Chronic Hookah Quiklites
Price: 13.99 for 108 - alittle more than my normal run, but cheaper than most other brands of Quiklites I use (Goldens or Coco's).
Appearance: square coals, rough but compact. Dense and stable. Black in color. 1.5" x 1.5" x .75-.50"
Lighting: Can be "violent" throwing sparks, but a lighter will start the coal. Completely burns over in less than 30 second, but does produce a good bit of smoke and smell. (Burn outdoors or with ventilation)
Ash: Light grey and sandy-grit like. Doesn't blow around, in fact can be hard to "ash" at times. Thankfully they don't need frequent ashing until last quarter of life.
Burn Time: about 50-55mins, produces good amount of heat. 2 with windcover will be more than enough for most hookah bowls.
Overall Score: 8 out of 10
A nice "QL" version coal. It does smell quite a bit when lighting (and can be violent at times - not nearly as bad as a Akhla) but produces a good amount of heat for the bang. Cheaper than Coconaras and easier to use, they are a good alternative to naturals when need be.
I did notice than all of the ones I used worked great up until the last 10-15min, the amount of heat they gave off drastically dropped requiring the windcover and lighting a new coal. Yes, that can be expected, but the same amount Exoticas did produce more heat in the last 10-15. Other than this, they worked spectacularly.
I would recommend if you are looking for a quiklite coal, give these a try.
8/4/08
Al Fakher Golden Grape Review
Al Fakher Golden Grape
Shisha Cut: ultra fine, almost like it was ground. BRIGHT screaming red and beyond drippy (looks like blood).
Hookah Type: MYA QT
Duration: 1.5 hour (+/-)
Bowl: MYA
Foil / Screen: foil + windcover
Coal / Amount: 1 Akhla QL (2-3 total per session)
Smoke: thick & puffy
Buzz: none
Smell / Flavor: Smell – Sweet grape or something similar to Grape Bubble Yum. Taste – Realistic grape with slight sweetness and sometimes a faint bitterness (described as the skin taste).
Score: 7.5-8
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOFyOUaJnDE
Not quite the Al Fakher standard Grape, this is a more realistic grape taste, with a slight sweetness instead of a candy taste. Thankfully doesn’t suffer the same fate as the standard line grape (no rotten smell/taste) and alittle more pricy than the normal stuff, but a nice break from the overly sweet candy flavors out there.
Note: This stuff (new AF cut) has SO MUCH glycerin in it that it colored the base water. If the water changes color it has dripped ALL THE WAY DOWN the stem. It’s gonna me a MESS to clean. I recommend using a Phunnel type bowl with this stuff.
Shisha Cut: ultra fine, almost like it was ground. BRIGHT screaming red and beyond drippy (looks like blood).
Hookah Type: MYA QT
Duration: 1.5 hour (+/-)
Bowl: MYA
Foil / Screen: foil + windcover
Coal / Amount: 1 Akhla QL (2-3 total per session)
Smoke: thick & puffy
Buzz: none
Smell / Flavor: Smell – Sweet grape or something similar to Grape Bubble Yum. Taste – Realistic grape with slight sweetness and sometimes a faint bitterness (described as the skin taste).
Score: 7.5-8
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOFyOUaJnDE
Not quite the Al Fakher standard Grape, this is a more realistic grape taste, with a slight sweetness instead of a candy taste. Thankfully doesn’t suffer the same fate as the standard line grape (no rotten smell/taste) and alittle more pricy than the normal stuff, but a nice break from the overly sweet candy flavors out there.
Note: This stuff (new AF cut) has SO MUCH glycerin in it that it colored the base water. If the water changes color it has dripped ALL THE WAY DOWN the stem. It’s gonna me a MESS to clean. I recommend using a Phunnel type bowl with this stuff.
Al Waha Banana Split Review
Al Waha Banana Split
Shisha Cut: med to course, med brown and drippy. Less stems than normal.
Hookah Type: 27” Syrain
Duration: 1hr 15min to 1hr 30min
Bowl: shallow E bowl
Foil / Screen: HD foil + windcover
Coal / Amount: 3 – 1” Exoticas
Smoke: med to thick
Buzz: typical Al Waha sleepy buzz - Med to HEAVY
Smell / Flavor: Smell – Smelt yummie, a mix of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. No banana. Taste – Total opposite of the smell: no chocolate, no strawberry, rather cherry with undertones of vanilla and banana based on COLA. So basically a Cherry Cola.
