LincolnBlogs

ePuffer was kind enough to send me out one of their ePuffer 605’s ($150), which is an electronic pipe. I used to smoke pipe years ago and really enjoyed it, however I was *really* bad at it 🙂 It’s an art form to be sure. You need to find just the right tobacco, you need to pack it just right, you need to get your pipe broken just right, you need to light it right, etc.. It’s more complicated to get a pipe working well than it sounds, and, in the end, I just went back to cigarettes and cigars. Needless to say, I was really excited to see this come because I could get that really nice and comfortable form factor and not have the hassle of keeping the thing going for a consistent and enjoyable smoke.

Let me first start with the presentation. This pipe comes in a beautiful finished wooden box. The interior is a luxurious maroon padded felt with recesses for your pipe, 3 cartomizers and your power adapters. It also has a manual (kudos) and comes with a fabric pipe holder, something to keep your pipe in with you carry it around to keep it from getting all scratched up. This is the most quality presentation of anything I have received to review to date. Very nice indeed!

The pipe itself is pretty good looking. Mine is the walnut looking model, which, you guessed it, looks like walnut. It does not appear to be wood, but kind of bake-lite looking. The brass looking fixtures are also plastic as well as the stem. It’s not really cheapie looking, but up close you can tell this is not the real deal. It feels nice and rugged and solid and sits well in the hand. At the very top of the bowl is a red led that illuminates when you smoke it. The model I received is a manual model, so right close to the top of the back of the bowl, right where your thumb would normally sit, is a small push button. That’s really a good placement for it as opposed to some of the other ePipes I have see reviews for.

The battery in the pipe seems to easily last me all day, and after the initial lengthy charge, it recharges in a couple hours or less. The cartomizers that come with it are really interesting. They are quite large compared to anything in the ecig or mod world and are a stainless steel looking deal which screws deep into the pipe stem. I received 3 strengths of the same flavor, a tobacco flavor. It was really good. That is probably understated. As I have been smoking e-devices this past month I have come to the conclusion that I no longer really desire to smoke tobacco tasting products at all. I am quite enamored with all the flavors available. This is an exception. It is really a pleasant tobacco flavor. It’s not harsh or bitter, smokes easily and leaves plenty of vapor in its wake. I really enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, there were some serious issues with my pipe. It randomly activates by itself. I have no idea why. I used to think it happened when I rested my thumb on the little air whole over the manual button, but I have seen it come on several times by itself now when I was not even holding it. It sure would be unfortunate to burn up one of those delicious cartomizers if you weren’t paying attention to it. The other thing I noticed is that the cartimizer fits inside the stem of the pipe, and when you take the stem off after smoking (I have to because the pipe self activates) you see that there is some moisture on the outside of the cartomizer. I am not sure if this is from juice or smoke or what. I have left a message with ePuffer about these but have not yet received a response. It has only bee a couple days though. I hope to be able to update you with answers about these issues after they contact me.

I would *really* like to smoke this more, but find it time consuming to try and keep track of whether or not it actually shuts off and stays that way, along with constantly pulling out the cartomizer, etc.. While the boxed presentation is pretty fancy and shows pride and quality. aside from mine not working correctly, which I am sure ePuffer will correct, eventually, I am not so sure I would spent $150 on it (even on sale right now at $130).