New to hookas

Discussion in 'Other Smoking Accessories' started by artic, Jun 12, 2011.

  1. Hello blades, yesterday I was cruising around downtown with a couple of my friends and stumbled across a store with a couple hookas. I checked the prices and they were to good to pass up. I bought a 18 inch hooka with 2 hoses for 55 bucks. :hello: I have smoked a hooka before and know how to light the coals and everything, but I'm not so sure on how to clean it. I smoked a few bowls of some shisha last night and washed out the bottom and the bowl. Are you supposed to clean it after every use? Also, what are some tips to getting the most out of your hooka? I used some ice in the vase and that was pleasant. :smoke: I can post some pictures later if anyone cares to check it out :wave:
     
  2. One of my persian buddies said people put a dash of milk into the basin. Apparenlty it helps thicken the smoke. I dont know about that though it kinda tripped me out hahaha.
    I might get myself a hookah soon. Nice to sit and just play with the smoke and shit. I love doing smoke tricks...
     
  3. Yes milk does make the smoke wayyyy thicker. I like to put a couple shots of vodka and ice in there for a buzz effect :D. I clean mine like every month, but i don't use it much anymore, probably should since its summer now, outdoor seshes are great. :rolleyes:
     
  4. I'll try the milk out, sounds kind of sketchy but it's worth a shot. :wave: Do you know what kind of ratio you should use?


    Ice is the shit. :smoke: Vodka might be overkill because it goes straight to your blood stream. :confused: I plan on doing an outdoor sesh sometime soon, listen to some music and cheif that shit. :hello:
     
  5. I usually let it sit after the sesh (too much work to clean while blazing). I just run hot water and it takes care of it. When I want to get it nice and clean I use some glass cleaner and a brush. I also recommend Nammor hoses as you can wash those with no problems.
     
  6. definitely clean after every use if you can, it will taste much better, and especially if you change flavors. Just wash the bowl in hot water and it should be fine. I assume you got some cleaning brushes with the hookah, and if so after each use you should just run hot water through the stem, then the brush one or 2 times, wash again and you should be good to go. The base is usually fine to just put water in, shake, and empty.

    And a few tips since you are new:
    1. When packing the bowl don't actually pack down the shisha at all, drop it into the bowl loosely and spread it even so that it comes up nearly to the top of the bowl. Don't overfill. When you put the foil on top try to pull it as tight as you can.

    2. Quick-light coals are bad. They don't last long and taste pretty bad. If you can I recommend getting some exotica brand coals...You just light them on the stove..(stove on high, put it on the burner..wait till its on fire, flip, wait till fully lit and you are good to go. Takes about 5 minutes..its easiest to just start the coal, then pack the bowl and you should be good.

    3. Brands of shisha to look for: Starbuzz, fantasia, al fakher, fumari. Romman is good too.

    4. As stated above nammor hoses are great, as are the new kalil mamoon (KM) pro hoses, which are also washable. Both hoses have larger gauges than the hoses your hookah probably came with, which significantly lowers drag.

    5. Another great attachment is a diffuser. Its a plastic cap that goes over the end of the downstem. Its basically a plastic gridded showerhead for your hookah. Some people dont like how it changes the feel of the hit from chuggy bubbles to a much more dragless feel, but I love it.

    There is a bit of a learning curve with packing bowls right, but you will know when its done right. Enjoy!
     
  7. #7 artic, Jun 13, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 13, 2011
    Thanks for all the helpful tips. :wave: I think I'm pretty well off using it and am somewhat experienced with them already. I clean my bong water after every bowl so it comes naturally to clean my smoking tools out after each use. I didn't get a brush with my hooka, but the stem didn't look to clogged or anything after I used it one or twice. I ran some water through it and it seems to have cleaned it out good enough. I just emptied the water out of the base and then filled it to the brim, emptied it and then put a little more in, washed it around then dumped it.

    1. I already knew about this from some slight research and watching my friend's brother pack his. I made the mistake of packing my bowls to big and letting the coals sit there for a few minutes and it started cooking the shisha and it got stuck to the foil. :p I don't have any hooka foils but I just used some foil from the kitchen. One question about that though, should the shinny side be down with the shisa or up with the coal? I don't want to be inhaling more crap then I already am. :p

    2. I want to get some natural coals and I looked around and saw some called "coco natural coals" or something along those lines. It said they where made from coconut husks and burned cleaner and make the taste of the shisha really shine though. :D I went to my local headshop and all they had were some quick light ones for 6 dollars for a 10 pack. I was pissed because online they are about 2 dollars for a 10 pack so they are surely robbing people blind. I got them anyways because I really wanted to smoke. :eek: I might buy a hundred or so online and have them sent to me rather then getting scammed by the headshops around town.

