5 Best Pipe Kits for Beginners

Beginner pipe kits are perfect for the newcomer learning to smoke a pipe. Along with starting you off with a great, affordable pipe, you’re set up with the accessories you need to hit the ground running. However, searching for the best pipe kits for beginners can be difficult for a new pipe smoker without a little guidance as to what you’re looking for.

Each beginner pipe kit offers something different, making some more desirable than others based on how they fit to your preferences as a new pipe smoker. Everyone's pipecraft is different, from aesthetic taste to method. For example, some pipe smokers enjoy filters, others don’t. For those who do, there are different kinds of filters. Or maybe you expect you’ll be a clencher, that is, you’ll often hold the pipe in your mouth, your jaw being the sole support. If so you may prefer a light weight pipe, or a bent that distributes the weight downward. 

These and many other factors are things you can get more into the weeds about as you try different pipes and ways of pipe smoking and refine your preferences. But even the beginner likely has some idea of what they're looking for, and what makes the best pipes for beginners are those that are not only quality pipes in general, but those that are chosen with the individual in mind.

To help you better navigate your options, we’ve assembled this list of some of the best pipe kits for beginners. For each, we’ll give a little context as to the appeal of the particular kit so that you can consider what speaks to you. We want you to make an informed decision so you can get the most of your smoking experience. 

1. Chacom Tobacco Pipe Starter Kit

Includes:

• Two Pipe Zipper Pouch
• Pipe Cleaners
• Czech Tool

This beginner pipe kit from Chacom is a great place to start. This Bent Brandy shape has a very classic look, I can certainly see it appealing to beginners fascinated by the pipe for its rich history and representation through enduring literature and film characters. It's also a perfect option for those seeking a lasting ritual from each bowl. The Brandy body offers a large bowl that affords you the time to unwind.

Why might this not be the best beginner pipe kit for you? Well, some folks recommend starting with straight pipes as they're easier to get a pipe cleaner through. Also, as you're learning to pack, a more moderate sized bowl may be ideal. These certainly don't render the Chacom a nonstarter, but they're factors to consider.

As for accessories, this beginner pipe set includes a bundle of pipe cleaners—a must for the pipe smoker's kit—and a classic 3-in-one Czech tool. While maybe not an absolute necessity, these tools offer a convenient tamper and scoop for safely excavating tobacco from the bottom of the bowl, or dottle as it's referred to. Some folks will tamp with their finger or another miscellaneous tool; you can get by fine with, say, the cap of a pen or a golf tee. But you could damage the pipe by knocking it to dislodge dottle in the bowl. Finally you have the rod which I find especially useful for beginners learning to pack well. It's easy to over-pack your pipe bowl when learning—pushing this tool down to the draft hole can open up airflow if the pull is too constricted.

Finally, we have a pipe case for carrying two pipes. Cases like these are nice, because while pipe bags will often offer protection from cosmetic damage such as scratches and scuffs, they may not have much structure to them. This set offers a good durable case for protection on the go. 

2. Vauen Intro Beginner Sets

Includes:

• Charcoal Filters
• Pipe Cleaners
• Czech Tool

Next in our selection of the best pipe kits for beginners, we have the Vauen Intro series. This is a standardized set including pipe cleaners, Czech tool, and filters, along with a selection of some of the best pipes for beginners. These are great kits because they include all the basics while giving you a few options for pipes so you can pick the one that is most to your liking. These include two finishes and two shapes, a Straight Billiard, and a Bent Brandy. 

The stand out inclusion in this set however are the Vauen Dr. Perl Junior Activated Charcoal filters. These filters were first developed by Vauen in 1934. They are meant to filter out harmful substances and reduce nicotine, as well as offer a cooler, drier smoke. If you aren’t sure if you want to use a filter or not, Vauen makes adapters for their pipes. Though sold separately, I recommend them if you are unsure what your preference is in regard to using a filter. 

3. Vauen Outdoor Set

Includes:

• Fanny Pack
• Pipe Cleaners
• Matches
• Czech Tool
• Charcoal Filters

Here’s another great offering from Vauen, one that sets you up for a bit of everything for being on the move. As you can see, along with the pipe, filters, tool, and cleaners, we also have a box of matches and a stylish, roomy fanny pack.

The Vauen Outdoor Set comes with two options for pipes. In addition to the Bent Apple pictured above, you could opt for a Straight Billiard of the same finish. 

The bag offers ample space for more than just what’s included in the set, so it will come in handy as you continue to build your kit. For extra protection, you may want to get a pipe pouch as well. The smaller ones will fit in the Vauen Outdoor Starter bag with no problem. 

4. Savinelli One 

Includes:

• Pipe Cleaners
• Czech Tool
• Balsa Filters
• Adapter

The Savinelli One is another of our best pipe kits for beginners that offers a standardized assortment of essentials with a pipe in a handful of different shape and finish options. Of these shapes we have the Bent Billiard, Straight Billiard, Zulu, and Author. Each comes in rusticated or smooth finishes, save for the Straight Billiard, which is only rusticated.

