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Several basic questions from a complete beginner..

I just don't get why you all are talking about coolers and tupperware containers... are you all saying that none of the wood humidors on the cigar sites work?

Maybe I'm being shallow, but I kinda envisioned pulling out a nice box of cigars, when I had company - not a picnic cooler from the garage, or a cheap tupperware container.

Other questions -

How long do cigars last inside a regular cigar box (non-humidor box)?

If the purpose of a humidor is to age the cigar, so that it can increase in flavor, why would you leave it in the plastic?

Monitoring "hygrometers" and so forth sounds like growing/caring for a plant. This seems like something that requires attention and monitoring, so that nothing bad happens. That seems to take what WOULD be an enjoyable hobby and release, into another thing to worry about, and that requires work. I'm guessing this is a main hobby that many of you all spend a considerable amount of time on. Do you not get that some people might want to learn about and enjoy cigars, but don't want to make it into a time-consuming hobby?
 
Go to aristocrat humidors and buy one of those then. Forget all our knowledge. End of story. End of thread.
 
I apologize for disturbing your forum. I asked for patience, and stated that I was a beginner at this. I'm certainly no dummy, but I have no idea what you guys are talking about, and why you are suggesting certain things. I thought this would be a good place to ask questions, and perhaps have some things explained in ways a beginner might understand. When I didn't understand what was being said, I asked a couple more questions, and tried to have a conversation. If that is a problem, then I apologize.

All I can conclude is that this is a place where beginners aren't welcome, or that this is a very difficult hobby that takes a considerable amount of time to learn about.
 
We were simply trying to save you some money, hassle, effort and worry. Buy what you want to buy, succeed or fail. Your choice, we've given you a well of knowledge, but if you refuse to read about your questions, you won't learn the answers.
 
Starflyte said:
I just don't get why you all are talking about coolers and tupperware containers... are you all saying that none of the wood humidors on the cigar sites work?

Maybe I'm being shallow, but I kinda envisioned pulling out a nice box of cigars, when I had company - not a picnic cooler from the garage, or a cheap tupperware container.

Other questions -

How long do cigars last inside a regular cigar box (non-humidor box)?

If the purpose of a humidor is to age the cigar, so that it can increase in flavor, why would you leave it in the plastic?

Monitoring "hygrometers" and so forth sounds like growing/caring for a plant. This seems like something that requires attention and monitoring, so that nothing bad happens. That seems to take what WOULD be an enjoyable hobby and release, into another thing to worry about, and that requires work. I'm guessing this is a main hobby that many of you all spend a considerable amount of time on. Do you not get that some people might want to learn about and enjoy cigars, but don't want to make it into a time-consuming hobby?
Click to expand...

The tupperware was suggested for ease of use. If you want a show piece, then by all means, buy a humidor. However, any humidor will take at least 2 weeks to season. Minimum. And seals on smaller, cheaper humidors are generally not as good as those on the lock n lock type containers.

One reason spanish cedar was originally used to line humidors is because of its ability to hold humidity. Way back when, they didn't have plastic containers that sealed. Yes, some wood is probably imparted as the cigars age, and that's why adding some cedar strips from boxes was suggested. But your cigars will age in a tupperware container, too.

If you do insist on going the desktop route, you will probably get what you pay for. Avoid anything with a glass top. Avoid anything with a built in analog hygrometer - they never work. You will need to get a digital hygrometer, because you will need to make sure your humidity isn't too high to prevent mold, or too low to prevent them from drying out. You don't have to "monitor" it, per se. the tendency when you're new is to open it every hour and see what it's doing. Once a week will give you the same idea what's going on.

If you click the link in the How To Season a Humidor thread, it takes you to the CP homepage instead of the article. If you click on the CIgar How-To section, you'll see the seasoning article.
 
tomthirtysix said:
The tupperware was suggested for ease of use. If you want a show piece, then by all means, buy a humidor. However, any humidor will take at least 2 weeks to season. Minimum. And seals on smaller, cheaper humidors are generally not as good as those on the lock n lock type containers.

