I like cobs and meerschaums for aromatics. They have more moisture buffering capacity. I don't recall a cob ever gurgling on me. For non-aromatic Virginia smokes, I like narrower bowls; it keeps the temperature down so it doesn't bite as much. For English blends I like wider bowls. It seems to make the flavors develop more and allows complexity to develop. For burley-predominant blends, the size doesn't seem to matter much so I go with my medium-width bowls. Those are just my preferences and they may not apply to you. If I only have a couple of pipes with me, I'll smoke whatever is offered in any of them before I'll go without smoking. If one happens to get temporarily ghosted, it can be corrected by smoking a few bowls of something else.