Question About Mod Hookahs

[twebb]

They have Mod Hookahs on hookah-shisha website. Does anyone know what "Mod" means? Are those any good? They seem to be pretty tall around 34 inches. Do tall hookahs smoke better or worse? Thanks a lot.

[mazultav]

Mod is short for Modern I believe. As in their aesthetics compared to tradition hookahs.

[Zerodynamic]

Mod is short for Modern I believe. As in their aesthetics compared to tradition hookahs.

+1 Modern Hookah are ok.. but egyptian is where its at, imho.

[ASUSEAN1]

Mod is short for Modern I believe. As in their aesthetics compared to tradition hookahs.

+1 Modern Hookah are ok.. but egyptian is where its at, imho.

+1. or a mya if you dont want a "traditional" hookah

[Kingsofronin]

crowd chants, "mya! mya! mya! mya!"

[jordanneff]

Yep, mod=modern. My first hookah was a mod acrylic, and Ill tell you right now it doesn't smoke 1/2 as good as my egyptian. I mean, yeah, it'll gets the job done, but the quality just isn't as good as a nice egyptian or other type of hookah.

[timmediahOU]

Hookah is a tradition and while we have improved upon bowls (smiley's/funnel) and premium tobacco (starbuzz), nothing will ever replace a good 26-30inch egyptian hookah.

my .02

tim

[timmediahOU]

Hookah is a tradition and while we have improved upon bowls (smiley's/funnel) and premium tobacco (starbuzz), nothing will ever replace a good 26-30inch egyptian hookah.

my .02

tim

[Kingsofronin]

bah...

depends who makes it.


my mya absolutely pawns any and all of the H-S egyptians.

[Hookah_Bob3]

Blah! Modern hookahs are so much better than egyptians, from my experience. No egyptian I've ever smoked from has been half as good as either of my Myas..on the other hand, there are some really crappy modern ones out there too.

And to those traditionalists..Do you smoke just tombak? If you don't, then you aren't being traditional!

[jordanneff]

I've actually smoked out of 2 different myas and I still prefer my h-s egyptian. :/

[ASUSEAN1]

bah...

depends who makes it.


my mya absolutely pawns any and all of the H-S egyptians.

although i love mya hookahs and will continue to buy them, i don't think they are the best. there are plenty of egyptain hookahs that give the same smoke quality for a cheaper costs. i jus wanna get my hands on a brass nour, then i will be truely happy

[ZooJohnnyZETA]

I'll throw in my 2 rupees on this one...

At this point I'm the happy owner of 2 Mod hookahs (a Junior 1 hose and a Pumpkin), a H-S 26" Sphinx Egyptian hookah, and a custom 27" MYA who's beauty is hard to express in words but you can check it out these pictures of it if your intrested ---> http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/Johnn...ta/DSC00781.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/Johnn...ta/DSC00782.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/Johnn...ta/DSC00783.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/Johnn...ta/DSC00785.jpg


All of these hookahs have a place in my heart and each have their upsides and downsides, but I'll start off by focusing on the Modern hookahs.

I really like the Mod hookah's compact sizing and the ability to screw off the stem and break it down into sections to keep in a hard case while traveling. They are very convenient and the large bowl supplied with them will keep your smoke going for quite a long time. The ability to attach a ice chiller is also a plus (which I understand that you can do with some MYAs as well).

But I do have a few complaints about them... namely that the rubber grommets and seals are generally pretty darn crappy. I no longer use my Junior Mod. hookah simply because the seal between the stem and the vase ripped apart over time and I never got around to buying a new grommet for it. And by "over time" I mean over the course of about a year or so. Also, the rubber grommet that holds the large bowl in place has a tendancy to expand and loose it's seal after smoking for half an hour or so, which leaves you with a bowl that just sits ontop of the stem wobbling around and letting air leak in about halfway through your session. Overall I think the modern hookahs are pretty cool and I especially like my Pumpkin (once I figured out the perfect water level for it and marked the level on the side of the vase with a sharpie), but the rubber grommets and seals on most modern hookahs are pretty sub-par if you ask me. Lastly, the smaller hookahs (like the modern ones I have) do tend to smoke a bit "hot" sometimes, but I think that applies to pretty much any hookah under 20".


