jordanneff Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!EDIT: Mods, for some reason it wouldn't let me post this in the reviews section. If you want you can move it there but if you'd rather let it stay here that's fine too !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Hey everyone, I've only ever done a few shisha reviews here and there so bear with me if my review isn't the best. One thing I can promise though is that it is thorough.Temsah 32" Brass ShamadanAnyway, so I know the Temsah brand is relatively new at least as far as the american market goes. I tend to be adventurous when it comes to hookah and I very rarely buy something that's know to be "the best ever" simply because I believe that sometimes hype can really kill a product for me. Suddenly something is supposed to be the best and then you get it and realize it's really not much better than everything else. That said, I decided to go with a Temsah because not much is really known about them and I've only seen a couple forum members who have one. Out of those who do it seems they went with the Temsah wheat ones from hookahjohn. I decided to go a different route and get a Temsah I saw on hookahcompany (though on there it was mispelled 'temsaah' - with two a's). The model of topic was simply called the 32" Brass Shamadan. Being that it's a solid brass stem I was interested because every other hookah I've ever smoked out of did not have a solid stem.I knew before I even opened the box it was shipped in that it was going to be heavy. My order came in at a whopping 13lbs, and I only ordered 1.5 kilos of shisha along with it, so that left a whopping 9.7lbs of weight for the hookah (I'll just say an even 9 because of the packaging). 9lbs!!! Granted that's including the base and bowl, but still... that's one heavy hookah. After unwrapping everything (which was very securely packaged by the way - great job hookahcompany!) I started to inspect it.The stem was definitely heavy. It has a nice solid look to it as well, with lots of sharp angles instead of the traditional smooth lathed look.As with the other Temsah's I've seen it had a beatiful rest for the tray with arabic writing. Also, the weld at the top seemed pretty good.The tray (while beautiful) was surprisingly plain compared to others I've seen. I would have thought they would have added some more angles or accents to it to go with the stem better.Pretty good weld on the tray rest, even though it's hidden (unless you're holding it upside down).Nice wide bell-shaped downstem.Then, upon further inspection I noticed some shocking flaws with the stem. Granted, this is a hand-made Egyptian hookah, but seeing these marks just struck me as sloppy.Dirty solder and scratch mark. As it states in the pic, the bit of solder at the hose port joint is just something to be expected, but what is not is weird-ass bubble tumors on the hose port itself! Once again, the solder on the purge valve is somewhat expected from a hand crafted hookah, but there are more ugly solder and scratch marks.Another fugly mark I found Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordanneff Posted October 28, 2009 Author Share Posted October 28, 2009 This just takes the cake. Where the hell is the quality control on this? Seems like someones manager was out for a smoke break when this one was approved! Well, I can't really say whether or not all of these hookahs are like this or if I just had bad luck with getting a stem that received some tough love along the production line. At first it really pissed me off and I was about to call up hookahcompany and bitch at them but that rarely helps, so I just sucked it up and accepted the fact that it's not aesthetically pefect. Oh well... Anyway, moving along...Nice looking base with a nifty little design and some frosting. It's not as heavy as I thought it was going to be (judging on the shipping weight). Also, it looks a little lopsided in this pic but I think it's just the camera angle.Close-up of the base design. Nice gold trim.Nice thick rim on the base. Very solid.One weird thing I noticed is that the downstem is really long for this base. Also with my order I got an inhale tower bowl. I actually liked this bowl a lot more than I thought I was going to, but that's for another review. Oh, and the reason I have that bowl grommet there is because only that super thick kind was thick enough to make an airtight seal. Standard egyptian or especially Mya bowl grommets are just too thin to work.Just a pic I took with the bowl on the hookah Now that I'm done showing off all the pictures I'd like to take this chance to explain why there are no pictures of the hose that came with it. Well, ever since I ordered it I didn't expect much from the hose that came with it. It was only described as a "68 inch leather hose with felt handle" so I had no idea what the quality of it was. I'm not going to lie, I thought it was going to be a complete piece of shit - and I was right. The thing reeked of pure shit. No, it didn't actually smell like human feces, but what I mean is that the quality was so horrible I almost threw it out without even trying it. Much to my expectations, I took two regrettable puffs from it and tossed it across the room. The thing felt cheap, the draw was disgustingly hard, and I hated the feel of it. I hated that thing so much that I didn't even take pictures of it, because I don't take pictures of my trash. That said, I used