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First Humidor Purchase

J

jaradthescot

New Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2008
Messages
35
Hi, I've been a casual cigar-smoker for about 2 years now, am about to purchase my first humidor and was looking for some advice on my decisions so far.

I am looking at buying this humidor along with using this "seasoning pack" to get it set up. I would then use "Madelaine Propylene Glycol Solution" to maintain the proper humidity.
lombardi.JPG

My last set of cgars were kept (you might want to sit down, as this could be painful to read) in a zip-lock bag with a damp kleenix to keep it company, so I know that as far as short-term storage this will be better than what I'm used to. My primary concern is long-term storage, as I'm thinking of purchasing a box of Cohiba Lanceros (feel free to comment on those as well) which I intend to smoke at a rate of no more than once every six months. Would these keep for the decade that I intend to have them for (no doubt shortened to around 5 years)?

Finally, I know you're supposed to keep cigars out of the sun... does that apply for your humidor as well?

Thank you for any and all assistance, I really appreciate it, and can't wait for all of this shopping to be over and just sit back and smokee :love:
 
Nice humidor, but dont waste your money on the solution. Do yourself a favor and pick up some heartfelt beads and you can also just simply use distilled water in the solutions place (much cheaper).
 
Find yourself a standard humidor. The humidors with multiple shelves like that waste space and diminish storing capacity. I don't like glass in the mix as well. Most of those are made in China and the seal around the glass is marginal at best. Everyone should have one really nice desk top humidor. Take your time and purchase a quality humidor and not one of those flashy looking ones that you'll have a hard time maintaining the humidity level on. Beads are the way to go and get a small cooler to store any boxes that you may purchase.

Good luck, start reading the humidor threads a ton of info there.
 
If your stated intentions turn out to be accurate, then I would suggest that you will be a very occasional cigar smoker at most. Someone who may be better served by not purchasing common embellishments of this hobby.

I would really suggest just sticking the box of Cohiba Lanceros in whole into a "Tupperware" type container just large enough to accommodate the cigar box. Go with the propylene glycol as well. It can be cheaply obtained and nearly maintenance free. The cedar of the cigar box will help buffer the humidity as the cedar in the humidor depicted would - with less ambient oxygen in the former. Keep this in a cool and dark place within your home. To answer your question, it is best to keep both humidors and cigars out of sunlight (as well as all other heat sources).

I just think that one who smokes only two cigars or so each year does not need the accessories commonly possessed by more involved hobbyists. That, and the advantages of a smaller "Tupperware" style container for a tiny (a diminishing box) inventory versus a larger humidor in maintaining humidity. It can be a real pain in the --- to maintain humidity in an increasingly less than full humidor.

You say you've been a (casual) cigar smoker for the past two years now. You know yourself better than anyone. If by your experience, and your knowledge of yourself, you know that it'll only be two cigars per year - then my recommendation stands firm.

Enjoy and good luck.
 
In the future, should you continue to make cigar purchases, you may want to consider the following (and more) factors:

Effectiveness
Ease of use
Economics
Long term viability
Sturdiness
Beauty
Overall value
Your ability to appreciate any and all of the above (Not a slander. It requires knowledge of a product to understand its nuances).

There is nothing wrong with doing things on the cheap - as long as those economical means are effective. You cannot smoke beauty and even long term viability and sturdiness can be offset by the low priced options available (cheap and easy to replace). However, there is value in ease of use. Some like to tinker while some find it frustrating to seemingly fret over their inventory.
 
Damn but that's great advice, Raymond! I would only suggest that if it's but one box in an infrequently accessed container, then he might want to go with a small sock of beads. If humidity loss is low, then the beads would be the tidier solution.

Go with a Lock & Lock brand tupper-style container or a small Coleman/Igloo cooler in the 20-ish quart range and you should be set for a while.

Wilkey
 
Sorry for the confusion. The "casual cigar smoker" description was supposed to stand alone from the smoking a Lancero twice a year. I am going to have many other cigars that I'll smoke more regularly (one every 2-4 weeks, which I assume is what would be classed as a casual smoker?) but I was wanting to age the Lanceros for a long time and only have them on rare occasions. Thanks for answering the question about being in sunlight. I wasn't sure if it was a light-induced temperature issue (which it turns out to be, so I'll be sure to keep it in a shaded area of the apartment) or an actual *light* issue. In regards to the Proylene Glycol Gel, would that be used in conjunction with the heartfelt beads, or instead of?

