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:

1. Good Price - 9.95
2. Does hold less tobacco than the MED phunnel.
3. Does help extend the amount of time, flavor and clouding during the smoke session.
4. Makes burning harder, but doesn't stop. Did help with recovery after overheating and allowed for continuation of smoking without re-pack.

CONS:

1. Make be larger than hookah's stem - additional grommets may be needed.
2. Still uses about 25-30g of tobacco.
3. May take some experimentation to perfect usage.
4. Requires more heat to produce good (cloudy) smoke.

RECOMMENDATION:

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)

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!

'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~

Virginia Beach screws up again

Where there's smoke, there's anger at Beach cigarette tax

By Richard Quinn
The Virginian-Pilot
© June 23, 2008
VIRGINIA BEACH

Max Weiner is mad, smoking mad.

The owner of Papa Joe's Smoke Shop near Lynnhaven Mall is upset about city leaders raising the per-pack cigarette tax 22 percent, to 61 cents from 50 cents. The increase was included in the city budget approved last month, but that particular levy got little public attention.

Now that retailers know about it, they're not pleased. The National Association of Tobacco Outlets even weighed in, questioning how the city could raise the tax without directly informing affected businesses.

Weiner said he found out only after he got a letter telling him the new tax rate. The trade group has not said whether it would take any formal action to protest the increase.
City Manager Jim Spore, in a response to the association, said the city publicized the increase in line with the law.

Still, Weiner said he'd like the Beach to reconsider the increase, as it did with the recently repealed machinery and tools tax increase. That levy also was adopted last month, but council members rolled it back after Stihl Inc. and the Virginia Manufacturers Association complained.

"They reversed the tax for them," Weiner said. "That's crazy. Why are they doing it for them and not for us?"

Weiner said raising the tax will only drive smokers elsewhere to buy cigarettes, including North Carolina, which has lower tax rates.

In South Hampton Roads, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Suffolk all tax packs at 50 cents. Norfolk has the region's highest tax, at 65 cents.

Several Virginia Beach council members said they doubted that the increase in the cigarette tax - which overall will raise $13.2 million in fiscal 2009 - would be repealed.

Spore has said the money generated by the increase, about $2.4 million, will finance projects in the city's strategic growth areas.

Councilman Harry Diezel said the tax is politically popular, especially because smoking is a public health issue. He noted the unsuccessful push to ban smoking in restaurants and bars.

Diezel said he is sensitive to criticism from Weiner and others who question why one tax increase is repealed and another isn't.

Councilman Bob Dyer said the machinery and tools tax increase is different because it could have threatened future expansions of Stihl, the city's largest manufacturer.

"Obviously perception is sometimes 100 percent of reality," Diezel said. "But in this particular case, I think we just have to weather that particular storm."

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Although not directly related to Hookah smoking, but rather smoking general, this still pisses me off royally! And I don't even smoke ciggys! Argh, Va Beach is a city of idiots, they are almost as stupid as the lot who "pretend" to run Norfolk.... just raising the tax doesn't do ANYTHING because hard core smokers are either gonna: ignore the tax increase or buy ciggys IN ANOTHER CITY!

NC is less than 40min away... you can buy 2 boxes legally for your own personal use and BRING them back up here to VA with NO ISSUES. NC's tax is considerably less and the even considering gas prices nowadays - it still will save you money!

Va Beach keeps screaming it wants tourist, it wants their money... but what about the LOCALS who have to live here year round? What about us? The city leaders don't give a crap, they scream stupid laws and BS everywhere - smoking is a health issue.... NO SHYT, but what about ALCOHOL?!?! You opened ABC stores on SUNDAY to make more money, more people DIE because of liquor than ciggys..... and you apparently don't care if a few citizens pay with their lives if you can make a few extra bucks!

Blarg... :{

New in the world of gaming...

June 22, 2008 Rock Band FINALLY came out for the Wii. YEAH! About freaking time, kool thing it's white unlike the other systems' versions. Bad part, it's the same price as the other console versions - about $160. Bummer...

