I recently found a Cob Cigar at a B&M after striking out online for the last few months. I expected it to be a gimmick, which is why I sought out the cob version rather than the much more expensive Briar Cigar. To my delight and surprise, it smokes great! I think the reverse calabash-like design may be the reason. There's a fairly large chamber between the bit's tenon and the "bottom" of the burn chamber. I heard Chris Morgan interviewed (I think on Brian Levine's podcast, but I'm not positive) and he mentioned that this was an intentional part of the design. I think it works! The nature of the cob left a lot of flaking behind in that air chamber. I used an undersized twist drill bit to gently scrub the walls to remove the loose pieces. I doubt that they negatively affected the smoke, and in fact might've acted as a beneficial moisture filter, but they made any attempts to clean that portion of the pipe impossible.
I doubt that I'll trade up to the briar cigar. It's challenging to light without charring the rim of the Cob Cigar. Although briar is more resistant to burning, I imagine scorching would be unavoidable, especially if you attempt a relight halfway through the bowl. Narrow, deep chamber that you can't see while lighting. It's a pretty tall order to avoid scorching. With a cob, I don't care. In fact, I think it kinda fits with the cob cigar "image". With the briar, I probably shouldn't care, but would anyway. This cob cigar is just fine for me.
My one complaint with the pipe is the bit. The silly little spout is far too tiny for clenching. I personally like the draft hole to enter my mouth behind my teeth, not between them, or worse, between my lips. I end up holding it 100% of the time and putting my lips on the larger portion of the bit. It works, but I'd like the option of clenching.
I wonder if more will be made. MM has been out of stock for some time.