When I've seen the Talamona Marco Polo in photos before it would catch my eye as a curiosity. Having no experience with Talamona pipes, I have been hesitant to go out on a limb for something new and reviews are a little scarce. When this one popped up on eBay, I put it on my watch list just out of curiosity but the price was too high to justify adding yet another pipe to the lineup. After the price kept dropping and finally settled at $45 for several weeks, I decided to give it a go.
It turned out to be an easy refresh and a satisfying find. I like curves in a pipe and longer stems have grown on me, especially when just relaxing. At 7 and a quarter inches with a near straight drop, this pipe is perfect for supporting in the hand while resting the elbow on an arm rest and the near straight drop makes it an easy jaw hanger. Distance and drop also make it easy to see the bowl when lighting since my eyes aren't what they used to be. Surprisingly, it is making a very comfortable driving pipe. The briar is nice and there are no visible fills with a smoothly integrated horn shank extension. With an nice draw, this has also turned out to be a very nice and easy smoker, one of my best. Taking a chance on this, definitely different, pipe turned out to be a happy decision and I hope all the Talamona pipes out there smoke as well as this one.
It turned out to be an easy refresh and a satisfying find. I like curves in a pipe and longer stems have grown on me, especially when just relaxing. At 7 and a quarter inches with a near straight drop, this pipe is perfect for supporting in the hand while resting the elbow on an arm rest and the near straight drop makes it an easy jaw hanger. Distance and drop also make it easy to see the bowl when lighting since my eyes aren't what they used to be. Surprisingly, it is making a very comfortable driving pipe. The briar is nice and there are no visible fills with a smoothly integrated horn shank extension. With an nice draw, this has also turned out to be a very nice and easy smoker, one of my best. Taking a chance on this, definitely different, pipe turned out to be a happy decision and I hope all the Talamona pipes out there smoke as well as this one.