Glass Hookah

[sflanaga]

Are complete glass hookahs any good? Do they smoke any different?

[Travis]

Never smoked out of one personally, but i would imagine that it wouldn't be anything greater or worse about it.......purley asthetic.
as long as it has the basic components of a normal pipe, and is made out of quality material, then there shoudnt be a problem, glass or not.

[Epoch]

Crown Hookah makes glass pipes and accessories.

http://www.crownhookahs.com/shop/category_4/www.CrownHookahs.com---Imperial-Glass-Hookah-Series.html?shop_param=cid%3D%26

[Epoch]

The bowls have a good reputation, but I don't know if anyone has used their hookahs here.

[liquidglass]

Well I had a glass hookah from poncho. Completely glass save for the pvc tubing on the hose.

I will honestly say YES it does smoke differently from a normal hookah. The flavor was much cleaner and more pure than a normal hookah. With glass it was impossible to have ghosting. I'm not saying go out and buy one. Because honestly it is more of a hassle to make sure you baby it and are always careful cleaning it. But if you're just wondering about the difference in flavor it is definitely noticeable.

[ih303]

I've got one. It's the crown jewel of my collection. But like liquidglass said, it is somewhat of a hassle. I mean, it's probably more percieved than anything since I know how durable Santino's stuff is, but for what I paid for it, I handle it like I'm diffusing a bomb. This has lead to it being more of a display piece in my house more than anything. I'll still smoke it from time to time, but I've got other hookahs that aren't as pretty for that.

As far as how it smokes, honestly I can't really tell any difference. Liquidglass talks about it being cleaner because of how glass doesn't ghost. I'm not too sure of that since every glass base I've ever come across soaks up and retains flavor like a piece of damn tofu. It's not any different with my glass hookah. What I will say though is that glass is much much easier to clean. Not only is it much smoother and less porous, but you can see every speck of funk on the thing since it's all clear.

Mostly what I do is fill a sink with hot water and "the hookah cleaning solution that shall not be named" then gently place the broken down hookah in to the sink. After a while I come back, run a small brush through as needed, rinse, and let dry. I never have to scrub or anything - the thing comes out pristine every time.

I only have two gripes about it (sorry, Santino... nothing's perfect ).

One, the purge is kind of funky. This I completely understand. To make a functional purge valve like what we see on hookahs today entirely out of glass would probably be much more hassle than it would be worth. Thus they simply opened a hole in the shank of the hookah where the valve typically is and crafted a glass stopper that effectively plugs the hole but also needs to be manually removed in order to purge. Like I said, it's completely understandable and does not make me love my hookah any less, but it is somewhat of an inconvenience.

Two, I'm really not a fan of the surgical tubing. First, it's too rigid, i.e. not nearly as flexible as the corrugated tubing used to make typical washable hoses. Second, my hose has completely fogged up... but not with fog. It has some sort of film that I cannot seem to get out no matter what I do. It makes the whole thing look kind of funky. I've been thinking of trying to find a better piece of hose that I can attach the ends to, but until then, the haze doesn't affect the smoke - it's just aesthetic.

Anyway, that's probably more than you wanted to know, but I would definitely recommend getting one if you have the opportunity. They're unique, beautiful, and functional - and that's not something you come across every day.

[kmccoy90]

What are the legal ramifications of all-glass hookahs? I know in PA and a number of other states, smoking pipes made entirely of glass are illegal due to the illicit stigma they have attached, even if the pipe is used purely for tobacco smoking. Would an all-glass hookah be any different than a standard glass and metal hookah in terms of legality in those states?

[sflanaga]

and also where is one i could get one?

[poncho]

An all glass hookah is completely legal, the laws on all glass pipes from my understanding, is that it has to do with the size of the bowl, and the amount of "holes" in the pipe. If there are 3 "holes" it's technically maybe illegal, but its really such a gray area in the laws. I really strongly feel, you would never as any problem. The common thing i've heard is that its not paraphernalia unless it has NHT throught it. You should be cool.


[quote name='kmccoy90' timestamp='1286205758' post='483904']
What are the legal ramifications of all-glass hookahs? I know in PA and a number of other states, smoking pipes made entirely of glass are illegal due to the illicit stigma they have attached, even if the pipe is used purely for tobacco smoking. Would an all-glass hookah be any different than a standard glass and metal hookah in terms of legality in those states?
[/quote]