I just started myself on smoking pipe. It is true, there are so many different ways to smoke a pipe and if you follow the other advice, it is good starting point. I say follow some advise and experiment your own ways of smoking then you will discover what best for you. I tend to smoke hot and fast due to I smoke outside at night and there are so many mosquito in my area. But, even the fastest I can smoke a full loaded pipe is 30 minutes. I only smoke a bowl a day due to timing it needed to enjoy a bowl. I do wish to smoke in more relaxed condition but I don't want my wife to become passive smoker so I had to sacrifice and smoke outside.