Combo Bowl

[sabsz]

What are you experiences with this bowl. Where should I put the coal on it?, is it the same thing as regular tinfoil(work it around the sides then eventually go to the middle) or do i just plop it on the middle shut the cover and not worry about it? Edited April 6, 2007 by sabsz

[sabsz]

nothing?

[unleashtheclown]

same thing as normal, start from the outsides

[VDDZ]

I got you brother, I picked up one of these in Hollywood and now its my main bowl, even over the punnel! The rim is black and my dremel has yet to get it off!

It's nice and rather deep, the cap makes hookah driving or smoking indoors much more enjoyable. However, if you have a fresh set of coals on, it may trap the heat and burn the tobacco; this can be an advantage when the coals start to die tho. As for the screen, I don't really know what to say, I used it for a year and thought it was gravy, but my auntie told me the other day that it was getting to hot an burning the tobacco. I don't know what to say about this; it could have been cause her son kept messing with the coals and put the cap on, or what she said. Either way, it is an awesome bowl and I highly suggest it.

[ZooJohnnyZETA]

I have one of those combo bowls with the windscreen on it and I gotta say that I don't like it very much at all.

The first problem is that unless you are smoking a hyper wet ma'assell (like Al-Fakher) it will almost always burn the ma'assell from too much heat buildup. Mind you I smoke Nakhla most of the time and only occassionally smoke Al-Fakher, Fumari, or Romman so that just wouldnt do for me. It's also worth mentioning that I always smoke with 3 kings quicklights and I never break the coal into pieces (I just use the whole disk at once).

It doesnt matter if I smoke with it outdoors or indoors, I almost always end up with my ma'assell burning at some point. Also, when smoking outdoors I honestly don't think the windscreen works all that great. There are far too many holes in it which allow the wind to pass through and further overheat your coal, making your ma'assell burn worse than it already will with this bowl.

My second big complaint about the bowl is that about half an hour into smoking the grommet will always expand from the heat and cause the bowl to become very loose on the stem. So it just sits ontop of the stem wobbling around and letting air in. I've tried this bowl on a MYA, a H-S traditional Egyptian, and a Sultan Mod. hookah and the result is always the same. At once the grommet does expand from the heat and the bowl becomes loose, theres just no fixing it until the grommet cools down for 20 minutes or so after the smoking session is done.

Another complaint I have is that once you put on the coal and lock the little windscreen lid down ontop of the bowl, the lid and locking/release lever will become waaaay too hot to touch after about 10 minutes or so of smoking. This means that if you ever want to move the coal around during the smoke you'll have to carefully use the tongs to release the latch and flip the lid back, then use the tongs to lock it back down again. It doesnt sound too difficult, but it is an extreme pain in the ass to try and do every time you want to move the coal or add more coal. Couple this with the grommet that doesn't seal well and hold the bowl in place after half an hour and you end up with a giant disaster on your hands if you ever want to move the coal or add more.

Lastly, I think the metal screen on this bowl lets waaaaaay too much air in. I use a metal screen on my MYA bowl and a metal screen on my traditional Egyptian bowl almost every time I smoke and they work great. But with this massively wide bowl there are way too many holes in the screen letting air into the bowl which makes it almost impossible to get a decently thick smoke even with Nakhla or Al-Fakher (which smoke very thick in regular bowls).



All in all I think this is a pretty aweful bowl and I'd never use it unless all my other bowls broke and I absolutely had to have a smoke. It's plagued with all kinds of problems and IMHO is a total waste of money. If you need a windscreen to smoke outside I suggest saving yourself a lot of wasted time and money and just using a traditional old windscreen.
But if you want this bowl because your hookah keeps getting knocked over and the coal burns the carpet than...well... either learn to be more careful around your hookah or stop smoking with idiots who would be careless enough to accidentally knock over your hookah

My two rupees.

[ZooJohnnyZETA]

Actually, that is the same bowl I was refering to. It may not look like it from the picture, but it does have 13 holes in the windcover (including the hole in the top). The big problem with that is that in order to prevent too much heat from building up inside the tiny windcover they had to drill it full of holes... which consequently negated it's functionality as a windcover

I suppose the worst that can happen though is if you buy it and don't like it than your only out $15 or so.

[aldonb1]

yeah the smoke quality will suffer if u close that lid and leave it shut. Tho i've found if u used tin foil (dont use that shit screen) and leave the screen like cracked open (using the latch, just not pulling it closed) u get a decent smoke. all and all... just buy a phunnel. Unless, you have roommates who knock ur hookah over every 2 seconds... thats why i bought mine >.<

[sabsz]

Actually, that is the same bowl I was refering to. It may not look like it from the picture, but it does have 13 holes in the windcover (including the hole in the top). The big problem with that is that in order to prevent too much heat from building up inside the tiny windcover they had to drill it full of holes... which consequently negated it's functionality as a windcover

I suppose the worst that can happen though is if you buy it and don't like it than your only out $15 or so.

Sorry im retarded I just found that out damn misleading pictures, anyways yeah i havent gotten it yet and your making me regret my decision but ill have to see for myself, im sure itll be ok it has mixed reviews.

[Lakemonster]

They work pretty good...... I use less coal when I smoke with mine.

They do supply a screen.... but I skip that and use tinfoil.... it works... you need to feed the foil in back under the hinge assembly first and then work the foil down on your bowl as normal...

Wish the bowl had a flat bottom.

[cafesaden]

i got really pissed off at that bowl trying to get it unhinged while smoking. burnt the shit out of myself and tore the lid off. now its a regular bowl that works great.

[ASUSEAN1]

i got really pissed off at that bowl trying to get it unhinged while smoking. burnt the shit out of myself and tore the lid off. now its a regular bowl that works great.

+1. i burnt the shit outta my hand and now i wont touch the hookah that has tht bowl on it. I will pack every other bowl for my friends except tht one

[AinSophAur]

I have one and I love it. I dont use the wind cover though. I took it off. The actual bowl and screen are amazing though. Perfect size. Nice and wide. I use 1 and a half 3kings 33m broken in halfs. It lasts for a good 30 to 45 minutes. Near the end i plop the windscreen on top and the coals last a bit longer. I took off the whole clamp thing though thats useless. Also this bowl will not fit on a MYA QT without extra fat gromets. Edited April 8, 2007 by AinSophAur

[kornkitten42]

personally i like the combo bowl. I dont like the metal screen bthat comes with it, just because the holes are so big and ash falls right through it so easily so instead i use tin foil like most people.

I like how when the coals start to die it has the oven affect to keep the shisha and coals burning longer.

Go for it man.