Regal Mini Queen
Regal Hookah is a company based in California. They’ve been making pipes since 2009. They were one of the very first to create a hookah pipe with a modern design that didn’t compromise on quality. In the past, I’ve owned a Regal Melech (now called the King) which I reviewed back in 2015. Not too much has changed about their pipes since then but I wasn’t into open draw pipes at the time so I ended up selling it. Now, that’s basically all I smoke, and now that I have a lot more knowledge about the hobby as a whole I wanted to give it a new review.
The pipe weighs in at roughly 2.5 lb (1.13 kg) ~. The height from the bowl port to the end of the downstem is 22 inches (55.88 cm) tall. The classic woods used vary from light wood to brown to redwood. This is the redwood model. Nowadays Regal is making a multitude of different custom designs for the center portion even as far as making them from epoxies which are all made in-house.
All of the metal portions are made of 6061-grade aluminum. Generally speaking, this aluminum type is one of the strongest and most widely used aluminum due to its strength and corrosion resistance. Aluminum is very strong for its weight. Aluminum needs to be cared for more so than stainless steel. Aluminum does not rust but if it does happen to become damaged it could begin to corrode over time. With proper care, I can see this pipe lasting a very long time.
Each piece of aluminum is CNC milled meaning that they’re all identical with no blemishes or imperfections. With proper anodization as seen on the Regal pipes, it gives it a lovely look and also strengthens and protects the aluminum much more compared to untreated aluminum which further helps prevent corrosion and other damages such as scratches.
The hose port for this pipe requires a hose grommet and a hose with an adapter to be used. Back in the day Regal sported what I’d say was the widest draw you could get on a pipe but now I’d put it more in the middle of the road category. It’s more wide open than a Union but not as wide as, for example, the Aeon Lounge pipe which I frequent. With certain water levels, it can still be enjoyed as a wide-open draw pipe but it can be quite loud. Some enjoy the classic rumble of a traditional pipe and others do not.
Regal hookah uses a traditional chamber for its ports which is the standard at this point in the enthusiast community. I don’t believe I know of any that don’t use this style of chamber at this point but thought I’d mention it. For those who don’t know, there are 2 types of chambers, traditional and common. Traditional means there are direct passageways from the hose/purge ports to the bottom whereas with a common chamber there is an open cavity in the heart which makes for harder purging and cleaning.
The bowl port is flared towards the bottom this simply means it widens out at the bottom portion in a rounded fashion. Paired with a mod grommet and any bowl I own I’ve had no issues securing bowls onto this bowl port.
The classic tray is 8.25 inches (20.95 cm) in diameter. It does come separately from the stem itself. The tray is a good size which gives you a reasonable amount of space to ash your coals and perhaps even catch a coal if it was to fall off the top of your bowl.
In some lighting, you can see fingerprints smudges on the tray but honestly, it’s not all that noticeable a vast majority of the time. Since the tray is anodized it is quite heat resistant. I don’t suspect in the long term for any coal marks to be left on the tray.
Regal also makes a more unique looking tray shaped like a crown but, for me, I prefer the simple traditional shaped tray.
As I stated earlier the Regal pipe can be quite loud especially if you prefer to adjust your water level to make it as wide open as it possibly can be. This is where a diffuser can be a good option. I grabbed this Pharoah diffuser and it does a very solid job at making the pipe much quieter. This diffuser fits like a glove on the downstem and personally, this is going to be the norm for when I go to use this pipe.
I ran out of photos that I liked so let’s talk about the purge and then wrap this all up, shall we?
The purge does a decent job at doing what it’s supposed to do but there is some resistance when you blow into the pipe and it doesn’t clear in 1 attempt. It’s not a deal-breaker for me though. If I could change just 1 thing about this pipe it’d probably be to make the purge a bit easier to work with. Again, not a deal-breaker for me.
All in all, Regal still holds its own as a unique and elegant-looking pipe in the modern hookah market with performance to boot. It’s a well-smoking pipe that really differentiates itself in the market with its stunning traditional/modern blended looks. This model, in particular, comes in at 240 for the stem and tray but the different models will differ in price based on the model. As far as I’m aware all of the regal pipes share the same size ports and downstem so really it comes down to your preference on looks and height.
You can pick this up from 5starhookah.com. Don’t forget to use my discount code sloth15 for 15% off your order (doesn’t include items on sale). Thank you all for reading and if you like my content consider following me on my Instagram.