Despite being a gadget geek, I've tended to look past Carey pipes when they popped up. It is easy to brush them off as cheap and gimmicky. While there is some fondness out there, in general Carey pipes don't seem to get a lot of love. Well, recently while rolling through the Bay for pipes I surely didn't need, this English made E.A. Carey meer pipe showed up in my favorite shape and I just had to have it! Showing up on the porch a few days later, I was surprised to find it had arrived in its original packaging with a full box of Papyrate II sleeves. It was put through the usual cleaning and sanitizing with a couple of days to rest afterward. Once that was done and my patience couldn't take it no longer, I fitted it with a Papyrate sleeve and filled it with Gawith Hogggarth Balkan Mixture to see what I had. The flame was drawn to the tobacco just as easy as you please and soon I was enjoying a relaxing, trouble free smoke. Perhaps reading through reviews and paying attention to the experiences shared about Carey pipes allowed me to adjust things for a successful experience, or possibly I just snagged a good pipe. I've now refilled the bowl for the third time and still enjoying it. The only downside I'm seeing so far is that I can't find any of the Papyrate sleeves to stock up on. None are in stock anywhere and I'm hoping that isn't a permanent situation. I'm not even a filter person, but this one is alight with me.
