Archive for October, 2009

*Hookah:* MYA Acrylic Mini *Size:* 16" *Price:* £30 (around $45) Image: http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll192/mr-sinizta/mya-mini-acrylic-blue.jpg Before purchasing this hookah I saw a video review of it but the guys who did it only seemed to have given a review of it on what it's like to begin with and smoke through initially. They didn't do anything on what it's like after using it for a significant period of time (months not hours). Ok so the MYA mini is my very first hookah and thanks to the fine folk on Hookah Pro I've learnt what to look for when I'm ready to purchase a good second rig. The MYA mini in my opinion is only a pipe you want to keep for a temporary period of time with the intention of upgrading in the near future because I'll be honest, I've only had it for about two months and already it's starting to show a lot of flaws. But it's not all bad, even though it's cons outweigh it's pros. The stem feels solid and feels weighty for a small rig, there aren't any obvious signs of welds and everything for the most part sits quite flush and looks clean. It's also small enough to take to a friend's house or work, It's not too bad of a smoker....... to begin with. On the downside though, the water vase feels very cheap and plastic. The grommets are quite flimsy, especially the hose grommet which keeps sliding in and out of the nozzle for your hose, this a good time to mention that the nozzle rusts very quickly and mine already has brown colouration on the inside with these strange white dots. The hose is made of a leatherish material and thanks to HookahPro member 'Sosolid' I was informed that the hose can't be washed because it would be ruined, this is a real pain because as soon as you smoke a strong flavoured shisha for example AF's double apple, the smell of double apple lingers in the hose even after you have smoked a few different flavoured shishas. Also, the clay bowl I received had a oval shaped entry slot (rather than a circle shape) where the stem is inserted into it, this often caused the shisha to leak out down onto the tray and the smoke would escape out the bottom because it was poorly moulded and didn't sit snugly around the bowl grommet. The worst thing is that the inside of the stem has a rough metal texture which at first I thought was normal but after Sosolid sent me a picture of the inside of his stem I immediately saw the difference, this rough metal texture on the inside makes it harder to clean and easier for all kinds of crap to get caught in there which quickly lessens the enjoyment of your smoking session. Overall, this is just a pipe to help you learn the ropes of how to set up a hookah and learn the technique of pacing yourself when smoking shisha. But apart from that you will quickly find yourself replacing your bowl, hose and grommets. My advice would be purchase this only if you're on a tight budget, but if you can wait and save up a bit more... It's better to invest in a half decent hookah (maybe a Khalil Mamoon Beast or Farida mini) if a small rig is what you're after. Thanks for reading and enough love to all my Yankee comrades who have helped school me in setting up and smoking a hookah.

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