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMoUBwze40Y
Rating (1 to 10): 7-7.5
Other than it’s NOT Banana Split, it’s a decent smoke. Alarming if you were expecting the taste to be like the smell, but overall alright. If you like Cherry Cola, I can recommend this flavor, but if you wanted a realistic Banana Split pass this over.
Can be slightly heat sensitive, so watch things.
Shisha Cut: med to course, med brown and drippy. Less stems than normal.
Hookah Type: 27” Syrain
Duration: 1hr 15min to 1hr 30min
Bowl: shallow E bowl
Foil / Screen: HD foil + windcover
Coal / Amount: 3 – 1” Exoticas
Smoke: med to thick
Buzz: typical Al Waha sleepy buzz - Med to HEAVY
Smell / Flavor: Smell – Smelt yummie, a mix of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. No banana. Taste – Total opposite of the smell: no chocolate, no strawberry, rather cherry with undertones of vanilla and banana based on COLA. So basically a Cherry Cola.
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMoUBwze40Y
Rating (1 to 10): 7-7.5
Other than it’s NOT Banana Split, it’s a decent smoke. Alarming if you were expecting the taste to be like the smell, but overall alright. If you like Cherry Cola, I can recommend this flavor, but if you wanted a realistic Banana Split pass this over.
Can be slightly heat sensitive, so watch things.
Al Waha Memories Review
Al Waha Memories
Shisha Cut: med to course, med to dark brown. Drippy.
Hookah Type: 27" Syrian
Duration: 45-55 min
Bowl: mod bowl
Foil / Screen: foil + windcover
Coal / Amount: 2 – 1.5” Stargate
Smoke: Thick
Buzz: typical Al Waha sleepy buzz - Med to HEAVY
Smell / Flavor: Smell – Sweet and fruity, with a light liquorish undertone (and a hint of mint). Taste – Sweet fruity taste with mild anise flavor, but hard to pin-point the actual fruit part. Fellow smoker suggested it might be figs.
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5_Hzt1wcuE
Rating (1 to 10): 6-7
Overall nice flavor, although hard to figure out what it was trying to taste like. It’s good, just not my cup o’tea in terms of flavor. One of the stranger smokes I’ve gone thru. One small side note, this flavor does coat the mouth and tongue, not a bad thing – adds to the appeal, just it does.
Shisha Cut: med to course, med to dark brown. Drippy.
Hookah Type: 27" Syrian
Duration: 45-55 min
Bowl: mod bowl
Foil / Screen: foil + windcover
Coal / Amount: 2 – 1.5” Stargate
Smoke: Thick
Buzz: typical Al Waha sleepy buzz - Med to HEAVY
Smell / Flavor: Smell – Sweet and fruity, with a light liquorish undertone (and a hint of mint). Taste – Sweet fruity taste with mild anise flavor, but hard to pin-point the actual fruit part. Fellow smoker suggested it might be figs.
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5_Hzt1wcuE
Rating (1 to 10): 6-7
Overall nice flavor, although hard to figure out what it was trying to taste like. It’s good, just not my cup o’tea in terms of flavor. One of the stranger smokes I’ve gone thru. One small side note, this flavor does coat the mouth and tongue, not a bad thing – adds to the appeal, just it does.
8/2/08
Sahara Smoke Vortex Bowl Review
Received bowl on Thursday (7/30/08) along with my new AF. I originally purchased this bowl because of wanting a small phunnel. Figured this design, with the mod piece built in, would be interesting to try. Plus the price was lower than most other models (Sahara Smoke for 9.95).
Bowl is larger than most of my normal mod/Egyptian/MYA bowls, but not overly so. My KM bowl is MUCH larger. It's well made and has a sturdy feeling. I did find out the mouth is larger than my Syrian's necks (it fits my Eygptian fine although it's also too big for my QT), but a damp paper-towel wrapped around the existing grommet makes an air-tight seal.
For the first smoke, I based my packing off suggestions from other members. I packed it "loose and fluffy" to just below the hole on the center section with some of the new AF I received. Originally I received thin smoke - partially from not realizing the bowl wasn't making an air-tight seal and the tobacco itself. After 45min I called it quits. The next morning I checked the bowl and found 3/4'ers of the tobacco was unburnt.