Thanks for the great advice, badhangover, and everyone else.
 
No need to use PG with Beads, actually I think it would mess them up.

Beads and distilled water are all you need
 
thanks again to both of you. I'm not getting the actual humidor until the end of August (the waiting is going to be the death of me), but I'll update this thread when I get it all set up.
 
jaradthescot said:
Sorry for the confusion. The "casual cigar smoker" description was supposed to stand alone from the smoking a Lancero twice a year. I am going to have many other cigars that I'll smoke more regularly (one every 2-4 weeks,
Click to expand...
Everyone has to start somewhere.

The fact that jaradthescot has made a mindful decision to purchase a humidor tells us that he may be ready for the next step, whether consciously or unconsciously....to ramp up from a 'causal/occasional smoker' to a "cigar smoker'. To discourage this would not be a correct decision on our part. We should embrace his decision instead of reading into it and telling him to go 'Tupperware'.

When you buy your first humi and have it sitting on the table....when you glance over at it, it really has an effect on you that no piece of plastic can match. It's inspiring to some extent....especially someone at Jarad's age. My son is the same age and I know what his first humidor meant to him....damn, he's proud of it, he shows all his friends.

Tone-ny said it best by suggesting he invest in a higher quality humidor of a different configuration, go with the beads, do a little reading within CP and leave it at that. Over analyzing a simple decision could confuse a new comer to question their initial decision. Not to say that the advice was incorrect, but a little intimidating to say the least.

I agree that all of his questions could have been answered by doing a simple Search and doing an short afternoon reading about it (the fun part), but at the same time he reached out to the community for some advice.

Because at the end of the day, all the guy wanted to do was buy a humidor....and we all remember our first. :laugh:
 
ironpeddler said:
The fact that jaradthescot has made a mindful decision to purchase a humidor tells us that he may be ready for the next step, whether consciously or unconsciously....to ramp up from a 'causal/occasional smoker' to a "cigar smoker'. To discourage this would not be a correct decision on our part. We should embrace his decision instead of reading into it and telling him to go 'Tupperware'.
Click to expand...
What's wrong, or discouraging, in suggesting "Tupperware" type storage containers? Seriously, I really don't get it. A great many people store thousands and thousands of dollars worth of inventory in "Igloo" cooler type containers rather than in large and expensive cabinet humidors. People have found those plastic "Igloo" containers, designed to store ice and mega packs of Bud Light, to work effectively - and they are economical to boot.

I see the same correlation with "Tupperware" containers as I do with the omnipresent "Igloo" containers. Both are easy to modify for cigar storage. Both are absolutely dirt cheap to buy in comparison to their wooden humidor counterparts. Because they are both so cheap, they can easily be down or up sized to accommodate a growing or shrinking cigar inventory. It's a pain in the --- to run out of humidor space and also to effectively maintain the humidity in a humidor of diminishing cigar inventory volume.

Placing cigar boxes in whole into a "Tupperware" container: It works, and I reaffirm my suggestion for it. The only clear cut advantage I see in wooden humidors is their aesthetic beauty (note: I am not knocking on the fact that they work, and work well). What matters most is what makes a cigar smoke well, and I don't think a $3 plastic container filled with a cigar box and a humidification media source fails in that regard.

'Cause really, coolers are nothing more than oversized plastic containers, and I don't think of those who employ the use of coolers to maintain their inventory as not taking the "next step" of ramping up to "cigar smoker".
 
badhangover said:
ironpeddler said:
The fact that jaradthescot has made a mindful decision to purchase a humidor tells us that he may be ready for the next step, whether consciously or unconsciously....to ramp up from a 'causal/occasional smoker' to a "cigar smoker'. To discourage this would not be a correct decision on our part. We should embrace his decision instead of reading into it and telling him to go 'Tupperware'.
Click to expand...
What's wrong, or discouraging, in suggesting "Tupperware" type storage containers? Seriously, I really don't get it. A great many people store thousands and thousands of dollars worth of inventory in "Igloo" cooler type containers rather than in large and expensive cabinet humidors. People have found those plastic "Igloo" containers, designed to store ice and mega packs of Bud Light, to work effectively - and they are economical to boot.

