The HookahJohn 80ft Bowls Upgrading your Bowl Bowls are something that we've already talked about in a previous post here at B2, in which we gave a brief overview of many bowls on the market. What we didn't talk about is how important bowls really are in a session. The bowl of a hookah is where the magic happens- it's where the shisha gets cooked to produce smoke for your enjoyment. If you mess up the bowl itself, or have a sub-par bowl, your entire session can be easily ruined. Most full hookah packages will come with a standard Egyptian bowl, and these are fine for many traditional tobaccos, such as Al Fakher and Nakhla. But what happens if you want to smoke something like Tangiers? It simply won't work, due to the nature of how Tangiers needs to be packed. It's because of this that we at B2 highly recommend purchasing a phunnel bowl, one like the HookahJohn 80ft bowl, or the Goodfella bowl by 5star. These are standard phunnel bowls that will perform exceptionally well, and are pretty easy on the wallet. If you already have these bowls and are looking for an even better phunnel bowl, you can look into getting a higher end bowl like the StoneFit bowl, the Kaloud Samsaris Vitria bowl, or even the Crown Cloud bowl. These are generally handmade bowls, or they may offer something different from the standard phunnel bowl, such as being specifically made for a heat management device, like the Kaloud Lotus or the Oduman Ignis. 
Cocourth Coals Buying some Better Coals Coals are another important part of your hookah that a lot of people don't think about much, but they really should. Coals are probably the second most important part of your session, because without your coals you literally cannot smoke, and if you have low quality coals, you can expect a low quality session. The first thing that most people on the online hookah community will almost attack you for is using quicklites, but why is this? A few things to consider: Yes, quicklite coals are super convenient due to how quickly they light. What causes them to light so quickly though is why most people tend to avoid them - the chemical propellant they use. This propellant can taint your bowl, even when fully lit, and can potentially cause your session to taste miserable. Something else to consider about quicklites is the quality of the coal. Most quicklites will break mid-session, which can cause heat loss, on top of gaining even more coal taste to your bowl. Because of this, we at B2 strongly advise picking up some natural coconut coals. Coconut coals put out more consistent heat throughout their lifespan, which can normally last around an hour to an hour and a half. Good coconut coals also won't break during normal use, as well as imparting little to no coal taste to your bowl, so you can keep your sessions clean and taste the shisha as it was intended to taste. Some great coals you can pick up are Cocourth coals, as well as Echocha coals. These are some of the highest quality coals on the market due to how long they last and how well they put out heat. Keep in mind that there are poor quality coals among coconut coals as well, like Coconara, which was once regarded as the best coals on the market, as well as Mya Genie Coco coals. I advise avoiding these coals if you can, but if you don't have any options, these are still better than using quicklites. Something else to consider is that different tobaccos require different amounts of heat. Tangiers, for example, requires relatively low amounts of heat, so something like Titanium coals or Coconours are perfect for this, as they put out less heat than most other coals. On the other hand, you have Haze, which likes a good bit of heat, for which Cocourth coals, and Haze's coals are perfect for, because they put out more heat than standard coals. 
The Kaloud Lotus
Heat Management Devices
Most people smoke with foil, and there's nothing wrong with that. Foil is much easier to come across, and every brand on the market is made with foil in mind. This isn't an absolute must-have device, but it's something that will improve your overall quality of smoking - a Heat Management Device. A Heat Management Device (or HMD, for short) is essentially a screen for your coals that heats up the entire device to provide an even distribution of heat to your entire bowl, while requiring almost no rotation of the coals at any point. HMDs are also said to prolong the life of your coals because they trap the heat in and prevent the coals from being overexposed to air, causing the coals to lose heat and to not last as long. There are several different HMDs on the market, the most prevalent being the Kaloud Lotus. The Lotus was essentially the first HMD, and changed how many people smoked worldwide. The Lotus features vents on the bottom of the device for airflow to your coals, as well as an adjustable windcover on the top, so you can adjust how much air is getting to your coals, essentially allowing you to adjust the how hot your coals are getting. The second HMD that most people recognize is the MIG Razor. The Razor is made in Germany, and is very similar to the Kaloud Lotus, but is bigger, allowing you to fit more coals in the device. It isn't as popular in the American market due to how expensive it is to import, unfortunately. The third HMD that is slowly gaining popularity is the Oduman Ignis. The Ignis, again, is the same basic concept of the Lotus, bigger like the Razor, and also features nubs on the inside of your device that allows airflow to get to the bottom of your coals, and prevents them from blacking out. Any one of these devices will function similarly, with the Lotus generally being the easiest to find. You can pick one up at any major vendor, like hookah-shisha.com, hookahjohn.com, and 5starhookah.com.
The Hybrid D-hose Upgrading Your Hose Most hookah packages come with a standard, nonwashable hose. Why is this important? If you can't wash a hose, you're allowing flavor to get trapped in the hose. This is called ghosting, and on washable hoses you can wash them out so you won't taste any coffee while you're smoking a mint flavor. If you try to wash a hose that isn't washable, the hose will rust, and more or less decay. I don't think anyone wants to inhale rust, and if you do, that's a completely different issue. Something else to consider when buying a new hose is how open or restricted of a draw you want it to be. Some great hose upgrades are standard washable hoses like the Nammor hose, the Nagoom hose, and the Narbish hose. These hoses all are very similar, featuring a wrapped handle and removable mouthtip in addition to being washable. If you're looking for something a little better than that, you can look at getting a Dream hose, or D-hose for short. The D-hose comes in four models, all of which are basically the same except for the handle - the glass D-hose, the acrylic D-hose, the Aluminum D-hose, and the Hybrid D-hose. They all have silicone tubing, which makes washing them a breeze, and helps to prevent ghosting. The D-hose also features a more open draw than the Narbish hoses and the like. If you aren't a fan of how heavy silicone tubing is, you can look into getting a Thunder hose, which features a very lightweight and long hose made of a high quality plastic, as well as the same open draw you'll find with the D-hose. The Thunder hose has a myriad of different models as well, so you can pick a handle and tip to your liking. 
Czech Mate Trumpet Base Upgrading Your Base Upgrading your base isn't an essential upgrade by any standard, and won't really effect your session, but is still a nice way to make your hookah look better. If you're looking into getting a new base for your hookah, keep in mind that it'll be purely aesthetic. That being said, the nicest bases you can buy are going to be Boho bases, or Bohemian bases. These are generally not made in the U.S., but feature crystal glass instead of normal glass, which is simply beautiful, as well as hand-done art. A cheaper alternative would be the Shika bases, as these are also some beautiful hand-made bases that are more affordable than Boho bases. Some more affordable options even beyond that are the Sahara Smoke bases, which are great replacement bases if you happen to break your base, or if you just want to have an extra base on hand, just in case (it's not a bad idea, trust me). There are many other things you can upgrade on your hookah, such as the tray and tongs, but for the most part, these are the things that will impact your session the most (as well as bases). Hopefully this was a concise guide for anyone reading, whether you be a new smoker, or a veteran smoker alike. If you found this helpful, let us know in the comments! We also have a new newsletter that you can subscribe to that will notify you when new articles become available, so if you want to see more articles like this, feel free to subscribe! Thanks for reading, and happy smokes!