I have the smooth version that comes with the vulcanite stem. In retrospect, I with I would have gotten the rustic with the acrylic stem. Less fiddling. I reached out to Savinelli to see if I could buy a replacement acrylic stem, but they said no.
Even beer seems headed in the same direction. When you go to the pub, 3 quarters of the beer offered taste like drinking pine trees with all the hopping. Almost like drinking perfume.
I bought the new MM European Cob No. 1. The Vauen filters are a little small in diameter for the shank. The Jean Claude filter it comes with fits perfectly.
I have a Peterson I love. No complaints. Huge fuel tank. Fellow Canadian with 3 kids in hockey and one is a goalie. One is just aging out of Rep. hockey. Good luck!
I find the MM Bent Apple Diplomat works well for me. Also, with the cob, if It ever did fall it wouldn’t be the end of the world. When I’m moving around, I often just throw a wind cap on it. Nothing falls out 😊.