Bent or Straight Stem?

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

Watch for Updates Twice a Week

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Drucquers Banner

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Dr. Internet

Might Stick Around
I have about 35 pipes. Two are straight, the rest are bent. Most of them are Peterson system pipes. Some have said not to buy them, but they work great. The key is to keep them clean. If you just want a cheap, throwaway, go for the Missouri Meerschaum. There are several vids on youtube that show how to clean a system pipe. I spend a lot of time reading and at the computer and find the bent is much easier to just let hang in my mouth whilst I type or read.
 

PaulDM

Might Stick Around
Dec 12, 2022
59
365
I have come to prefer longer straight pipes. Less likely to get smoke in the eyes, which I do find to be an occasional problem with shorter bent pipes. Canadian has become my favorite shape.
 

Snook

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 2, 2019
280
872
32
Idaho
I prefer straight if only for the fact that I can always get a pipe cleaner all the way through stem and shank. Bent stems are hit or miss in this regard.
 

Frog Snacks

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 8, 2023
100
246
I have come to prefer longer straight pipes. Less likely to get smoke in the eyes, which I do find to be an occasional problem with shorter bent pipes. Canadian has become my favorite shape.
As a Canadian I really want my next pipe to be a Canadian, I love the look of them, the more wood the better I think. I imagine they probably smoke cooler and dryer because of the extra shank length is that truenin your experience with them?
 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
12,314
18,389
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
Some my pipes gurgle but, smoke great. I'm not grasping the problem with a gurgling pipe. Well, other than some have a personal dislike about such. Which, with pipes being so personal, I quite understand. For me though? Not an acute problem.
 

HawkeyeLinus

Lifer
Oct 16, 2020
5,830
42,104
Iowa
I wouldn’t challenge anyone’s personal experiences.

I’m smoking a bent pipe right now that is basically smoking itself. Some aren’t as good. I have straight pipes that are as good and some that aren’t.

Too many variables, IMO.
 

HawkeyeLinus

Lifer
Oct 16, 2020
5,830
42,104
Iowa
Having said that, the majority of mine are bent in various ways, but my preference isn’t tied to any general notion of how they draw.
 
H

HRPufnstuf

Guest
I have owned both straight and bent-stemmed pipes. I agree with several other comments that straight stems often seem to get in the way. I only have one pipe with a heavy bend, a Savinelli Sistina. The rest are what I consider a casual bend, 1/4 to 1/2. They are easier to clench and the pipes look relaxed, a straight pipe always seems formal. Your personal style is the real determinant here.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Oddball

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 29, 2022
272
1,337
TN
I am 50/50 on bent vs straight. I always choose my pipe based on the following factors

1. What am I doing while smoking
2. Where am I doing it.
3. What am I smoking in it.
4. (and it's a distant 4 but if I am honest with myself, I must add it) How'm I lookin' with it hanging out my mouth.

I get gurgle with most and run a pipe cleaner through most during the smoke. Like relighting more than once, it's all shame free...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jahman7

sardonicus87

Lifer
Jun 28, 2022
1,357
14,027
37
Lower Alabama
I find no difference in actual smoking based on bent vs straight (like how hard it is to draw, gurgle, etc). I prefer slight bends though purely for aesthetics, don't like full bent. Gurgle doesn't happen often for me despite rarely drying tobacco before loading it, and when it does, I just run a pipe cleaner in and that gets rid of the gurgle.

But, I do find a slight bend more comfortable even though I am a holder rather than a clencher. When holding the bowl below mouth level, the button and hole point straight in the mouth as opposed to at the roof of the mouth (like when dangling a straight). So, I guess there's that one difference to me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wackytabacky