Humidor Questions

[Scubaru]

So I'm new to all of this but eager to learn. I always enjoy sitting on my front porch stocking a nice cigar. However I am always worried to buy more than 1 cigar at a time so to not have it go stale.

Now I will admit I am in college so money is tight. I work part time and have to pay for my car (Subaru WRX), girlfriend eckkiss:, food, bills, and life in general. So a high end humidor is not in the budget for me. I am afraid however that if I get a $35 humidor I will somehow manage to fill it before to long. So I had some questions...

How long can a cigar last in a well kept humidor?
Is it worth it getting a small humidor and just keep filling it up from the cigar shop a few blocks from my house?
Anything else I should know?

 

[dpricenator]

you are about to learn a ton about cigars. I'll let others answer you in detail, but a well kept humidor will store cigars for a hundred years.

 

[RonC]

get yourself a good travel humidor. they are easy to humidify, and can be used for long term storage.

 

[dpricenator]

get yourself a good travel humidor. they are easy to humidify, and can be used for long term storage.

www.cigarsolutions.com is a great place to look for these.

 

[TravelingJ]

Welcome! I was the same way when I started. Bought 5 cigars and started to freak on keeping them from going bad. Rushed out and spent $65 on a humidor, and some gel thingies. Spent months being super anal over every aspect to make sure they didn't go bad.

After several months, I learned about coolidors and the like. If I could start over, I'd have picked up a cooler, and a bundle of beads from a fine manufacturer like Heartfelt or HCM. In honestly, I'm changing all my Heartfelts out for HCM (also known as Shialia beads) as the HCM's require even LESS attention.

What you buy for storage, will really depend on what you plan to buy for cigars. If you want to buy a fair amount for aging, you will need more space. Just know, it can be a slippery slope where you start slow, then rapidly throw more and more money at the collection-much like cars and mods.

 

[dpricenator]

OK, found some time.

A travel humidor with a boveda humidity pack will work well in your situation. You can also use a Tupperware container. Many of the cheap smaller wooden humidors SUCK. At least with a Tupperware, you know have a good seal. I have smoked cigars that were made during WWII, and while different now than they were originally, they are still smokeable. If your storage is well maintained cigar will last for years no problem. In a Ziplock Freezer bag, they will last for a week or so. So if you want to grab 2 sticks next time just ask the guy at the shop for a storage bag, and you’ll be fine for a week or so. I would recomenr the travel humidor from cigar solutions or a Tupperware container with Boveda packs or Heartfelt beads. Please remember those 2 brand names. They will offer you the best in humidification for these applications. There is a chit ton of information on this site, all written by folk’s personal experience. At the top of each forum, there are “stickys” these are threads that will help you get started in this hobby/obsession.

 

[RonC]

or a humidor jar. if you humidify the humidor jar with a Boveda, you will have the easiest, and most trouble free humidor that you will ever use.

 

[BrandonP]

Welcome Scubaru. You've joined a very knowledgeable and great group of guys here on BOTL. More then happy to answer questions for you and help you learn.

As for your questions, a cigar will last forever as long as it is kept properly in a humidor in good condition. Meaning 64-72% humidity, depending on how you dry/moist you like them, and around 70 degrees, give or take a few because of your electric bill LOL. I personally keep my humidor in the lower humidity level, 64%-67% because I like my smokes a bit drier, but a lot of guys do keep theirs around the 70% range.

Working in a cigar store I always tell people 2 things when it comes to buying a humidor, whether others agree with me is up to them. I tell people to buy bigger then you think you need because inevitably a small one will fill MUCH faster then you think, HOWEVER, if you buy bigger, you need to have the money to fill it most of the way for it to work properly. A 100 count humidor with only 20 sticks in it will not work as it should because you have to much open space to fill with humidity. Now if you buy a bigger humidor but can't afford to fill it with premium sticks, don't be afraid to buy a cheap bundle stick just to fill space, and they can come in handy when you have a friend who doesn't smoke cigars but wants to enjoy one with you. It's kind of a catch-22, buying bigger means more money spent on both the humidor and the sticks to fill it.

The key is to not burn out your bank account on this HOBBY, because in the end that is all it is. Enjoy it but don't let it break you because it is not worth it.

 

[Jwrussell]

There are NUMEROUS inexpensive (read CHEAP) options to store your cigars. Anything from tupperware (or similiar non-brand name stuff) to Coolers (think igloo or other large drink/marine coolers). Just getting started and being on a tight budget, get yourself a nice tupperware container (again, doesn't have to be the actual brand name) from the grocery store or Target or WallyWorld. Just make sure it has a TIGHT seal, and you are good to go for a container. Pick up some beads from one of our sponsors or get some Boveda packs (Boveda's are great, but only last so long), put them into the container and voila, cheap-o yet excellent "humidor". Yeah, you miss out on the cedar aroma that you get with a true humidor, but that can be taken care of with some cedar strips from cigar boxes which you can probably get at a local B&M for next to nothing, or from brothers here for the same.

Cigars kept properly will last decades.

Good luck and welcome to the disease! :wink:

 

[TravelingJ]

Working in a cigar store I always tell people 2 things when it comes to buying a humidor, whether others agree with me is up to them. I tell people to buy bigger then you think you need because inevitably a small one will fill MUCH faster then you think, HOWEVER, if you buy bigger, you need to have the money to fill it most of the way for it to work properly. A 100 count humidor with only 20 sticks in it will not work as it should because you have to much open space to fill with humidity. Now if you buy a bigger humidor but can't afford to fill it with premium sticks, don't be afraid to buy a cheap bundle stick just to fill space, and they can come in handy when you have a friend who doesn't smoke cigars but wants to enjoy one with you. It's kind of a catch-22, buying bigger means more money spent on both the humidor and the sticks to fill it.

