Do You Pack To The Brim, Below, Or A Little Above?

[crawdad]

A tick below the rim.

 

[elnoblecigarro]

Very slightly below the rim. Even or above would result in tobacco bits falling out when I walk around and when it expands.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Don't feel bad. I've responded to threads and notice I had responded months earlier.

 

[captpat]

Even with or below the rim, never above. It depends on the size of the pipe and how much time I want to devote to the smoke, on occasion a pipe only gets filled halfway.

 

[bullet08]

Aim for the below, but sometimes it's right at the rim.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

usually at the rim, but in the rare event I'm smoking outdoors then packing to the rime is a bit risky business,

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Packing below makes sense if tobacco swells. Never thought about it. It’s a wonder cigarettes don’t explode.

 

[RookieGuy]

Gravity fill to just just above the rim. Lightly finger tamp it level. Char, tamp back down to juuuust under the rim. Light, enjoy!*

I can probably do a little more in my bowls. But this method works for me. And if at the end of the pipe I need more, well then I just have to smoke another pipe, gosh-darnit.

*note, this is NOT for cube cut

ETA; Sweet Home Alabama, that might have something to do with whatever chemical additives are in cigarettes. Maybe? I'm guessing.

 

[archerdarkpint]

Just at the edge is my preferred alignment...rarely above, sometimes below.

 

[timelord]

When packing, how do you top off the bowl? Do you pack a little below the brim to give the tobacco room to rise when you do the first light? Or do you pack above the rim to allow the tobacco room to settle with the first light? Or do you pack even with the brim to anticipate both tendencies? Frankly I think I do all three on occasion depending on the cut, the moisture, my appetite for a smoke, and my mood. I think I tend to pack pretty loosely a little below the brim.

Yes.

 

[kcghost]

I tend to smoke right at the edge though sometimes I go a little below.

 

[danimalia]

I aim for below the rim and almost invariably end up above. I'm just greedy, I guess.

Same! I'll pack to a good, "safe" level and then I just have to squeeze that last little pinch in for some reason...

I have to be careful because sometimes an ember will spill out onto my clothes... Since I've been mostly using the water flush method, my rims get a good wiping (god, that just sounds kind of dirty, doesn't it?) as part of the post smoke cleaning process, so they're not too atrocious. But they certainly aren't pristine, either.

 

[danimalia]

Gravity fill to just just above the rim. Lightly finger tamp it level. Char, tamp back down to juuuust under the rim. Light, enjoy!*

I can probably do a little more in my bowls. But this method works for me. And if at the end of the pipe I need more, well then I just have to smoke another pipe, gosh-darnit.

*note, this is NOT for cube cut

ETA; Sweet Home Alabama, that might have something to do with whatever chemical additives are in cigarettes. Maybe? I'm guessing.

That is kind of interesting when you think about it. Based on my experiences with the pipe, it does seem like expanding tobacco would cause cigarettes (and maybe cigars, too) to burst. It just has to be something with the physics and thermodynamics and other 10 cent words I don't really understand, because I use to hand roll cigarettes and this was never a problem, even with no additive blends like the American Spirit varieties. On the rare occasion that I did roll too tightly, it would just have a stiff draw, similar to a plugged cigar, but it never caused any problems with the paper bursting or tearing... That said, if I didn't trim the ends of my smokes, and some tobacco stuck out of the end, it absolutely would expand when lit and blow all over.

 

[mso489]

Not only the responses match up, but my post has almost exactly the same language, though the second version is a little more verbose. I'll try to keep my posts more original. If I post something about chinchilla farming under general discussion, you'll understand. I haven't posted about chinchilla farming recently, have I? I knew the packing to the brim post seemed like a really good idea; no wonder.

 

[karam]

usually at the rim, but in the rare event I'm smoking outdoors then packing to the rime is a bit risky business,

Yep, have had a bit of hot ash blow into my eye before, painful.

 

[autumnfog]

Below, usually about 3/4 of the bowl.

 

[cigrmaster]

I pack to the top of the rim and when it rises above the rim I tamp it back down. I don't care if it goes above the rim and I tamp it down to the top of the rim. I don't worry about it going above the rim and burning the top of the rim.

 

[peteguy]

Below - hate rim char.

 

[briarbuda48]

Always a little below..

 

[CoffeeAndBourbon]

Don't feel bad. I've responded to threads and notice I had responded months earlier.

me too!