What are some "crap" pipe tobaccos to avoid?

[Branzig]

Is tobaccoreviews.com searchable by rating? If you have a couple of hundred and it's 2 starts, that should tell you something about a general consensus anyway.

Yes it is, and it is a great tool when searching for a specific tobacco from a certain "family." If you select "Virginia/Perique" on tobacco reviews, then sort by "Highly Recommended" you will see what the bulk of people think about highly regarded tobaccos.

[Bruck]

OK I'll try to answer directly, from one noob to another.

Good: most Navy flakes, C&D Pirate Kake, Dunhill 965, Sutliff Sweet Virginia
Bad: OTC, most stuff you see in big jars at the B&M, blends that are predominantly cavendish.

Taste in cigars is pretty subjective, but IMHO tastes in pipe tobacco is even more so.

[NeverBend]

Ropey,

You may not like detailed responses but I, and others on this forum, realize that there are people, who may not be posting, who read the responses and that they may profit from a considered response. And please, when people take the time to respond don't tell them how to do it. If you knew the answer then you shouldn't be asking the question.

I'll give an example that goes to the heart of your question and that also illustrates the paradox that exists with pipe tobacco, if not with cigars.

Based on the excellent comments from forum members I purchased 8oz of C&D BriarFox. I didn't like it and it's not crap but I won't smoke it again. I sent the remaining 7.5oz to a deserving BOTL on this forum who loves it.

[Ropey]

And please, when people take the time to respond don't tell them how to do it.

I would never tell people how to respond to my question, as long as they're actually responding to my question You see?

I guess what confuses me so much is that there don't seem to be any generally recognized crap pipe tobaccos. Which, to me, is mind-blowing.

I've been, in my life, on so many hobby forums that I can't even remember them all.. from cars to guns to knives to fancy flashlights to cell phones to whiskies to coffee to watches... you name the hobby and I guarantee I've discussed it ad nauseum.

And, out of all those hobbies, there have always -- and I mean always -- been brands or lines or categories or whatever that the "community" generally recognizes as crap. "Noob bait." The stuff that noobs get suckered into buying that's actually considered sh*tty by people who have lots of experience. Such as, let's say, Gurkha cigars. Or Invicta watches. Or Smith and Wesson knives. Or Hi-Point guns. That sort of thing.

So to hear that there is no such general consensus about what sucks in the pipe world is beyond bizarre to me.

The thing about a "general consensus" is that not everyone is going to agree. Some people love their Invicta watches. That's great. Agreement is not necessary, but I wanted people to shout out their opinions in this thread so I could get an overarching view of the landscape.

And either there is truly no bad pipe tobacco (except for mixture 79), OR everyone is deathly afraid of offending anyone else. If the latter is the case, you're going to want to put me on your ignore list pronto because at the end of the day I hit the big red 'X' in the corner of the screen and this place disappears. It's all just words on a screen to me.

[mooster]

Or Hi-Point guns. That sort of thing.

Chumps! Um...just in case I happen to find some idiot who bought one, the bullet's not going to come out the wrong end or anything, is it?

[Horsefeathers]

As a newer pipe smoker on the lookout for things to avoid (and for things to try). The only blend I've seen universally panned is the aforementioned Mixture 79. Everything else seems to be fair game; go hog wild!

[Lostmason]

Ropey, the biggest problem I see to the question is that most of these guys will take a blend they don't care for and mix it to find a blend they like.They will pick out the nuance or taste of many differing tobaccos and use them to spice up or mellow others.As to newbie catchers,those big bags or burley like Smokers Pride are dry and more for the cigarette rollers than for pipes.You are going to find that it's not a risk of offending it's a respect that some people are going to like that blend you hate.Case in point,so far all the Sutliff blends I've tried I have enjoyed immensly,and the Russ's chocolate covered esspreso beans was passable but not enough for me to buy in the future.

[BryGuySC]

The worst one I've had is Borkum Riff. I don't think I could suggest it to anyone.

[izkeh]

Here's my list of tobacco I'll never buy again:
Stanwell Melange
Captain Black anything
Borkum Riff anything
Cap'n Bob's Blend
Pretty much most aromatics because wayyyy too often they smell so good but taste like nothing but hot air
Hearth and Home Stogie or any other "cigar" mixture. I'll just smoke a cigar if I want to taste cigar

[Cool Breeze]

Here's my list of tobacco I'll never buy again:
Captain Black anything

This is what makes this a great hobby IMO.
I like Captain Black a lot and Jason doesn't care for it at all. The cool thing is, we're both absolutely right. There is no right or wrong. There is no good or bad flavors. There is only finding the people who like a given flavor.

I never say a cigar or pipe tobacco is crap based on taste. I'll bitch and moan if the performance or construction sucks, but different people like different flavors. It's awesome. If we all liked the same thing, there would only be a handful of them to choose from.