Need Some Help With A New Hookah

[89justalex]

Hello everyone ! I haven't been posting much lately ( my last post was 2 years ago ) but i still love smoking my hookah. I still have my Al Fakher Medium Solid pipe and it still looks awesome ( after 2 years of use ). However, i think it is the perfect time for an upgrade. I want a really solid hookah, with a large pipe ( for getting a bigger amount of smoke ) and a beautiful look. I also want to be durable ! 

 

Can you please help me with some suggestions ? I want a KM Kamanja but one of my friends told me to buy a trimetal because it has a better quality. Some other friend suggested me to get a farida. What do you think? Do you have other solutions? I want to buy it next month so i still have some time to decide what pipe should i get. 

 

Oh...and i have a limited budget ( this will be a serious problem ): around 140 US $ . I don't need fancy bowls or expensive hoses because i already own an egpitian standard bowl ( very sold bowl, i got it with the AK hookah ), an alien phunnel mini, a medium vortex and 3 great hoses : a Razan, a Cobra washable hose  and an Ager Ice Hose also washable ( my favorite ). 

 

Thank you guys ! 

[Bawhee]

ummm, since youre in a bit of a bad location for online purchases I recommend looking far and wide locally and see what you have available, as far as what to get, I personally I would rate Farida over KM, but thats just me, really any high end pipe will serve you well :P

[89justalex]

ummm, since youre in a bit of a bad location for online purchases I recommend looking far and wide locally and see what you have available, as far as what to get, I personally I would rate Farida over KM, but thats just me, really any high end pipe will serve you well :P

 

i have several hookah shops here in Bucharest, Romania but they only have egyptian  syrian pipes...and of course i can buy an Aladin hookah but i want something better. However, i can purchase hookahs from Hungary, Austria and Germany and these countries have KM, Faridas, Mya etc. Thank you very much for your suggestion. So far, Farida vs. KM 1-0  :D

[Bawhee]

Or, you know, a badass syrian pipe... just sayin, since its locally available!

[Chreees]

All of the options you mentioned are good... Just comes down the preference, really. If you like the all-brass look of the Kamanja, go with it. If you like the trimetal look, go with it. Faridas are on par with Khalil Mamoon, some say better. I don't think you can go wrong with any choice. Just go with what works with your budget and what you find aesthetically pleasing.

 

I too prefer Syrian hookahs, as Luka suggested, but they're a bit harder to come by these days due to the crisis in Syria right now.

[89justalex]

Or, you know, a badass syrian pipe... just sayin, since its locally available!

 

i find those too expensive ( cost around 150 us $ ) and i may say ( maybe i am wrong ) i could get something better at this price. Faridas are quite hard to get but i managed to find a seller in Hungary. Last night, a german buddy suggested me to buy a Nargilem hookah. Does anyone own such a hookah? How got is it? Is it better than Farida/ KM ? 

 

P.S : this forum is amazing ! i love being a lil part of it ! 

[89justalex]

All of the options you mentioned are good... Just comes down the preference, really. If you like the all-brass look of the Kamanja, go with it. If you like the trimetal look, go with it. Faridas are on par with Khalil Mamoon, some say better. I don't think you can go wrong with any choice. Just go with what works with your budget and what you find aesthetically pleasing.
 
I too prefer Syrian hookahs, as Luka suggested, but they're a bit harder to come by these days due to the crisis in Syria right now.

thanks a lot for your suggestion ! i would also like to thank @bawhee again for his help. yes, i love the design of the Kamanja and i also love the Pharonie ( both available in Hungary, Austria and Germany so it won't be too hard to get ). However, somebody told me that i should go with the trimetal because Pharonie and Kamanja are newer models and they are thinner and less resistant than older models ( and he showed me a trimetal KM ). That's why i'm in a big dilema. I'm not a hookah master even though i smoke hookah for several years. That's why i came here for your awesome support. Oh, and here in my country, the syrian hookahs were very cheap. 2 years ago you could have bought one with 30-40 euros ( around 50 $ ) or even less ( if the hookah was used ). That's why i always thought syrian pipes are not that awesome. Seems like i'm wrong :D

[Chreees]

Syrians are kinda rare here in the States. You could easily pick up ones you find there and resell them to us Americans and make a pretty penny. :P

