Reddit mentions of GStar 22" 2 Hose Hookah Complete Set with Carrying Case - Swirl Glass Vase (Pontus Blue w/Case)

This is a copy and paste for a guide I'm working on, but hopefully it'll help. Check out CocoUrth coals! If you don't want to read the massive amount of text below, then trust me and just go with a Shika hookah. Lifetime warranty on them :)

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Hello! This is my guide on what to look for while buying a hookah. While it'll be inherently subjective, I'll be doing my best to make it as objective as possible. The last guide (in sidebar) on Hookah By Price contained a lot of information I wanted to get out, but is too much trouble for me to try keeping it up to date. So instead of telling you what hookah I recommend, I want to go more in depth into what you look for when you're buying a hookah.

The Smoke is Not Dependent on the Hookah

• The hookah itself has very little effect on smoke production
  
• Think of your entire set-up as a car - the hookah itself is the body of the car, and the shisha/coals/bowls make up the engine.
  
  • You can spend a lot of money on a nice aesthetically pleasing hookah, but if you don't know how to pack a bowl, manage your heat, or if you don't have good shisha, the production of the hookah won't be any good. It'd be like putting the engine of a first gen Prius into the body of a Ferrari.
    
• The Smoke and the Draw - Given the same heat and same pack, the bowl will produce the same amount of smoke - the gauge of the draw will determine how quickly you can intake the smoke. The volume of the smoke would not change and has nowhere to go when drawn into the hookah other than your lungs. Simply put, the size of your set up, the gauge of your set up, has no real impact on the clouds.
  
  • A wider gauge hookah will obviously be an easier draw (given that the airflow is consistent through the hose, bowl, and hose port), but it will not get you bigger clouds.
    
  • A narrow gauge hookah will be a tougher draw, but because it takes longer to intake the same amount of smoke, you'll "taste" it more since the smoke will pass through your mouth for a longer period of time.
    
    

    The Material
    

• The material of a hookah usually won't effect your session, but it makes a difference in maintenance and longevity. The part of your hookah where the material is most important to is the downstem. The downstem is in water, and deals with a lot of moisture. If the stem of a hookah starts rusting, it's time to retire it. We're already inhaling smoke, no need to inhale rust particles.
  
  • Stainless Steel - There's good stainless steel and bad stainless steel. The vast majority of hookahs (if not all) that use stainless steel use steel in the 300 series. The main difference that's of concern to us is how resistant to corrosion the stainless steel is. Stainless steel has chromium in it, which forms protective layer on the steel to keep it from rusting. Damage to the steel can expose non-chromium covered areas to oxygen, and begin rusting the steel before another layer forms. It's more complicated than this, but good stainless steel is hard to damage and almost impossible to rust unintentionally and bad stainless steel rusts very easily.
    
    • Low Grade Stainless Steel
      
      • There's no regulation on saying what sort of stainless steel you use. A rule of thumb is that if they're not advertising high quality stainless steel, it's not high quality stainless steel.
        
    • High Quality Stainless Steel
      
      • Series 316 stainless steel is what's generally regarded as "surgical quality" stainless steel. It's very resistant to corrosion and is one of the best materials you could use for a hookah. Unfortunately, there's no regulation for what can be called "surgical stainless steel". They feel the same as their weaker (normal) 304/303 counterparts, and manufacturers don't usually advertise what steel they use. Your best bet if you're looking for a stainless steel hookah is to get one from a brand that advertises "aerospace/surgical stainless steel".
        
        
• Copper
  
  • One of the safest choices for a hookah’s downstem. Copper has been used to transport drinking water for a long time in the States, and continues to be used because it’s not subject to corrosion like stainless steel. A copper pipe downstem is a downstem that’ll last longer than you’ll ever want to smoke. The one big downside to copper downstems is that while it doesn’t corrode, it’ll oxidize and change colors (e.g. Statue of Liberty). The green oxidation can be cleaned very easily, but you’ll feel the urge to clean this more than you would a stainless steel hookah. Most copper tends to be softer than steel too, but there shouldn’t be instances where you’re testing this.
    