Now for those H-S Egyptian Hookahs... I've had mine for about 5 or 6 years now and it's still smoking just as good as the day I got it! The build is top notch quality and about as solid as you'll find in a hookah. They're really the tried and true hookahs who's design has been used for centuries and have been made even better by being built with higher quality more durable modern materials. They smoke excellently, are easy to clean, and built to last a lifetime. I can also safely say that the quality of the rubber grommets and seals are very good as well, since I've been using mine for 5 or 6 years and the rubber grommets are still in great condition and arn't showing any signs of wear so far. I also really like how the tray snaps in place on the stem, it's a really solid system that is much more secure than the trays on Mod. and MYA hookahs.
The smoke out of these hookahs is almost always fresh, clean, cool, and very satisfying. It's also nice that the mouth of the vase is wide enough to put whole ice cubes in it (which is something that I can't do with my modern or MYA hookahs) so thats another plus.

The downsides of a traditional Egyptian styled H-S hookahs are that the downstem cannot be unscrewed (it's welded onto the shaft) so you can't really break it down into small sections for traveling like you can with Modern and MYA hookahs. Also, some accessories like the ice chiller are not compatible with the traditional egyptian style hookahs. But those are really the only downsides I can think of.



As far as my MYA hookah goes I can't speak much for the long term durability since I've only had mine for a year, but I have a feeling that it will be very good. The build quality is excellent and I really love the cloisonne work on the tray, stem, and hose. The vase is also really well built and feels incredibly solid, plus the ornate design is very cool looking as well. I really like the grommets and bowls that MYA uses too. The grommet between the shaft and the vase is really nice because the seal system it uses doesnt put any strain on the neck of the vase which not only improves long term durability but also makes it a lot easier to remove the stem from the vase while still retaining an excellent air tight seal. The way the bowl slides onto the stem is really nice too... definately the tightest and most secure seal I've ever seen between a bowl and a stem on a hookah. The bowl itself is very good as well... not too deep, not too shallow, just right if you ask me. It's also worth noting that MYA's hoses are top notch quality, certainly the best I've ever used (despite the fact that I'm partial to the design of the Cobra hoses). And much like the Modern hookahs, the downstem on MYA hookahs unscrews to allow you break down the hookah into individual sections for easy traveling. Most MYAs are also compatible with modern hookah accessories such as ice chillers as well.

The downsides? Well, as beautiful as well built as the MYA is, somehow it just doesn't seem to smoke quite as nicely as my traditional H-S Egyptian hookah. It does smoke quite well (better than the mini Mod. hookahs for sure) but it does require more frequent cleaning and even then often leaves me with a scratchy feeling in the back of my throat when I'm smoking it.
I've tried using different bowls, different hoses, and all sorts of things with it but I still get that nagging scratchy feeling in the back of my throat every now and then when I smoke my MYA. Also, the smoke from the MYA never seems to get quite as thick as the smoke from my H-S Egyptian.

Although I will say that the more light and subtle flavors (such as a lot of Fumari's stuff) seem to have a bit stronger of a flavor when smoked out of the MYA compared to when smoked out of the Egyptian or Mod. hookahs. The flavor is just a touch more pronounced and a little "cleaner" if you know what I mean. But then again I have been smoking the Egyptian for 5 or 6 years and the MYA has only been in use for less than a year, so that might have something to do with it.



All in all I think each hookah has it's place. The Modern hookahs are great for traveling and have a unique asthetic appeal but arn't exactly built to last a lifetime and theseals are a bit questionable. The traditional H-S Egyptian hookahs are extremely well built with a very classic style and smoke wonderfully, but they're not the most portable things in the world. And the MYAs are somewhere inbetween the two. They have a modern styling, smoke pretty darn well, most are easy to travel with, and they seem to be built to last quite a long time.

The choice of which hookah is right for you will ultimately come down to what you want out of your hookah, but I hope this comparison will help you come to a decision by looking at the various ups and downs of each style hookah.

[Kingsofronin]

I strongly disagree with those thoughts on the H-S egyptians.

The seal is absolutely god awful between the stem and the
base. I still get a good smoke from it, but i have to suck in
to take a hit.

Honestly, the egyptian just feels cheap compared to my mya.

Mya's are so high quality.
Heavy, durable, excellent craftsmanship,
and astonishing portability.

oh, and btw.
VERY nice mya, zoojohnny.

[ghostofdavid]

Dang, Johnny. That is a pimp Mya. Where did you get such a thing at?

[ZooJohnnyZETA]

Dang, Johnny. That is a pimp Mya. Where did you get such a thing at?

Thanks man!

I picked it up a little over a year or so ago when MYA put it up for sale on this very forum. I think I was the first to see the listing for it and I snapped it up right away
I think it's a one of a kind, but I'm not positive about it... would have to ask MYA to be sure.

But yeah, MYA does list special hookahs for sale on this forum from time to time that you won't find anywhere else. Usually limited editions or one of a kind models. Edited April 4, 2007 by ZooJohnnyZETA

[Altron]

damn....

let me get at that hookah johnny