newb here. just got some new toys...

so I have been smoking cigars for a while now, but since the temps have dropped, I have no garage or shed, and the wife will NOT let me smoke in the house I have been ruining some great sticks. I tend to wait until its not TO cold then I go out and light one up. with in about 1.5-2 inches into the stick I am so freaking cold it is no longer enjoyable to smoke...

So I bought this...


My thinking is that I can fill the bowl (notice I said fill, NOT pack? ) 1/2 or 3/4 and enjoy it and even if I do end up wasting some of it the cost is a lot less than the Cigars I have been wasting. lets see, 2 oz. of the local shops blend $6.50... This morning I tried to smoke an Ave Maria Reconquista that I was gifted and only made it about 2.5 inches into it. What do those sticks cost, $20.00? My normal cigars cost me $5.00 - $10.00, this is a lot less costly.

the tobaccos that I bought to try were:
Hayes #2 – A lighter Latakia mixture with bright and matured Virginias blended with Turkish tobaccos on a base of cased fragrant Black Cavendish for “social acceptability”.

and:
Rare Silk – A honey-vanilla flavoring on a long ribbon cut mixture of flue-cured Virginia and Burley.

I smoked a bowl of both today and love the Hayes #2. it has a slightly smokey scent when I bury my nose in the bag, and upon lighting it has a nice flavor, with hints of a campfire. I know Im doing a horrible job describing it, but hey, I said im a newb!

Now for a couple questions...

I need to keep the tobacco in a humidor or something right? I see online pouches for tobacco, but wont that allow it to dry out?

I bought a cheap 30 dollar pipe. no name brand since it was my first one... other than aesthetics, what are the benefits of the higher dollar pipes? I saw a peterson that I really loved, but it was just under two hundred. why? what makes them so expensive?

my pipe gurgles a bit after smoking for about 15 mins. I know it is moisture accumulating at the bottom of the bowl from the tobacco, but I cannot seem to get a pipe cleaner down the stem to wick it away. is there something I can do to fix this? I was thinking of using a small file and chamfering the opening of the hole.

While talking about pipe cleaners... the opening in the mouthpiece is so small I can hardly get the pipe cleaners in it. could I open it up a bit with and exact o knife or some such?

I think thats about it for now. Thanks for reading....