Forever stems; to buy or not to buy?

I'm on the fence about buying these. I do love my cobs, but spending nearly $30 (with shipping) for a stem for an $8 pipe, well, there's got to be a reason other than just dressing it up. I mean, I can put an expensive necklace on a pig and he may look more stylish, but it's not going to make the bacon taste any better. What do you think of these?

http://www.walkerbriarworks.com/html...er-_stems.html

I love mine. You can use the stem for much longer than your average MM will last, and you can use it on more than 1 pipe. It makes the math a little more favorable if you look at it that way. Worth every penny, IMO.

Buy. Definitely. A forever stem will last thru oodles of cobs and they don't crack if you chew them a little too hard. Plus they're a great attachment point for a metal or ceramic sleeve to eliminate the filter cavity. (That is if you have any machining skillz at all) It's not so much like putting a necklace on a pig, it's more like icing on a cake.

I have 6 or 7. One on each of my cobs in rotation.

I just ordered my first one last week!

Buy.
As already said, they will outlive loads of cobs. They're also more comfortable than a chewed up plastic stem, but the main selling point for me, is that if you get the non-filter style it will fix the loose open draw on a cob. It will feel just like puffing on a briar.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LandonColby

...if you get the non-filter style it will fix the loose open draw on a cob. It will feel just like puffing on a briar.

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Unless he's changed things up recently, all of his stems eliminate the filter. The 'filter style' stems simply fit the mortise of all filter model pipes (i.e. Country Gentleman) and the 'non-filter style' fit the mortise of all non-filter pipes (i.e. pony express). However, none of the pipes will accept a filter once you put the Forever stem in.

This necklace will actually make the bacon taste better. Go for it!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Emperor Zurg

Unless he's changed things up recently, all of his stems eliminate the filter. The 'filter style' stems simply fit the mortise of all filter model pipes (i.e. Country Gentleman) and the 'non-filter style' fit the mortise of all non-filter pipes (i.e. pony express). However, none of the pipes will accept a filter once you put the Forever stem in.

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I was under the impression that the stem would accept a filter. Thanks for the correction.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Emperor Zurg

Unless he's changed things up recently, all of his stems eliminate the filter. The 'filter style' stems simply fit the mortise of all filter model pipes (i.e. Country Gentleman) and the 'non-filter style' fit the mortise of all non-filter pipes (i.e. pony express). However, none of the pipes will accept a filter once you put the Forever stem in.

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I toss the filter, if it has one, as soon as I get them, so that's fine with me.