in them. Thats why I start being Chicken Little when I see a trend in the shipments. So far, the KM shanks have been very good to excellent in quality.

In a like sense, I just asked George what his return rate/problems with hookahs they've sold is on KMs vs. Myas. Here is what he said:

He characterizes the return rate from factory defects as similar. Mya's problems are easier to fix, replacement parts are easier to strap on and off, but there are more problems down the stretch after the fact. The biggest problems are broken brass threads in the downstem, and broken threads in the main tube section, which seems to be made of some lighter, less durable metal. Additionally, the Romanian Bohemian jars have a lot of breakage problems in shipping. Presumably they would be more prone to break down the stretch. KMs have less wear problems and are more durable in the long-run, but problems that do occur are larger and harder to fix but there are a lot less of them. He also characterized Myas as by far the most reliable of the Chinese hookahs, other Chinese products having much higher failure and return rates.

I asked George Egho at thehookah.com the same question and he characterized them this way. Mya are incredibly consistent, what you see in the picture is what you get and the return rate because of aesthetics is lower because of that. The KMs have more aesthetic returns because of superficial differences and variances in them. He also agrees that down the stretch there are more problems with Myas, but are relatively easy to fix.

Does that clarify matters?

Edit: I should also add that the styling of KMs has improved in the past 3-4 years. The older ones look like they we're designed in the Soviet Union or something.

Thanks for the clarification.


I don't care about how easy something is to transport, it will be in the house at all times so that doesn't matter. Ordered that KM yesterday so lets see how it is =)

[newjacksm]

I have a QT and a KM. I smoked my QT for the first month I bought it a lot... but I am back to smoking my KM.. I love my KM!!

[xipander]

I love my MZ gemini.

[Sonthert]

I will say this, I have a lot more respect for Myas than I used too, after talking to the Georges...I still prefer KMs.