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Kaloud Lotus


Chreees

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Please place your reviews for Kaloud Lotus here. Any non-review posts or comments will be edited out by the mods. Please start your post with "Kaloud Lotus Review" for search purposes. Edited by Chreees
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  • 3 weeks later...
[b]Kaloud Lotus Review[/b]

[u]What is it?[/u] A windcover/foil screen combo
[u]Ok, what's it suppose to do?[/u] Minimize heat mangagment/enhance smoke session for allowing even heating distrubution across the bowl and shisha
[u]Does it work?[/u] Yes
[u]Cost?[/u] $60 (pre-order price was $35 and below)
Coal Type? 2 natural coals. coconut cubes work best. Flats are a tight fit. No more than 2 are going to fit.

For full unboxing pictures, see here: http://www.hookahforum.com/topic/49430-kaloud-lotus-unboxing/page__hl__kaloud

The Kaloud Lotus does indeed do what it says it does. Setup is a hair faster because I do not have to break out the foil or poke holes in it. Heat is over the entire bowl instead one side being favored. Coals last longer because of a tighter control of air flow.
[b]Pros[/b]
Instant heat. Heat the Lotus during the final minutes of coal heat up. You get instant smoke/flavor. No starting needed here.
Easy setup. Save on foil "costs"
Less management of coals. I can set it and forget it. Good for movies/video games
Longevity. 2 coals now go 75 minutes easy.
No ash in the bowl. Since the entire "screen" is one piece of metal, no ash falls into the shisha.
Intense flavor. Not sure where this is coming from honestly but there is a difference flavor wise. This can be good or bad depending on what is enhanced.

[b]Cons[/b]
Price, price, price. $60 for is the standard price. Way too high for something like this.
cleanup. Shisha gets stuck on the bottom and does not come off easy
construction? The metal is starting to tarnish and fast. So far no rust but time will tell.

[b]Recommend?[/b] No. The price is too high for what you get. I got it for the pre-order price and I do seriously like the device however I cannot honestly recommend someone to fork over $60 for this.

[b]Final word? [/b]Works best on the vortext bowl honestly with wet shishas. I did try it on a phunnel on tangiers but it was hard to keep the heat up.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/zusxDl.jpg[/IMG]
On a phunnel with some AF Watermelon

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/fjMyMl.jpg[/IMG]
coals after 90 minutes

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/arCbHl.jpg[/IMG]
bottom of lotus after session

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/3sDp1l.jpg[/IMG]
inside the phunnel after session

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/UWmqVl.jpg[/IMG]
Day 1 look

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/PvN9jl.jpg[/IMG]
current state. Starting to lose that shine
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  • 5 months later...

What is it? A windcover/foil screen combo
Ok, what's it suppose to do? Minimize heat mangagment/enhance smoke session for allowing even heating distribution across the bowl and shisha
Does it work? Yes
Cost? $50 right now
Setup   I used a KM trimetal, nammor house and small tangiers funnel bowl

Shisha- Tangiers Pineapple (only thing I smoke at the moment) Coals 2x coconara's cube style (flats won't fit properly)

 

 

So, when I first saw a video of this thing I thought it looked pretty cool, then the guy said it cost 50$ and I was kind of like hell no. Lately I've been having a lot of trouble to heat management  not because I don't know what I'm doing but simply because I'm lazy. When I smoke I'm usually watching a movie, or playing video games and not paying attention to my bowl or rotating coals. I've also been having to chop coals in half lately to get the  heat just right which has been a nuisance in itself. Since I heard such great things about it I'd figure I'd give it a try purely for heat management. 

 

 

Pros- Set it and forget it, plain and simple

         Coals last alot longer, I get about 70 minutes of off coco's

         I have yet to burn a bowl, opening and closing the vents is so simple it makes it a breeze

         You get a "fresher" taste, I don't know how to explain it but the flavor is a bit more enhanced, nothing drastic, but defiantly noticeable.

