Smoking Pipes vs. Smoking Cigars

That's the magic of the pipe. Good choice.

Erin more is on my to purchase list.

I thought this was going to be like a pipe vs cigar type thread. I do like pipe smoking and it's far cheaper then smoking cigars....unless you like white owls. LOL. I still like my cigars. But for the price of a good Rubousto, I get 18 bowls...it's a no brainer on a budget. HAHA! But I was ready to bust in and say some line about comparing pipes to cigars is like comparing apples and roofing nails. I think they are something completely different but each is awesome in it's own way. Glad your enjoying the pipe.

A package of 25 good cigars can easily cost $70 and up, up. Whereas, a tin of high end pipe tobacco

of around 2 oz will easily give you 25 bowls, and costs between $8 and $15. Of course, there is the

expense of the pipes themselves, pipe cleaners, and a pipe nail, and fancy accessories if you want them.

But there is little price comparison. And tomorrow, you'll still have the pipes and gear, but the cigar is

gone to compost. I'm not dissing a good cigar. It is a lovely smoke, engineered for the purpose. But

with pipes you can mix your own "special blends," and shift from blend to blend every smoke. Both are

dandy, but I don't think I'd beat a pipe for my own satisfaction. Also, pipes are highly pleasing objects

of craft, and often full of memories as gifts and mementos. I've had some good Cuban cigars, and some

great Dominicans. But pipes win.

I agree! Attached is a pic of my humidor I built out of mahogany. While I love a good cigar, the cost can get in the way compared to the briar. But you can get just as stupid with collecting pipes as you do sticks. I've been known to get stupid

Life would be much easier for me as a cigar smoker as I live in cigar country with no pipe tobacco to speak of available. As I'm friends with a local cigar rolling outfit I get free samples all the time, and believe me cigars can be delicious, but some how I'd rather go through all the trouble it takes to get some fine tins of Dunhill, Peterson, Mac Baren, McClelland, Orlik, Comoy's of London .....etc.
I love my pipes as well. It's almost as if I have a personal relationship with each and every one of my pipes!
By the way - Nice pic crusader.

I'm with you on this. Still enjoy the odd cigar, but it's pipes all the way for me.

I love the skill that it takes to smoke a pipe, which to me is the most elegant way to take tobacco. I've been told that the quite other taste of cigar tobacco is that cigars come from different tobacco plants than those that yield pipe tobacco. While pipe tobacco takes quite a bit of preparation, cigars take five? times as much, and thus the price of cigars. Day in and out I prefer the pipe, as does my wallet, but I really like to smoke 1-3 cigars a week as well.

Whoever said that pipes and cigars aren't really comparable nailed it. Both are wonderful ways to relax at the end of a hard day, clearly the tobacco itself is dramatically cheaper with pipes. I love a good cigar and for some unknown reason I find myself smoking more cigars lately which makes no sense heading into another Canadian winter. I collect both equally

New to pipes and this forum, but I can tell you this. A person is either a spender or not. I've been in to/out of/stayed in more hobbies than I care to admit, and as many as my wife can stand. I've bought nice humidors on Craigslist and used an igloo cooler as a humidor. The worst cigar I ever had was a Cohiba - worst $12 I ever spent - others love those I'm sure. I seem to like the COA variants, etc. But, I also found a $2 stick that I liked nearly as much, and makes a great golf cigar. I could never tolerate scotch, until a customer bought me a glass of Macallan 18 - that spoiled me for anything less and I can't really afford that!
You can get into to pipe smoking on a budget, just like any other hobby. Or, as a newbie, you could be uncomfortable with estate purchases, find new old stock pipes on an auction site, pull the trigger for more money than you have business spending on your limited knowledge, and simply dive right in - not that I know anyone like that... If I did, I bet that person would start an account on a pipe forum, and start threads to ask questions like, did I just waste money on these pipes, what other accessories do I need, what brand/types are good tobaccos to start with. Probably questions like that.
EDIT: I just realized I'm a time traveler! I signed up on November 30th, but my profile says December!

We'll said Joseywales.

I like both. However, I smoke a pipe more than a cigar for many of the reasons listed above — different pipes are fun, different tobaccos, packing a pipe, cleaning a pipe. Monetary considerations, while very valid with regard to the cost of a tin of pipe tobacco and a box of cigars, isn't a huge issue to me. The real decider is odor. The people in my life are OK with pipe smoke, but not cigars. Ergo, cigars on the golf course, during the summer, and pipes indoors in Central Colorado, where indoors is very important from October-May.

Pipesmoking has the advantage in at least two areas: taste, and cost. Cigars are good if you can't fuss with a pipe. I used to smoke them when I was a business executive. There just wasn't time for a pipe during the day.