Dilemma of Piping Decisions: Tobacco vs Pipe

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dog_park_piper

Can't Leave
Jun 15, 2021
484
3,264
The Woodlands, TX
Would you rather:

Would you rather live the rest of your life with:

Sub-par tobaccos in exceptional pipes

OR

sub-par pipes smoking exceptional tobacco.


My answer:

Sub-par pipes with exceptional tobacco, but it's damn close!


*I ask because when I smoke a pipe once more to see if I want to keep it longer or let it go, I realize that when I smoke great tobacco in it it usually means the pipe stays in my rotation, but the tobacco totally influenced that judgment.....
 

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,675
29,392
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
depends on how sub par. I think if sub par in the pipe department is a functional pipe that looks blah I'll take the sub par pipe and live with one of those Danish Freehand artisan pipes (have to tease), if sub par pipe means a poorly functioning pipe that fights a good smoke I'll take the sub par tobacco. I seriously have run across a very limited scope of tobaccos I couldn't enjoy. The blends I smoke aren't the blends I enjoy they're the ones I enjoy the most.
Aesthetics of the pipe are secondary and not really picky about tobacco. (when I smoked cigars I'd enjoy expensive cigars and 1 dollar Amish stick. The only cigars I didn't enjoy have paper for a wrapper.
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
I'd rather have a tobacco I really enjoy in a low cost unpretentious pipe that functions well than a fine quality high functioning pipe to smoke tobacco I don't enjoy at all. I don't equate sub-par with price, just enjoyability. If a pipe is not functioning, no smoking will get done. Then I guess I'd have to make a pipe.
 

karam

Lifer
Feb 2, 2019
2,341
9,011
Basel, Switzerland
I don’t own any fancy pipe, but do own many which smoke great, and a few that are very pleasing to the eye. Without good tobacco the whole experience is meaningless though, and the best pipe in the world would be an expensive paper weight.
 
Jan 30, 2020
1,850
6,086
New Jersey
An interesting inference here that a subpar just means not fancy.

If that’s the case there are plenty of non fancy tobaccos that are enjoyable and I’d take the exceptional pipe to enjoy them in.
 

dog_park_piper

Can't Leave
Jun 15, 2021
484
3,264
The Woodlands, TX
An interesting inference here that a subpar just means not fancy.

If that’s the case there are plenty of non fancy tobaccos that are enjoyable and I’d take the exceptional pipe to enjoy them in.
interesting! I have to agree with you on that.

For the longest time, it seems, tobacco was a background player. OTC tobacco does what it needs to do. I guess we can call and OTC sub-par in that it's not what people describe poetically.

A solidly made pipe with Half and Half or Carter Hall for years would suit me just fine...
 
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