Noobie In Need Of Help

[Up.In.Smoke]

Hello Everyone,

So up to this point I've only smoked hookah at hookah lounges/bars, but now I've decided to get one of my own. As such, I know the basic fundamentals (what I needed, how to set-up, etc etc), but I wanted to get some opinions on what type of hookah to get for a beginner. Here is what I've come up with so far:

- Since its a personal hookah (and I doubt more than 3-4 people will ever use it at once), is a single-hose or two-hose hookah recommended? What are the general pros/cons for the two types?

- (This might be a dumb question but...) Does the height of the hookah have any effect on the quality? I was thinking of getting a 18" to 22" high hookah, but there are also have a lot of great 10" to 12" hookah's I've seen so far. Are there any pros/cons between the two heights I've mentioned?

- I was thinking of ordering my first hookah off of ebay, but are their any reliable sites you guys can recommend?

- Any other tips/general advice?

Thank you very much in advance for any help you guys can give me!

[Doubon]

Buy a mya petite or QT, height isn't a big deal and you can always upgrade later. with an adapter invest in a tangiers phunnel, get some good coals, and tobacco (nakhla is a great brand and really hard to mess up). The reviews section is very useful for product reviews as well as tobacco flavor reviews.
Good luck.

oh yea:
www.hookahjohn.com
www.nazarhookah.com
www.hookahcompany.com
www.hookah-shisha.com Edited December 3, 2009 by Doubon

[Zinite]

Don't do ebay. Buy from a reputable vendor. Quality hookah brands are Mya, KM, Magdy Zidan and Temsah. Avoid almost everything else. Get a Tangiers Phunnel bowl and some variety of Coconut Coals. Chexk out the link in my signature and read through it to educate yourself

Start at www.hookahjohn.com

[RingsMaster]

the only reputable vendor on ebay is caravan trading which i have personal experience with, however they have very expensive hookahs. id suggest a small mya hookah. and coconaras, and some al fakher shisha. and cant forget a tangiers phunnel bowl

[rj_skillz]

Tangiers Phunnel bowl
Coco-naras or any other Natural CH Coals
V3 Narbish
Tangiers/Nakhla Mizo/Starbuzz Flavours are all good as I have heard. I started off with the Tangiers Lucid line which is great for begginers. It will knock you the fuck out! lol.

[nars2k]

I would agree with some, buy a MYA QT or just one of the Chinese hookahs. Not off ebay though, buy from a vendor.

You can start off with the egyptian clay bows and just upgrade to the small phunnel later on.

I would recommend Al Fakher, then once your lungs get stronger you can do Nakhla and Tangiers. If you are looking for something easy on the lungs I would go with starbuzz.

As for coals, do not buy quicklights. I would either go with Exoticas or Coconaras.

[Codename067]

Since every already covered everything else, I'll toss in a tip or two:

-When you get light headed from smoking, you should stop, or you will lend up vomiting.
-Always rotate the coals on the bowl. Keeping the coals in the same place for long periods of time will burn your tobacco.
-Always pass the hose, if you hog a hose in a group of people...they will hate you for it..hhahaha

[RingsMaster]

Since every already covered everything else, I'll toss in a tip or two:

-When you get light headed from smoking, you should stop, or you will lend up vomiting.
-Always rotate the coals on the bowl. Keeping the coals in the same place for long periods of time will burn your tobacco.
-Always pass the hose, if you hog a hose in a group of people...they will hate you for it..hhahaha

i hog it when its mine, mostly all my friend smoke my stuff, so when i hog its ok when they do i get mad lol

[NIGHTS OF BAGHDAD]

Buy a mya petite or QT, height isn't a big deal and you can always upgrade later. with an adapter invest in a tangiers phunnel, get some good coals, and tobacco (nakhla is a great brand and really hard to mess up). The reviews section is very useful for product reviews as well as tobacco flavor reviews.
Good luck.

oh yea:
www.hookahjohn.com
www.nazarhookah.com
www.hookahcompany.com
www.hookah-shisha.com

my 3 favorites and in my opinion the best in the business and stay away from ebay hookahs until you have more knowledge on whats legit and good and whats sugar coated crap

