Peterson P-lip VS Fishtail

pipebow88 · Aug 25, 2013

So from miraculous happenings today after my recent TAD I have a PAD upcoming as well. Been down with a sinus infection the past few days, and today my wife had to make a short trip for work and wanted me to go. I really didn't want to, but was going to anyway. I played like I didn't want to, she started begging... So I popped off "if I go can I have half the money from it for a new pipe?" She quickly said..... YES! I couldn't believe my ears. So I decided to add a Peterson to the rack. I currently have a Peterson Shamrock natural author. It's one of my best smokers. I've narrowed down to several fishtails, and one P-lip. I'm quite hesitant of this P-lip, but there isn't a fishtail in this pipe available currently. So what is your experience with it? How does it smoke? Easy to clean? Will a P-lip pass a pipe cleaner to the bowl?

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plateauguy · Aug 25, 2013

I love the P-lip. It does take a little time to get use to it, but it gives a pleasent, cool smoke. I've had no trouble cleaning it, and it's the first pipe I reach for. That said, I also like my fishtails, they just smoke differently.

petes03 · Aug 25, 2013

I currently have 10 Petersons, 5 P-lips and 5 fishtails. All of them are great smokers! They are different, and do take some getting used to. IMO, they do smoke cooler and are very comfortable when clenched. They're also not any harder to clean, IMO. Give one a shot and see what you think! Every Peterson smoker should have at least one P-lip! After all, that is one of their signature features.

4dotsasieni · Aug 25, 2013

+1 to plateauguy. I have 11 Petersons, all of them P-lips, and I find they make a nice alternative to the straight smoke-delivery of the fishtails, especially if you've gotten a bit of tongue bite from the latter.
They take some getting used to, but I really like the way the feel in the mouth, and have had no problems cleaning them -- the Peterson or Falcon tapered cleaners are best for this.

pipebow88 · Aug 25, 2013

I'm just scared of a P-lip because it's different than anything I have, lol. I'm not sure I can man up enough.
Roth, I can't go with a nicer Pete. This is on a $100 budget, and the last purchase of the year. So it is what it is. If it was my choice it would be a Peterson Sherlock Homes series, But that is out of budget. The Pete I have I believe I payed $50 for and it is really one of my best pipes even against my nicer Boswell's.

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petes03 · Aug 25, 2013

Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've never paid more than $160 for a new Peterson and I've never had any quality issues! I bought all 10 of my Petes new. Even the Kapet "03" I only paid $58 for is a great smoker! My local B&M has about 60 or so new Petersons in stock, and I've been over pretty much all of the with a fine toothed comb. Out of all of them, I found one which had a draught hole drilled slightly high in the bowl. I have no reservations about buying a new Peterson, but I still prefer to check them out first hand. I've bought 3 new ones off the Internet without inspecting the personally, and maybe I lucked up, but all were perfect!

pipebow88 · Aug 25, 2013

Well I wish looking at a pipe in person was a possibility for me. The closest decent pipe shop is over 5 hours from me. And on a $100 budget I'm obviously not going to make that trip for a $100 pipe. So I've gotta go online. I started with 31 petes to chose between and have now narrowed it to 2. One P-lip, one fishtail. I'm probably going to stick with the fishtail. You all have me intrigued with the fishtail. So I'm going to have to add one to the future purchase list for sure. This time though the p-lip is a shape I already have, and the fishtail is one that I don't have yet.
Roth, opinionated as you may be I'm ok with it. Lol. I'm sure one of these days I will add some nicer pipes to my collection. Dunhill's, Rad Davis, and Mark Tinsky just to name a few. For now though my highest pipe is $120 that I bought a few years back. Though if my Boswells had been purchased now instead of 08-09 they would bypass that figure. There will come a time, but if I save on top of this money it will be a wait till next year summer or later. I have other stuff to work on from this point forward for the year. I'm just happy to be making this last purchase, since I thought my TAD yesterday was going to be the end of it for the year.