Attempt two was much better - taken more hint from members, I overpacked the tobacco, making the level higher (right up to the holes but still far enough down as leave a good gap between the foil).
As to overpacking - I mean not making it "fluffy", just glopping it in and lightly tamping it down. It used slightly more tobacco than before, about what I pack into my Egyptian bowl (or a deeper MYA bowl). Now knowing the mouth issue, I set everything up and this time received a MUCH better smoke. Excellent flavor, great puffy clouds and even after 1.5-2 hours (and 5 coals) I could have added more coals and continued smoking for some time. After a cool down I checked, this time only a 1/3rd of the bowl was unburnt.
Both times, I checked the inside of the stem and found little to no "meltdown" from the bowl (although the bowl did already have the well-worn burn marks). The grommets/paper-towels had no staining/residue either. The base water was also "clear" - colored water normally means the melted juices reached all the way down the stem.
A single layer of Heavy-duty foil was used and that provided good protection, coupled with a windcover to manage heat. (2) 1.25" Exoticas heated the bowl perfectly, but a single Akhla wasn't enough to get decent smoke. A QL broken in half may work or two QL's placed on the edges may work better.
Although future experiments will show how well it can be used with other brands, I do believe most drippier tobaccos will benefit from the bowl.
PROS:
This bowl would be a good addition to anyone's collection. So far is works great, providing you are willing to "play around" a bit to figure out what it needed. I do consider this cheaper than purchasing a true phunnel and mod, but since I lack a phunnel (and the brand o'baccy it was designed for) I can't make a true comparison.
I would say if you had the money, pop for the bowl. It's only slightly more pricey than a good clay bowl, so even for some reason you don't enjoy it, you aren't out much money.
VIDEO LINK: (coming soon)
Bowl is larger than most of my normal mod/Egyptian/MYA bowls, but not overly so. My KM bowl is MUCH larger. It's well made and has a sturdy feeling. I did find out the mouth is larger than my Syrian's necks (it fits my Eygptian fine although it's also too big for my QT), but a damp paper-towel wrapped around the existing grommet makes an air-tight seal.
For the first smoke, I based my packing off suggestions from other members. I packed it "loose and fluffy" to just below the hole on the center section with some of the new AF I received. Originally I received thin smoke - partially from not realizing the bowl wasn't making an air-tight seal and the tobacco itself. After 45min I called it quits. The next morning I checked the bowl and found 3/4'ers of the tobacco was unburnt.
Attempt two was much better - taken more hint from members, I overpacked the tobacco, making the level higher (right up to the holes but still far enough down as leave a good gap between the foil).
As to overpacking - I mean not making it "fluffy", just glopping it in and lightly tamping it down. It used slightly more tobacco than before, about what I pack into my Egyptian bowl (or a deeper MYA bowl). Now knowing the mouth issue, I set everything up and this time received a MUCH better smoke. Excellent flavor, great puffy clouds and even after 1.5-2 hours (and 5 coals) I could have added more coals and continued smoking for some time. After a cool down I checked, this time only a 1/3rd of the bowl was unburnt.
Both times, I checked the inside of the stem and found little to no "meltdown" from the bowl (although the bowl did already have the well-worn burn marks). The grommets/paper-towels had no staining/residue either. The base water was also "clear" - colored water normally means the melted juices reached all the way down the stem.
A single layer of Heavy-duty foil was used and that provided good protection, coupled with a windcover to manage heat. (2) 1.25" Exoticas heated the bowl perfectly, but a single Akhla wasn't enough to get decent smoke. A QL broken in half may work or two QL's placed on the edges may work better.
Although future experiments will show how well it can be used with other brands, I do believe most drippier tobaccos will benefit from the bowl.
PROS:
- Good Price - 9.95
- Does hold less tobacco than the MED phunnel.
- Does help extend the amount of time, flavor and clouding during the smoke session.
- Makes burning harder, but doesn't stop. Did help with recovery after overheating and allowed for continuation of smoking without re-pack.
- Make be larger than hookah's stem - additional grommets may be needed.
- Still uses about 25-30g of tobacco.
- May take some experimentation to perfect usage.
- Requires more heat to produce good (cloudy) smoke.
This bowl would be a good addition to anyone's collection. So far is works great, providing you are willing to "play around" a bit to figure out what it needed. I do consider this cheaper than purchasing a true phunnel and mod, but since I lack a phunnel (and the brand o'baccy it was designed for) I can't make a true comparison.
