Diving Into The World Of Hookahs

[rovelz]

So, just recently I've been looking at picking up my first hookah. I've smoked quite a few times out of a couple different hookahs. one fairly small one, and one fairly large one. I thought about picking one up at one of the many local hookah bars here in Milwaukee, but I figured ordering one online would be a cheaper route. I stumbled across this forum from one of the paintball forums i frequent and have some questions for all of you.

It seems MYA hookahs are very popular. Although, i see that the ones i'd be able to afford ( my budget tops out at $150 for everything) are acrylic. Now, I'm open to the idea of an acrylic hookah, but when I hear acrylic, I think plastic for some reason. Is there any difference between lets say a mya acrylic and a more traditional glass based hookah from Social Smoke? I know the acrylic will be lighter and more durable, but what about the quality of smoke you'll get from each? any difference?

I've pretty much decided on getting a hookah bigger than 20", but smaller than 36". Is there anything else that I should consider. I see some with ice chambers sitting below the bowl, does this make that much of a difference?

Basically, since I'm rarely going to be smoking alone, I think a larger hookah would be my best bet. I'm going to have it in my living room on display for the most part, and not going to be hauling it every where i go. maybe to a friend's house or to a park every now and then. Seems my biggest decisions are whether or not to go acrylic, how many hoses I would need, and how big do I want to go. I've already decided to either buy from socialsmoke if i want a glass base... it's a toss up between their sol bohemian (a lot of my family heritage is bohemian and czech, so I think it would be cool to have something that has a bit of my family's heritage in it) or just the regular egyptian, or go with MNhookah if i want the mya double hosed they offer.

Any suggestions, criticisms, or advice is welcome. I've browsed around these forums for the past couple days and learned a lot. Once I have the money I can't wait to get myself a hookah and invite some friends over to smoke up.

thanks in advance!

[Erica]

hhhmm.. The quality of Mya Acrylics are outstanding.. don’t let the plastic vase detour you from getting it. They some the same as any glass pipe without the worry of it breaking as easy... it is an awesome fist time hookah user pipe.

there are also Myas with a glass base that are about 100.. which seems right up your alley..

www.myasaray.com

I would try and spend around 100 on a pipe and save the rest for a few boxes of coals and some tobacco.

From your post, I would say you would only need one hose... even if there are many people smoking... one hose is plenty.

[PK]

I just posted this in another thread today but you may want to consider this. I purchased a glass pyramid MYA vase and an acrylic for use with the same stem. When using the acrylic I remove the rubber grommet from the screw on threading on the stem. When using the glass vase I keep the grommet on. I get best of both worlds for only an extra $20 bux, the cost of the acrylic vase.

[JoeLipinski]

Eric, A.K.A tangiers who is practically a hookah expert says that anything above 21" (I think) does not really effect the quality of the smoke. Many people report of having more trouble with 2 or more hoses compared to 1 hose because they feel you have a harder time getting the same amount of smoke a 1 hose hookah would give you. I would recommend the acrylic hookah because of the fact that it is harder to break and is cheaper. EL says he loves his (which he got from MNhookahs). I love my SS hookah. so I think you would be happy either way. If you want a MYA glass hookah I would recommend this one . Good luck with whichever one you pick, I am sure you will be happy with it... you sound like your on the right track.

[EvansLight]

SocialSmoke Polaris III, nuff said i love the tall SS hookahs, and if it is your first, standard egyptians are the best bet. They are the good stand by, they work well, and they are very predictable in how they work. Any of the SS hookahs are awesome, i own two and wouldnt trade them for any other hookah.

Now i do love the Mya Acyrlic, but i still say your first needs to be an egyptian, and the best egyptians are SocialSmoke hookahs.

[web250]

For that size and price range I'd definately check out Social Smoke. Their SS brand are excellent, as are their egyptians

[[LB]]

150 dollars is a great budget for a hookah, you can probabyl get 2 acrylics for that price, but i would suggest instead a nice bohemian glass mya- more appealing to the eye. Ive smoked out of acrylics a bunch of times though and they are great! light, durable- easy to clean - its just not glass thats all. doesent really make a huge difference. Heres a gorgeous glass mya on sale at 149.99- just within your price range. But dont forget you need to buy coals, tobacco some accessories all the junk. Coals arent cheap and neither is tobacco- so an acryllic is a good idea if your trying to stay within 150 all together

MYA glass
http://www.myasaray.com/store/item.asp?ITE...EPARTMENT_ID=49

Acrylic
http://www.myasaray.com/store/item.asp?ITE...EPARTMENT_ID=46

and the mya QT is a great hookah too cause its easy to stow away and take apart and all that jazz
http://www.myasaray.com/store/index.asp?DEPARTMENT_ID=62

happy hunting