I am not a big fan of hamsters either, but my friend has a bunch of them. She uses that Carefresh bedding with them and whenever I have visited her house, the room they're in really does not smell all that bad. But they need to be cleaned out much more often than, say, rats. Yet, if you are used to mice and their cleaning requirements, I think you could handle the hammies' cages; in my opinion Nothing is worse than the smell of micec after a few days, no matter what substrate they're on!