I would say if you had the money, pop for the bowl. It's only slightly more pricey than a good clay bowl, so even for some reason you don't enjoy it, you aren't out much money.
VIDEO LINK: (coming soon)
7/31/08
Sahara Order in
As you can see, my order from Sahara Smoke came in today. Yeah, happy days! Anyways, on to what's in the picture...
The 3 tubs/bags of tobacco are Al Fakher - Peach, Watermelon and Vanilla. They all have production dates of 2008 (bwt Jan and May) and they are ALL the new cut of AF. Ok... dang it all, but atleast they smell ok. The peach did have a faint chemical whiff to it, but just leaving it open for an hour has made the smell much better. Hopefully these should all be yummie.
The small white bowl is the Vortex bowl - it's good sized and looks well made. If I believe the other reviews on HP, it should produce some good smoke. After I have played with it for a bit, of course I will make a video :P
Now they did throw in 2 extras - a tube of Hookah-Freak "The Dude" and a roll of Akhla quiklites. I've used the coals before (explodie coals - LOL) but never had the HF flavor before. But... it smells weird, like a cross between Irish Cream, Chocolate and Hazlnut. Who knows, might be good.
All in all, a good order and showed up fast. Packed well and shipped via UPS - which left it at the front door, which is scary since I live in a ghetto neighborhood and children are around. Oh well... Other than that, nothing went wrong. Yeah, I like it when orders work!
7/30/08
'baccy and a new bowl
Finally, after months of not being able to fund any new stuff in the world of Hookah, I managed to sneak by a few things. I wanted to purchase a phunnel type bowl - I used to have one, a MED Tangiers in fact. Purchased about a year from MNHookah, also with the glass mod to go in it.
But I think a MED is really a LARGE... I hate to see how big a true Large is. It held so much tobacco that it was kinda useless for me, a single smoker. I can stok about 1-2 hours out a plain clay bowl, why do I need 3-4 out of a phunnel. I ended up selling it.
Now why you ask, is she telling me this? And what the heck is a phunnel?
Ok, let me give a quick run down. The Phunnel is the bowl itself - normally sold without the "mod" piece. Basically it's a modified hookah bowl that holds the tobacco in a lip/bowl section around a center opening. The reason for this is to keep the tobacco in it's own juices, which allow for more flavor and longer smokes, as well as keeping the extra juice from dripping down the stem when heated. Now, it may still drip some, but lot less than not using a phunnel would produce.
The tobacco is packed in the outer lip, with (or without) the mod (which has openings in the edges) over the center hole. Reason for the mod is to help with airflow (pushing it down and thru the tobacco instead of just over) and to take up space, allowing you to save on the shisha tobacco itself.
On top of the mod/tobacco goes the foil - the hole patterns people will suggest can vary:
~ if using a mod, I only place 3-4 rings of tight small (toothpick sized) holes along the outside edges of the foil.
~ if not using a mod, I put 1 larger center hole and random small (toothpick sized) holes all over the lip/bowl section.
When drawn on, air moves past the coals, heating the tobacco. It is them pulled up and underneath the mod section into the center hole and down into the hookah.
Originally made for a brand of tobacco called Tangiers, it was found out it will work with any of the drippier tobaccos. Dry brands like Nakhla and Sahara will work, but it can be harder to keep the smoke from going harsh.
Now.... back to the matter at hand. I wanted a SMALL phunnel - reason: The New Cut of Al Fakher. It's horrible, tiny almost ground cut that is very similar to Hookah-Hookah. It's also VERY drippy and tends to clog up most bowls. Now a members @ HP has figured out how to "pack" AF's new cut, but I've been wanting a new phunnel, which IMO I believe will help.
So.... off I went, looking at various vendors - trying to find someone who not only had a Small Phunnel (either clay or glass) and some of the newer AF flavors I've been wanting to purchase. I wanted to purchase from a vendor I hadn't delt with (or purchased from in a while) so that kinda narrow my rather difficult search from the get go.
MNHookah sells Small Phunnel, Glass Funnels and their new line of funnels. They also had the flavors I wanted in a nice (3) 250g pack set.
Chronic Hookah also had phunnels, although listed as Large/Med, so did look smaller. They also had the flavors I wanted, but not as a (3) pack.
And Sahara Smoke just came out with a new Vortex bowl, their spin on the phunnel design. They also had a (3) pack of 250g AF's (that turned out to be on sale).
