Oh, boy. Starbuzz. This is gonna be a long one. Mostly cause Starbuzz is probably the most complete brand out there. They have hookahs, accessories, tobacco. Even exotic things such as vape cartridges and fucking car freshners. I think they only miss the coals. Actually, nevermind.
I’ve never been a fan of Starbuzz shisha, even their most recent Serpent line has been kinda disappointing. Okay, pretty damn disappointing considering this is their second attempt after the vintage line to get into the dark leaf game and they’re still trailing the likes of Trifecta or Azure like there’s no freaking tomorrow. I haven’t had the Alchemist KFC line to see how it fares against that, since that seems like the most close competitor they’re after. Unless you’re the rookie still hooked on Blue Mist, their shisha line is a “fuck it, I’ll buy this if you don’t have anything else in stock” at best. Even considering people have individual tastes, life’s too short for you to spend your 20-something bucks on Starbuzz. Just don’t.
Their hookahs range from their initial older models to the newer aluminum ones and most recently the Starbuzz Carbine. Though it looks like the Mashisha Venom a bit spruced up (which in turn is most likely a knock-off, since that’s what they do), it’s regarded as a good hookah and people are gladly paying 300 bucks for one. Fuck it, at least they give you grommets.
As far as other accessories go, they’re the biggest proponents of the original vortex bowl (you know it, the one you were excited some years ago before figuring out it’s not really a great bowl), and they recently had a collaboration with alpaca to make a vortex bowl out of what’s actually good clay. It’s called the Stone Vortex, look it up. They also have the Goliath bowl which is awesome for when someone says he smokes for 4 hours and you get to ask them “from a Goliath, right?”
But the star of today’s show is the Starbuzz HMD, called the NAR.
This clunky motherfucker which looks like the result of an orgy between an espresso machine coffee holder, a garlic press, a turkey thermometer and an old Sherman tank can be viewed more in-depth here : YouTube link . The design is actually pretty cool, and even though it requires preheating and doesn’t have a handle to change the lid size, just like the Phoenix, it at least allows the hot air to travel through the sides instead of just shooting it up straight into your spire. The thermometer looks like a gimmick that’s probably gonna spawn a bunch of reddit threads about “what temperature do you smoke your X at?”, while also ignoring the fact that when you pull the temperature actually changes. The lid screeches like some hellspawn when you turn it, and overall it looks like it just won’t be able to have enough heat. Actually, initial reviews pointed that preheating is less a “can” and more of a “must” for this HMD, which is not exactly what I’d like.
The only redeeming thing about this release is that they actually hit a sweet spot in price point. It’s priced at $65, which while on the pricey side, doesn’t put it at a price disadvantage compared to the premium stratus, the Lotus II or the aforementioned Phoenix HMD. It’s definitely going to find a spot in the hauls of hardcore fans and experimenters, but I find it to be a good design with lackluster execution. Maybe a future iteration will bring the wall/bottom holes design from the NAR with a bit more space and a thinner wall, a la provost, and an improved lid. I’d actually buy one of those. I’ll even ignore the thermometer.
Hookah Rants 