 

Doesn't matter that Pharonie and Kamanja are newer KM models- any KM you buy now will likely have been produced recently. So even if you purchase a KM OG Trimetal, for instance, which has been a model for many years, it will still have been produced recently, and will be similar quality to the other (newer) models such as Pharonie and Kamanja. Keep in mind all KMs and Faridas are handmade in Egypt, so there may be variations in each, such as the welding job on the ports, etc. But overall I wouldn't worry about all that. It is true that KM's quality is not what it used to be, mainly due to a huge increase in production since hookah has taken off in popularity across the world, but they are still a huge contender in the hookah game, and I always recommend them. Really the only difference between now and years ago is the welding jobs on the ports and whatnot used to be much cleaner. They're often just sloppy these days. Although I have not owned a Farida before, I hear the weld jobs on them are much cleaner. So you may want to factor that into your decision as well. Overall, though, I would just pick what looks best to you.

[Bawhee]

I reckon KM weld jobs are sloppier now cause they got pretty damn popular, making them produce more faster, with less care. I also like the look of most Farida pipes better, but thats a totally personal observation :D I have been using my Elmas (Turkish, also around 150€ shipped to you I assume, since it was around that to Slovenia) but you're gonna need some help with their website if you don't understand Turkish, I know I did :D Also they don't have a purge valve so if that's important to you don't get a Turkish pipe!

Generally the pipes you're considering are all about equally good so at that point it becomes more about personal preference. Only things to really steer clear of are random ass cheap made pipes (mostly Chinese). Those can still be good (often made at the same place as brand name pipes but not branded and sold for cheap locally), but you gotta know where they came from.

EDIT: That last part about quality cheaper unbranded pipes comes mostly from what I've seen on this forum about Tokel nargile (Turkish pipes almost identical to Elmas but cheaper) and from personal experience at the local lounge where unbranded Egyptian pipes brought in by the owner and his extended family (all Egyptian immigrants with a big ass lounge in Sharm El Sheikh) that were pretty damned sweet. Though for money earning purposes they tended to combine their offer with cheapo crap as well, so be careful when buying if you're not friends with the owner!

[mattarios2]

I don't find a change in KM quality despite what anyone says. Years ago I had KM's with sloppy welds and some KM's with perfect welds. I just picked up a quad halzone and it looks PERFECT, each weld is perfect. Out of the last 3 KM's I have purchased over the past few years, all 3 have been perfect.

[89justalex]

Hey there my virtual friends ! I have been sick lately, so that's why i replay so late. Thank you so much for your suggestions, you are awesome ! I feel lucky knowing people like you, people who know so much about hookahs. I decided to go with a Farida, but it will be tough to get one here in Romania. However, i can get a KM anytime ( from Hungary, Austria or Germany ). I will keep looking for a Farida and if i will find one ( with a low shipment cost ) i will buy it ! I cannot get one from USA because shipping costs over 100 $ and thats way too much ! It is almost the price of the pipe and i'm not going to pay that much. I found a beautiful trimetal KM on a german website and it costs 85 euros ( plus 15 euros the shipping price ) so this will be my 2nd choice. The shipment takes about 3 weeks so i guess it's ok, 

 

One more question...what sould i do with my AF Medium Solid ? Should i sell it ? It still looks amazing and it smokes great but someone told me that AF are average hookahs...i wonder why, because it cost me a lot of money when i bought it and i read lots of positive reviews about it. 

[Chreees]

If you do decide to sell your AF Medium Solid, you can easily sell it for a higher-than-average price. Those things are super rare and folks go apeshit over them. Don't sell it for next to nothing just because someone told you it is an average hookah. They were wrong. Dead wrong. It is a highly sought after pipe. At least here in the States, anyway.

[89justalex]

If you do decide to sell your AF Medium Solid, you can easily sell it for a higher-than-average price. Those things are super rare and folks go apeshit over them. Don't sell it for next to nothing just because someone told you it is an average hookah. They were wrong. Dead wrong. It is a highly sought after pipe. At least here in the States, anyway.

 

I decided to keep my AF because it is so beautiful ! At least, that's how i see it ! I will also buy a Farida hookah from UK ( it costs about 150 $ and the shipment costs only 20$ ) . Thank you guys !