Best Hookah Bowls of 2021: Top 6 Kickass Shisha Bowls

So you’re searching for the best hookah bowls?

Hookah head is an important factor when it comes to the quality of the smoking session.

Bearing in mind that different types of bowls are suitable for different types of tobacco, that different materials and styles can greatly affect the quality of smoking, I reviewed the 6 best shisha bowls currently on the market.

But that’s not all.

I’ve made the complete buying guide, where you’ll learn everything about different types, materials, sizes, and more. In the following article, I’ve put more than 10 years of experience with shisha smoking.

Ready? Let’s get started.

These Are The Top-Rated Shisha Bowls of 2021

Image	Description	Score	Check Price
Editor choice	BudPro Hookah Silicone Phunnel Bowl	9.5 Read review	$19.99 $10.49 Buy Now
2	Tangier’s Phunnel Hookah Bowl	9.5 Read review	$24.99 Buy Now
3	Kitosun Clay Shisha Bowl	9 Read review	Buy Now
Best value 4	Apple on The Top Hookah Bowl	9 Read review	$32.49 Buy Now
5	Kaloud Samsaris Vitria II Silicone Hookah Bowl	9 Read review	Buy Now
6	Pharaoh’s Hydra Shisha Bowl	9 Read review	Buy Now

Need more information? Just keep reading.

List of Best Hookah Heads Available on The Market

1. BudPro silicone phunnel hookah bowl
2. Tangiers phunnel hookah bowl
3. Kitosun Unglazed shisha bowl
4. Apple on The Top shisha bowl
5. Kaloud Samsaris Vitria II
6. Pharaoh’s Hydra shisha bowl
   

   How to Choose a Top Hookah Head

   Normally, the best ones are those that can hold up to 15-25 grams. This will make your session last around an hour, but it depends on different factors. If you wish to have one which could be suitable for a group of people or when you’re smoking with friends, then you need to go for a larger size which can hold up to 40g. Each bowl comes with its own characteristics and advantages, in the following section, I’ll compare them for you so you can make the best choice.

1. BudPro Hookah Bowl With Phunnel Silicone

Check Out The Best Deal
One of the biggest problems with clay or ceramic heads is that if they fall they will break. As a replacement, BudPro has come up with the Phunnel Silicone type with 7 holes at the bottom. The bowl comes in blue shade, although the HMD that comes with this bowl is pretty good, BudPro is also compatible with Kaloud Lotus as well.

This is a pretty big hookah bowl, it can hold around 30 to 40 g of shisha, with the help of HMD smoking session will last for hours. For those who don’t know, the heat management device will help you easily control the heat, by opening the wholes you’re releasing the heat accumulated in HMD, you should close the wholes once you want more heat from coals.

Why had we chosen BudPro as the best shisha head in 2021?

Phunnel style is always a better option than traditionally styled heads, that’s because such bowls are designed with the goal to save the juiciness of the shisha. More juiciness is equal, more flavor, better smoke, and longer smoking sessions.

Heat management is also awesome, as a very good copy of the famous and much more expensive cousin Klaoud Lotus, BudPro HMD will do literally everything KL does, ash from the coals won’t get in touch with shisha, and if you choose good coconut hookah coals the session will last much longer.  After spending some time smoking from this bowl, here’s what we’ve found as the biggest advantages and disadvantages.

Check Out Full Review: BudPro Silicone Bowl Review

2. Tangiers Phunnel Hookah Bowl

Check Out The Best Deal
Tangiers revolutionized a sleepy shisha market by releasing their first phunnel bowl, so this list can’t pass without this brand. This particular head is handmade of clay and can handle a maximum of 20 grams of shisha if you overpack it. It’s 4 inches long and weighs around 2 pounds because it’s handmade, their sizes may vary. This is one of the best clay shisha bowls and lots of passionate smokers always stick with Tangiers.

It’s no secret that Tangiers will provide excellent heat distribution, it’s designed with the purpose of replacing the traditional bowl and its disadvantages such as leaking juice of shisha down to the base. Tangiers is the first brand that started to produce phunnel style bowls, by choosing their product you’ll never make a mistake.

Why had we chosen the Tangiers clay bowl as the best in 2021?

It’s a true piece of art, carefully hand-crafted with passion, Tangiers is always providing a great smoking experience. As I already mentioned, it’s a great heat conductor, flavor, and shisha savior heads as this one will definitely save you some money in the long run.

