Newbie question

[Apathy78]

Here’s a question for you cigar experts out there;
How long can I keep a cigar that is not in a Humidor?
And what would the best way to keep it be other then a Humidor?
Thanks

 

[bfreebern]

Not really sure, but a few weeks could do some damage.

Go get a Fuente Humidipak, those work great for 6 months or so.

 

[junkman_56]

If it is just for a weekend, a baggie will do.
Just make sure to keep it out of the sun.
Heat will destroy a good cigar very quickly.

 

[Cigar Penguin]

Any size tuppaware,lock-n-lock...or similar plastic air tight container.
Thick ass freezer bags.
Any airtight container,pasta holder or bread box.
Hell,if you need to,put cigars in one ziplock,inside another ziplock with a piece of paper towel with water and hide it away from light.

 

[iluvmysh]

Any size tuppaware,lock-n-lock...or similar plastic air tight container.
Thick ass freezer bags.
Any airtight container,pasta holder or bread box.
Hell,if you need to,put cigars in one ziplock,inside another ziplock with a piece of paper towel with water and hide it away from light.

From what I've gathered, the wet paper towel would be too damp* (I've asked the same thing/done the same thing before). I purchased a sampler pack approx 2 months ago before I received my humi. It's been sitting in a plain ziploc baggy with poor care. I don't see any tobacci bettles or any cracked binder(s). The temperature in our apt has spiked to well over 90*F here. So I think these cigars have seen it's bad days. Anywho, I have a humi now, and they're sitting in there. It's been about 1 week. There's not much damage that my newbie eyes can really tell.

As for other methods of storage, you can try a tupperware with a sort of humidification device. Or you can hit up:
www.cigarpass.com/store
There is a newbie starter package for a great deal. :thumbs:

*Edit: not too damp but would release too much moisture

 

[Brickhouse]

I agree with Brandon, just to be safe, get yourself a few Fuente Bags with the Humidpak if you gotta.

I use those as my spillover storage here in Iraq and they work fabulously and they are cheap.

 

[hydro-terp]

For poormans storage and simplicity its hard to beat a rubbermaid container and some beads.

You could have a set up to handle 20-30 for under $30 pretty easily.

Viper for a tube of beads and a yard sale or your closest grocery store for the container.

It aint pretty enough to sit out on a desk top or anything bet then beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

You could get some wood grained contact paper for the outside if you want to go high tech redneck.

R

 

[hojadepuro]

For poormans storage and simplicity its hard to beat a rubbermaid container and some beads.

You could have a set up to handle 20-30 for under $30 pretty easily.

Viper for a tube of beads and a yard sale or your closest grocery store for the container.

It aint pretty enough to sit out on a desk top or anything bet then beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

You could get some wood grained contact paper for the outside if you want to go high tech redneck.

R

I found a nice tupperware container at wally world for 3 bucks that locks down and it airtight, watertight, etc and you can get some beads for 11 bucks from viper. Then you don't need a hygro. This would be the cheapest,easiest in my book.

Don't let smokes sit more than a couple of days outside of the humi, it is too dangerous! :0

Brandon

 

[iluvmysh]

And, IF you do need/want a hygro, check out the walmart hygro thread. :laugh:

 

[Apathy78]

Thank you all for the replies.
I really enjoy a good cigar and had no idea how to keep them.
Now I know...and knowing is half the battle

 

[CoventryCat86]

Great responses here. I've kept cigars for over a month in sealed, ziploc style baggies, maybe even longer than that. I smoke a lot in my car and keep cigars in resealable bags and I have never had a problem with them drying out. Now that I think about it, I'd bet there have been times where the cigars have been in the bag for almost two months and again, I've never had them dry out.

 

[AVB]

Ziplock and a humi pack will last for quite some time as long as you don't leave it in your car for a week in the summer.

 

[Mrepp]

Ziplock and a humi pack will last for quite some time as long as you don't leave it in your car for a week in the summer.

So many lost gars due to drunken nights and being left in the car in the sun all day . RIP my good friends, RIP. I really gotta stop doing that.

 

[Xav]

One thing that I would like to add is that if you do make a coolidoor or use plastic bags, tupperwear, ect.. You should open them up every couple of days to let new airflow in. For instance if you make the coolidor leave the spicket at the bottom open, its not enough to lower the RH much but you don't have to mess with it then. If you go the smaller route open your cigars at least once a week, JMO.

 

[Apathy78]

Thanks for all of the replies. I came to the conclusion that I am going to need to get a Humidor.
Then my wife beat me to the punch and got me a small (about 25 ct) Humidor. :love:
Eventually I will work my way up to a bigger one but for now I feel better knowing that the cigars I have will be fine if I don’t smoke them in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[Shooter]

Coolidor man. Its a cheap easy way to store smokes...

 

[cincycigarman]

One thing that I would like to add is that if you do make a coolidoor or use plastic bags, tupperwear, ect.. You should open them up every couple of days to let new airflow in. For instance if you make the coolidor leave the spicket at the bottom open, its not enough to lower the RH much but you don't have to mess with it then. If you go the smaller route open your cigars at least once a week, JMO.

Apathy - I just ramped up from buying singles here and there and keeping them in a tupperware box to a Coolerdor, so went through the same curve. While on my way, I bought one of those Drymistat tubes at a local store that is the size of a cigar, and kept that in with my box of singles that I had going at the time. I did not have a hygrometer yet, but the singles I kept in there were all smoking well, and the Drymistat is supposed to keep 70%. This might be a good quick step for you as well.

Now that I have the cooler going (with wet foam and PG, going to order beads soon from Viper), I took Xav's advice on opening the spigot at the bottom every now and then for a day or two, this also keeps the RH right between 65 and 70, if I leave it closed too long, it creeps up above 70 pretty fast.