moshee
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Registered: 03-2008
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Quiet Comrade
This mini review was posted originally on the Knoxville forum which is due to be closed shortly. Rather than lose the review, I thought I would repost it here.
THE PIPE: The Quiet Comrade is a metal pipe available on Ebay for $12.95+$4.75 shipping:
Details of the pipe can be seen here:
http://www.smokingmetal.co.uk/pipe.php?page=83
There are 3 pieces to the pipe (bowl, stem, mouthpiece/filter holder). The mouthpiece/filter holder is a triangular piece, the design of which forces the smoke to travel up and down the stem 3 times which optimizes cooling and condensation of the smoke.
SMOKING MARVEL, GADGET, OR ANOMALY: The QC is probably all three. Forcing the smoke to travel up and down the stem definitely improves the cooling property. A lot of nasty juices are condensed out of the smoke stream to give a decidedly dry smoke. In fact, only the Kirsten (the standard by which metal pipes are compared) seems to be able to match the amount of condensation produced.
While my QC is still in the break-in stage, after 9 bowls, I can report that the smokeability is very nice indeed. You get a cool, dry smoke just as advertised.
LOOKS: Lets face it, the QC is a metal pipe and there is no comparison to most other briar pipes. OK, lets just say that it is butt ugly. Its bowl is the most heavily varnished, shiny bowl I've ever seen in a pipe. I guess I'll just have to get philosophical here and say that "If it smokes right, it looks right". I'm one that places function over form.
COMPARISONS: Most common metal pipes sold in the US are the Kirsten and Falcon pipes. The 40g weight of the QC feels heavy in the mouth. In comparison, a comparable size Kirsten weighs in at 45g. However, there is no comparison to a Falcon which weights in at 30g. The Falcon is one of the lighter pipes (metal or briar).
As mentioned, the QC is comparable to the Kirsten in the amount of condensation trapped. The Falcon lags behind in this department. As for pure smoking quality, I would have to tip my hat to the QC, but by just a hair over the Kirsten.
All the juices trapped by these pipes have to be disposed of sooner or later. Both the QC and the Falcon need to have their condensate disposed of after each bowl smoked. With the Falcon, its a simple quarter turn of the bowl to remove it and the juices can be dumped. With the QC, you have to partially remove the filter holder to unlock the bowl before removing it to dump the condensate.
By far, the Kirsten is the most convenient smoke. Its design allows 2-4 bowls to be smoked before the condensate has to be disposed of. Then its a simple matter of pulling off a valve and dumping out the juices. Of the three, the Kirsten is the only one that allows you to rap out ashes without having the condensate come up through the bowl.
WHERE DOES THE QC FIT IN?: This is an individual thing. For me, its a great yard pipe, camping pipe, fishing pipe, etc. For $12.95 its a "if you lose it or break it, who cares" kind of pipe. It is most assuredly not a pipe to impress the public with. What it is, is a rugged good smoking instrument.
It can also be a great pipe for the beginning pipester who needs a cool, dry smoking pipe at minimal cost. Being a metal pipe, you don't need to rotate or dedicate the pipe. Hence, initial cost for entering our great hobby would be low. Its a smoke it all day, day after day pipe.
So, give the QC a try. You only got $12.95 to lose.
Update-03/10/2008: After several months of smoking the QC, an O-Ring on the mouthpiece began to swell. This caused the mouthpiece to push itself out of the metal stem while smoking. I haven't found a suitable fitting replacement O-Ring for the pipe and hence, am no longer smoking it.
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Mar/11/08, 6:52 pm
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