One reason spanish cedar was originally used to line humidors is because of its ability to hold humidity. Way back when, they didn't have plastic containers that sealed. Yes, some wood is probably imparted as the cigars age, and that's why adding some cedar strips from boxes was suggested. But your cigars will age in a tupperware container, too.

If you do insist on going the desktop route, you will probably get what you pay for. Avoid anything with a glass top. Avoid anything with a built in analog hygrometer - they never work. You will need to get a digital hygrometer, because you will need to make sure your humidity isn't too high to prevent mold, or too low to prevent them from drying out. You don't have to "monitor" it, per se. the tendency when you're new is to open it every hour and see what it's doing. Once a week will give you the same idea what's going on.

If you click the link in the How To Season a Humidor thread, it takes you to the CP homepage instead of the article. If you click on the CIgar How-To section, you'll see the seasoning article.
Click to expand...


Tom, thank you.

I appreciate you explaining all of that, even though a lot of it went right over my head.

I'm guessing the wooden humidors don't work that well, or are difficult to prepare or something, and I'm guessing that is why people are using tupperware. I'd ask what the point of using tupperware is though, as though I thought the point of using wood humidors was to impart flavor into the cigars, but I'm guessing at this point I'm not really welcome here, so I will just say thank you for your time, and the bigger point is that this is a whole lot more complicated then I ever imagined.
 
I'll try one more time......

Let's use wine as an analogy. Let's say you happened onto a forum of wine connoisseurs and said "...I'm interested in wine, and would like to get started with some good vintages. I've tried A and B and C but would like some suggestions....". You'd get plenty of suggestions. Suggestions involving storage, decanting, etc. that might be far, far more involved that you wanted. "But, can't I just drink it..??..." would be a reasonable question and you'd likely get some terse replies.

Now, think about the audience you have here. You have folks with years of experience and tens of thousands of dollars invested. A couple of them actually know a thing or two.

What's a little frustrating is that every one of your questions has been answered, more than once, in these forums. "Read more, post less" makes perfect sense. I'm sure you've used a search engine before, you should do so here. Let me break it down for you a little.....

Starflyte said:
I just don't get why you all are talking about coolers and tupperware containers... are you all saying that none of the wood humidors on the cigar sites work?

Maybe I'm being shallow, but I kinda envisioned pulling out a nice box of cigars, when I had company - not a picnic cooler from the garage, or a cheap tupperware container.
Click to expand...

By all means, buy a $30.00 wooden humidor and have at it. Some work very well....some don't work worth a damn. Which one will you get..?? Who knows..?? Do you care more about how the cigars look, or how they smoke? Humidors that don't seal properly are awesomely frustrating to deal with. Which is why lots of folks recommend Tupperware or Store-N-Lock or a cooler. If you spend a hundred bucks or more on a desktop, you'll probably get a decent one. Probably.

Starflyte said:
How long do cigars last inside a regular cigar box (non-humidor box)?

If the purpose of a humidor is to age the cigar, so that it can increase in flavor, why would you leave it in the plastic?
Click to expand...

How long cigars will last in a 'regular cigar box' depends on the ambient relative humidity and temperature. If you live somewhere where the RH and temp is 65% / 65F year round, they'll last darn near forever. If you live where the RH is 40%, they'll be dry as tent pegs in a week or less. If you live where the RH is 90%, they'll swell up and the wrappers will burst when you smoke them. Probably mold up like old bread, too.

They aren't in "plastic" they are in a material that breathes quite well. You would want to leave the sticks in the cello to prevent wrapper and foot damage. Or take them out....your call.

Starflyte said:
Monitoring "hygrometers" and so forth sounds like growing/caring for a plant. This seems like something that requires attention and monitoring, so that nothing bad happens. That seems to take what WOULD be an enjoyable hobby and release, into another thing to worry about, and that requires work. I'm guessing this is a main hobby that many of you all spend a considerable amount of time on. Do you not get that some people might want to learn about and enjoy cigars, but don't want to make it into a time-consuming hobby?
Click to expand...

