Getting started (sort of)

[Thepeug]

This is a combination introduction/product recommendation thread. If it needs to be moved to the Introductions forum, please let me know and I'll be glad to do so (unless that function is reserved exclusively to the moderators).

First off, allow me to say hey and to express my appreciation for such an informative forum. I've learned more from this forum regarding hookah pipes, shisha, web retailers, charcoals, and hookah culture in general from this forum than I have anywhere else. Keep up the good work!

Second, a little background: I experienced my first shisha smoking session several years ago and enjoyed it immensely. At one point, I decided to buy my own hookah. Unfortunately, the purchase was an impulsive one. I did almost no research, and as a result I ended up with an Ebay no-name hookah that was absolute garbage. To make matters worse, I knew absolutely nothing about cleaning, maintanence, or heat management, and every attempt to smoke left me with charcoal burns on the floor and the taste of rusty metal in my mouth. In disgust, I threw the hookah in the trash and have only smoked from someone else's pipe once since then.

That's not to say that I stopped smoking altogether, however; I'm trying really hard right now to quit smoking cigarettes and weed. Unfortunately, I love smoking in general. It's truly a therapeutic exercise. After considering my options, I've decided that shisha smoking is a sociable, legal habit (and, while not exactly healthy, it's certainly a good alternative to pot, dip, and cigarettes). Having learned my lesson with my Ebay hookah the first time, I want to do things right. I'm willing to spend extra money to get a decent hookah and decent tobacco, but I'm trying to figure out where to start. Having glanced through about a hundred different forum threads, here's what I'm thinking:

1) MYA QT S-Class Hookah. While a 3-hose Egyptian would be nice, I want something that's functional, durable, portable, easy to clean, and reasonably priced. The QT seems to meet all of these criteria. Is it best to order straight from the MYA website?

2) Wind screen

3) Charcoal screen. Though I've thoroughly enjoyed smoking with foil, I'd like to try the screen. Seems easy.

4) Some sort of carrying case

5) Cleaning kit

6) 3Kings quick-light charcoal. I've heard good reviews and it seems to be relatively hassle-free compared to the naturals.

7) As far as tobacco is concerned, I'll have to experiment. User reviews have enticed me to try the Al-Waha Cola and the Tangiers KP. I know these are both supposedly strong, but bear in mind that I've smoked Newports and marijuana pretty regularly for about three years. I'd like something with a bit of a kick.

So, what do you guys (and girls) think? There's still a few things about which I'm unsure. For example, is a Tangiers funnel bowl a necessity, or does the MYA piece work pretty well? For ease of shipping, I'd like to get as many parts from one website as possible. Though I know this has been convered in other threads, can anyone recommend good brands or websites for accessories such as the windscreen and cleaning kit?

Sorry for the gargantuan post! I've been meaning to ask these questions for awhile. If you can bear with my noobness, any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Chris

[BattlePope]

As far as pipes go, the QT is a fine pipe but I know that there will be people saying to buy a simple Egyptian for a first pipe. After smoking from a few QT's and a few regular sized Egyptians, I would probably say to go with a larger Egyptian as well. Maybe it's just me, but all of the Egyptians that I've smoked out of seemed to require less heat management than the QT. As a beginner, I know it's something I wouldn't like to worry about. No doubt the QT is a fine pipe though. A nice Social Smoke Egyptian falls into all of your categories except for portability, depending on the size. I say go with a SS Egyptian, but thats just me.

Hopefully other people can chime in as well. Good luck!

[Thepeug]

Thanks for the help, BP. Considering that the QT and a single-hose SS Egyptian are roughly the same price, the latter is a definite possiblity. You mention heat management problems with the QT; would the MYA bowl be part of the problem?

[BattlePope]

Possibly. It's just that whenever we smoked our QT we had to constantly move the coals around and we always had to break the coals apart to help manage the heat and get the best smoke. With my friends Egyptian, we'd just grab a coal or two and throw it on. Didn't have to do much with it. Maybe someone with a little more experience could help you out. Good luck!

[Joseph]

I would go with a single hose egytian as well. It is a traditional design, and has lasted for a reason. Simple, easy to clean, easy to find, not to expensive, smoke good, look cool, and when the stem is off the base pretty portible.

[DrunkenWizard]

I have both a QT and a 28" SS egyptian. I've only smoked my QT about 3 times. I love my egyptian so much that I don't really bother with the QT. Oh yeah, I smoke indoors and my ashtray on the egyptian is a lot bigger- less worry of burning my carpet!

[nuschultz]

I prefer my QT over my egyptian, because I am a lazy kid.

As for heat management, a good rule of thumb for your quicklights is to break them in halves. Take a sharp knife and make a line down the center of the coal. That will make it easier to break along this line. When I use my QT, I normally use 2 halves, one on either side of the bowl. I rotate around 90 degrees every time i purge the smoke, about once every 10 minutes or as necessary. Once those coals start to die down, toss another half into the center. Either remove the old halves altogether, or push them off to the sides as far as you can.

Hope this helps.

[pauldavis]

i personally f-ing hate 3 kings coals...i think they have too much chemical taste. if i have to use a quick light i would use golden quick lights...but i prefer a natural coal to any quick light

[PersianPride]

al waha is really a novelty flavour in my opinion yeah it sort of tastes like cola but not really. And it definately isn't strong it has a very subtle flavour.

[oryon1033]

For your first you could try a different MYA. You don't have to get a QT. I just got one for its portability. Maybe look into one of MYA's cheaper pipes. Then you can be a bad ass like me and spend 8 bills on a crystal double cased MYA.

