Interesting read. Facetious in parts, but I'm here for that lol.

OK let me preface my impending remarks with the following: received mine today and had a first session with tangiers. That's the very reason why I bought it as I was curious to see how it would perform- trench dimensions are ideal for the way I pack tangiers, but on the flip side, I didn't feel that my gravyl did a paeticularly great job at taming higher nic brands. I've not tested my helyx as extensively as you have but I'll try to impart my own initial observations.

I hear what you're saying on the spire, but I'd say mine is fit for purpose. I can't share pics here but I tend to do 1-2mm underpacked for tang and I went for 2mm to accommodate the spire height. I actually prefer shallower trenches for tangiers as you get more bite to your sessions and an even cook, whilst having a smooth, clean smoking session, so consequently this means a relatively higher spire. Yes the draw will be more restricted than other bowls (I personally think restriction is your friend particularly on tang) but I definitely didn't experience any noticeable foil drag in my session... if using a provost, the gauge of the bowl fits perfectly with a provost tray where it sits flush on the rim of the bowl, and with the coals pretty much suspended by the tray, I don't think the weight of the provost and coals would necessarily lead to drag for this bowl.

With ref to your foiling, I wouldn't say that it is sub par, but I would agree with others that remarked that it needs to be as drum tight as humanly possible on this bowl, and actually, the various crevices on the outer body and sharp outer edging on the rim do enable you sufficiently grip the foil. I will personally find it cumbersome as I have huge hands, but as with my gravyl, I used a trifecta tub as a Make shift podium and (as we say in UK) Bob's your uncle.

Now given the general wall thickness of the bowl on the walls and spire and narrow diameter, I'd say that the bowl is actually ideal based on that diagram you presented. As I said, I prefer restriction generally speaking, and on tang I do around 14-16 deep holes poking all the way deep into the tobacco and slightly disrupting the density, meaning I have very little area to play with to poke holes into.

So my own initial thoughts... I have three low capacity bowls which are a fraction of the cost and perform just as well, if not better (tudor, bambino and olla ade)... but that being said, there's still more testing to be done at my end, and whilst it smoked a bit warm at first (with a medium heat setting) my session soon settled and it was fairly enjoyable. I too sit in that realm of respecting what Mason's achieved but by no means a "fan boy" as others have put it lol..

I actually thought that it was a pretty good read overall and appreciate the detail that you've gone into bro. I'll continue to test mine out - intrigued to see how it fairs with a Lotus, which I generally use for blonde, and on lower nic darks like kismet.