What are some "crap" pipe tobaccos to avoid?

[c.ortiz108]

You. Sir are an astute man. Smoking a pipe is like living in a village because there are so few of us. Even though you think villager A is a moron, you don't express your opinion unless you want to have all his friends and relatives, and lets face it half the people in the village are related to him, attack you like rabid weasels. Yes there are bad tobaccos and I could name whole brands that are unsmokable, but I have to live in this village.

Ah, the delicate politics of pipe smoking... But wait, are you saying pipe smokers are a bunch of inbreds?

[rx2man]

I have been reading this with some amusement. I have a 48 qt cooler full of Gurkhas. Did not pay over $3 for any of them. One of the best bargains out there. And with 6 mos rest as good as anything else. Sure you get a dud here n there. Same with the Black Pearls, and a couple others you mentioned, all good stick if you let em sit for a bit. Tobacco is tobacco in relation to what is used for cigars or pipes and while I am sure some companys use higher quality tobacco than others as was said earlier noobs cant tell the difference and I sure cannot. Company's that spend more time post roll aging have product that hits the market smoking better than sticks that you have to sit on for a bit to really enjoy. We get caught up with the brands and all and compare this to other areas like you mentioned. Sure a Kimber is better than a Hi Point. You could also buy 3-4 Hi Points for a Kimber. I think we pay way to much for that X on the ring. Far more than it is worth.

Pipes are a lot different than cigars and you are going to be left very confused very soon. it was suggested already for you to get in on a newbie sampler trade. I also will suggest this. I say this because 3 yrs ago I smoked my 1st pipe. One of my earliest purchases was Samuel Gawiths Full Virginia Flake. And I picked up a 250g box. I lit that stuff up and it was not very good. Like wet hay. I put it all in jars and forgot about it. A few mos ago when I wanted to try pipes again I got into it and it was REALLY good. It seemed like a light aro. But its not its a straight Virginia but time changed it into something else. Look at some of the reviews on VA's on tobacco reviews. You will read where reviewers wonder about what topping is on the VA and there is none.

If I remember correctly a previous reply said to smoke Latakia blends as it is something a cigar smoker would like. I did not like flavored cigars but I do like my Aros. This may be why I am not very interested in cigars anymore. I have 8 oz of Penzance, many on here will say it is one of the best there is. Its good stuff if you like Latakia. I am keeping it and my other English blends as tastes change over time. But I prefer Lane 1Q over Penzance. I prefer the FVF over anything else but 3 yrs ago I wondered what all the fuss was about. I have some other VA's and all I get is a burned tongue. For whatever reason the 3 yr old FVF is at the perfect humidity and is smoking great. There is nothing wrong with the other VA's, its user error. User error is going to cause you more problems than the tobacco being crap. Try to find someone local that has some experience to decrease the learning curve. I did and am enjoying pipes a lot more because of it. Also applying cigar logic to corn cob pipes will not be beneficial. They smoke dry and are a quick way to get yourself a VA pipe, Lat pipe, aro pipe etc. 3 yrs ago as soon as I stopped smoking the cobs and moved over to briars things became more complicated and my enjoyment reduced to the point I smoked a pipe only a few times in 2 yrs. Cobs are great for noobs and less complicated. I am done babbling, going to get back to Game of Thrones......

[Nachman]

After giving it some thought, I have finally come up with a good answer to the OP's question. Go to tobacco Reviews and click on search. Click the "more options" choice and for 'reviewed by' type in Jiminks, because Jim likes all types of tobacco. Then for rating choose 'not recommended'. For each tobacco find Jiminks review because it will be descriptive and balanced. If the majority don't like it and Jim pans it, you can be assured it is not good tobacco.

[mooster]

I can't argue with that. I just checked it, and see nothing I'd recommend, and one that actually made me cringe when I remembered it.

[c.ortiz108]

Seems to be stall on the newb sampler trade, and I need to clean my estate pipes first anyway (have a full rotation+).... But I will definitely be signing up over there soon!

[rx2man]

After giving it some thought, I have finally come up with a good answer to the OP's question. Go to tobacco Reviews and click on search. Click the "more options" choice and for 'reviewed by' type in Jiminks, because Jim likes all types of tobacco. Then for rating choose 'not recommended'. For each tobacco find Jiminks review because it will be descriptive and balanced. If the majority don't like it and Jim pans it, you can be assured it is not good tobacco.

This IS a great reply. I went over and pulled the reviewer up. He explains the reviews he does as to why another star was not warranted and what could be done differently to gain that other star. As in sip slowly and you go from 2/2.5 to a 3.