Another great poll, we voted no preference to stay neutral. We will also post this in the PV FC Bubbler thread.
The orientation of the hex base is such that the flat part will rest along the table edge to bring the mouthpiece closer to you = less bending forward. The hex base is very wide, heavy and stable as well as raising the height of the mouthpiece by almost an inch without needing a longer gooseneck.
The hex base is produced for scientific grade glass instruments to keep them level and stable and fits the FC Bubbler can size perfectly, if you look at the weld, it looks almost like one piece with the can. The hex base is less expensive to use because of the labor needed to turn a round one on the lathe. The hex base was suggested by an FC member and seeing as it cost slightly less to use due to labor savings, we used those savings to put towards increasing the glass wall thickness from 2.2 to 3.2mm heavy wall glass. We will need to check again about pricing for round base and 3.2mm heavy wall glass.
In the end both bases are very stable and more or less just boils down to personal preference, smokum makes a good point that if you needed to tilt it back or forth for any reason, the flat edge of the hex base will make it a lot easier to keep stable while tilted.
PV