As it’s designed in a way that saves the juice from shisha, the clouds will always be better, to take a maximum from it, I always pack Tangiers semi-dense, this way, I never had an issue with burned tobacco, even when I smoked less juicy shisha. Here’s what I’ve found as the main pros and cons.

Read the Full Review: Tangiers Phunnel Bowl Review

KitoSun Hookah Bowl

Check Out The Best Deal

Why had we chosen KitoSun Hookah Bowl as the best shisha head in 2021?

The KitoSun is a bowl that is made from a unique, high-quality clay that is highly heat resistant and allows retaining flavor in its most pure form that may be lost using silicone bowls that may cause the flavor’s taste to distort and taste burnt. It is the perfect bowl for users who do not prefer the use of silicone, it can store more flavor than the traditional bowl and the session just lasts forever when you are using it!

It has good control over its heat management as the top comes with expandable air vents that either trap or release heat that you can control as per what your shisha needs. The vents are to be closed if your shisha is not heating and to be opened if it is too harsh.

3. Apple on Top Hookah Bowl

Check Out The Best Deal
Inspired by the fruit hookah head the designer’s goal was transparent. They wanted to create a product that would be completely practical to handle while providing the full hookah experience. The Apple on Top bowl is an improved version of the Vortex hookah bowls, it works on the same principle, the only difference is the design.

Apple on the top is designed in such a way so you can handle it very easily, silicone is all around the bowl so there’s no way for you to get your hands burned. The silicone handle on the coal lid will make it easier for you to change the coals or remove the hot lid after the session.

Why We Had Chosen Apple on The Top As The Top Shisha Head in 2021?

Except for the unusual design, this head has great features. Since the metal part can hold anywhere from 30 to 40 g of tobacco, it’s recommended to place more shisha in it to allow a slower burning time. Even if the size of the bowl seems small at first, actually, it can hold a good amount of shisha.

Its Vortex style feature will allow you to smoke your shisha longer and enjoy the flavor more. Basically, the principle it works on is simple, it keeps all shisha juiciness in the bowl so the tobacco is more like cooked than burned. It will fit all medium and large hookahs, traditional as well as modern ones so if you have a hookah like Khalil Mamoon Ice Chamber, for example, you are golden.

4. Kaloud Samsaris Vitria II

Check Out The Best Deal
Kaloud Samsaris Vitria II comes as the evolution of the previous version of Samsaris Vitria. Its successor came as the world’s first Glass-Silicone Hybrid Bowl, and this product comes as an evolved version with added benefits.

The improved version esthetically looks a lot better, the glass part can be removed for cleaning or loading but can’t work without the silicone part.

In addition to the great look, the combination of glass, silicone, and Kaloud Lotus HMD turned out to be awesome, great clouds, better flavor, and longer sessions are the features of Vitria II. Here is one interesting feature to see for this type of bowl.

Why Had We Chosen Samsaris Vitria II As The Best Hookah Bowl of 2021?

Samsaris Vitria II is an awesome cloud producer, very easy to use and it can be cleaned with ease. The upgraded version was made especially for Kaloud lotus, it fits perfectly on the glass part and can be set up without much effort. Besides that, it fits perfectly on any medium and large hookah without the use of a grommet.

Like the older version, Vitra II has those grooves at the bottom of the bowl, those groves were made to even allow airflow, but it also allows the tobacco to heat more evenly as you smoke. Packing isn’t rocket science, it’s lightning and semi-thick packing I’ve found as the best way to pack the bowl, it will allow nice airflow through the tobacco and the smoke will be nice and thick.

Recommended tobacco is Tangiers, Al-Fakher, Starbuzz, Haze, Al-Waha, and all sorts of modern hookah tobacco. Are you having trouble setting up the HMD? Leave me a comment and I’ll help you out with everything you may find difficult.

5. Pharaoh’s Hydra Hookah Bowl

Check Out The Best Deal
Pharaoh’s Hydra is one solution for shisha smokers. There are three extensions for Hydra, in traditional Egyptian, Vortex, and phunnel style, all of them are made of unglazed clay.

The amazing thing with this bowl is you’ll get all of the benefits from clay while you can handle it as you like because the silicone part will stay cool during the session.

A good feature of silicone is that it is very durable while clay is an excellent heat conductor, the combination of these two materials is a really great idea considering that clay bowls are one of the top shisha heads on the market.

