I’m probably the bigger odd ball when it comes to smoking.
I’ll start it out this way, at first I use to really try and learn how to keep a pipe lit for as long as possible, but then all the tabac never tasted as good, constantly lit and puffing. Then I saw a video of Former, constantly lighting his pipe over, and I was like, if Former is always letting it go out and relighting, hey no worries.
Because I’m as slow as a turtle when it comes to smoking, a little 29mm chamber depth pipe, I can smoke 4-6 hours, I just take a few sips, let it go out and cool down, and repeat.
Another reason I go slow, constant puffing isn’t comfortable on my mouth, tastes start becoming bland, and I loose all the various tastes and nuances in a blend. Think of it like this, sipping fine wine as in wine tasting, or chugging a beer. Constant puffing keeping the pipe lit is like chugging beer to me, while I get some tastes out of it, the experience is to rushed to notice all the subtleties.
When we say smoking a pipe, I guess we are all considering the pipe is constantly lit and being smoked. I pack a pipe, sip it, let it go out and repeat, whereas, I only sip a few times over the course of an hour, that’s why my smoking is so long.
Here’s all my chamber depths on my 4 briars:
If I had a chamber any deeper than 42mm I’d be smoking the pipe for several days before I finished.
Radice Rind Straight - I smoke all day - 42mm
Peterson Newgrange Spigot - I smoke all day - 41mm
Dr. Grabow Commodore 65 Zulu - I smoke all day - 38mm
Bay Denmark Apple - Haven’t smoked yet, but it’s like a 4-6 hour size for me. - 29mm
To answer the question, I am a small pipe smoker/lover, but I guess in truth my Bay at 29mm is considered small, whereas my other pipes at 38mm-42mm aren’t.