1st time Pipe smoking and it feels like inhaling chilli powder from a gas chamber...

[House of Saul]

Title says it all.
What.
Am.
I.
Doing.
Wrong.
?

I've got a small Bulldog style Briar, what I did was put a couple dashes of Plum&Rum Pipe tobacco and light it.
I expected big plumes of tasty and relaxing flavoured tobacco but instead I got a charred mouth from flavourless, spicy and hot steam...

What am I doing wrong?
Is this what you guys enjoy smoking or is it just user error?

I want it to be like a flavoured cigarette.
Maybe the tobacco is the issue but I doubt that, I'll try some American Cherry next time to see if that will work.

Any advice from the experts here?

Thanks.

[House of Saul]

Note - I have no problems with the Pipe itself, I just don't like what I'm smoking out of it even though it seems like regular Pipe tobacco that everyone uses?

[slowroll]

A few things could be the cause. #1, don't try to get big gales of smoke like from a cigarette or cigar. Pipes have to be sipped, đrawn on vey lightly or they will burn hot. #2 tobacco must be dry, just short of crumbly or it will be steamy, hot and hard to keep lit. #3 can't inhale like a cigarette, just draw and let it out or push it thru your nose. #4. Aromatics are harsher than non aromatics. Better to start with a non aro until you get the hang of it. Try a burley based or English tobacco .
Good luck

[Ruffinogold]

Hmmm , More than likely its your fill job . To tight , especially a cased blend [ in general , the kinds that are wet to the touch ] will produce some " steam " . Too loose and its hot and weird .Weird in a few ways .. to" airy " of a draw . The flavors go off strangely because it was never meant to burn that hot .. just unpleasant weird
Its possible the blend could have a part ? I'm not familiar with a plum and rum blend . Many of the aromatic bulk type blends are good or better but some are just plain ole bad

I find a simple all black cavendish to be the coolest type blends out there , providing the flavor isnt freaky [ thus the simple ] .. but thats just me . By all means , get online and buy some 1 oz samples of a few styles but take your time with each one in order to " get to know it " .

As far as the filling of the bowl .... in order to not sound like a tech manual , if youre having meh luck . Start a fill job loose rather than tight and work toward a firmer fill job if need be . In general , dont go past the point where , when you tamp on an unlit blend in your pipe , it dosnt have some spring to it ... you want some spring

[House of Saul]

A few things could be the cause. #1, don't try to get big gales of smoke like from a cigarette or cigar. Pipes have to be sipped, đrawn on vey lightly or they will burn hot. #2 tobacco must be dry, just short of crumbly or it will be steamy, hot and hard to keep lit. #3 can't inhale like a cigarette, just draw and let it out or push it thru your nose. #4. Aromatics are harsher than non aromatics. Better to start with a non aro until you get the hang of it. Try a burley based or English tobacco .
Good luck

Funny thing is, when I inhale the problem goes away. I get full flavour but the tobacco is a bit harsh/strong in nic.
I'll give drying out the tobacco a shot. Thanks.

[Fr_Tom]

Hmmm , More than likely its your fill job . To tight , especially a cased blend [ in general , the kinds that are wet to the touch ] will produce some " steam " . Too loose and its hot and weird .Weird in a few ways .. to" airy " of a draw .

This would be my prediction too. The counsel earlier from Slowroll about sipping is on the mark. If it is packed too tight you have to puff like a freight train to keep it lit, and it just tastes ashy and steamy.

[Rusticated]

A few things could be the cause. #1, don't try to get big gales of smoke like from a cigarette or cigar. Pipes have to be sipped, đrawn on vey lightly or they will burn hot. #2 tobacco must be dry, just short of crumbly or it will be steamy, hot and hard to keep lit. #3 can't inhale like a cigarette, just draw and let it out or push it thru your nose. #4. Aromatics are harsher than non aromatics. Better to start with a non aro until you get the hang of it. Try a burley based or English tobacco .
Good luck

With regard to Aro's being harsher than non, I have found that to be true most of the time as well with the exception of Boswell's. In particular, their Raspberry Creme and No Bite Delight. The RC is as it states; the NBD is more of a choclaty, maplely, taste to me yet not sacrificing the tobacco flavor. Upon arrival it seems moist but i've never had a problem keeping a bowl lit right out of the pouch, and you really have to puff it hard to get it to burn harsh. As far as Aro's go, they're the only two I keep in rotation regularly. Can't recommend it highly enough for Aro smokers.

[Hitzy]

I'm a fairly new piper too, smoked cigs a long time ago...20+ years ago, and I dislike cigs with ferocity.
Unfortunately where I live, flavored pipe tobacco got looped into the flavored cigs/vapes ban, so all we got is pretty much tobacco in it's basic form. My first couple pouches were pretty much like smoking cigs, and it bothered my nose, throat, and lungs...most likely the heavy PG but also the harshness of plain baccy.
Eventually I found some Captain Black White, it was old n dry, but it didn't bother my "senses" other then taste...way too sweet, sickenly so.
So a bit of Google led me to many forums, reviews, etc, and Lane 1Q was one of the most popular all day smokes. Since I was not irritated by the CB, and Lane is the parent, I got some 1Q bulk which claimed to have minimal PG. Low and behold, it was good all around. I tried a few other milder blends like Borkum Original, Amphora Red, since the 1Q, but still had the same irritations.
I'm still a novice, but I'm confident this is all I can smoke enjoyably at this stage and have given up searching for the "white buffalo" of tobaccos. It smells like my grandpas pipe smoke use to, it's tasty, and I really don't get tired of it. $30/lb isn't too hard to swallow either, and no irritations at all.

[avid]

If it is packed too tight you have to puff like a freight train to keep it lit, and it just tastes ashy and steamy.

that would be me often enough

[Legion]

A few things could be the cause. #1, don't try to get big gales of smoke like from a cigarette or cigar. Pipes have to be sipped, đrawn on vey lightly or they will burn hot. #2 tobacco must be dry, just short of crumbly or it will be steamy, hot and hard to keep lit. #3 can't inhale like a cigarette, just draw and let it out or push it thru your nose. #4. Aromatics are harsher than non aromatics. Better to start with a non aro until you get the hang of it. Try a burley based or English tobacco .
Good luck

Funny thing is, when I inhale the problem goes away. I get full flavour but the tobacco is a bit harsh/strong in nic.
I'll give drying out the tobacco a shot. Thanks.

Switching to a pipe is how I got off a 40-60 a day cig habit. If I didn't inhale I'd still be on the lung busters. I've never 'sipped' a pipe & probably never will (In-other-words, I don't smoke a pipe in the conventional manner)
I'm not familiar with your tobacco but I'd agree that it's probably too moist.
Once you've sorted your packing, lighting, tamping technique & tried milder tobaccos, you could also try smoking with a filter. The charcoal filters are the best imo because they don't inhibit the draw as much as paper filters.

Tobacco choices is limited in my neck of the woods but from what I've tried, I'd highly recommend Moes Confetti; a mild, lightly flavoured burley based blend, that needs no drying, easy to pack & easy to keep lit.
Buy sampler packs on-line of various blends so you get an idea of your likes & dislikes. Also, when buying tobacco on-line, don't be shy to ask for a sample of a particular blend. (I've only dealt with 4noggins who will give samples if asked. The other on-line stores probably will as well I'd presume)