Rubber tips?

[paranoidpiper]

I've heard nothing but good things about them

 

[jmsutton]

I love them. I purchase one or two everytime I make an online order. I think they're super comfortable and make the smoke a lot more enjoyable.

 

[ithelouniverse]

Best invention in years. Love em. Every pipe I smoke has one...

 

[pcr1]

Can't be beat! I like to clench my pipes, the rubber bits not only make the tactile feel of the stem better but I think it enhances the taste of the tobacco. Not to mention, easier on the jaw.

 

[khartman]

I use it on two pipes. Actually came in handy today when I was shoveling and clenching the crap out of it.

 

[darwin]

Softy usage is made much easier if you have both sizes available, 9mm and 12mm. The 9mm fits small to medium sized stems and the 12mm works well for the wider stems popular today. I have a little Radice Rubino nosewarmer that has a stem a full three-quarters of an inch wide. It is a struggle to get a 9mm on and off it but the 12mm works just fine. The bits will discolor a stem if left on which is why I pull the bits off after every smoke which is a lot of swapping but having the correct size bit for a given stem makes this fussiness far less hassle.

 

[ivapewithfire]

I'm with Jeremy.
I loved them at first, but I only use one on my cob now.
It's almost like it was a training wheel. It helped while I was learning, but got in the way once I learned how to hold a pipe in my mouth.
For the cob, it's more about making the stem last longer. I think it's time for me to order a forever stem.

 

[buroak]

I use them on pipes I clench. Some members have found that they lead to stem oxidation, probably owing to saliva getting trapped between the rubber tip and the stem.

 

[menuhin]

It's a tool for more comfy clenching plus protection of the mouthpiece from toothmarks being made, but not some extra part to make one's pipe more beautiful.
I found it is really ugly to leave rubber tips on my pipes when I am resting them. So I put them on only right before I smoke and when I expect I would clench that particular pipe for a longer time during that smoke, which I rarely do.
@soymilkisgood

Similar to soymilkisgood, I am not clenching 99% of the time when I smoke, and I've developed my love for really thin bits handcrafted out of ebonite, that one can slide in his mouth without even opening his lips. For me pipe smoking also includes looking at the pipe and talking to the mouthpiece directly, to appreciate how good or how bad a pipe is.