I have an original Lotus, and, after seeing the upgrades, this newer version of the Lotus is much improved - grooves on the bottom of the coal chamber and a larger coal chamber altogether means that using it isn't an exercise in shoving things in, and the coals stay lit for longer - The matte appearance is also much nicer and likely won't age as poorly as my old Lotus has - As for the bowl - - - I both love it and hate it - The silicon outside is awesome for grabbing it and cleaning up after a session quickly - However, for something like Tangiers my preferred brand of tobacco, you end up using more tobacco for a shorter session than, say, an Alien Mini or Alien Flashback, even when not packed densely which I'd recommend - You basically substitute foil and a couple coals for more tobacco, which isn't very cost effective - For tobaccos that have a larger cut and require more of a fluff pack, this setup is perfect and will give you a long lasting session - The flavor from this combo is very, very clean, though I wish the opening was larger - it's very narrow and can be slightly restrictive with larger downstems and hoses - and the tobacco wells were shallower - As a "shisha saver" type of combination, it sure uses a lot of tobacco - If I were to build my collection from scratch today, I'd certainly go for the new Lotus, but, personally, I'd wait on a smaller Vitria with a larger opening -