After comparing prices,. shipping and chatting with the vendors on HP, for now I ended up going with SS's Vortex bowl and (3) pk. Grand total everything w/ shipping ran $38.01. I will of course post up my videos of the package and the items when they arrive later this week.
Now, I also decided to purchase a glass funnnel from MNHookah, but I will have to wait till later when I have more money as the bowl itself is pricey (and MNHookah only ships by USPS which can sometimes be more than FedEx or UPS).
CH will be the place I turn to for my next hookah purchase - I STILL am sans a KM and/or MZ, since a certain vendor ignored me and disappeared. I understand shyt happens, but it left a bad taste in my mouth that will take time to hopefully correct.
So for now, know that I am slowly working thru my shisha samples & making videos. I am finally back in the swing of things and will only (hopefully) be picking up speed soon.
~Peace~
But I think a MED is really a LARGE... I hate to see how big a true Large is. It held so much tobacco that it was kinda useless for me, a single smoker. I can stok about 1-2 hours out a plain clay bowl, why do I need 3-4 out of a phunnel. I ended up selling it.
Now why you ask, is she telling me this? And what the heck is a phunnel?
Ok, let me give a quick run down. The Phunnel is the bowl itself - normally sold without the "mod" piece. Basically it's a modified hookah bowl that holds the tobacco in a lip/bowl section around a center opening. The reason for this is to keep the tobacco in it's own juices, which allow for more flavor and longer smokes, as well as keeping the extra juice from dripping down the stem when heated. Now, it may still drip some, but lot less than not using a phunnel would produce.The tobacco is packed in the outer lip, with (or without) the mod (which has openings in the edges) over the center hole. Reason for the mod is to help with airflow (pushing it down and thru the tobacco instead of just over) and to take up space, allowing you to save on the shisha tobacco itself.
On top of the mod/tobacco goes the foil - the hole patterns people will suggest can vary:
~ if using a mod, I only place 3-4 rings of tight small (toothpick sized) holes along the outside edges of the foil.
~ if not using a mod, I put 1 larger center hole and random small (toothpick sized) holes all over the lip/bowl section.
When drawn on, air moves past the coals, heating the tobacco. It is them pulled up and underneath the mod section into the center hole and down into the hookah.
Originally made for a brand of tobacco called Tangiers, it was found out it will work with any of the drippier tobaccos. Dry brands like Nakhla and Sahara will work, but it can be harder to keep the smoke from going harsh.
Now.... back to the matter at hand. I wanted a SMALL phunnel - reason: The New Cut of Al Fakher. It's horrible, tiny almost ground cut that is very similar to Hookah-Hookah. It's also VERY drippy and tends to clog up most bowls. Now a members @ HP has figured out how to "pack" AF's new cut, but I've been wanting a new phunnel, which IMO I believe will help.
So.... off I went, looking at various vendors - trying to find someone who not only had a Small Phunnel (either clay or glass) and some of the newer AF flavors I've been wanting to purchase. I wanted to purchase from a vendor I hadn't delt with (or purchased from in a while) so that kinda narrow my rather difficult search from the get go.
MNHookah sells Small Phunnel, Glass Funnels and their new line of funnels. They also had the flavors I wanted in a nice (3) 250g pack set.
Chronic Hookah also had phunnels, although listed as Large/Med, so did look smaller. They also had the flavors I wanted, but not as a (3) pack.
And Sahara Smoke just came out with a new Vortex bowl, their spin on the phunnel design. They also had a (3) pack of 250g AF's (that turned out to be on sale).
After comparing prices,. shipping and chatting with the vendors on HP, for now I ended up going with SS's Vortex bowl and (3) pk. Grand total everything w/ shipping ran $38.01. I will of course post up my videos of the package and the items when they arrive later this week.
Now, I also decided to purchase a glass funnnel from MNHookah, but I will have to wait till later when I have more money as the bowl itself is pricey (and MNHookah only ships by USPS which can sometimes be more than FedEx or UPS).
CH will be the place I turn to for my next hookah purchase - I STILL am sans a KM and/or MZ, since a certain vendor ignored me and disappeared. I understand shyt happens, but it left a bad taste in my mouth that will take time to hopefully correct.
So for now, know that I am slowly working thru my shisha samples & making videos. I am finally back in the swing of things and will only (hopefully) be picking up speed soon.
~Peace~
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