a Mya Cloisonne hose for my smoking experience (sorry all you nammour fanboys, I've just grown to love the solid feel of that hose, and I personally like a slight draw when I smoke). Anyway, if you do decide to buy this hookah I want you to tell yourself that it doesn't come with a hose. It comes with a shitty piece of wood that's attached to shitty tube that's connected to a shitty cylinder made from wrapped up newspapers that's covered in shitty felt that's not even sewn together correctly. Do yourself a favor and order a real hose if you get this, or preferably use a hose you already have. That is all.So After setting up the hookah, packing a nice bowl of Nakhla Mizo Guava, and putting the coals on I took my first puff. I have to say, despite the minor cosmetic flaws of the stem the thing smokes really well. I've smoked from quite a few pipes and I have to say that if I had one of the wider diameter hoses that so many people like, that there would have been next to no draw. Some people might attribute that to the bowl I used or the way I packed the shisha, and I can't really say for sure if it wasn't partly that, but it definitely was an easy draw, even using my cloisonne hose. So, for all of you who are KM fanboys and love that huge downstem you'd probably like this too. The purge valve worked fine also. I'm only mentioning this because I know some people are weird about purging. Personally I don't get what the big deal is, you blow smoke out of a hole to clear the chamber... woo, but I've seen some people bitching about some mya hookahs for their lack of purging well. One thing I wanted to point out is that the tip of the downstem only comes down about one inch from the bottom of the base, (as you can see in the one pic above) you only need to put in about 2 and 1/2 inches of water. This combined with the fact that the stem is so heavy makes the hookah center-heavy. I wouldn't say it's super unstable or anything, there's enough water in the base that it's not going to go down much more easily than any other hookah, but definitely when it's not being used either store the stem and base separare to prevent tipping, or if you like to display your hookahs I'd suggest keeping the base half filled with water. In a nutshell, I think this is a pretty decent hookah. Hopefully if you get this it won't have the same kind of cosmetic flaws as mine, but even if it does I'm sure most people can get past that because it really is a quality pipe.Pros:VERY solid stemLarge diameter stemUses little amount of waterCons:Center-heavyPossible cosmetic flawsPiece of shit "hose" that comes with itWell, I hope you enjoyed my review. I'm not going to rate this hookah with any particular number system, especially because of the cosmetic flaws I had on mine might just be a slip-up on whoever is in charge of quality control. The hookah still smokes great and in my eyes that's probably the most important part. And it still looks very sexy even from just a foot away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chinamon Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 awesome review! very detailed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippo_Master Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Amer vase, yay! I miss the Km amer. That pipes looks excellent! I really like the tray rest for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIGHTS OF BAGHDAD Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 great review, great pipe..and honestly i think those lil marks make it very unique and one of a kind..it gives it more of that hand made look not that machine look like the myas..and thats what i prefer.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joytron Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 lub the vase! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spats Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 That said, I used a Mya Cloisonne hose for my smoking experience (sorry all you nammour fanboys, I've just grown to love the solid feel of that hose, and I personally like a slight draw when I smoke).Exaxtly what he said! The MYA Cloisonne just has the heft and draw to please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foibled again Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 A couple things:Sorry to disappoint you but that hookah stem and vase does not weigh 9lbs. ~6lbs would be a much better estimate.That isn't a weld at the top of the bowl tip. It's the stem tube folded over.Quality control? LOL!!!! You actually got a relatively clean stem compared to most Egyptians and Syrians out there. If these are "shocking" to you, you might as well just stick to machined hookahs.Why is "Temsaah" the incorrect spelling? If anything, HC should be able to spell it however they want to since they're the ones bringing them over and translating the brand name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordanneff Posted October 28, 2009 Author Share Posted October 28, 2009 QUOTE (foibled again @ Oct 27 2009, 09:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>A couple things:Sorry to disappoint you but that hookah stem and vase does not weigh 9lbs. ~6lbs would be a much better estimate.That isn't a weld at the top of the bowl tip. It's the stem tube folded over.Quality control? LOL!!!! You actually got a relatively clean stem compared to most Egyptians and Syrians out there. If these are "shocking" to you, you might as well just stick to machined hookahs.Why is "Temsaah" the incorrect spelling? If anything, HC should be able to spell it however they want to since they're the ones bringing them over and translating the brand name.Well I don't know how else to equate 13lbs - 3.3lbs. I didn't put it on a scale, Im just saying it's heavy and I was just going by the numbers I had to work with. And about the name, I figured it was mispelled only because I googled the name and they're the only site I found spelling it that way, whereas I found many other hookah related websites (including here on the forums) spelling it Temsah (with one a). