According to my tobacconist, if it is a quality cigar, a box pressed cigar will smoke just as well as a traditional round. That being said, I have experienced it first hand. I have purchased several box pressed cigars to experiment with and have found that to be true. I try a lot of lower priced cigars in search of good everyday smokes that won't break my bank account, and of the box pressed variety, a lot of them were harder to draw in my experience.

However, if you take the Sancho Panza line for example, they are consistantly well made, great price, and smoke great....so as with all cigars...if it comes from a quality manufacturer, you will have a good smoke with charactaristics just like any other cigar.

The difference in shape does change the experience slightly, but for me it is not an unpleasant feel, and does not detract from the experience at all.