By the bye, this is the first time I've seen negative criticism aimed at a pipe manufacturer, which is extememly rare on this site. That alone should give you pause. Apparently Ropp makes both good and occassionally poor pipes. So my advice (which is difficult and sometimes dangerous to listen to!) is check the Ropp out carefully before you smoke it so you have the option of returning it. Does it have a stinger, and does that interfere with airflow? Any flow problem without the stinger? And definitely check out the thickness of the briar: is it very thin or light? A thin pipe is simply going to overheat too much to be held. I once got a Peterson that posed the same problem and gave it away. So that doesn't necessarily disqualify Ropp as a pipe making company. The majority of Peterson pipes are superb, and this might be the same for Ropp, but given that there have been some negative comments, not just me, tread with caution.
