Quote Originally Posted by Pipe Smoker View Post
If you don't use a filter in a filter pipe it's harder to keep the draft clean. At least that's what I suspect. I've never owned a filter pipe, so maybe I'm all wet about that.
I like to just quickly pass a pipe cleaner down the stem after a smoke especially if and while the pipe is still warm and moist - should it happen to be moist anyway. You can't do that with a filter in the way. And if you smoke without the filter, you can't clean out the filter cavity without pulling out the stem. Should you want to use the filter, that's just one more thing to buy, carry around, stock up on and dispose of. No thanks. Plus, IMO filters mess with the taste of the smoke.