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sallow · Aug 25, 2013

+1 p-lip. It is a Peterson.

rigmedic1 · Aug 25, 2013

P-lips are great! I bought a P-lip forever stem for my corncobs, and have 4 P-lip Pete's. On the other hand, I have a bunch of pipes that don't have P-lips, and love smoking those too! So, don't restrict yourself, try them all. Makes for a refreshing change every once in a while.

vabriar · Aug 25, 2013

I've never tried one but a Peterson P-lip is on my list of pipes to buy. I say try one.

erichbaumer · Aug 26, 2013

I like the P-lip. I have three pipes with one, a Wellington, a Vauen, and a genuine article Peterson System. One of the advantages I've found is that it makes for more smoking when traded on and off with fishtails. If my tongue is getting irritated after a few "normal" pipes in a row, a P-lip directs smoke to a different spot, allowing me to enjoy a bowl without increasing the irritation. This trick works for me, YYMV, but I really appreciate this quality.

mso489 · Aug 26, 2013

Here's the deal with the P-Lip from my point of view. I own five Petes, one of them P-Lip. With a P-lip,

the bud is bigger, and because the bit opening is arranged slightly differently, you have to stick more

of the pipe in your mouth to get a clear draw. And the bit directs the smoke more toward the roof

of your mouth than the back of your mouth. My one P-Lip is a Killarney Rhodesian 999, a handsome

little pipe with an elegant finish and metal bands. I enjoy smoking it a lot. However, because I don't

like having to puff the pipe a ways into my mouth (at least a half inch) rather than being able to sip off

the tip, the way you can with a fishtail, I wouldn't buy another P-Lip. In fact, with a different brand of

pipe, I just declined to buy a pipe I really liked because it was a P-Lip. I like the one I own. I don't want

another. No problem at all with a pipe cleaner; it goes right through. Incidentally, all of my Petes are

good quality; I haven't bought any duds, including a low-end Kapet, a great rusticated author, with a

wide nickel band and a well-aged lightweight briar.

waxmojo · Aug 26, 2013

Generally I hold my pipe when smoked and puff with the stem between my lips. A p-lip blocks my way of smoking since my lip end up being above the hole. So no p-lips for mw.

rebornbriar · Aug 26, 2013

I don't smoke a P-lip either, so my collection of Pete's is quite small as the fishtail stems aren't as common.
Simple reason I don't like them is the same as the samcoffeeman. The roof of my mouth seems to be particularly sensitive to smoke and the P-lip streaming the smoke there irritates it. But they are obviously a very popular stem and I think you have to try one out to see how you feel with it personally.

bullbriar · Aug 26, 2013

When I buy a Peterson I only buy P-Lips, my tongue would be lost without it! In fact I'm smoking one now on my Sherlock Holmes "Squire".

bobpnm · Aug 26, 2013

I have five Pete's. Three are Pre Republics all p-lips. They are different from new p-lip stems. I have two older Republic Era Petes. One is a Silver banded Donegal Rocky bulldog. I bought it from Smoking Pipes. It came with both a fishtail and a p-lip stem. It was a very interesting way to compare the same pipe/blend with both type stems. I discovered I like p-lips! To me it makes (especially on my Pre Republics) for a true Peterson experience.

pipebow88 · Aug 27, 2013

I ended up with a fishtail zulu. I'll put some pics up later this week when it shows up. Thanks gents. I'll be getting a p-lip eventually, but just not this time.

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zulu268 · Aug 28, 2013

My first and only pipe, my screen name, is a Peterson Aran Zulu. I have nothing to compare it to yet but I enjoy it. Enjoy the new pipe

flakyjakey · Aug 31, 2013

I have 12 Peterson's of all grades and 7 are P-lips. All are great smokers, but if like me you have a tendency to tongue bite during an all-day smoke you will be grateful to alternate a P-lip with the fishtails in order to give your tongue some respite!

flakyjakey · Sep 1, 2013

Junkyarddawg, over the last 12 years of heavy pipe smoking, believe me I have tried everything and tongue bite remains a problem for me with bright VAs on a 'big' smoking day. In my case the P-lip does help when alternated with fishtails. A cup of sweet tea also helps. However I would be very interested to hear more of your "fashionable smoking cadence". I 'sip' - what could be more fashionable? Am I missing something?

Peterson P-lip VS Fishtail

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