A few weeks ago I purchased a Chacom Army mount pipe 154 at a fair price. Despite being from France originally I have little experience with French pipes with the exceptions of a number of BC estate pipes. The pipe caught my eye right away, it is absolutely beautiful! Purchased it right away on looks alone. It wasn't until later that I started to remember hearing mixed reviews of Chacom pipes. This led to to inspect every detail of the pipe before lighting it up. It passed all my tests! Drilled to perfection, passes the cleaner test effortlessly, and no fills. Now I feel that I can smoke it without fear of having bought just a piece of art. Now after having broken the pipe in I can say I love it!
The good:
Appearance: I said before and will say again, this line of pipes is artwork. Amazing grain on the briar too.
Size: Not stingy with the bowl size. When I pack correctly I can smoke it for well over an hour and I'm not someone who smokes slowly at all!
Shape: I love the tankard shape! Why have I not purchased a sitter style pipe before now? When I smoke I tend to be working on other things meaning I clean my pipe between my teeth most of the time. However there are just some times when I would be well off to just put my pipe down for a minute and finish up a task instead of exerting myself and breathing in smoke. I usually just clench through my activities because I don't always have a pipe rest or ashtray handy and putting my pipe down will mean it will fall on it's side. Not with this one!
The bit: At first I didn't think I would like the bit on this pipe, it almost looks like it's upside down. After my first bowl I was sold on the design, it's like it was made for me! Perfectly comfortable when I clench it in my teeth and hangs exactly like I want it to.
The smoke: Cool and dry, no gurgling, no overheating.
The bad:
Lucite: I prefer the comfort of vulcanite, it just feels better to me. Seems like every pipe from continental Europe that I'm interested in only comes with a lucite stem.
Break in: The pipe comes with an exposed briar bowl so you actually have to take care to break it in properly.
The ugly:
Nothing ugly here!
Overall I'm quite pleased with the pipe. It was affordable, of high quality, and certainly a great looking pipe. Now I am mad at myself for not trying a Chacom sooner.
The good:
Appearance: I said before and will say again, this line of pipes is artwork. Amazing grain on the briar too.
Size: Not stingy with the bowl size. When I pack correctly I can smoke it for well over an hour and I'm not someone who smokes slowly at all!
Shape: I love the tankard shape! Why have I not purchased a sitter style pipe before now? When I smoke I tend to be working on other things meaning I clean my pipe between my teeth most of the time. However there are just some times when I would be well off to just put my pipe down for a minute and finish up a task instead of exerting myself and breathing in smoke. I usually just clench through my activities because I don't always have a pipe rest or ashtray handy and putting my pipe down will mean it will fall on it's side. Not with this one!
The bit: At first I didn't think I would like the bit on this pipe, it almost looks like it's upside down. After my first bowl I was sold on the design, it's like it was made for me! Perfectly comfortable when I clench it in my teeth and hangs exactly like I want it to.
The smoke: Cool and dry, no gurgling, no overheating.
The bad:
Lucite: I prefer the comfort of vulcanite, it just feels better to me. Seems like every pipe from continental Europe that I'm interested in only comes with a lucite stem.
Break in: The pipe comes with an exposed briar bowl so you actually have to take care to break it in properly.
The ugly:
Nothing ugly here!
Overall I'm quite pleased with the pipe. It was affordable, of high quality, and certainly a great looking pipe. Now I am mad at myself for not trying a Chacom sooner.
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