Sorry for not replying, Vinny. I've been busy lately. The tacky feel is spot on for a freshly opened pouch or tin. It just means they have been stored correctly and as airtight as possible. If you're going to spark some up, I would let it dry out slightly, as wet tobacco will cause nothing but pipe gurgle, and it's not especially representative of the tobacco's flavour.
As for the cost-per-bowl ratio... Unless you have a stupidly large bowl (or a very small bowl - not as stupid IMO), you can get anywhere between 10 and 15 bowls from a 25g pouch. Vintage or uber-premium baccy notwithstanding, around 50p a bowl seems about right. Obviously, scummy baccy = 30p-ish a bowl; vintage Dunhill and some other stuff like vintage Frog Morton imported from a vault in the States = far too much a bowl. More expensive than ciggies, but as I say - it's ninety minutes of pleasure rather than 5, and you probably won't want to smoke 20 bowls a day unless you have Herculean lungs and/or never sleep. When i'm piping full-time, I get through about 50g a month, tops. And that's including the odd bowl I never finish/have to dump.
As for the post-wedlock shizzle... I'll let you know. If my internet usage peaks, you'll know why :lol: .