As with every bowl, this one also has its cons and the main one is that famous flavor ghosting. the unglazed clay will keep the flavor from the previous session, you can avoid that by cleaning the bowl right after a session but this is not a long-term solution, the real solution would be to have one extension for each flavor you smoke.

More on the cons of the bowl will be below this overview, but now let me tell you why I’ve chosen Pharaoh’s Hydra.

Why Had We Chosen Pharaoh’s Hydra As The Best Shisha Bowl in 2021?

It’s pretty much all you need for a good smoking session, Hydra will break down for you all the advantages and disadvantages from the most popular hookah head styles like traditional, phunnel, and vortex. If you have an HMD like Kaloud Lotus you could easily use it with Hydra, it won’t fit perfectly as on Kaloud Vitria II but far from not being able to use it.

The silicone body is very thick and really nice quality, it seems like designers put much effort into the silicone part, as for the clay heart, it works like any other unglazed clay bowl it’s medium-sized allowing you to put about 25g of shisha in it. Fluffy packing is the best way to pack this bowl, depending on which type of tobacco you’re using, you can choose between three different styles, or just by personal preference or experimenting purposes.

Beginners Guide on Buying a Hookah Bowl

When you’re ready to buy a new bowl for your hookah you need to consider a few things and those are:

• Material
• Size
• Type

Depending on your needs, you’ll choose the one that suits you best, but the goal of this article is to make it easier for you to choose. Here is the complete hookah bowl buying guide, in the following section you’ll find everything that I found important when it comes to buying.

12 Different Types of Hookah Bowls (Pros, Cons & Recommendations)

The classification of hookah heads available on the market can be divided into several types:

Crown bowl

The crown type of bowl has a very attractive look, but is that all that it has? Let’s find out. This bowl has an inverted design (coals go below the shisha) like iPuff. This is a very good system because you can control the heat and you can do that by moving up and down the part where coals go. It’s made of stainless steel, the size of the bowl is pretty much the same as Tangier’s Phunnel type. This is the easiest bowl to clean after smoking.

Phunnel bowl

This is the most popular, and most used head by many hookah enthusiasts. The best Phunnel bowls are Tangier’s and BudPro, you can read a full review above. This type is made mostly of clay ceramic and silicon. It features one raised hole in the middle, and because of that,  the juice cannot drain through the hole.

The best feature of this bowl is that the user can draw a lot more smoke compared to the traditional ones. With this bowl you will never get a bad smoking session, it keeps the flavor, shisha juice, and you can expect a great smoke delivery.  Another great feature of this type is that you can pack it however you want including the crazy overpacking.

Vortex bowl

Vortex is the strongest competitor to the Phunnel bowls. There is a lot of debate around which type is better. Vortex is something between a traditional and a Phunnel bowl. Similar to the Phunnel, this type is designed in such a way so it allows a better amount of airflow. It’s made from clay, pyrex, silicon, and even wood.

Holes in the middle are made to utilize the maximum amount of airflow, tobacco will burn slowly and you will get a fantastic smoking experience. The juice from the shisha will keep the flavor. Vortex usually has 4-5 holes on the sides inside a bowl.

Egyptian bowl

This is a traditional handmade hookah head, it has four to six holes at the bottom, but the usual number is five. When you’re buying a new hookah in most cases you will get Egyptian style. It’s made from clay or ceramic at the same time. This is the best and most common material. When it comes to quality you can easily recognize by looking at the holes If you see symmetrical holes and if the shape is good, this usually means that the craftsman has invested his time and efforts to craft it.

This bowl will not perform as well as the above-mentioned Vortex and Phunnel, because shisha juice will drain through holes at the bottom and will end up in the base. According to some reviews, this bowl will lose shisha flavor by 50 percent.

Let’s see the pros and cons of this type.

Syrian bowl

The Egyptian and Syrian bowls are pretty much the same but there is one small difference. As you can see from the image above, the only difference is that the Syrian-type base of the bowl goes into the hookah stem, while the Egyptian stem goes inside of the bowl. Pros and Cons are pretty much the same as Egyptian type but let me repeat, in case you skipped that section.

The same recommendations apply to this as well as to the Egyptian variant.

Glass Bowl

Anyone who smoked from the glass bowl knows that this is a fantastic feeling, you will always feel the pure taste of the shisha and it will be very easy to clean after use.

