What To Look For In A Hookah

[hookster]

Howdy,
Ive been lurking at this forum for about a year now, and the time has finally come for me to ask a question. One of my friends is going to Iran in about a week and i told him to get me a hookah. I told him that I wanted the most grandoise, mammoth looking hookah ever. But beyond looks, i also want to make sure that it performs like a champ too. So what are some signs of quality that i should tell him to look for when buying a hookah? I told him that I wanted an authentic made in Iran hand made hookah.

Also is there any other cool hookah related stuff that he could get from Iran?

Thanks

[Sherwood]

Where in Iran is he going to be? Tehran?

Generally, hat he should look for is something that's air-tight, feels heavy, and has a large diameter pipe throughout. That means a large downstem, large check valve pipe, and a large hose port.

I understand good ones are about $70. Am I right in assuming your friend speaks Farsi?

[hookster]

Where in Iran is he going to be? Tehran?

Generally, hat he should look for is something that's air-tight, feels heavy, and has a large diameter pipe throughout. That means a large downstem, large check valve pipe, and a large hose port.

I understand good ones are about $70. Am I right in assuming your friend speaks Farsi?

Thanks alot . My friend is fluent in farsi and is pretty much gonna be in shiraz, tehran, kerman, and mashad. So we got lots of options if you know any good local places.

[hookster]

bump

This place is supposedly full of hookah experts and i could only muster up one answer?...

[ilikemyusername]

it was a good answer.
He should look for is something that's air-tight, feels heavy, and has a large diameter pipe throughout. That means a large downstem, large check valve pipe, and a large hose port.

[Capt. Morgan]

bump

This place is supposedly full of hookah experts and i could only muster up one answer?...

Is it really necessary to hear the same answer over and over?

[hookster]

bump

This place is supposedly full of hookah experts and i could only muster up one answer?...

Is it really necessary to hear the same answer over and over?

well..i thought that there might be some more to it

[Arcane]

hmmmm...

airtight: yep, that's a good one

heavy: i guess...not really necessary.

wide diameter pipe/hose port: depends on your flavor - some people like a more restricted draw

aesthetics: clean welds, no cracks, no tarnish - up to you on what looks good

ease of cleaning: really, the only thing i don't love about my hookah is cleaning it. my QT is easier to clean than my KMs, so i smoke out of that a lot (plus its more portable)

[joytron]

the problem with your question is that a lot of hookahs come down to aesthetics and personal preference. Large or small, traditonal or contemporary, extremely loose draw or some resistance. Arcane pretty much summed up everything else.

[Sherwood]

heavy: i guess...not really necessary.

wide diameter pipe/hose port: depends on your flavor - some people like a more restricted draw

These were kind of my guesses based on the OP's instructions to his friend to get "the most grandoise, mammoth looking hookah ever". If he wants a large quality hookah, it will be heavy.

Sorry about not answering your second question well, OP. I don't have much in the way of specific hookah shop recommendations for your friend, Tehran or otherwise. I never bought one when there. Lots of them looked very nice, however -- I didn't dare travel across the border with anything other than my clothes.

[Sherv]

Hey all! This is hilarious, I'm in Iran for the first time in 18 years (was born here) and I'm about to leave Tehran for Esfahan and Yazd. As an avid hookah smoker I was very curious about domestic hookahs...here are my thoughts.


There are basically two camps, the traditional and the modern hookahs. The traditional have wooden stems and, honestly, the build quality is VERY questionable. I have gone to a few bazaars in Tehran, and the Vakil Bazaar in Shiraz and many of the hookahs sold there appeared crooked and very poorly built. When I was in Hamedan yesterday (this is a whirlwind trip), I saw some VERY nice traditional hookahs which were well built, but they were enormous.

The modern ones have very colorful bases and all seem to have the face of some Qajar shah plastered on them. They look awfully kitsch and gaudy, IMO, but they feel far more solid. They all seem to have rubber gaskets, too, although that's an accessory you can easily buy elsewhere.

For the most part, the bowls are pretty generic and consistent in quality as well.


Getting Persian shisha has been a quest and a half...I speak Farsi but with a horrible accent so I'm immediately pegged as a foreigner. As such, the vendors don't care for my desire to buy Made-In-Iran shisha and try to peddle Al Fakher and the other brands that can be found here. Nonetheless, I found some interesting flavors that are probably just rebrandings of Arabian shisha...flavors like saffron, cucumber, and cardamom.


I kinda rambled, sorry. In terms of the most grandiose etc etc hookah he can find, if he saw what I saw in Hamedan then you're in for a treat, those hookahs were gigantic. I have no idea if they're functional, however, although I can't imagine why they wouldn't be.

[lowspeedchase]

Hey all! This is hilarious, I'm in Iran for the first time in 18 years (was born here) and I'm about to leave Tehran for Esfahan and Yazd. As an avid hookah smoker I was very curious about domestic hookahs...here are my thoughts.


There are basically two camps, the traditional and the modern hookahs. The traditional have wooden stems and, honestly, the build quality is VERY questionable. I have gone to a few bazaars in Tehran, and the Vakil Bazaar in Shiraz and many of the hookahs sold there appeared crooked and very poorly built. When I was in Hamedan yesterday (this is a whirlwind trip), I saw some VERY nice traditional hookahs which were well built, but they were enormous.

The modern ones have very colorful bases and all seem to have the face of some Qajar shah plastered on them. They look awfully kitsch and gaudy, IMO, but they feel far more solid. They all seem to have rubber gaskets, too, although that's an accessory you can easily buy elsewhere.

For the most part, the bowls are pretty generic and consistent in quality as well.


Getting Persian shisha has been a quest and a half...I speak Farsi but with a horrible accent so I'm immediately pegged as a foreigner. As such, the vendors don't care for my desire to buy Made-In-Iran shisha and try to peddle Al Fakher and the other brands that can be found here. Nonetheless, I found some interesting flavors that are probably just rebrandings of Arabian shisha...flavors like saffron, cucumber, and cardamom.


I kinda rambled, sorry. In terms of the most grandiose etc etc hookah he can find, if he saw what I saw in Hamedan then you're in for a treat, those hookahs were gigantic. I have no idea if they're functional, however, although I can't imagine why they wouldn't be.

I had this damn travel bug gassed and subdued for almost 6 months... thanks a lot for reviving him and letting him bite me in the brain.

[Sherv]

I had this damn travel bug gassed and subdued for almost 6 months... thanks a lot for reviving him and letting him bite me in the brain.

hahaha, dude, I'm so sorry

this was the only chance I could get to travel, I was laid off earlier this year and will start school in the fall, plus my girlfriend left me later 2008 so....FREEDOM!

[lowspeedchase]

I had this damn travel bug gassed and subdued for almost 6 months... thanks a lot for reviving him and letting him bite me in the brain.

hahaha, dude, I'm so sorry

this was the only chance I could get to travel, I was laid off earlier this year and will start school in the fall, plus my girlfriend left me later 2008 so....FREEDOM!

Enjoy the trip champion... enjoy it for me too you bastard! lol