"A key development in RYO smoking -
and now one with activated charcoal in the filter"

e continually strive to find new products to share with our readers. With so many tubes being manufactured by various companies, most of which are fairly similar although we must admit that some seem to excel depending on the particular tastes of the smoker, we were excited to see a company take the next, if not obvious, step in tube construction and that is the activated charcoal filtered tube. Though we have not reviewed in these pages previously Gizeh's fine line of filtered cigarette tubes, we have been aware of them and have used them. We have found them to be of excellent quality as are all Gizeh products and simply had not gotten around to writing about them. Nonetheless, we were surprised when we received this particular tube style from a large tobacco distributor (HJ Bailey - www.hjbailey.com) who informed us of their unique properties. This tube is a bold step for Gizeh and to the best of our knowledge, the first of its kind. The manufacturing process (to cut a slot and dump charcoal in the cavity) should be more expensive, but we are told these tube prices remain consistent with other SilverTip tubes. Moreover, not since we smoked our last Tarreyton many years ago have we tried a charcoal filter. In the case of the Tarreyton cigarettes which had charcoal ingredients in the filter and which earned the street nickname "Romilar's" from those who found their slightly "oily" taste reminiscent of the cough syrup of the same name, there was a time when we actually enjoyed these smokes but did notice and eventually grew weary of that strange aftertaste. So we were prepared when trying the new Silvertip Charbon charcoal tube for a negative reaction if not for the worst. To our delight, we found that although the charcoal does significantly lighten the smoke, there was none of the telltale charcoal aftertaste we dreaded. Perhaps it is that Gizeh showed wisdom in not putting too much charcoal in the mix. And as a bonus, neither did we find the harshness associated with some ultralight filtering techniques that results from putting air holes in the filter surface that can actually increase the dryness of the smoke. While the box diagram shows a diagonal cut chamber for the charcoal we found when splitting the filter open that the slot is actually cut perpendicular to the filter's length as shown in the graphic above. (Probably makes no difference, but we do look pretty closely at the things we review.)

   The bottom line is that the filter works very well and does little to the taste of the smoke while no doubt filtering out certain gases and strength components that are of concern to some. What is especially nice is that, with these tubes, the more timid smoker can now try some of the more heady blends of tobacco (like Bull Snit or Galouise) and enjoy their taste without falling face down in their french fries afterwards.

   You will see more Gizeh products reviewed here soon as they have several innovative products we have recently been made aware of (see our "Rollers" section this time for a great rolling box), products that should serve to widen the quality and variety of options for the RYO Smoker.  - the ed.