There are several types of glass shisha bowls:

• Molded
• Hand-blown

The molded type is cheaper, easier to break, and simply not worth money, while the hand-blown bowls are better quality, that type of craft is used by brands that made some of the best glass hookahs such as Evolution, Lavoo, Fumo, etc. Also, you can find it in different styles (Funnel, Vortex, Egyptian, Syrian.) They look fantastic, but whatever type they are, it’s very likely they will crack, at high temperatures.

Let’s take a clear picture.

Inverted bowl

This is something quite new on the market, this bowl works in such a way that it’s necessary to place the coals on the bottom of the bowl and tobacco goes above the coals on the top of the bowl, just because of that reversed system, it was named inverted bowl.

The main idea here is that you can control the heat, just by moving the part where the coals are located.

Another good thing is that this way the ash cannot get into the tobacco. Let me summarize this by showing you the pros, cons, and recommendations for this inverted style.

Glider bowl

Another fairly new concept made by Elite, this bowl is designed so that there is a drawer where the tobacco goes, and the coals, the same as every other type ( except inverted) goes to the top.

It’s made out of silicon, it can fit all hookah sizes without a problem, the drawer has two separate bulkheads so you can mix your favorite flavors with ease.

Here the foil is not necessary because it comes with a metal screen where the coals go, so you don’t need to use a foil at all.

Now I’ll show you UP and DOWNSIDES

Dome Bowl

The design of the bowl is one of the factors that impact your hookah experience. The dome-style bowl is one such example. Unlike other bowls with flat bottoms, this bowl has a bulging or convex shape at the center.

With few openings on the dome, it has a wide conduit that aids proper airflow to the distal end of the shaft. Generally made of silicone, this bowl is sturdy, heat resistant, and easier to handle.

Multihead Bowl

This bowl is something that could remind you of multiheaded beasts from movies. Generally, it uses a vortex or Syrian bowl with two, three, or even four heads. Multiple heads mean a treasure of flavors and enormous clouds.

This bowl is appreciated for its uniqueness, however, equally criticized for its functionality. A multihead hookah bowl might be difficult to handle but it’s a test of your dexterity and patience. You’ll definitely find yourself busier throughout the session.

Fruit Bowls

You’ve definitely seen all those fruit heads on Instagram, and we sure agree that they look attractive, but how effective are they?

Let’s see both pros and cons and how you can make one for yourself.

The principle of a bowl made out of fruit is the same as the regular ones but it looks fancier. The good thing is you can make one easily, just slice the upper part of the fruit and gently carve the interiors.

Remember to leave the walls thick enough to give structural support. Cut some holes and fix them with the bowl grommets. That’s all you require.

For an ideal fruit bowl, I recommend orange, pomegranate, grapefruit, or pineapple.

E Bowl

This may be the future of smoking but that is not the case at this time. This is not what you’re used to, you can not even smoke tobacco, instead, you need to use e-liquid (same principle as e-hookah.)

Most of them are made of high-quality materials, along with it, you will get a charger, in the place where usually coal goes, there will be a digital screen that will alert you when the battery is discharged.

It fits every nargile, but this is not something I would recommend. Maybe better days will come for this device, but that’s definitely not right now.

We Reviewed 6 Different Hookah Bowl Materials

1. Ceramic Bowls

Ceramic bowls are commonly used by shisha smokers. Originated in China, ceramic bowls are easily available at a very cheap price. They’re generally glazed and the material doesn’t retain any flavor.
They’re easy to wash and come in multi-colored enamel. But frequent washes don’t fade away the color. However, they have poor heat distribution that causes uneven cooking of shisha. But with a little heat management, it works fine. Also, they score less in terms of built quality. The bowl is hollow and weak in some areas and may cause molasses to leak into the base. Overall it’s good if you’re on a tight budget.

2. Clay Bowls

Clay bowl is yet another commonly used product that has been the core of hookah tradition. There are two main variants of clay bowls – Egyptian and Turkish.

The only difference is that the Original Turkish bowl has a raw appearance with a larger and uneven hole size. However, the hole placement doesn’t suit well with juicy shisha. They either end up blocking the holes or dripping down into the base.

The clay bowl has thicker walls and a rounded bottom. But most importantly, the bowl has excellent heat distribution. Because of the microscopic pores in the clay material, the bowl evenly cooks the shisha. Any excess heat so formed evaporates gradually through the pores.