[Thepeug]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I'll definitely have to experiment a bit with different tobaccos and charcoals. Though some are obviously better than others, among the quality brands I think it's largely a matter of personal preference. About the qt: I've heard it commonly has a problem with purging. Is this an issue with the stem or the ball bearing?

If I went with an Egyptian, is there a difference in "smokability" between a single and double-hose?

oryon: I'll buy a double-encased crystal mya if you'll kindly loan me a thousand dollars on the never-pay-back plan. Sounds reasonable, no?

[nuschultz]

A bit of both on the purge issue. The purge valve is in a bad spot which makes it more difficult to purge, and the ball bearing has a tendancy to stick, so you have to be careful.

[Joseph]

I really like my one hose, but I also have a two hose. I only had the two hose for about a year, and it was fine. It was great when I smoked with my roommate, and when I smoked alone I put the rubber stopper in the opening for the second hose and it smoked just like a one hose. One or two hoses would probably be fine, but I woudn;t go over two hoses.

[Thepeug]

[quote name='nuschultz']A bit of both on the purge issue.  The purge valve is in a bad spot which makes it more difficult to purge, and the ball bearing has a tendancy to stick, so you have to be careful.[/quote]

Is a smaller ball bearing a necessity with a qt, then?

[oryon1033]

I put in a smaller bearing and have had no problems since.

[suicideguy]

Just a quick question...

...where would I get a replacement ball bearing for a QT and is it self explanatory as to how to replace it (I haven't opened a hookah up before)?

[EvansLight]

1.) you cant. If you really wanna make sure than call myasaray and get the one you want.

2.) yea its a good one, many forum members love it, i just dont know if it will work with the QT since the tray is much smaller, but it might

3.) Nope, they dont, or else i would have gotten it from them, there not even an hour drive from me.

Suicide, call MyaSaray, they will hook ya up, might even get it for free. Mr Badawi has been known to give things like grommets or small replacment things for free, or you might have to pay a few bucks

[Thepeug]

Thanks. Ordering tonight!

[SanguineSolitude]

another victim of the qt. id stick with a decent sized egyptian from socialsmoke.

[Joseph]

I have a medium sized egytian, but not from SS. I love it, and would reccomend any hookah smoker start with one.

[Thepeug]

hmm...I'm having website difficulties with both SS and HS; I'll have to wait until tomorrow to call and try to fix the problem.

[hookah hippie]

i put a dab of grease on the ball works like a champ

[EvansLight]

so Thepeug you get it ordered

[Thepeug]

Oh yeah, almost forgot! [b]From myasaray.com:[/b]

[i]Item SKU : 516-261-Purple
Item : Purple QT MYA
Quantity : 1
Item Price : $44.95
Price : $44.95

Item SKU : 790-001
Item : WIND COVER
Quantity : 1
Item Price : $6.95
Price : $6.95

Subtotal : $51.90
Promotion :-$7.79
Total : $44.11
Shipping : $7.00
Tax : $0.00
Grand Total: $51.11[/i]

[b]From hookah-shisha.com:[/b]

[i]Qty SKU Description Unit Price Price
1 AW-50g Al Waha 50 g $2.25 $2.25
Customizations:
Choose Al Waha 50 g Flavor #1...: orange cream (orange/vanilla) - NEW!

1 AW-50g Al Waha 50 g $2.25 $2.25
Customizations:
Choose Al Waha 50 g Flavor #1...: cola

1 H-50g Havana 50 g $3.95 $3.95
Customizations:
Choose Havana 50 g Flavor #1...: bahraini apple

1 Screen Bowl Screen $3.95 $3.95
1 R-50g Romman 50 g $4.95 $4.95
Customizations:
Choose Premium Flavor #1...: Premium Strawberry

1 AW-50g Al Waha 50 g $2.25 $2.25
Customizations:
Choose Al Waha 50 g Flavor #1...: mint

1 CarryingBag Carrying Bag $11.95 $11.95
Customizations:
Carrying Bag Size...: tiny


Certificate/Discount Code: 15% Hookah Forum Discount -$4.73
Reward Points earned on this purchase: 31
Shipping: UPS Ground $7.34
Tax: $0.00
Total: $34.16 [/i]

[b]From SS: [/b]

[i]Item(s)
Item: Small Hookah Cleaning Kit
Quantity: 1

Item: Three Kings 33mm Charcoal - Half Box
Quantity: 1

Item Subtotal: $12.90
Shipping: $8.48
LESS: Discount: $1.94
Total Amount: $19.44[/i]

Lessons learned post facto:

1) Yes, I probably could have saved a considerable amount of money by ordering the qt from HS or an egyptian from SS because I would have gotten tobacco, charcoals, a cleaining kit, and a bowl screen for free. I ordered from myasaray, however, because I wanted to make sure that I got the S-class stem instead of the C-class. Maybe it's not worth the price difference; I don't really have an informed opinion on the matter.

2) Though I wanted to try several different tobacco brands and flavors, I also realized that I could have saved some money on shisha by simply going with a variety pack instead of getting a random assortment of 50g samples.

3) Though I wasn't initially planning on getting one, I ordered a medium (it says "tiny", but I had to switch to medium the guy at HS said that's the smallest size that will fit the qt) carrying case from HS because my initial total wasn't high enough to warrant the discount. Does anyone have one of these bags? Are they worth the cost?

Should be here in a few days!

[Skimo]

Nice order, let us know how you like your QT, I think youll really like the AW to, I want to try the orange cream