I tried a hot-shot nipple, and it worked just fine. I don't think it really made any difference as far as venting goes either. At least nothing I noticed.
Like you, I generally use only black powder, and never had a problem with the standard nipples. I have experimented a bit with loose pyrodex, and found it harder to ignite. When using pyrodex, I remember having a couple hangfires that were about like shooting a flintlock when using a standard nipple. That's why I originally tried a hot-shot, and I do think it helped ignite the pyrodex. That was a long time ago, and I've used black powder almost exclusively for the last fifteen years.
I think there may be some merit to using a hot-shot with harder to ignite substitutes, but I can't say I found any tangible benefit when using black powder.
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