Another new thing came out yesterday as well.... Guitar Hero: On Tour for the Nintendo DS. Yes, you just read that right... for the DS handheld. Guitar Hero has invaded EVERYWHERE (but the PSP) - you can even get it for your cell phones!

But here it is for the DS... It runs $49.95 but does come with several items inside. First it comes with a "finger pad" that you plug into the larger "Advance" port on the DS. This part has a clear outer shell that can be removed and the skin underneath can be replaced with diffferent ones, how cute.

Plugged into the backside of the "finger pad" is the puck needed to strum the guitar, although you can use the standard stylus that comes with the DS normally.

Then there is the game cartridge itself - it even comes with a clear plastic carrying case similar to what you find with memory cards (Like a SD). There's also another black piece that is only used if you have a Original DS, not a DS Lite (so, yes both owners can play GH:OT!).

Now after reading the included instruction sheet and simple game play guide, most people will figure out how to set everything up and be ready to play. BUT... I will warn you, this device wasn't meant for the adult hand. It gives you some tips on how to hold the unit to play, but you will quickly find it is somewhat uncomfortable. A massive downer for me was the "finger pad" wouldn't stay plugged in, the way I had to hold it, would cause it to fall off during game play.... But Necessity is the Mother of Invention - 1 piece of duck tape later, I can play.

If you have played ANY of the other GH games, you know the premise - hit the colored keys while strumming in tune with the song. It has (5) sets per section, 4 levels of difficulty, a new method of activating Star Power (shout at the device) and does support 2 player games, but both players need the game/set-up. 25 songs in total, a few that I've played on other games, but many more that are new to the series.

It's kool, but I quickly got annoyed at the thing - my arm and hand hurt considerably within 30min of playing. If you thought normal GH was hard, this sucker is worse - hitting those strums just right takes ALOT of practice, the touch screen isn't as sensative as I would like. Another really annoying thing is the sound - it even tells you to get headphones! Unless you're wearing 'phones you're not gonna be able to hear it well enough to play along.

Out of 5 stars, I'd give GH:OT for the DS...

Hookah Freak Blueberry Pancakes Review

Hookah Freak Blueberry Pancakes

Shisha Cut: fine, some twigs (too small to call stems), med-dark brown, slightly moister than HH.

Hookah Type: 27" Green Syrian

Duration: 1hr15min to 1hr20min

Bowl: modern

Foil / Screen: foil + windcover

Coal / Amount: (3) .75 Dyni naturals

Smoke: thick (after 5 mins)

Buzz: none

Smell / Flavor: Smell = Not blueberry pancakes, but muffins + Diatap Grape. Taste = Blueberry muffins with undertone of Grape.

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzBLkXeAW1s

Rating (1 to 10): 7

Well, it's not quite Blueberry pancakes or even Blueberry syurp, but more like Blueberry muffins with a undertone of Grape. Not bad, some people may not like it, but it's a alright smoke.

Better handling of heat than HH, but still can be heat picky so watch your coals (and use a windcover).

Hookah Hookah Black Label Lemon Review

Hookah Hookah Black Label Lemon

Shisha Cut: course (chunks, sticks, leaves), black color, and gooey.

Hookah Type: 27" Red Syrian

Duration: 30min MAX

Bowl: Egyptian clay

Foil / Screen: foil + windcover

Coal / Amount: (3) .75" Exotica (moved around alot)

Smoke: thick, but after 10min of cooking

Buzz: none

Smell / Flavor: Smell = lemon, but strange. Runs the gambit from Lemonheads, juice and Pledge. (I smelt Lemonheads) Taste = Lemon, but again strange. Starts sweet, goes sour, then bitter then disappears.

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxSCag_q-z4

Rating (1 to 10): 4-5

For an herbal smoke, it was alright. The taste was strange, starting sweet then shifting to sour, then bitter and then about the 30min mark it disappears completely. I've smoked it 4 times now, it repeats the same pattern - 30mins will give you smoke, but NO TASTE.

It's better than Soex (MUCH BETTER THAN), but nothing compared to a standard tobacco smoke.