That's a bit silly. I'd never suggest buying cigars just as filler space. Buy what you like to smoke, not cheap stuff just to fill a void. Empty cigar boxes are much cheaper to pick up, and will do a lot to help in regulating humidity in a large box with minimal cigars.

 

[Jwrussell]

That's a bit silly. I'd never suggest buying cigars just as filler space. Buy what you like to smoke, not cheap stuff just to fill a void. Empty cigar boxes are much cheaper to pick up, and will do a lot to help in regulating humidity in a large box with minimal cigars.

True to some extent, J, but it would have to be a pretty sizable humidor to support the adding of empty cigar boxes. That, and having some yard 'gars around to offer to occasional smokers and those who just want to share a cigar to be social is not the worst of ideas. Still, if I were to do what Brandon is suggesting, they would indeed be VERY cheap cigars.

 

[Burning Man]

That's a bit silly. I'd never suggest buying cigars just as filler space. Buy what you like to smoke, not cheap stuff just to fill a void. Empty cigar boxes are much cheaper to pick up, and will do a lot to help in regulating humidity in a large box with minimal cigars.

I agree you should buy what you like to smoke however having some cheapies laying around is a very good idea for those guys who don't want to be left out of the ritual but you know aren't cigar guys. The first time a guy you hand a quality stick to throws it in the ocean after puffing it 1/3rd of the way down Jwrussel's suggestion will seem all the more logical. When it happened to me I cringed but realized it was my fault for handing it to him. As far as humidification goes the boxes are your best bet. I'm starting a little coolidor myself and the threads and stickies here will guide you right through it. Enjoy and plan for expansion brother! Do you here that Mr Anderson? It is the sound of inevitability.....

 

[TravelingJ]

I understand the logic of having cheaper cigars around, but giving someone the cheapest cigar you can buy, is certain to end in it being chucked. There are plenty of very cheap, yet still palatable, cigars that can be kept around for those people. Snag a few Padron brown labels, Tatuaje P series, etc. Give someone a dog rocket, and you'll never convert them to a cigar smoker.

 

[dpricenator]

Back on topic guys. We're talking about a college kid just getting started. He's not buyinf a 100 qt cooler to store 2k worth of sticks.

Best advice, tell your buddies to walk a coupld of blocks and have them buy their own cigars.

 

[Clint]

True to some extent, J, but it would have to be a pretty sizable humidor to support the adding of empty cigar boxes. That, and having some yard 'gars around to offer to occasional smokers and those who just want to share a cigar to be social is not the worst of ideas. Still, if I were to do what Brandon is suggesting, they would indeed be VERY cheap cigars.

Agreed^^...This humidor sounds too small to add empty boxes as a stabilizer.

 

[Jwrussell]

As you say, doesn't have to be a rocket to be cheap. As to converting? I don't worry about that unless someone shows interest. Heck, my first cigar was probably a swisher sweet for cryin' out loud! And early on I smoked plenty of Macanudos (hate to admit it, but it's so). Plenty of good bundle cigars from JR and CI and the like for the "maybe interested" crowd that don't have to break the bank.

 

[jebloom22]

get yourself a good travel humidor. they are easy to humidify, and can be used for long term storage.

I myself have a travel humidor (Xikar), however I would be concerned with leaving cigars in there for too long. Unless you plan to open it regularly, it is sealed tight, dark, and moist (hello mold!). The beauty of the wood in humidors is that it allows for a little bit of breath-ability, but it is sealed tight enough to maintain a preferable RH.

Brothers can feel free to disagree with that, but I'm of the opinion that travel humidors are not intended for "long term" storage.

You can find a lot of reasonably priced humidors online with guarantees, so you could always pick out a 75ct humi, do the paper or flashlight test, then send it back if there's a bad seal.

 

[dpricenator]

I myself have a travel humidor (Xikar), however I would be concerned with leaving cigars in there for too long. Unless you plan to open it regularly, it is sealed tight, dark, and moist (hello mold!). The beauty of the wood in humidors is that it allows for a little bit of breath-ability, but it is sealed tight enough to maintain a preferable RH.

Brothers can feel free to disagree with that, but I'm of the opinion that travel humidors are not intended for "long term" storage.

You can find a lot of reasonably priced humidors online with guarantees, so you could always pick out a 75ct humi, do the paper or flashlight test, then send it back if there's a bad seal.

Considering the sized of his proposed collection, I would think it would be opened at least once per week. And ther thread that talk about how to se tthese up always say to open for air exchange periodicly.

 

[Jwrussell]

Eh. So long as the RH and Temp are consistent and in the right range, there should be no reason a travel humidor (that seals tightly) would be any different than a tupper-dor or cooler-dor in that aspect. The Cedar in humidors helps to keep the RH consistent because it is itself hygroscopic to some degree. Not sure about the whole "breathability" note. A well sealing humidor is just as much a closed system as a tupper-dor/igloo-dor/travel-dor.

 

[RonC]

i have had cigars in airtight travel humidors for months at a time. I use a Boveda, and have never had mold or any other issues.