    3. I got some blue mist starbuzz because that's the first thing I smoked and after some research I found lots of good things about starbuzz. I bought a 100g tin from the same headshop I got the coals at (Again, overpriced as fuck at 18 dollars a tin [10 dollars online]) I also bought some herbal shisha from the place I got the hooka for 5 bucks and it's alright but I like more of a buzz and it wasn't as tasty as the starbuzz . :smoke:

    4. I'm not sure if I want to invest in a hose just yet. I looked around and found a few cooler ones so I might get one at a later time. I may buy a hose cover to make it a little more classier. Should I run some water through my hoses or is there some special way I should go around washing them out? I haven't done anything to them yet but I have only smoke a few bowls out of it, so well see how that goes.

    5. I have seen the diffusers before, if I remember correctly it was called a "hebba" diffuser and it was like 10 bucks or so. They didn't have any at the shop I got the hooka at but I saw them online. I might invest in one along with a hose at a later time. :D
     

  8. 1 shiny side down
    2. online is a good idea, and those coals are probably coco nara coals, and are also nice but are smaller than the exoticas, so I prefer the exotica, but many like the coco nara, not a bad choice at all.
    3. yeah, herbal generally doesn't taste as good too, though hopefully it will soon.
    4. do you know what kind of hose it is? Chances are you simply can't clean it. Most hoses have a metal coil inside them that rusts eventually, but if you wash it it will rust very quickly. If you want to keep using those eventually you'll get a few little particles of rust in your mouth, then you need to get a new one. If you can wash it then it generally you just put water through it.
    5. yeah thats the one. Its a cool little thing, and usually they are around $5 or so, so its not much of an investment for a good upgrade.
     
  9. 1. I read around and saw that, thanks :)
    2. yea! they where coco nara. I'll buy some exotica coals when I get my next paycheck
    3. It was alright, not as tasty as the starbuzz though :smoking:
    4. I'm not really sure, it's pretty basic looking, just ribbed with metal and wood handles
    5. I'll but one with the coals when I get around to it :D

    Also, what do you think about the milk suggestion from above? Have you had any experience with it? Also, I want to get a metal screen but they are 7 dollars at the headshop but only 2 dollars online. Should I wait it out and get one when I get the coals and diffuser?
     

  10. If you mean the metal screen you put on top instead of foil then yeah, I would just wait, 7 bucks is a lot. Also those work alright, but it wont seal as well as foil and you can't punch holes where you want them, so I find foil better, but its worth trying for sure.

    As for the milk thing, yeah, i've tried it, and I dont really like it. the smoke is a bit thicker, but I can get the smoke plenty thick just by packing the bowl right and moving the coals well, so I prefer not to use it. Fruit juices can work great, and flavored alcohol is tasty, but will get you quite a buzz sometimes. other strong flavored things work well, like grenadine for example.
     
  11. I'll buy it at a later time, if I don't feel like punching holes in foil (or I'm high as balls ;)) it should come in handy.

    I'll just skip on the milk deal. I barely have any in my house as it is, so I can't even try it. :p

    Also, another question. Would packing a half bowl, or a small sized one, work as good as a normal one? What if I don't feel like sitting there smoking on it for a hour and a half, what if I wanted to smoke for like 15 minutes and then be done? Thanks for the replies :wave:
     

  12. You can smoke a half filled bowl, but it generally won't hit as well, though an extra coal often makes it work well. If you are going to be smoking alone often, I would recommend just getting a pretty small bowl for just you. You can get a small Egyptian bowl for around $4 usually.
     
  13. What if you like dented the foil? Would it burn better if it was closer to the bottom?
    Also, I was thinking of investing in a vortex bowl, would this be a good investment?
     

  14. That would probably work, though it would be hard to make it the right height. Worth a shot for sure, try it out...let me know how it goes.

    I really liked my vortex bowls. I've owned about 3 but my old roommates or I managed to break them all. Right now I'm using a small egyptian regular bowl because I usually smoke alone now. Once summer is over I'll probably get another vortex for group smoking. They hold quite a bit, and last quite a while, and maintain wonderful flavor. If you do get one I would recommend using 2 coals at a time so you can get more smoke out of it.
     

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