I smoke mainly Virginia and VaPer blends so most of my briars are dedicated to those. I have a couple briars with smaller bowls that I will use for Latakia blends because a small bowl is about all I can handle. Aromatics always go in a cob. If I'm going to be doing something that requires hands free such as typing I'll choose a pipe with a bend that is comfortable to clench. Otherwise, I choose by bowl size.