Egyptian Hookah Bowls Vs. Phunnel Bowls: Which Is Better?

Today’s topic is another showdown between modern and traditional, but
more directly Egyptian Hookah Bowls vs Phunnel Hookah Bowls.
Which is better for you and your sessions? Let’s find out.

00:19 Design
Phunnel bowls have a spire that is raised up from the center of the bowl,
giving the juice a place to soak up the heat and keep your session smooth
and cloudy.

These bowls are also a modern take on smoking and are perfect partners for your HMD. The drawback to their design can be foil drag. This happens when the spire is too high and cuts off airflow when inhaling, unfortunately, if this is the case you will likely need a new bowl.

Egyptian bowls pull air through your tobacco rather than around it. These
bowls feature a five-hole pattern on the bottom of the bowl and are designed to give you a flavorful puff no matter what you’re packing.
With this bowl being traditional, in most cases you won’t be able to use
HMDs and will need to keep with the old school vibe and rock with foil.
The drawback to this design can be packing. If you aren’t packing careful
enough you may end up with a clogged bowl. Always leave the center hole
open and pack very lightly around the others.

01:15 Material
With high-quality phunnel bowls, the material used is a white clay mix called stoneware that is made to cook your tobacco from all sides.
While these bowls are all handmade and can vary, most follow a set depth
and diameter.

A drawback here can be price though, as you are paying for the
craftsmanship. Traditional Egyptian bowls are handmade using red clay that does a great job at retaining heat. They’re infamous for their lack of quality control though. Holes that aren’t fully punctured, an uneven rim, and chips in the clay are all hallmarks of this type of bowl. But they all have character built-in, that’s for sure!

01:55 Tobacco Types
Egyptian bowls are fantastic to have for traditional blends of hookah tobacco. The airflow focused through the bottom of the bowl is needed for these dry and sticky tobaccos to give you the best session possible.

On the other hand, a phunnel bowl is ideal for all modern brands of hookah
tobacco as they are juicy rather than sticky. The juice that makes up these blends will be saved by the dish of the phunnel instead of escaping down the five-holed design of Egyptian bowls.

02:24 Smoke Quality
Egyptian bowls are awesome at burning through all the tobacco you packed and give you beautiful flavor. Their hole placement can be considered a downfall though as modern brands of hookah tobacco drip through, leaving the tobacco leaves defenseless against the heat.
If this happens it will lead to more heat management issues or even your
session being cut short.

Phunnel bowls do an outstanding job at keeping your tobacco as chill as you. With the juice in one place and walls of the bowl cooking your shisha, fluffy clouds and flavor are just a puff away. These bowls do take more skill to pack though. If you are packing too tight you may end up burning through the top layers instead of everything, and no one likes being left with unused hookah tobacco at the end of the session.

Now that you know the ins and outs of these two bowls, which one are you
loading on your next session? As always, thank you for tuning in and we’ll
see you on the next one Fumari Fam.