How long to smoke a bowl?

[Michigan_Bill]

It takes some patience, practice, and experimentation. There’s no shortcut.
Generally speaking, the slower and cooler you smoke a blend, the more flavor you get. The art, to the extent that there is any, is in finding that balance where you can keep your pipe simmering, just at the edge of going out, and sip away. That’s when the flavors come out and play.
Don’t forget to snork. Your schnoz has more flavor receptors than your mouth.

Sometimes a smaller bowl lasts longer than a big one. It just works that way like Sable says. Experimentation

 

[Durhamshire]

My bowl lasts as long as it does. Best to not think about doing it and just do it. For me getting bottom of bowl to cake up makes a lot of positive difference. Thing is though is do want You want to do and feel comfortable with. There is guidance, but no hard and fast rules. Main thing is to enjoy.

 

[Old Smokey]

Until I am finished sounds about right for me, I usually last an hour-and-a-half.

Man... if only I could last an hour and a half, my wife wouldn't complain as much.

It all depends on the chamber size but I can get anywhere from 30 minutes from my smallest pipe to an hour and a half with my larger pipes.

 

[Hillcrest]

I'm curious, when you smoke a bowl, how long are you generally taking?

11,000 years is the longest I've read about

Savinelli should get in on this and do a new advert; best quotes :

" smoke rings are formed only with a specific crater shape and geometry " & "Formation requires a calm atmosphere and a circular volcanic vent."

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[hoosierpipeguy]

I smoke it as long as I want and until I'm no longer enjoying it. It's not a bit more complicated than that. I buy the pipes, I buy the tobacco and it's my time. Other people can smoke their pipes and tobacco the way they want to as far as I'm concerned.

 

[OzPiper]

It really depends on the size of the pipe’s chamber and the cut of tobacco. I have tiny pipes that last twenty minutes at best; some deep chambered pipes will last over five hours with a crumble cut. In a pipe with an “average sized” .75" x 1.5" chamber, about ninety minutes to two hours? It varies with the way it’s packed, the dryness of the tobacco, the cut—lots of variables.

^^^^^ Absolutely !

Size and shape of chamber (eg pots vs chimneys)
Cut of tobacco and preparation - different results with a flake if you fold and stuff vs rubbed out vs cube cut
Dryness of tobacco and ambient humidity
Packing
Smoking cadence
And if the wife disturbs you mid-smoke

 

[Sigmund]

@InWithBothFeet The bottom of the bowl will be a little harsher. Its worse if you dont dry your tobacco a bit. Some blends are effected more than others. I dont care for the bottom of the bowl flavor. I often smoke it but its not as good as the first three quarters. I find heavy lat blends to be better than vapers at the end. Many are already darker in flavor and the lat seems to push forward through the stoved and filtered tobacco taste. Vapers lose their plum like sweetness and most aros get worse. Meer chips in the bottom quarter of the bowl help a little. You just have to realize that the bottom tobacco has been a filter for all the burning tobacco on top. Not much to do about it. Your in the US I think...tobacco is cheap. Dump it when you dont like it. Reload if you want more.

 

[jerry]

For most of my pipes and tobaccos, one hour. Occasionally, I’ll use a smaller bowl for shorter smokes, but the one-hour smoke is my standard.

 

[Zeno Marx]

The big bowls of the 1990s (magnum, ODA, ODB), up to 2 hours. I have a couple now (group 6 or so) that when relaxed and smoking right (me, not the pipe), 60-75 minutes. But usually 20-30 minutes for a group 3-4. Sorry, but I grew up around Dunhill collectors (never one myself), and the sizes are set like concrete in my mind. Even though 20-30 is my norm now, I also know that it is too quickly. If all variables were in my favor, those same pipes would be more like 45-60 minutes. I feel pipe smoking is a slow deal, but the times ain't.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

this entirely depends on chamber size and how tobacco is cut , so to say ,ribbon and fine shag cut tobaccos , for instance Belgian Semois, French Caporal and some Dutch domestic blends will never last as long as the standard ready rubbed broken flake or other similar cuts do, additionally with the aforementioned blends firmer packing and much slower cadence play significant importance

 

[K.E. Powell]

When I was new to pipe smoking, I took the advice of smoking slowly a bit too literally; at one point, I was even timing myself to see if my pipe lasted at least 45 minutes, because I was lead to believe that that should be the bare minimum if you're "doing it right."

I don't recommend that approach. It's going to take practice and time for your palette to pick up on all the flavors, and it will also take practice and time for you to reliably load, light, and draw from your pipe in such a fashion that fits your style and unearths what you're looking for when you light up in the first place (e.g. flavor, calm, etc.).

The basic advice to smoke more slowly is oftentimes a good one. but don't fixate on that; it will come in time if you exercise good and consistent habits and carry yourself patiently.

 

[steelarts]

I'm just trying to figure out this flavor thing. It must be in there someplace.

It is! Geez, I can totally get where you’re coming from because I used to be exactly the same as you. Things changed for me with 2 things, 1) I started using Peterson's with P-lips and 2) I slowed right down and learned the ‘breath method’. The p-lip directs the smoke to the roof of the mouth so you don’t get that sudden blast of hot smoke that all but eradicates your taste buds. If you don’t have a P-lip try gently directing the smoke to the roof of your mouth rather than just sucking in great clouds of smoke directly onto your tongue. especially when lighting or relighting your pipe.

Next, watch Muttonchops’ YouTube videos on the breath method, especially his last one where he really clarifies what he’s doing. You basically breathe through your nose and on the inhale a tiny bit of smoke is drawn into the mouth and on the exhale it’s passed back down the pipe to the bowl. You’re not blowing, it’s like your mouth is a tiny bellows. It’s important that you get a good seal around the pipe with your mouth as you’re doing all this but on the fourth breath you can open your mouth and breathe out the smoke. It takes a little practice but it works; the pipe remains cooler, there are far fewer relights, AND you can actually TASTE the tobacco. Honestly, it’s a revelation!

A plus is I can now smoke my pipe for anywhere between 40 minutes to an hour with very little dottle, in fact today’s Squadron Leader left only white ash in the bowl. I also use 9mm filters and get zero bitterness anywhere in the smoke. Before I started using filters I had to use a pipe cleaner as soon as I detected any bitterness coming through and this seemed to clear things up.

 

[Medy]

I love this post! Thank you OP for posting this I was wondering the same thing. My MM Gentleman last about 30-45 minutes. So I’m thinking I’m in the ballpark with average. Thanks again!

 

[Sigmund]

During those occasions where I pick the right pipe and the right tobacco for my tastes at that moment I will usually smoke a bit faster becuase its so good. Sometimes I choose wrong and though its something I like it doesnt tick all the boxes at that given time.

 

[Sgetz]

A bowl lasts me about 90 minutes. I'm a slow smoker. And only smoke one to two bowls a week. So like to take my time

 

[Christos D. Tsatsaronis]

Fortyfive minutes.