When I first started smoking hookah a long time ago I bought a couple of these bowls. I have since moved onto other types of bowls but I keep a couple of these around.
These bowls are similar to a standard modern ceramic bowl. They are thin walled ceramic but are quite durable. The actual bowl is perfectly fine and a good bowl. The only real problem is that it requires a thick grommet as the bottom of the bowl is fairly wide.
The wind cover is useful sometimes but often times it’s a bother. The latch and wind cover combination is a good idea but it heats up quickly making it impossible to adjust the coals without burning your hands if it’s latched in place. I suggest leaving it unlatched and adjusting the height of the wind cover with your tongs. In this way it offers a good amount of control over the heat by allowing you to adjust how close to the coals you want the wind cover to be.
The other problem I found was that the wind cover rusted fairly quickly. It’s not a big deal but I found it unpleasant and discouraging.
These bowls are great for those that are worried about dropping coals while moving the hookah. I have used them entirely open and then closed it when I wanted to shift the hookah to prevent spills. It’s also a good idea to use these if you plan on smoking in the woods or other places where brush fires are a risk. Lastly, if you wanted to make a portable hookah, this would be the bowl to use.
These are hard to rate. They are a very specialized bowl and are terrible in some situations but good in others.
The actual bowl part gets a 6 out of 10 from me. It’s nothing special but it’s a good modern ceramic bowl.
The wind cover part gets a 5 out of 10. It’s more adjustable than a standard wind cover but it’s harder to adjust one you have started the session. The latch is useless unless you are trying to make a hookah for your car.
All together I give this hookah bowl a 5 out of 10. It’s a decent bowl but it’s not always the right choice. It has some very specific situations in which it’s actually useful. I think it’s good to keep one around, especially if you have a travel hookah.