[sportsfan6216]

Since every already covered everything else, I'll toss in a tip or two:

-When you get light headed from smoking, you should stop, or you will lend up vomiting.
-Always rotate the coals on the bowl. Keeping the coals in the same place for long periods of time will burn your tobacco.
-Always pass the hose, if you hog a hose in a group of people...they will hate you for it..hhahaha

i hog it when its mine, mostly all my friend smoke my stuff, so when i hog its ok when they do i get mad lol

My friends are the same way...... my rules are "puff, puff, pass", if your telling a story, pass, when it gets to me.... I can "puff, puff, puff" as many times as i'd like before it goes back around....if they don't like it they can pay to smoke..... they all are totally ok with me smoking my fill before i send the hose around again..... hahaha.

[Vladimir]

- Since its a personal hookah (and I doubt more than 3-4 people will ever use it at once), is a single-hose or two-hose hookah recommended? What are the general pros/cons for the two types?

Personally I prefer single hose. I have a double hose but ended up closing off the second port with a stopper. I feel like single hoses smoke better, and I was never really in a place where a second hose was necessary (you cannot really pull at the same time so second hoses are more of a convenience if you are worried about having to pass the hose). Some have said they like second hoses so that if you are smoking with strangers you can keep one to yourself to not get their germs .

- (This might be a dumb question but...) Does the height of the hookah have any effect on the quality? I was thinking of getting a 18" to 22" high hookah, but there are also have a lot of great 10" to 12" hookah's I've seen so far. Are there any pros/cons between the two heights I've mentioned?

I used to be a strong advocate of tall hookahs, all the small ones I smoked sucked. It appears the truth behind this is that smaller hookahs are just harder to setup properly, which would explain why the smaller ones I smoked sucked in comparison (those individuals may have had a hard time setting up a tall hookah). I just ordered a 23" Temsaah because I actually wanted something smaller as my 34" is a PITA to clean these days.

- I was thinking of ordering my first hookah off of ebay, but are their any reliable sites you guys can recommend?

My first hookah was off eBay and it smokes really well compared to what I have smoked otherwise at lounges and such. It is a no-name 34" Egyptian and I have enjoyed it, and got a fairly good price on it too. Unfortunately the only way to know you are getting quality though is by ordering from a reputable vendor (and asking here for reviews or comments if needed). The only two I can personally recommend, from experience, are Hookah Company and Hookah John. Both have great prices and great customer service- I have placed two orders with HC and just got my first order from HJ today.

- Any other tips/general advice?

It is an art and there is a learning curve. Don't expect your first bowls to be the best, but you will get better with time! Relax and enjoy it! And stay away from Quick Lights, go grab a single burner portable stove from Walgreens for $10 and use it to light natural coals (highly recommend Hookah John's CH Naturals), you will enjoy it a lot more and your lungs will thank you!

[Up.In.Smoke]

Awesome, I got quite a bit to go on for my first hookah. Thanks a lot guys for all the info!

[Arcane]

- Since its a personal hookah (and I doubt more than 3-4 people will ever use it at once), is a single-hose or two-hose hookah recommended? What are the general pros/cons for the two types?

one hose...with a two hose, you have to worry about leaks with the other hose port...it just adds more places to be concerned with...besides, one hoses hit solid...no need to add more.

- (This might be a dumb question but...) Does the height of the hookah have any effect on the quality? I was thinking of getting a 18" to 22" high hookah, but there are also have a lot of great 10" to 12" hookah's I've seen so far. Are there any pros/cons between the two heights I've mentioned?

excluding the Mya QT and Bambino (possibly the Petite), most sub-20" hookahs aren't that great...KM released a smaller HoL that turned out to be complete crap. most other smaller hookahs are cheapy chinese pipes that use shoddy material and more prone to being replaced in a few months time...

as far as being smokable, a pipe is a pipe and a shitty one can be made to be almost as good as a great

- I was thinking of ordering my first hookah off of ebay, but are their any reliable sites you guys can recommend?

caravan trading company is the only one that comes to mind...

Any other tips/general advice?

do your research...stop by HF Chat if you run into problems...