Cube 25 mm vs 26 mm: fit, counts and which to stock
By Mohamad Sinno, Charcoal Expert ·
Ask AI for an importer brief:
Every page written about this decides it for a smoker choosing a bowl. Almost none of them answer it for the person deciding what to put in a container — and at that scale the interesting part is what the millimetre does not change.
The short answer
One millimetre changes the piece count and almost nothing else. A kilogram holds 72 pieces at 25 mm and 64 at 26 mm. Both sizes load the same 20 tonnes and the same 2,000 cartons into a 20 ft container, so the choice is about the bowls and devices your market uses, not about freight.
Side by side
| 25 mm cube | 26 mm cube | |
|---|---|---|
| Edge length | 25 mm on every side | 26 mm on every side |
| Pieces per kilogram | 72 pcs/kg | 64 pcs/kg |
| Grams per piece (computed from the count, not weighed) | ≈ 13.9 g | ≈ 15.6 g |
| Pieces in a 10 kg master carton (computed) | ≈ 720 pieces | ≈ 640 pieces |
| Payload, 20 ft container | 20 t | 20 t |
| Cartons, 20 ft container | 2,000 | 2,000 |
Dimensions and per-kilogram counts are the published figures for the size. The grams-per-piece and pieces-per-carton rows are arithmetic on those counts, marked as computed rather than weighed. Payload and carton figures are the factory's own, confirmed 24 July 2026.
What the extra millimetre actually buys
A 26 mm cube is heavier than a 25 mm cube, and it is worth being exact about how much, because the number in circulation is larger than the one our own counts imply. A supplier size-and-shape guide dated October 2025 states that "a 26mm cube holds approximately 15-20% more mass than a 25mm equivalent", with no method behind it.
Run it on the counts instead. 72 pieces per kilogram is about 13.9 g a piece; 64 pieces is about 15.6 g. That is about 12.5 per cent more mass per piece — computed from the two published counts, not weighed by us. It is also what pure cubic scaling predicts, which is a reason to treat the larger claim carefully rather than to call it wrong. We publish ours as computed and theirs as dated, and do not average them into a third number belonging to nobody.
What it does to your container
Here is the part the retail guides have no reason to cover. Both sizes load identically. A 20 ft takes 20 tonnes of either, in 2,000 ten-kilogram master cartons; a 40 ft takes 26.5 tonnes of either, and of every other shape we make. The 20 ft fills by volume and the 40 ft by weight, which is why the smaller box varies by shape at all and the larger one does not.
So freight cost per tonne is identical either way and the decision moves to the retail side: how many pieces your box promises, and what your buyers' bowls take. Container cost is on the pricing page; the count arithmetic is on pieces per kilogram. Where the two cubes sit among all eight shapes we press is set out in shisha charcoal shapes and sizes, compared.
Which size for which market
The trade agrees on where each size sits and never shows its working, so take this as convention. A guide dated October 2025 puts 25 mm with standard bowls and heat-management devices, 26 mm with larger bowls and group sessions. A November 2020 supplier guide goes further, recommending 26 mm only with a device because on foil it burns the molasses too fast. A Europe-facing guide calls the difference one that "may seem irrelevant" while saying 26 mm runs hotter and longer, and names 25 mm the safe choice when you do not yet know your market.
Read together: 25 mm is the mixed-retail default, 26 mm the lounge and device size. All three also quote session minutes. We do not, and our quality page says why — no burn test on file, and a burn time without its bowl, airflow and device conditions is not comparable between suppliers.
Questions buyers ask
Does a 26 mm cube fit a Kaloud Lotus or another heat-management device?
That is a device-clearance question, and we do not publish a fit table because we have not measured one. What the trade says, dated: one supplier guide from November 2020 recommends 26 mm exclusively with heat-management devices, and a size-and-shape guide from October 2025 puts 25 mm with standard bowls and HMDs and 26 mm with larger bowls and group sessions. Both are conventions, not measurements. Check the clearance of the device you actually sell.
How many pieces are in a kilogram of each?
72 pieces per kilogram at 25 mm and 64 at 26 mm. Those are published nominal counts for the size, not a measured average of our production, and any count moves with density and moisture at the time of packing.
Is a 26 mm cube really 15 to 20 per cent heavier?
Our own published counts do not support a figure that high. Going from 72 to 64 pieces per kilogram implies about 12.5 per cent more mass per piece — arithmetic on the two counts, not a weighing. The 15-20 per cent figure is published by a supplier guide without a method attached, and we neither adopt it nor average it with ours.
Which size loads more into a container?
Neither. Both take 20 tonnes and 2,000 ten-kilogram cartons into a 20 ft, and 26.5 tonnes into a 40 ft along with every other shape we make. Choosing between 25 and 26 mm is a market and device decision, not a freight one.
How long does each size burn?
We publish no burn time, because we hold no burn test of our own to publish. Market guides do quote session lengths by size, and they are worth reading as conventions rather than specifications — a burn figure with no stated bowl, airflow or foil-versus-device condition is not comparable between suppliers.
Can I mix both sizes in one container?
Yes. Minimum order is one full container, and within it you can mix sizes, shapes and packaging formats, so a first order does not have to commit to one size before you have sold either.
Sample both sizes in one parcel
The fastest way to settle this is to put both in front of the bowls your market actually uses. Ask for 25 mm and 26 mm together and say which device you are testing against — the answer you get back will be worth more than any session figure on any supplier's website.