Travel Hookah

Travel hookahs for trips and outdoors

You are sitting outside with friends on a good summer day and think: one hookah now and the day would be perfect. That is exactly the situation a travel hookah is made for. It is small, easy to carry and comes along anywhere, whether that is a day at the beach, a holiday, a festival or a camping trip.

What sets travel hookahs apart

Small it should be, that much is obvious. A few other points matter just as much so nothing gets in your way out there.

What to look for in an outdoor hookah

Besides the size, the centre of gravity counts. If it does not sit as low as possible, the weight of the bowl, the smoke box and the charcoal makes the hookah top-heavy and it tips over quickly. For the same reason the hose should connect at the bottom rather than the top. One tug on the hose otherwise ends the session.

If you carry the hookah around a lot, and that is the whole point of an outdoor hookah, it is better to have no glass parts on it. That protects against transport damage, and glass is banned on many beaches and at most festivals anyway. And of course the pipe should take up little space.

Some manufacturers include a matching bag. With the AMOTION Roam Add-On Kit you get the bag, a mouthpiece and a hose together. The bag takes the Roam plus accessories, so also hookah charcoal, hookah tobacco and tongs. The hookah itself sits in the AMOTION Roam category.

AMOTION Amotion Roam - Stone Travel Hookah View product AMOTION Amotion Roam Addon Kit - Stone View product

Small does not mean less smoke

Early on, the myth that small hookahs smoke less than large ones sticks around. It is not true. How much smoke you get depends on the bowl, the heat management on top of it and how you pack it.

That makes sense, because the smoke is not created somewhere inside the hookah, it is created in the bowl where the tobacco sits. So a travel hookah smokes just as well as a big model. The AMOTION Roam is only around 15 cm tall and still delivers thick clouds.

Stainless steel travel hookah

Out on the road the material has to take more than it does in the living room. Sand and moisture leave their mark on a hookah. Stainless steel is the obvious choice for a travel hookah, because it does not rust when you pack the pipe away damp after a session.

The AMOTION Roam is built from stainless steel and ABS, with no glass anywhere on it. That gets it through transport and into places where glass is not allowed. Cleaning takes warm water and a bit of washing-up liquid. If you want a small stainless steel hookah for a fixed spot in the room rather than for the road, those models sit in the small hookah category.

Portable hookah and packable hookah

Portable hookah, packable hookah or hookah to go: it always means the same thing, a model that comes along without any fuss. Two numbers decide that. The AMOTION Roam measures around 15 cm and weighs about 1.2 kg, so it goes into a normal backpack without you having to pack around it.

The build adds to it. Because the Roam consists of few parts, it stands ready in a couple of moves. For storage it goes into the travel bag from the Add-On Kit together with hose, mouthpiece and bowl.

Where you can take a hookah to go

Because of its size it fits almost anywhere, and that is the big advantage over a tall model like the Moze Tradi. Mini hookah plus accessories into the bag and off you go.

The best places to take it

Our favourites are the beach, a lake or the mountains. Smoking a bowl out in nature feels different from doing it in the living room. It also works on a longer holiday, on a hotel balcony or in the sun by the sea. If you are after a compact hookah for home instead, have a look at the small hookah category, that is where the models for tight spaces sit.

Festival hookah

For festivals the small models are ideal. Make sure there are no glass parts on board, because glass is banned at almost every festival. The AMOTION Roam fits well here, because it is built to take a knock and still brings its own blowoff.

Camping hookah

Camping usually leaves you short of exactly one thing: power. An electric charcoal burner is of little use on a campsite, so gas belongs in the luggage. That is what the AMOTION Roam Outdoor Kit is for. Next to the hookah, the bag, a hose and a mouthpiece it holds an AO gas stove with a cartridge, which gets your charcoal glowing without a socket.

The second point when camping is the footing. No hookah stands straight on forest floor or grass, and a flat coaster under the base keeps it from sinking in. If you would rather avoid open flames on a camping trip altogether, the XKAH Pro further down is the alternative.

AMOTION Roam Outdoor Kit: Roam, bag, hose and mouthpiece, plus a gas stove and cartridge.

AMOTION Amotion Roam Outdoor Kit - Stone View product

What else you need besides the hookah

You need the usual accessories out there just as much as at home: hose, mouthpiece, bowl, tongs and an HMD. Plus a charcoal burner, and here a gas charcoal burner is the better pick, because sockets are rare outdoors. Consumables like tobacco and charcoal belong in the bag as well.

For tobacco you can orient yourself around these brands:

• Holster
• stral
• Blackburn

If you want to know which varieties suit you, try the hookah tobacco finder. After a few questions you get suggestions that match your taste.

For charcoal, go for natural charcoal made from coconut shells. Popular brands with us are Cocobration, BlackCocos and AO.

The perfect travel set

Our tip is the AMOTION Roam as a travel set. It holds the hookah together with a mouthpiece and hose in a matching colour, plus the carrying bag. That leaves you ready for the trip.

AMOTION Roam travel set: hookah, mouthpiece, hose and bag in one package.

AMOTION Amotion Roam - Stone - Travel Set View product

Charcoal-free on the road: the XKAH Pro

Lighting charcoal, waiting, swapping charcoal: out on the road that is the most tedious part of a session. The XKAH Pro takes it off your hands, because it replaces charcoal, burner, bowl and HMD. You pack the tobacco into the pod, insert it and switch the device on.

For travelling, the battery is what counts. Its 13,600 mAh last up to two hours depending on use and charge back up over USB-C in around 90 minutes. In the park, on the beach or on a balcony you do not need a socket within reach. The battery can be swapped, so with a second one in the bag the session carries on. Together with the AMOTION Roam that makes a setup which needs no open flame at all.

XKAH Pro: an electric heating system instead of charcoal, with a swappable battery and a travel bag.

XKAH XKAH Pro Graphit Hookah Smokebox View product

Which travel set suits you?

The AMOTION Roam comes on its own and in three packages. The comparison at the top of the page puts them side by side with height, weight, material and contents, and here is the short version:

• Roam on its own, €79.99: just the hookah. Right if you already have a hose, a mouthpiece and a bag.
• Add-On Kit, €44.99: travel bag, mouthpiece and hose to add to a Roam you already own.
• Travel Set, €119.99: the Roam together with the Add-On Kit, the complete start in one purchase.
• Outdoor Kit, €134.99: everything from the Travel Set plus an AO gas stove and a cartridge for sessions without a socket.
• XKAH Pro, €329.99: the upgrade if no charcoal should come along at all.