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoop Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 i actually like my temsah hose alot. its the same thing pictures in the HC page of your hookah. shrug, i find it to be an excellent hose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunsNhookah Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Awesome review. I want a Temsah myself. I like the solid heavy feeling of the stem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilikemyusername Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 temsah trimetal one day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordanneff Posted October 29, 2009 Author Share Posted October 29, 2009 QUOTE (ilikemyusername @ Oct 28 2009, 06:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>temsah trimetal one day?I'd love to see one made. I really think that a solid stemmed trimetal would be awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foibled again Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Temsaah has had trimetals for a while now. Off the top of my head I can think of two that HC currently has in stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuie Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Man these things are looking sweeter and sweeter.Will this be the new fan boy hookah brand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 QUOTE (Stuie @ Oct 28 2009, 08:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Man these things are looking sweeter and sweeter.Will this be the new fan boy hookah brand?Its possible. Thamseh is 95% of the way there. The flaws with this shipment are cosmetic or fit and finish related. The underlying frame is solid, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoop Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 QUOTE (Sonthert @ Oct 28 2009, 07:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>QUOTE (Stuie @ Oct 28 2009, 08:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Man these things are looking sweeter and sweeter.Will this be the new fan boy hookah brand?Its possible. Thamseh is 95% of the way there. The flaws with this shipment are cosmetic or fit and finish related. The underlying frame is solid, though. except the old ones are pretty shitty compared to the new ones. or maybe it will become a band wagon and then people will get the old ones and complain about the terrible quality Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foibled again Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 QUOTE (Stuie @ Oct 28 2009, 08:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Man these things are looking sweeter and sweeter.Will this be the new fan boy hookah brand?They are getting better with each wave of them but styling is still something I think is holding them back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Don't like the old 80s Soviet tank styling? Ppppbt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r1v3th3ad Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 nice review jordan, i cant wait to smoke it in a couple of weeks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McLovin600 Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 nice review. everything including the vase looks liek a KM to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIGHTS OF BAGHDAD Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 QUOTE (McLovin600 @ Oct 29 2009, 07:04 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>nice review. everything including the vase looks liek a KM to meif i remember john correctly he said they are made by the same people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingsMaster Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 QUOTE (NIGHTS OF BAGHDAD @ Oct 29 2009, 08:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>QUOTE (McLovin600 @ Oct 29 2009, 07:04 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>nice review. everything including the vase looks liek a KM to meif i remember john correctly he said they are made by the same peoplereally? thats pretty cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canon Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 im impressed by the hookah, i have a similar one like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordanneff Posted October 29, 2009 Author Share Posted October 29, 2009 QUOTE (foibled again @ Oct 28 2009, 11:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Temsaah has had trimetals for a while now. Off the top of my head I can think of two that HC currently has in stock.http://search.hookahcompany.com/psearch/sv...1&q=temsaahCan't find one I definitely would've bought a trimetal temsah if I would've seen it. Maybe you're thinking of a different site? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now