It's a size thing - I mean, I know theoretically a well-designed small hookah should smoke as well as a well-designed big hookah - I get this - But I'm a guy, and even though I'm not butch, I don't drive a pick-up or own a firearm, it's still all about size - She's a pretty big pipe - The glass base is nice and thick, heavy but not cumbersome - I did have some odd brush strokes / residue on mine from the frosting process, but I've learned not to get stressed out about these things when it comes to hookahs - The stem is gorgeous, with solid brass-colored accents soldered on and highly polished - The stainless steel is of decent gauge, and like everyone says, will have weld/solder spots on it in places - There will be a pewter-colored residue in places - Get over it - If it bothers you, find a local metalsmith to make you a hookah bet you won't get one for under $1000 - The Nammor hose is, as always, fantastic - The second my queen arrived, I swapped out the bowl for a Vortex - I have no idea how the supplied Egyptian bowl smokes, nor do I care to find out - I stick to AF and Starbuzz for the most part, and have pulled the most amazing clouds with this pipe - Draw is absolutely effortless, just like breathing - It's amazing - And then there's the flared-downstem-diffuser issue - True, it might be a pain to get a diffuser to fit on it - But, I took the MacGyver approach: a 35mm film canister remember those? We photographers still use film sometimes, so they're still out there with a copious amount of tiny holes drilled in - I drilled a hole in the snap-on lid the size of the downstem, cut a slit from the hole to the edge of the lid think Pac-Man, and there ya go a diffuser that fits - She's big, she's bold, and she smokes like a fiend - Sure, she's a little pricey, and a little rough around the edges - But gorgeous, a great conversation piece, and a joy to have in the center of the living room - Just keep the cat away from it -