I tend to reach for a meer more often than a briar. Look for the meers that use the briar style delrin tenons instead of the older screw in types. They smoke much better. In general, I like meers cause they smoke drier and I enjoy the coloring process. IMO some of the better meer makers are baki and altinok. Sometimes you can get a nice looking meer that doesnt smoke well because of the connectors. I scored a sweet bekler Tiki pipe off ebay but the draw sucked. Sent it to Night Owl Pipeworks and they put in a new connector and it is an awesome smoking pipe now.