 

Cons- Price, 50$ is steep let's be honest that's about a kilo of tobacco

          Clean up, it's a bitch I'm not going to lie. Yea, you just have to scrub it which isn't "hard" per say, but if you want to do a continues session you have to make sure you dry it perfectly, because if coals get wet they die :(

 

 

Overall, I love this product. Here's the thing, if you're perfectly content with your heat management, moving and ashing the coals and you don't mind it at all, this product is a waste of money. If you're like me and lazy, or just simply can't get the right heat going then this product is perfect for you. 

 

I have heard that it does drastically changes the flavors, like tangiers march cherry, but I haven't experienced that yet. I do have a tangiers cherry pack, and I will test it and update you guys!

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  • 2 months later...
Here's my review of it. Not going to restate the above.

I've gotten my kloud to work quite well, works well while traveling.

I'm using chronic Hookah instant coals. 1 because they work well to start while traveling 2 because they don't come apart from the ash easily, so i can pull then out without taking the kloud off when adding extra coals.

This it's important as sisha does stick to the bottom. But I've managed to learn to clean them well. Wipe off extra sisha with a paper towel, then let then soak in water for a while. I usually leave then in 1/4" water for over night after a smoking session then clean then up the next morning.

I've not had it affect the flavor of Tangiers, starbuzz, our summary so far. If anything the flair it a little cleaner.

There is a learning curve. Heat is awkward. I get it started with 2 coals, then take one off till it needed more heat. When those 2 are done I take then out and add 1 more, followed by another add that ones heat dies off. When those 2 coals are done I add 2 for the final smoker though that can bee excessive sometimes.

Generally I keep the rotating air flow lid closed the entire time. I've found 1 coal to start does not generate the necessary heat to get it started smoking.

For the bowls I've used hj alien though I prefer not to unless i expect a really short session. Tangiers mini, works quite well, lasts 3-3 1/2 hrs. And a regular bowl, but I only expended with it and haven't worked out the kinks.

I do notice I can use a little less sisha than when packing it with foil.
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  • 4 months later...

Kaloud Lotus Review

 

Intro: The lotus is a new hookah accessory that you put on top of your hookah bowl. It eliminates the need for foil (which is a huge advantage) and encases your coals which acts similarly to a windcover (trapping in heat and extending life of coals). It seems to fit most phunnel and vortex styled bowls. While you can still use an Egyptian bowl, most people claim you get better results sticking to a phunnel or vortex bowl.

 

Setup: I've been using a standard 35inch Khalil Mamoon along with a Nammor hose for testing out the Lotus. I've used both the Harmony bowl and Medium Tangiers Phunnel bowl. The Lotus fits the Harmony perfectly with only a small gap on my phunnel (not much of a problem). For coals I used Coco Nara Natural flat coals (not the cubes). I usually will start with 3 coals in the bowl, then take one out once the bowl gets going, then add the 3rd back in once the coals start to die down.

 

Pros:

  • Less chance of dropping coals
  • Minimal coal taste, actually no coal taste!
  • Heat management's a breeze, control the heat by opening or closing the lid
  • Better heat distribution, heats up bowl evenly to bake the bowl
  • Coals last longer, Lotus acts as a wind cover to help extend the life of coals
  • Lotus is forgiving on different bowl packing techniques (However I still have to find the absolute sweet spot)

Cons:

  • Only one size, might be to small or to big if you have an abnormal bowl size
  • Expensive…currently sells for $45 (I guess cheaper than when first released)
  • Can get very hot, harder to pick up than coals (have an oven mitt on hand)
  • Lid feels flimsy and lid handle feels cheap
  • Can be hard to clean the bottom
  • Makes you become a lazy SOB with heat management

Overall

Overall, I love the Lotus but still need to find the sweet spot. Seems like I have better bowls with some flavors/brands than others. I can get Al Fakher down pat but Fantasia and Fumari are a bit more temperamental (at least for me). It can be a bit expensive but if your heat management has been suffering lately, you may want to give this a try. I'd give the Lotus an 9/10 for being so innovative, helpful, and functional. However, it still has it's problems as well.

 

I also wrote a more in-depth article about the Lotus at Hookah Database that also includes some pictures: Kaloud Lotus Review

Edited by Eddie_H
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