NOTE: Clay bowl is often confused or interchangeably used with Ceramics. However, both materials are different. Clay is naturally found in the earth and its bowls are generally handmade. Whereas, ceramic bowls are prepared in factories which may or may not include clay.

3. Glazed vs Unglazed Clay Bowls

Glazed clay bowls are coated with layers of enamel. Besides its shiny appearance, the glazed bowl plays an important role while using different flavors. Because of the coating, the bowl doesn’t penetrate any flavor.
This makes it easy to rinse and prepare for another flavor. However, the glaze accumulates excess heat and may burn shisha unless used with heat management.

Unglazed clay bowls are the raw ones that don’t undergo any coating process. They are popular among traditional smokers. They have good heat management as well.

But due to direct contact with the molasses, the clay pores retain the flavor. This may interfere with the taste when you switch the flavor.

4. Metal Bowls

Metal bowls have one clear benefit – they’re tough and durable. Besides, they come in different attractive shapes and add to the aesthetics. However, there is one common complaint that they heat up quite fast.
You may get a taste of overcooked shisha if you’re not careful about heat management. In this case, you must not pack your shisha densely to avoid any burns.

Metal bowls are generally made of brass, stainless steel, aluminum, and even in combination with silicone.
Now unlike clay, ceramic, or glass bowl, it doesn’t break. Though mishandling the bowl may leave dents, so handle it gently.

5. Glass Bowls

Glass bowls are not quite popular among traditional smokers but especially for party goers or urban communities. Features like craftsmanship, ergonomic, and precise design make it a premium product.
A good quality bowl is produced from Schott German Borosilicate tubing.

The material is durable, heat resistant, and handles minor jerks. But because it is expensive, a broken glass bowl may break your heart.

In comparison, Chinese glass bowls are made of soda-lime glass that is much cheaper. They’re nowhere near borosilicate glass in terms of durability and heat retention.

Not only do they have poor design, but the holes are also unevenly drilled which makes them prone to cracks.

6. Silicone Bowls

Bowls made of silicone have a material advantage over others. They’re unbreakable how hard it hits the ground. You can enjoy any type of shisha, juicier to drier.

Interiors are specifically made to avoid any leakage and retain moisture. Silicone has low heat conductivity. Therefore, it has much better insulation that you can literally handle while your shisha burns.
Because of this property, however, shisha at the bottom end sometimes remains uncooked. Also, it’s highly recommended to use medical-grade silicone bowls only. Low quality or cheap bowls emit silicone dioxide which may harm your lungs.

Hookah Bowl Sizes

When it comes to the size of the bowl you need to consider a couple of things, first, do you like to smoke hookah alone, or with your friends, and how long would you like your session to last.

There are three hookah bowl sizes:

• Large
• Medium
• Small

When you are about to decide how long your hookah session will last, keep in mind that an important rule that plays here is how do you pack your bowl, which coals you use, what kind of tobacco you are smoking as well as the size of the bowl. All these factors have an impact on how long the smoking session will last.

For example, if you overpack a small bowl which is not recommended,  your session will last at least 1 hour. On the other hand with the large bowl (my pick is BudPro) your smoking session can reach 2 hours easily. The medium size is anywhere in the middle and you can smoke for about one and half hours.

Which Are The Most Popular Shisha Bowls?

As you know or may not know, the most popular hookah bowls among smokers are phunnel and vortex. 

Phunnel Vs Vortex Bowl

What is a vortex hookah bowl?

It’s a bit shorter and wider compared to a phunnel bowl. There are 4 to 5 holes on top when smoking, air will flow through the holes, which will lead to lengthening the session. The Vortex Bowl is a very reliable choice for hookah veterans and an inspiration for the new models that are yet to come. You will generally be able to use it with every hookah size.

What is a Phunnel hookah bowl?

It can hold 20 grams, which is less compared to the vortex, but it looks much more elegant and attractive. This bowl is narrower, higher, and fits perfectly with almost all hookahs. Many experienced smokers prefer this kind of bowl, but that’s just because of its appearance. There are many different phunnel bowls, the best among them are convincingly handmade Tangier’s bowls, but there should also be no neglect of silicone type that also has its advantages.

Conclusion:

These are some of the most popular and best hookah bowls readily available on the internet. I tried to answer the most popular question when it comes to choosing your first or new bowl. Wishing you a wonderful hookah experience in the future.ion