Background
MIG stands for "Made In Germany," as this product, and all of MIG's products, are made in Germany. MIG hookahs are machined hookahs made of stainless steel, and they usually feature a common chamber, as that is the norm in Europe. They're definitely quality pieces, and it seems that the same quality can be said for the Razer. The Razer came out a year or so after the Lotus made its first emergence to the market. Because of this, many claimed that the Razer was a rip off design from the Lotus, and shunned it because of that. In addition, the device is not able to be found in the US, I believe because of Kalouds strict patent policy regarding the Lotus. Which, to be fair, I can understand. If I had made an innovative product like the Lotus, I would want to protect that design if my life depended on it. I have no actual confirmation to these suspicions, but after the way the Oduman Ignis was chased off of the US market, I would imagine that the Razer received similar treatment.
Design
The Razer does have a similar size to the Lotus, though you'll notice that it's much taller than the Lotus. It fits three cubes with ease, and it also has a design on the bottom of the interior that allows for better airflow to reach the bottom of your coals. The functionality isn't perfect, however it does work mildly well, and it's better than no airflow to the bottom of your coals.
The Razer is made from a single piece of metal, and because of this, it actually heats up faster than any other HMD on the market (save for maybe the Provost, which doesn't really count as a true HMD anyway).
If you'll notice, on the bottom of the Razer there is a big ring instead of many nubs, like can be found on the Kaloud Lotus or the Oduman Ignis. While some may think this helps get heat to your shisha, it actually hinders airflow to your bowl, and doesn't really allow for a dense pack of any kind without major airflow loss.
Because the interior of the device is larger, it doesn't function as well with flat coals as the Lotus. I find myself sticking to cube coals with this, as it loses heat from flats after the hour mark, whereas I can get roughly an hour and a half from flats with the Lotus.
The design of the lid of the device is also rather interesting. The part of the lid that rotates is the top part, like the lotus, but the bottom portion of the lid actually has a recessed portion of the device that it fits into, and the top of the lid rotates on top of that. In contrast, the Lotus lid is perfectly level, and the interior of the Lotus lid grips to the flat surface on top of the Lotus body itself. Due to the design on the Razer lid, I do find that the lid gets stuck with some frequency, though nothing major. Maybe once out of every ten sessions or so.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The device heats up faster, it allows for the use of three cube coals, and helps prevent your coals from blacking out on the bottom. | Due to the ring on the bottom of the device, it restricts airflow with shallow bowls, the lid gets stuck occasionally, and it's extremely pricey, sitting at at around $80 formerly to get one shipped to the US. |
Overall?
Is the Razer worth the price difference between the two devices? I certainly don't think so. The device works, and it functions decently well, but the ring on the bottom of the device hindering airflow is a big oversight to me. When you're paying over double the price of the Lotus, you should expect a product that's significantly better than it. If you had asked me a few years ago, and if you were someone who was a diehard cube coal fan, I would tell you to get the Razer. I like that I can use three cubes with it, but that's really it. Now, I would tell you to get an Oduman Ignis, as I find that it's the superior device to this for use with cube coals, at almost a quarter of the price. It's a HMD, and it works, but I don't think it's worth the price tag. As always though, this is just my opinion, and you're more than welcome to disagree with me! Do you have the Razer? Do you like it? Do you want one after reading this? Let me know in the comments below! As always guys, thanks so much for reading, and happy smokes!