These kits stand out for two reasons. Much like the Vauen kits, these come with filters, but Savinelli have their own filters that are unique to their pipes, the Savinelli balsa system. Like charcoal filters, the balsa system is meant to reduce tar and nicotine while keeping the smoke cool and dry, mitigating tongue bite and gurgling. Some advocates for the Balsa System maintain that this filtration mechanism is especially effective in not altering or diminishing flavor.

Is one filter inherently better than another? No, but they’re worth trying to see what works for you, which may even be no filter at all That brings us to the second inclusion setting the Savinelli One series apart—the adapter.

Now, most any pipe that takes a filter can be smoked without one, but the airhole is drilled to a certain diameter with a filter in mind, usually 6 or 9 mm. So, adapters are a nice touch to narrow the airway to the dimensions one would expect from a pipe not designed to accommodate a filter. This gives newcomers a convenient opportunity to try it both with and without a filter and begin to find where their preference lies. That said, many will smoke filter pipes without the filter or adapter and find no negative impact.  

5. Molina Beginner Sets

Includes:

• Czech Tool
• Pipe Cleaners
• 9 mm Filters

Another straightforward kit with the bare essentials, the Molina Beginner Sets are certainly some of the best pipe kits for beginners.

Above we see the sandblasted Bent Billiard, but you can choose between six different pipes for this set—three finishes on either a Bent or Straight Billiard. 

My first pipe was a Molina Barasso Straight Billiard, and I think the brand offers one of the best pipes for beginners. They have a classic look and offer a great smoke affordably. Even after my initiation to pipe smoking, I've purchased another Molina and it likely won't be my last. They have a reputation for consistent quality that isn't always expected in their price range. 

Bonus: Missouri Meerschaum Bundles

These Missouri Meerschaum Bundles aren’t necessarily beginner sets, as they don’t come with the basic kit recommended for taking up pipe smoking, but I think these sets of pipes are worth mentioning for any beginner pipe smoker.

If you’re a beginner who’s done a little research into the hobby, you may be aware that it’s recommended you not over-smoke a pipe, giving it a cooling off and drying period between bowls. This makes having a few pipes convenient so that you can rotate them. Of course, if you’re trying out smoking a pipe and aren’t sure that you’ll stick with it, you probably don’t want to get more than one briar pipe before you're sure pipe smoking is something you'll continue. 

Even for the cheaper end such as Dr Grabow pipes, you don’t want to invest more than necessary until you know if it’s for you. For this reason, I’ll often suggest getting a set like one of these Missouri Meerschaum Bundles or just picking out a few non-briar wooden pipes or corn cob pipes for yourself. They’re especially affordable and can give you a good early introduction to how different materials smoke. One of the things that many pipe smokers adore about the hobby is the enigma of how one pipe to another can be so different—they are far from simple, uniform apparatuses that merely deliver our smoke.

That said, don’t feel you need to get too in the weeds on such nuances yet. I just mention it as my first two pipes were a Molina (briar pipe) and Corn Cob Legend from Missouri Meerschaum, and I remember my fascination as I started to notice how different smoking each was. But ultimately, your goal as a beginner is to enjoy your smoking experience! 

Some other advice:

• Even with one of these beginner pipe kits, I recommend grabbing a pack of pipe cleaners. It’s great that the sets start you off with a few, but if you’re using them as you should, after each smoke (and maybe even feeding one through during), you’ll probably want some more. Luckily, pipe cleaners are one of the cheaper aspects of the hobby.

• With all of these kits, except for the Vauen Outdoor set, you’ll need to get something to light your tobacco. And even with the Outdoor set, matches might be a little finicky to start, and while you’re learning proper packing/lighting, you could go through them pretty quickly with relights.
   
  It's often cautioned against, but you can get by fine with a Bic while starting off if you’re not looking to put down much more money on a hobby that you’re still unsure you’ll stick with. That said, I recommend an inexpensive pipe lighter and some premium butane. It won’t put you back much and most of these lighters have a nifty built-in pipe tool. A pipe lighter with quality butane offers a softer flame than your average gas station lighter and can get you started with a cooler smoke—especially important as you're learning to navigate the other factors that can lead to smoking too hot. 

Customize to your needs

Hopefully this list can set you on the right track to finding the kit that works for you! But of these best pipe kits for beginners, perhaps you want to put something together yourself.

Maybe you want to get all the basics you need at once, but you have your eye on another pipe that isn’t included in a set, or you would just like to pick each accessory individually. Afterall, there are many different kinds of filters, tools, and pipe cleaners to get the job done. If that’s the case, feel free to reach out and we’ll be happy to assist with navigating your preferences and curating a beginner set that is customized to you.