How to Select the Perfect Hookah Bowl Grommet

Bowl grommet happens to be a crucial part of the hookah setup, yet it often goes unnoticed. Not using one in your hookah or if the bowl fails to fit properly, it can ruin your entire smoking session by causing all kinds of airflow issues.. 

The hookah industry is brimming with various types of hookah bowls, and one grommet cannot go with all of them. Each type of hookah bowl requires a unique bowl grommet fit. Hence, we have dedicated today's Khalil Maamoon blog to guide you choose the perfect piece to get an absolute airtight seal.

Hookah Bowl Grommet: What Is It?

A hookah bowl grommet (also known as a gasket) happens to be a small cone-like thing that is generally made of silicone or rubber. It is put in between your hookah stem and hookah bowl, to create an airtight seal, prevent any air leaks, and ultimately maintain proper airflow in the hookah setup. It is essential for an optimal hookah experience.

These grommets are available in various shapes and sizes. The perfect one for your set depends entirely on the kind of hookah bowl you have.

Does Hookah Include a Bowl Grommet?

If you have your hookah from a renowned brand, then you surely have all the necessary accessories, including grommets, in it. We always ensure all the essentials required for the setup are shipped to you. However, hookah sets procured from local hookah shops may or may not include the bowl grommet. It centirely depends on where you got it.

Tip: When buying from local stores, ask what accessories are included with the hookah to ensure you have all the required parts.

Different Kinds of Hookah Bowl Grommets

Egyptian, Mya, and Mod, or Modern are three common types of bowl grommets popular in the hookah world. They are around an inch tall with an opening of ¾ inch. They basically differ in their thickness and flexibility. They work best with hookahs featuring inside-fitting bowl ports where the metal part of the stem goes inside the bowl. Kindly note, there are outside fitting bowl ports as well, but these are very rare and only work with the original  bowl and grommets that come with the hookah. Which grommet type would suit your requirement mainly depends on the hookah and hookah bowl you are using.

Egyptian Hookah Bowl Grommets

These bowl grommets mainly go with the traditional hookahs from the Middle East or Egyptian hookahs. These hookahs are handcrafted, featuring a sturdy hookah stem and a standard Egyptian clay hookah bowl. Usually, the bowl port is around 1 to 1 ½ inches wide. The sturdy design and medium thickness of the Egyptian grommets make them an ideal fit for most of the hookah bowls, including the standard ones. However, some handmade hookah bowls can differ in size, so accordingly you may require a thicker or thinner grommet.

Mod (Modern) Hookah Bowl Grommet

These bowl grommets are the thickest grommets available and are particularly designed for bowls with wider openings. Their thickness helps fill the gap in between the hookah bowl stem and hookah bowl with bigger openings.

They go best with the modern hookah brands offering hookah featuring narrow ports and with some handmade bowl designs with openings wider than the most. It can vary depending on the bowl size.

Mya Hookah Bowl Grommets

These bowl grommets happen to be the thinnest and most flexible ones on the market and are generally used with bowls with narrow openings and hookahs featuring slightly wide ports.

Which Type of Bowl Grommet Should You Use?

Depending on the particular hookah and bowl setup you are using, you need to choose a proper grommet. If you are using the bowl that came along with the hookah, then the right grommet would be the one explained earlier. However, if you have changed or upgraded your bowl, then finding a good fit becomes a tricky task.

The most ideal way to select the best-suitable grommet is by testing out the fit. First, place an Egyptian grommet on the hookah stem and try fitting the bowl on top of it. If it feels loose, try a thicker Mod grommet. However, if it slips upward and doesn’t sit on it, better try a thinner grommet.

Ideally, your hookah bowl should sit securely on the bowl port with very little or no movement and firm contact between the inside of the bowl and the grommet. Every bowl and grommet is different, so you need to experiment a little before you pick one.

Hookah Bowl Grommets: Bonus Tips and Tricks

Finding out the perfect match for your hookah bowl doesn't always work as an algebraic formula, but here are a few tips and tricks that experienced hookah smokers follow to help you decide.

Buy different types of grommets. Bowl grommets are very cheap, so it is better to keep some of each bowl grommet type handy. By doing so, you can easily switch them based on the type of hookah bowl you are using. Moreover, having some spare grommets is useful as they are small and easily get lost.

Paper towel hack. It is a trick and should never be used as a permanent substitute for the grommet. If the bowl is not fitting securely and you lost your grommet, then you can take a paper towel and fold it into a strip, creating a temporary grommet. 

Stacking grommet hack. Suppose your grommet is not fitting properly. You can try stacking another on it like a Mya grommet on an Egyptian one and adjust the thickness for a better fit.

The hookah market is flourishing with a plethora of great hookahs and shisha bowls. With so many excellent combinations worth trying, finding the perfectly fitting bowl grommet can often be challenging. But don't get dismayed, with this guide and bonus tips and tricks, you can easily find the best match for your hookah.

For more such informative guides, check out our other blogs. And if you are also thinking of getting a new hookah or bowl, don’t forget to browse through our Khalil Maamoon online store. We bring you the best traditional hookahs, hookah charcoal, and hookah accessories that you will hate to miss.

Till then, happy smoking!