    
• Brass
  
  • Similar to copper, it’s a safe choice for a hookah downstem. It’s rare, but it’s a great choice. Won’t corrode, but harmlessly oxidizes like copper. Softer than steel, but there’s never a need to test that.
    
    
• Aluminum
  
  • Great material for a hookah. It won’t corrode, and it won’t change color like brass and copper. Additionally, high grade aluminum is harder than most copper (2.-2.9 on Moh's Hardness Scale, compared to copper's 2.5-3 rating). There’s no real downside for aluminum usage. Also allomantically inert ^^^^that’s ^^^^a ^^^^joke.
    
    
• Glass
  
  • Doesn’t ghost much, very easy to clean, but tends to be very expensive and fragile. High quality glass hookahs (a rising industry standard seems to be 7mm thick) go for hundreds of dollars and are much more expensive than their metal counterparts. In the linked picture, note how /u/gayhomophob3 put froyo in his base and can do so without worrying about residual froyo since it's glass.
    
    

    Price Range
    

• $0-$50 - There aren't many high quality hookahs in this range (if any).
  
  • Mya Econo Line - Cheap stainless steel hookahs that tend to be a little bit higher quality than other hookahs in the same range. A big reason why these hookahs are recommended in this price range is that they're compatible with some great upgrades. Not all cheap hookahs work well with high quality upgrades like a Dream Hose or a Crown Cloud phunnel bowl, but they're good fits for the Mya Econo Line. Lastly, the base on the smaller Myas are very sturdy, and there's very low risk in knocking something over.
    
• $50-$100 - This is where you'll see the potential for a jump in quality. There are many hookahs that fall within this price range, but a lot of them pale in comparison to two brands that stand out to me as clear choices above all the others.
  
  • Shika Hookahs - Shika hookahs have become a favorite (if not favorite) brand of hookahs for a variety of reasons - they're at a great cross section between affordability and quality. They have hookahs at under 100, and over 250.
    The majority of their hookahs are completely made with brass and copper - unlike many other "brass/copper" hookahs, which are just shelled with brass and copper. Shika hookahs also often come with thick glass bases and washable hoses. Shika's are hand welded and engraved. While that almost always indicates a high level of craftsmanship, there are imperfections on occasion. Furthermore, Shika has a good reputation for great customer service when imperfections are found.
    
    • The Accessories - Shika stands above KM for beginner smokers or first time buyers in large part because of the quality accessories it comes with. Rather than an poorly made Egyptian bowl and a unwashable hose that is frequently made out of recycled newspaper (the handle), Shika comes with the Shika Typhoon/Mammoth hose and the Shika Oblivion/Sandstorm bowl. Not the absolute best, but extremely good for what comes with a hookah.
      
  • Khalil Mamoon - KM hookahs are an industry standard and for good reason. They're like Toyotas - Most of their stuff is good higher end entry level hookahs. They'll give you a lot of mileage and you'll rarely have any problems with them. But like how you can upgrade to a Lexus from a Toyota (same company), you can go from your "entry" level KM's to some "nicer" stuff as well. Something else to keep in mind is that not all KM's are made equally. KM's in this price range will tend not to be brass. Some, in this price range and above, are indeed mostly brass and copper and thus will probably never rust (though you have to watch for oxidation) but still have stainless steel downstems and bowl ports.
    
    
• $100+ - After committing to spend more than 100 dollars on a hookah, you'll have enough options that it's about finding a material that you're comfortable with, and then finding a hookah that's aesthetically pleasing to you.
  
  

  My Top Picks by Category
  

  
  

• Traditional Egyptian - Shika
  
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• Modern Brass - Sahara Smoke Executive Hookah
  
• Aluminum - Shishabucks Cloud | One
  
• Modern Stainless Steel - Regal/Starbuzz MIA
  
• Glass - Zahrah
  
  

• 1- I'd need this gun to help me deal with all the winers.
  
  
• 2- I definitely need these boots for all the dust that's gonna get kicked up!
  
  
  
• 3- This would help me keep my hair looking good when I take off my hat.
  
  
• 4- I have to be able to write all these essays, ese!!
  
  
• 5- I would keep this in it's own trunk, but bring it out at night when we were all hanging out in the common room.
  
  
• Extra- These things worry me. But if I had one, it would defiitely be hooded