Hookah

Hookah - narghile sets as they are traditionally known in the Middle East are water pipes that are designed for smoking shisha. Although they are relatively new to the Western Hemisphere, smoking has a tradition going back for literally centuries and was popular in ancient India and later in the Persian Empire more than 1000 years ago. There are a wide range of hookahs and nargila pipes both for beginners or smoking connoisseurs. Popular styles include the classic one hose set with a long hose for relaxing smoking enjoyment but additional types also include 2 hose and 3 hose hookahs waterpipes in an endless range of styles complete with unique hoses. Many narghile pipes have extra long shisha hoses with colorful patterns or exotic mouthpiece handles that are excellent, especially when relaxing on pillows and cushions at a bar lounge. Often, hookahs will come with sturdy hard cover boxes that provide a durable case for those smokers that enjoying traveling or even backpacking with their shisha pipes to exotic locations or just to have handy when they want to share a new shisha flavor with a friend that lives across town. Cases also provide a great way to keep your nargila safe when not in use and your waterpipe can be disassembled within a matter of minutes and placed inside the hard covered box for convenient storage. In short, hookahs come in a full range of styles - from classic oriental narghile shisha waterpipes with traditional hoses to ultra modern shisha pipes with washable rubber hoses and unique mouthpiece designs. If you are looking for hookahs for cheap you can find them in a various sizes that should be suitable for everyone, as well as specially low priced reduced clearance sale discount hookah pipes. For the pro's there are a wide variety of unique and attractive large hookah shisha waterpipes for connoisseurs with eye catching, exotic designs for shisha pipe lovers.

Hookah Glossary with Shisha Smoking Tips - In general, narghile pipes are often shipped unassembled and must be put together correctly for the waterpipe to work correctly. The following is a breakdown of the basic parts of most hookahs and should be of practical assistance if you are putting together a hookah for the first time and will also offer more experienced shisha smokers some helpful tips that will make smoking a shisha pipe even more satisfying and enjoyable.

Bowl - The bowl on the top is usually made from heat resistant ceramic although it is sometimes traditionally made with natural clay and has small holes in top part for the smoke to enter the shisha bowl. The shisha should be broken apart slightly with tongs and should not be packed in too tightly. Sometimes the nargila coals are placed on a stainless steel screen that sits on top of the shisha bowl and some pipes have a wind covered bowl that can close down on the top to keep the charcoal safely locked inside against possible spillage and will also shield the charcoal from wind if you are smoking outdoors. Often, the burning coals are placed on a sheet of aluminum foil that is specially cut to wrap over the shisha in the bowl and will need to have air holes punched in the top, either with a special made tool or by hand using something sharp to poke holes in the foil.

Bowl Grommet -The bowl sits on the top of the hookah on a rubber bowl grommet that is essential to providing an air tight seal for the shisha bowl so that air does not leak in from the sides.

Ash Tray -The ash tray is directly underneath the bowl and may either be attached with a screw that holds it tightly in place from on top or may have a traditional design that simply rests on the top of the stem.

Stem - stems come in a wide variety of styles, from lightweight metal stems with traditional designs to solid metal stems with intricate artwork engraved or etched on the metal. At the bottom of the stem, a down stem that sits inside the water is connected to the stem by screwing it into place.

Hose -The hose is one of the most decorative parts of the water pipe and comes in an endless array of eye catching hookah hose designs. It is connected to the stem and is either made from leather or synthetic leather that may be wiped clean after use or may be made with plastic or soft rubber that can be thoroughly washed and dried when finished. The mouthpiece is on one end of the shisha hose and is either connected with an additional grommet or may be permanently attached to the hose.

Hose Grommet -The hose grommet is made from washable rubber or soft plastic and connects the shisha to the stem in order to guarantee an airtight fit for your narghile pipe.

Base Grommet -The base grommet connected to the bottom of the stem and is made from rubber or silicone and has ribbed sides to keep it snugly fit inside the base and connects the shisha hose to the stem in order to guarantee an airtight fit for your narghile pipe.

Base Bottle -The base bottle or shisha vase is usually made from glass and may be either transparent to see the water bubble or may be frosted on the outside for a more opaque finish.

Water - Ususally waterpipes are filled about a fourth of the way with water with more liquid causing the pipe to draw smoke harder and with less making the hookahs easier to draw smoke. The end of the downstem must be completely submerged underneath the water for the waterpipe to "bubble" nicely. Try different water levels in your shisha pipe to find the amount that is most comfortable for you. In addition to water, a connoisseurs may often fill the vase with other types of liquids, from fruit juice to licorice flavored alcohol for the adult smokers and it is definitely something that can be experimented with although the classic shisha pipe is usually filled with clean water to properly enjoy the tasty shisha flavors.

One Way Valve with Steel Bearing -This feature is not as common on traditional narghile pipes from Egypt but is nearly always included on modern shisha pipes. The air valve provides a means to regulate the air flow through the hose and can be loosened to increase the air flow to the hookah making it easier to draw smoke or tightened to make the hose pressure go up making the pipe draw smoke harder.