Best Bowl for Different Tobaccos

[phatmax]

Ok, so here is the question...

Is there a set "standard" or "formula" for bowl height and width that makes each tobacco burn/taste best?

I figure the four basic bowls would be:

Tall and narrow

Short and narrow

Tall and wide

Short and wide


Flakes, ribbon cut, cube cut, etc.

then Aromatics, Va/Pers, etc.


Is there a accepted best method or is it all personal taste?

[uncballzer]

There's a couple threads around here on this, but the summary--some say small bowls better for flakes, others say it doesn't matter. personally, i don't think it matters, unless you find a preference, then it's your choice, not ours.

[Mad Hatter]

Whatever you find works best for you based on flavor, nic content and all those other things.

[RJpuffs]

I find the bowl thickness is a bigger factor. Thinner bowls tend to heat up faster, I prefer flakes in those creatures. Thicker bowls have more briar around the fire obviously, and I use them for straight VAs that may get on the hotter side.

Other than that, I find individual pipes pair with with one (or few) particular blends, when I find a winning combo I dedicate that pipe for that (those) blends exclusively. I have not been able to associate any logic to these matches, it just burns/tastes right or not.

[sounds7]

Originally Posted by RJpuffs

I find the bowl thickness is a bigger factor. Thinner bowls tend to heat up faster, I prefer flakes in those creatures. Thicker bowls have more briar around the fire obviously, and I use them for straight VAs that may get on the hotter side.

Other than that, I find individual pipes pair with with one (or few) particular blends, when I find a winning combo I dedicate that pipe for that (those) blends exclusively. I have not been able to associate any logic to these matches, it just burns/tastes right or not.

I like smaller bowls for pretty much everything in spite of the heat. the reason-More amplified flavor especially for milder blends. The second reason- economy. I can make my tobacco last and still get a nice 35-40 minute smoke out of a small pipe. We should all work on slowing down enough that heat is in check even on a small pipe. I consider it a personal challenge.

[JohnnyFlake]

There is no doubt that different blends taste differently, in different size bowls. IMHO, the height of the bowl has very little, if any, effect on the flavor, however the diameter of the bowl does. I'm not going to even try to suggest which types of tobacco taste better in which size bowl, however, I will say this, every veteran pipe smoker that I know prefers a specific size bowl (diameter) with a specific blend of tobacco. Usually veteran smokers have already figured that out by testing the blends they smoke regularly in different size bowls. When they decide to try, a new to them blend, veteran pipe smokers will usually try a few bowls of that blend in various size bowls and by doing so, they will find the size bowl which provides the best flavor profile for that new blend. Just my .02