I see the same correlation with "Tupperware" containers as I do with the omnipresent "Igloo" containers. Both are easy to modify for cigar storage. Both are absolutely dirt cheap to buy in comparison to their wooden humidor counterparts. Because they are both so cheap, they can easily be down or up sized to accommodate a growing or shrinking cigar inventory. It's a pain in the --- to run out of humidor space and also to effectively maintain the humidity in a humidor of diminishing cigar inventory volume.

Placing cigar boxes in whole into a "Tupperware" container: It works, and I reaffirm my suggestion for it. The only clear cut advantage I see in wooden humidors is their aesthetic beauty (note: I am not knocking on the fact that they work, and work well). What matters most is what makes a cigar smoke well, and I don't think a $3 plastic container filled with a cigar box and a humidification media source fails in that regard.

'Cause really, coolers are nothing more than oversized plastic containers, and I don't think of those who employ the use of coolers to maintain their inventory as not taking the "next step" of ramping up to "cigar smoker".
Click to expand...
This is all true, but when you're talking about a "new" cigar smoker who's just gotten enthusiastic about the hobby, do you think he's going to go to Wal-Mart and pick out a cooler, or order a humidor that he'll be proud of immediately? It's like you've reversed the argument and are pleading the case for a cooler so what help have you given with your post?
 
badhangover said:
ironpeddler said:
The fact that jaradthescot has made a mindful decision to purchase a humidor tells us that he may be ready for the next step, whether consciously or unconsciously....to ramp up from a 'causal/occasional smoker' to a "cigar smoker'. To discourage this would not be a correct decision on our part. We should embrace his decision instead of reading into it and telling him to go 'Tupperware'.
Click to expand...
What's wrong, or discouraging, in suggesting "Tupperware" type storage containers? Seriously, I really don't get it. A great many people store thousands and thousands of dollars worth of inventory in "Igloo" cooler type containers rather than in large and expensive cabinet humidors. People have found those plastic "Igloo" containers, designed to store ice and mega packs of Bud Light, to work effectively - and they are economical to boot.

I see the same correlation with "Tupperware" containers as I do with the omnipresent "Igloo" containers. Both are easy to modify for cigar storage. Both are absolutely dirt cheap to buy in comparison to their wooden humidor counterparts. Because they are both so cheap, they can easily be down or up sized to accommodate a growing or shrinking cigar inventory. It's a pain in the --- to run out of humidor space and also to effectively maintain the humidity in a humidor of diminishing cigar inventory volume.

Placing cigar boxes in whole into a "Tupperware" container: It works, and I reaffirm my suggestion for it. The only clear cut advantage I see in wooden humidors is their aesthetic beauty (note: I am not knocking on the fact that they work, and work well). What matters most is what makes a cigar smoke well, and I don't think a $3 plastic container filled with a cigar box and a humidification media source fails in that regard.

'Cause really, coolers are nothing more than oversized plastic containers, and I don't think of those who employ the use of coolers to maintain their inventory as not taking the "next step" of ramping up to "cigar smoker".
Click to expand...

You can use saran wrap for condoms. Who needs to be fancy and go out and buy a $3.00 condom when you could use $0.02 saran wrap! You can also get clothes for free at salvation army. No need for steak, steak flavored ramen noodles will do (what tha f*ck, this is the 2nd time I've name dropped ramen today?).

Bottom line is you might not NEED it, but its not an obscene gesture to have one. Cigar smoking is an intrest, hobby, passion. People who drop big money on cigars should have a nice place to store them. I'm not a high roller or anything like that, but like Jonesy said, new cigar smokers are stoked about this whole new hobby, go ahead and add some wood to the fire. Same reason people get luxury cars. You could buy some pisser eco friendly Honda Civic or whatnot, but people who like cars will most likely get a nicer car: Mercedes, Cadillac, Lamborghini, Ferrari, old school Muscle Cars.
 
tone-ny said:
Find yourself a standard humidor. The humidors with multiple shelves like that waste space and diminish storing capacity. I don't like glass in the mix as well. Most of those are made in China and the seal around the glass is marginal at best. Everyone should have one really nice desk top humidor. Take your time and purchase a quality humidor and not one of those flashy looking ones that you'll have a hard time maintaining the humidity level on. Beads are the way to go and get a small cooler to store any boxes that you may purchase.

Good luck, start reading the humidor threads a ton of info there.
Click to expand...


I got the same advice from a guy at a B&M i go to, he also told me that ones with glass are a lot harder to maintain than a standard humi, he told me this from his own experiance and got fed up with it and now his wife uses it as another jewlery box :laugh:
 
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