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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.

Alpaca bowls is a company based in the US. Generally speaking, Alpaca is known for their high-quality handmade bowls which sport high heat retention and thick clay. The Bambino V2 is a collaboration between 5starhookah and Alpaca. The Bambino V2 was created with shorter sessions in mind.

This bowl weighs in at 226g. The Bambino V2 holds anywhere from 9 – 13g of tobacco depending on your tobacco of choice. It’s rather shallow and has a unique shape compared to their other low-capacity bowls. Due to its shape, it’s a bowl well suited for both blonde and dark leaf tobaccos. It has a very wide spire for airflow. The spire height is high enough so that tobacco doesn’t fall through and low enough that I don’t experience any foil drag. The spire also features notches to help further prevent foil drag.

The bottom portion of the neck has a wide opening similar to the spire. I recommend sticking with mod grommets when using this bowl. With a mod grommet, I’m able to use this bowl with every pipe in my collection.

Trifecta pack: 10g

Tangiers pack: 13g

Haze Tobacco started back in 2011. They've gone through various phases of quality. I first tried their tobacco back in 2013 and it wasn't until around 2014 that it was a quality product in my eyes. Then around 2016, I noticed some quality issues once they began manufacturing in Spain and haven't touched it since then. About a month ago I decided to give it another go since their tobacco is now made in Poland.

Pear Drops is the newest flavor to join the Haze lineup. It came out in early 2021.

Haze uses blonde leaf tobacco that is light brown in color. It has a slight stickiness to it. The leaves are pretty finely cut as well. There are very few stems in the mixture (for those that are concerned about that).

Haze advertises a low nicotine content of .05%. I'd say that's fair and in the realm of what it actually is. For me, there is little to no buzz when smoking Haze. For those that are newer to smoking hookah tobacco, you might feel a light buzz.

For Haze, I opt for a normal pack to the rim and it's packed in an Alpaca Predator bowl. I used 2 CocoUrth Big Cubes in a AOT Provost and this pack came in at around 11-12 grams. In this bowl, I am able to get about an hour and a half to two hours with full flavor and cloud output. In a larger bowl, I am confident that it can push 3+ hours with ease. Haze has quickly risen to a product I'm comfortable purchasing once again and I'm happy that I'm able to enjoy their flavors like I used to back in the day.

Pear Drops aims to emulate the popular candy in the UK. It's honestly a candy I've never heard of or tried. Pear Drops candy is supposed to be a mixture of pear and banana. When I smoke this flavor I'd say a majority of what I taste comes from the pear. I don't think there is a noticeable banana aspect to it and it's light if that. The pear is candied, very sweet, and in your face. The banana is an afterthought really. The taste of this tobacco really reminds me of if peach rings were pear flavored.

I'd say if you're a fan of very sweet flavors this might be something that you might want to consider picking up. If you’re interested in purchasing this product you can pick it up from 5starhookah.com using my discount code sloth15 for 15% off your order (doesn’t include items on sale).

Trifecta is a hookah tobacco company based in the United States. It’s the fall season and typically around this time, I aim to get one pumpkin flavor. This year I chose Trifecta’s Pumpkin Latte. This flavor came out in 2019 and I haven’t heard anyone say much about it so I decided to give it a try, especially since I regard Trifecta as one of my favorite brands.

The tobacco is dark in color since it’s part of the dark line and quite juicy. I’d say this particular batch is a bit juicier than I’m used to. Also, for being Trifecta, there are more stems than usual. It’s not a huge deal but I ended up removing the thick stems or adding them to the bottom of my bowl. Trifecta has a medium choppy cut. Even though this tobacco is stronger in nicotine content than most blondes it’s commonly referred to as the weakest among the black leaf tobaccos that are available in America. This is great for those who aren’t chasing a buzz but want what dark leaf has to offer. The tobacco itself has an aroma of pumpkin but the strongest notes are of coffee.

I prepared this tobacco semi dense 1mm below the rim in a Mason Gravyl bowl. I used an AOT Provost with two Cocourth Cubes. With this set up I managed to get 2 hours before I called it quits. There was great flavor and cloud output throughout. It can go around 2.5-3 hours depending on your ability to heat manage.

When smoking this, you get hints of pumpkin but the pumpkin flavor is not that noticeable. It’s rather mellow and kind of blends in with the sweet note you get from the milky and creamy taste in the coffee. The coffee really drives this flavor. In my opinion the coffee flavor overpowers the pumpkin to a degree that it is pretty difficult to notice the pumpkin throughout the session. There is also an underlying spice note which I attribute to the pumpkin but overall the actual pumpkin flavor is underwhelming. Personally I wanted the pumpkin in this flavor to shine but clearly the main focus is to emulate the real thing–a Pumpkin Latte. I would like more pumpkin taste but I can see why many might like this, especially coffee lovers. It’s simply not my cup of Joe (hehe).

You can pick it 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.