The “Engine Driver,” with its gridded inline and upper gear percs, does look a bit like an engine. Given that, when I first loaded it up I was prepared for harsh smoke and gritty flavors. But what I got was a hit as clean as the frosted white accents around the piece’s lip, base, and percolators.
I’ll admit to underestimating this piece. I thought that it would just be a brief blip on my radar before I went shopping for something bigger and better, but honestly it just gets the job done right without being too flashy or intimidating. Honestly, I’ve been able to get much larger hits from this affordable little guy than some of the pieces worth twice this price.
With the “Engine Driver,” expect big and clean hits every time. I don’t usually add ice since I have a shoddy ice maker in my fridge, but what I was able to manage gave it an even cleaner taste. This could be a downside if you like to taste your herbs, but I prefer a hand pipe for that anyways.
If you’re looking to pick up the “Engine Driver,” definitely grab another 18.8mm male bowl. The bowl that comes with this piece had too large of a punch, and my ash (and even some of my unsmoked dry herb…) immediately fell down and into the water. After just a few bowls, the piece was practically black with resin and mushy ash. Cleaning the piece wasn’t terribly easy either, since the mixture that I was using had trouble getting into that second chamber to clean the gears. If you have the desire, I would recommend a kind of basic 90 degree ashcatcher for this piece so that you don’t feel like you have to grab the salt and alcohol after every bowl.
Overall, I would recommend “The Engine Driver” to anyone looking for an affordable and clean hit. Some may find the taste over-filtered, but for a strong hit to even you out in the mornings that might not be half bad.
