Hookah Bases - The Foundation of Your Smoke!

The Hookah. It's comprised of a few main parts - the stem, the bowl, the hose, and the base. The bowl is where your tobacco is cooked, the stem is where your smoke travels, the hose is what gets the smoke to your mouth, and the base is what holds your water, and keeps your smoke cool. The base is where your smoke is held, and it's honestly probably one of the most overlooked parts of a hookah. Everyone focuses on the bowl (and understandably so), or the hose, but no one ever talks about upping your hookah game with a new base. While it may not have as large of an impact on your hookah session as something like a great bowl, or solid hose, a new base is something that certainly can make a big difference when you're smoking. I like to think of the base as the cherry on top. Once you're confident in your bowl and your hose, you should start looking at upgrading your base. It's not something that everyone needs to upgrade, but it absolutely makes a big visual difference, and, I think, it makes a subtle difference in how your hookah smokes.

What's a boho? 

Boho's, or bohemian bases, are generally what people look at when they're upgrading their hookah base. Boho's are bases that are made out of bohemian glass. Bohemian glass is kind of a broad term, as there's no "true" meaning for what bohemian glass is, but what it generally means is that you can expect a very clear glass. In most cases, you can even expect for them to be crystal based glass. What does this mean for you? Boho's are generally going to be much more consistent, for starters. The glass is also generally thicker, making it slightly more durable (still, probably best not to drop it). The glass will be free from deformities, such as air bubbles or cracks. And while these bases are hand made, you should expect a much smaller margin of human error on boho bases. The paint or designs will also be more durable as well, and, while you'll still want to be careful when cleaning them, these designs will remain through many more baths than normal bases. In short, boho bases are just a super high quality base, with improved aesthetics and overall quality.

Okay, but which boho? 

 

There are a ton of boho base brands on the market - some easy to find, some, not so much. Czech Mate - a company based out of the Czech republic. They focus on clear style bases, with a painted design on them. These really exploded in popularity a few years ago with their famous Trumpet boho, something that was the desire of many for the longest time. HookahJohn is also known to collaborate them, and he has a few boho's made by them that he sells exclusively as well. Egermann - another company based out of the Czech republic (most are, to be frank). Egermann bases have a huge following, and for good reason. Over the years, these have varied in availability - largely due to their popularity. They feature primarily colored bases (with some clear models available), and some absolutely stellar aesthetics painted on. Like most boho's, these are all made by hand, and the work that goes into them really shows when you're smoking them. BJ Glassworks - another Czech based company. BJ and Egermann bases are frequently confused, as they're highly similar bases. BJ's true claim to fame is their floral patterns - something that they do astonishingly well. It's something that is the true mark of a BJ base, as well as the traditional boho quality.

Any of these bases are a wonderful option to be looking at when you're considering upgrading your base game, as they're all of similar quality. There are two things that should really be on your mind when picking a base - the aesthetics, and the style.

Different Style Bases

 

The final thing that boho bases can offer is a variation in styles of bases. Most everyone is familiar with the more traditional "bell" style base, pretty much the industry standard for bases. These bases are exceptionally functional, and the only thing that a boho bell will alter is the aesthetics of your setup. Aside from the bell bases, when you're looking at bases, you'll also start to run into bases like the "trumpet" style base, or "tower" as some brands call them. These bases are going to have a flat bottom, with a steady slope inward, up to the neck of the base, where your hookah goes in. Something to keep in mind when you're looking at these bases - it does alter the draw of your smoke. It's not a drastic difference, but it is something noticeable. Because of the style of these bases, there's less room in which the smoke has to compress, and it alters the way that your hookah will hit. You should also make sure that your hookah has a long enough downstem when looking at these bases, as the inward slope can make it easier for water to get into your hose if your downstem isn't low enough in the base. The next style of base that we'll be looking at is the "genie" style, which is really just a slightly modified version of the trumpet style. Genie bases have the same inward sloping style, however they also have a larger chamber at the bottom of the base, which gives it the genie bottle look, hence the name. These suffer from the same effects as the trumpets, where you want to make sure that you have a long enough downstem (I recommend the longest downstem you can find) for these, otherwise you can very easily get water in your hose. The next style base that we're going to be talking about is the "teardop" style base. These bases are more of an offshoot of the standard bell style base, with a modified base. Instead of a flared bottom, these are more rounded towards the bottom, giving them the look of a tear drop. These bases gain all of the benefits of the standard bell - such as being well grounded, and easy to use with just about any stem - but they also come with a small side note. Just as the trumpet base can slightly restrict your smoke, having more room in the base can add to your draw. It creates a type of psuedo restriction, because having more room from which you have to pull can naturally increase how hard you need to pull to smoke. It's a small amount, but it's definitely worth noting.  The final kind of base that we'll be talking about is the jumbo style base. These are another off-shoot of the bell base, however these feature the same base, with an enlarged upper chamber, allowing for more smoke to accumulate in the chamber. These, like the teardrop bases, have the same kind of psuedo restriction, where having more space for smoke to accumulate causes you to put more effort into pulling. Again, not a huge deal, just something worth noting.

Overall? 

You've got it all. You've got the stem of your dreams, the bowl that you love, and the best hose that you could imagine. It's time to do it. Upgrade that base. While sure, it's not something that will change your smoking experience (for the most part), it will certainly make your setup come together, and look fantastic at that. If you're using something like a Regal hookah, a Mason bowl, and an Aviator hose - don't you owe it to yourself (and your setup) to finish the setup? What do you think? Do you have a boho? Do you want one? What kind do you like? Let us know in those comments down below! And as always guys, thank you so much for reading, and happy smokes!