9mm Charcol Filters vs Meerschaum Throwdown

[Sigmund]

The ones that go in the bowl probably work fine. The 9mm ones in the strm are not good for me. Get a small box of each.

If you like a free draw Id buy vauen. I will use the elephants I have in AC but in many pipes they fit too tightly and dont allow any flow around at all.

Or heck. Get a box of those too and see what you think. A box of 40 is four bucks.

I do dislike the meet tubes. They remove more important flavors than AC.

 

[Doctor Chopper]

Nice post. It seems to me that you smoke with a filter for the taste. My question is why don't you choose a tobacco you like the taste of rather than trying to change it with a filter? This is a serious question, not a rhetorical statement.

-Doc

 

[Sigmund]

@Doctor Chopper The only flavor a filter removes is from the tars. A vaper still tastes like a vaper but its cleaner tasting. I liike them but I really like them with a filter. For me it enhances the experience.

Tars are bitter. Im not saying the tobacco is bitter but when you decrease the tars in some blends the natural sweetness and other flavors from the virginias and perique really push forward. In comparison, to me, those blends with no filter taste a little muddy.

 

[Doctor Chopper]

@Doctor Chopper The only flavor a filter removes is from the tars. A vaper still tastes like a vaper but its cleaner tasting. I liike them but I really like them with a filter. For me it enhances the experience.

Tars are bitter. Im not saying the tobacco is bitter but when you decrease the tars in some blends the natural sweetness and other flavors from the virginias and perique really push forward. In comparison, to me, those blends with no filter taste a little muddy.

That is a strong cogent answer my friend!

 

[Sonorisis]

In my experience, the Savinelli balsa filters do an excellent job of trapping moisture and they are the only 9mm filter that doesn't noticeably affect the air flow.

 

[PipeIT]

@Doctor Chopper The only flavor a filter removes is from the tars. A vaper still tastes like a vaper but its cleaner tasting. I liike them but I really like them with a filter. For me it enhances the experience.

Tars are bitter. Im not saying the tobacco is bitter but when you decrease the tars in some blends the natural sweetness and other flavors from the virginias and perique really push forward. In comparison, to me, those blends with no filter taste a little muddy.

You know, this reminds me, coffee done in a French Press vs Chemex. French Press is muddier and with a Chemex, brighter, better clarity and taste…

To be honest this makes sense, like coffee with and without a filter…

 

[isaac]

I’m planning to get a commission with a 9mm filter. Was told Meerschaum filters are the way to go, and don’t mute the flavors, and that charcoal filters do mute the flavors… hmm

I was planning to get the White Elephant Meerschaum ones…

P.S. I‘ll be sure to report back how the meerschaum filters turn out, when I get the pipe.

I’ve been using the white elephant meerschaum filters for over a year. So much more flavor than the charcoal.

 

[Sigmund]

@PipeIT That is a great analogy...the one with cofffee. I dont find a huge difference with medium to heavy english or lat blends. Probably because the lat is so strong and forward in the blend. I tend to lean towards smoking those in my non filtered pipes. I have not experimented much with just straight Virginia as I dont tend to smoke those. I still seem to prefer filters with burly based blends as well. Supposedly, filters remove some nicotine but I dont notice and really dont seek large nicotine hits. I like smoking and the taste....though Im sure nicotine plays a part.

 

[ParkitoATL]

For complete lack of any taste other than tobacco I prefer Peterson filters. However, they were not available and I had to buy #2 choice Vauen. However, Vauen are thinner and do not sit well in the Peterson Pub pipe; in fact, they slide down into the reservoir unless you add some tape. Also the Pub Pipe is so large and deep that trying to use the filter for a second bowl is a waste of time so forget it. You would need to dry the filter out for a couple of days and its just not worth it IMHO. Haven't tried the other brands.

Would love to know who makes the filters for Peterson ???

My favorite trick is to wrap a small square of paper towel around the 9mm filter and then screw it into the holder. The paper towel absorbs a ton of steam and let's me get 2-3 smokes per filter, with fresh paper wrap and dry time between smokes.

 

[ParkitoATL]

You know, this reminds me, coffee done in a French Press vs Chemex. French Press is muddier and with a Chemex, brighter, better clarity and taste…

To be honest this makes sense, like coffee with and without a filter…

My wife likes the gold filter coffee but I vastly prefer the taste when brewed through a paper filter.

 

[ParkitoATL]

In my experience, the Savinelli balsa filters do an excellent job of trapping moisture and they are the only 9mm filter that doesn't noticeably affect the air flow.

In my experience, balsa does approximately nothing compared to a charcoal filter.

 

[ParkitoATL]

@Doctor Chopper The only flavor a filter removes is from the tars. A vaper still tastes like a vaper but its cleaner tasting. I liike them but I really like them with a filter. For me it enhances the experience.

