Cigars And Pipes...The Journey

[PApiper63]

Good evening brothers.
I have fleetingly posted about this before, but I'm interested in your experience. I smoked cigars for 30+ years averaging two per day and on weekends a bit more.
I am fortunate that I have always been able to afford my habit, but the expensive cigars still bothered me. On a complete whim I decided to try pipe smoking simply to defray the cost of cigars. Even though my grandfather and uncle smoked a pipe I had not seen someone smoke a pipe for at least 20 years. Nevertheless, I dove in headfirst. I never expected to be swept away by this hobby. Even though I still enjoy an occasional cigar, I now consider myself primarily a pipe smoker. I totally enjoy the variety of pipes and tobacco, and as an added bonus, my family enjoys it much more. I will always occasionally visit the world of cigars, but I'm happy to live in the world of pipe smoking. Have any of you had a similar or different experience when it comes to pipes and cigars?

 

[ThomasS]

Same. And it's because in my calculations... Ignoring bulk/volume/sales etc...

The cheapest pipe tobacco I like at all gives me a normal pipeload at 25 cents.
The tobaccos I like best are closer to a dollar per pipeful.
The most expensive pipe tobacco I own is almost $3 a pipeful (and I don't even like it ).
The cheapest cigar I can stand is $1.75
The ones I smoke the most I got for $2 even
My favorite cigar is usually $12 (so I only buy it on sale)
The most expensive cigar I have was $18 (and it's ... ok )

My (not mini) pipes usually last 1.5 - 2 hours and my favorite size cigar (Toro) lasts me 2- 3, so it's close on a wash for time.

So a pipeful of premium tobacco and a "just good enough" cigar cost the same money-per-hour.
My favorite cigar (not on sale) is almost the same as an entire tin of GL Pease or Missouri Meerschaum (also not on sale).
And the super premium cigars are as much or more each than a tin of super premium botique pipe blends.

 

[OzPiper]

Smoked cigars exclusively for @15years.
Got back into smoking pipes late 2018 and despite having a largish stash of cigars I’m primarily a pipe smoker these days.

 

[Marie]

IMHO we are in the age of quick fix, cheap make and constant throw away. It is nice to still have the option of cigar and pipe smoking. It gets me focused on the finer and more subtle points in life. Being able to slow down and be present in the moment is a real plus. Unless one is a single inexpensive pipe and tobacco kind of person, I see them both being somewhat equal in cost over the long haul. Perhaps cigar smoking seems more expensive because the upfront cost can balloon more quickly than the what it takes to get going with pipe smoking?

 

[warren]

Have any of you had a similar or different experience when it comes to pipes and cigars?

Nope. Cost simply isn't much of a consideration at this time of my life. Happily I can afford to do as I wish, pipes, cigars, cars, port, etc. I planned/saved/onvested and did without early in life. Living well is the best revenge.

 

[kcghost]

You can smoke cheaper with pipe tobacco if you are buying pipes on a monthly basis. That will drive cost up a mite.

 

[OzPiper]

I stocked up on cigars some years ago, so I have enough to last several years without buying more.
I just enjoy smoking pipes so much more, the cigars don’t get much love these days
The relative cost of cigars vs pipes aren’t a factor

 

[Joe H]

My story is practically identical to the original post. I smoked 2 to 3 cigars a week from roughly the mid-1970s through the mid-1990s and then incorporated pipes into the mix. I met and married my wife 6 or 7 years later and started reducing cigars and prioritizing the pipes. Once the kids were born and old enough to express a preference for the pipe, that’s the only form of tobacco I use anymore.

In terms of cost, pipe smoking is a mere fraction of the cost of cigar smoking for me; but I liked really expensive cigars back when I smoked them. I like cherry aromatics now and blend my own. I probably pay now around .20 cents per bow. Even back in the ‘90s a really top-end cigar could push $20 bucks, but mostly it was closer to half that. These days I could smoke a pipe for a year in the US for what a single Montecristo Nr. 2 would cost in Europe (if I still bought Cubans while traveling). Even with a lifetime of sound financial decisions and the resulting late life comfort, the difference is unignorable.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

I used to and still do smoke cigars.

But, you can have the best pipe tobacco for a small fraction of the cost of a box of high end cigars.

And the best tobacco still taste good in a Grabow or a cob.

I was attracted to the frugal aspects of pipe smoking. You may spend money stocking up on lbs of tobacco, but pounds of pipe tobacco will last a long time.

 

[coldsnap888]

I'm primarily a cigar smoker and the ratio of cigar to pipe can be 4:1 or 5:1. I picked up pipes because it's an activity that I enjoy alone (vs cigars are almost always with company) and Canadian winters had me looking at small format cigarillos that I don't enjoy as much.

 

[PaulRVA]

I smoked 5-7 Robusto size cigars a week from 1990 -2022
I was however a Lucky Strike
smoker at the same time.
I’ve always had pipes around and smoked one several days a week but the switch to pipes full time helped me stay off cigarettes.
I’ll smoke a cigar or two a month nowadays and most months it’s just
one or none.
Today’s easy accessibility to a variety of pipe tobacco blends made
the changeover easy for me.

 

[anotherbob]

Frankly I just like pipes more then I like cigars. Which makes the price difference just a nice bonus. Something about the pipe is just more personal. I feel like a pipe is sort of like a friend who you've gone through somethings with. A cigar is more like having fun at a party.

 

[dottlejockey]

I still like both, and of course pipe TAD is cheaper, but PAD is another story. Each has their place. Mostly pipes when i'm home or around the shop here, and cigars for the road, mowing the lawn or lazy-ing around the yard in the sun. Both are social pleasures as well. If it's company i like i'll smoke either with them. When it's company i don't want, i just fire up the biggest, strongest cigar in the arsenal and puff away till they go away. Works ever time.

 

[Yambo]

I started with cigars 20 years ago, but immediately went for the pipe because of the price factor. And that was a time when you could find great cubans for less than 3 euros! However, when I started, economic factors were quickly shadowed by variety.

Lately I've been smoking more and more cigars, from traditional cheap spanish smokes (some of which are great)to cubans, toscani and everything in between. But I don't think they could ever replace my pipefulls.

 

[RookieGuy80]

Price was a huge consideration for me, but not the only one. With small children at home, finding time to smoke entire cigars was a challenge. I could sneak outside for maybe a half hour at a time before someone needed juice or the channel changed or something that requires an adult to be in the room. We've all tried at one point to come back to a half a cigar. The fact I can smoke the same bowl of tobacco 3 times over 4 days and it usually stays as good was right up there with price.

 

[Yambo]

Price was a huge consideration for me, but not the only one. With small children at home, finding time to smoke entire cigars was a challenge. I could sneak outside for maybe a half hour at a time before someone needed juice or the channel changed or something that requires an adult to be in the room. We've all tried at one point to come back to a half a cigar. The fact I can smoke the same bowl of tobacco 3 times over 4 days and it usually stays as good was right up there with price.

Exactly! That's why I favor toscani cigars too: you can smoke a segment, and continue afterwards, even days after. I don't know why but normal cigars get stale if you do that.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

I started off as a cigar smoker in 2010, and gradually got into pipes in 2011. After about 3 years of smoking a pipe; in 2014, I really took a deep dive into pipes, and for a few years became primarily a pipe smoker. Since about 2018, I've been probably 50/50 with my pipes and cigars. I tend to smoke more cigars in the summer and my pipes more in the winter. I also typically smoke a pipe in the morning with coffee, and a cigar in the evening with a beer or whiskey.