Tars are bitter.

If you've ever had a cigar leak some tar onto your lips, it is one of the most horribly bitter things you will ever taste. After 2-3 smokes I look at a charcoal filter and wonder how anyone smokes without them. They are covered with tar! Add to that they routinely weigh 1/4g more after a smoke, most of which is water vapor that isn't doing your tongue any favors. I'm 100% filtered, usually smoke 3-4 bowls a day, don't know how I could smoke without them.

 

[PiperCalvinist]

T

My favorite trick is to wrap a small square of paper towel around the 9mm filter and then screw it into the holder. The paper towel absorbs a ton of steam and let's me get 2-3 smokes per filter, with fresh paper wrap and dry time between smokes.

That's great idea!

 

[Sigmund]

Ive never tried the paper towel. I tend to get 2 or 3 smokes from a filter. One thing I have found is to take your filter out after your pipe cools. I sit it in a little bowl with a few other used filters and let it dry completely before using again. Also before I use it again I roll it between my fingers and thumb to unclump any charcol that had gotten wet and stuck together. This keeps it from restricting the draw.

@ParkitoATL Do you put the papertowel square in front of the disks with holes or just wrapped around the outside of the filter? Im guessing you dont block the holes.

 

[OverMountain]

Just an additional note: I had a couple of pipes that were just a little tighter on the draw than I would ideally like. White Elephant Filters claim to use less charcol for a free draw so I bought a small box:

Yes, they are more free when you blow or suck through them in your mouth but compared to Vauen 9mm filters they are just a hair fatter than vauen. With a Vauen filter you get a little flow around the filter as well as through it. Not so much with White Elephant.

On some pipes White Elephant filters result in a more restricted draw than vauen. While it varies from pipe to pipe it is, by far, not an automatic fix. So I will be sticking with vauen.

I have had a different experience. Vauen filters in a vauen pipe fit perfectly. I mean perfectly engineered by our German friends.

I used to not use filters. Then I started using paper ones in my Grabow for humidity help when I was in the PNW. Then I switched to charcoal. I’m currently on a charcoal kick. Before and after lighting I get good flavor, and it also helps trap tar and other gunk I want to minimize putting in my mouth.

 

[ParkitoATL]

@ParkitoATL Do you put the papertowel square in front of the disks with holes or just wrapped around the outside of the filter? Im guessing you dont block the holes.

I just wrap it around the outside, not blocking the holes. The idea is to get a slightly more snug fit than most filters have. There's usually just a bit of wiggle and airflow around the filter.

I do the same thing, let them dry in a bowl, then roll between the fingers to loosen up the charcoal. Pretty easy to get 3 smokes per filter unless I'm into some dark fired blends, which is a rarity.

 

[ParkitoATL]

This is how I do it. Cut a little rectangular paper towel, then trim one corner off to make a kite tail. Wrap from the bottom of the rectangle, then screw the kite tail into the stem first. It makes it easier than a full rectangle, esp if the stem is a little tight.

 

[PiperCalvinist]

Ive never tried the paper towel. I tend to get 2 or 3 smokes from a filter. One thing I have found is to take your filter out after your pipe cools. I sit it in a little bowl with a few other used filters and let it dry completely before using again. Also before I use it again I roll it between my fingers and thumb to unclump any charcol that had gotten wet and stuck together. This keeps it from restricting the draw.

@ParkitoATL Do you put the papertowel square in front of the disks with holes or just wrapped around the outside of the filter? Im guessing you dont block the holes.

So you haven't found any impact of the taste of the tobacco using a filter multiple times? I certainly like the idea of stretching out the use of my filters, but I guess when I started I was thinking that if I smoked something that had Latakia in it, that the filter would retain some measure of that in it, and it would affect the next bowl if I smoked a straight Virginia. Do you try to use them with the same tobaccos or not necessarily?

 

[ParkitoATL]

So you haven't found any impact of the taste of the tobacco using a filter multiple times? I certainly like the idea of stretching out the use of my filters, but I guess when I started I was thinking that if I smoked something that had Latakia in it, that the filter would retain some measure of that in it, and it would affect the next bowl if I smoked a straight Virginia. Do you try to use them with the same tobaccos or not necessarily?

I will usually pop the filter in and then dry draw before I pack the bowl. Most of the time they are fine, never thought about trying to match it with the previous blend. They do come out quite damp so trying to smoke two bowls back to back on one filter will not produce the best results.

 

[Sigmund]

I thought they would ghost too but I cant say they do. I do tend to smoke the less dirty filters for virginia based blends grab the more used ones for lat and heavy burley blends. That is mostly because I like the most filtration on vapers.

I have a feeling it doesnt ghost because its such a small amount of material that it quickly gets covered by new materials from smoke. Ive never tasted lat mixed where it shouldn’t be from a filter and Im pretty sensitive to ghosting.