Get a tupperware container, throw in a Bovida pack, and you are done. You have essentially perfect storage for cheap with almost zero maintenance. This is solid advice for the beginner. It requires almost no attention and consumes almost no time. You need go no further if this gives you the storage you need.

If you want a wood humidor, it'll need to be seasoned and have it's RH monitored...because it doesn't seal up like tupperware. Just takes a bit of attention. Heck, lots of folks actually enjoy the process.

Lastly, this is a hobby most of us are passionate about, but honestly it takes only the amount of time you want to put into it. You could say the same thing about aquariums, firearms, outdoor recreation....whatever.

Do you not get that you are thumbing your nose at folks with many years of experience? Do you not get that you are coming off as insulting and childish...??

You have asked for knowledge, and received it. Normally, I'd suggest saying "thanks for the help" instead of whining about not hearing what you wanted to hear. Just a thought.....

B.B.S.
 
Starflyte - The desktop wooden humidors are only for looks. We suggested the cooler/tupperware idea only as a means to store your cigars, especially if you're buying singles. Cigars so easily go missing. Humidification is a joke, and only a ploy for companies to make money with all of their useless fancy cigar accessories.

If you don't care about losing cigars, or are not concerned about a fancy box, then just stick the cigars in your refrigerator. No humidification required, it's all nonsense really. Cigar humidor companies just want to sell you something pretty. Your fridge will be fine, plus it will help to age the cigars and provide very nice flavor over time. I suggest using the crisper, so that they're not in your way. I only suggest that you allow the cigar to sit for 5 min before smoking it, to allow it to cool down. Lighting a cold cigar might cause it to crack. I hope this isn't too much for you, and I wish you all the best in your new hobby.

Good luck.
 
Starflyte said:
I just don't get why you all are talking about coolers and tupperware containers... are you all saying that none of the wood humidors on the cigar sites work?


No : they are trying to say / saying that for the money you can have a container at a pretty low price that will make it work.

Maybe I'm being shallow, but I kinda envisioned pulling out a nice box of cigars, when I had company - not a picnic cooler from the garage, or a cheap tupperware container.

Ah ! that a personnal choice then. You can do it like that but remember that depending on where you live the Humidor needs to be at a prtty cool place (60-70f) so depending on where you display it it may get too hot to keep the cigars properly stored (but nothing to hard here I have 2 myselfs)

Other questions -

How long do cigars last inside a regular cigar box (non-humidor box)?

Does the box is in a ziplock? Kept in a fridge ? etc... this questions may have many answers depending on the environment in wich you are keeping it.

If the purpose of a humidor is to age the cigar, so that it can increase in flavor, why would you leave it in the plastic?

The purpose to age cigars is not to increase flavor but to make the sticks mellower. the plastic would not change a great deal in this situation since it's the tobacco that is working and not the 'box'

Monitoring "hygrometers" and so forth sounds like growing/caring for a plant. This seems like something that requires attention and monitoring, so that nothing bad happens. That seems to take what WOULD be an enjoyable hobby and release, into another thing to worry about, and that requires work. I'm guessing this is a main hobby that many of you all spend a considerable amount of time on.

Well maybe at fisrt (until you get how it works wich should not be that long I'd say). As far as tcheking on the Hygro It more about what do you use to maintain RH in your box. Hearfelt beads works great and I thcek my 2 box once in a while (wich is surperflus since nothing moves with these little beads....they work very weel trust me)

Do you not get that some people might want to learn about and enjoy cigars, but don't want to make it into a time-consuming hobby?

We get it, thing is most of us (I guess) started like this and it became a hobby for most of us. The time consuming part of the hobby is not caring for the sticks but :
A) smoking the sticks
B)getting addicted to this community
Click to expand...


Reponses in bold. You should take time to rethink your approach of cigars as many proposed. BTW you have been treated very well for someone who did not take the time to reserache the basics (I was/am very suprised) and this is what this palce is all about look out for members of the community.

Hope you change your heart about the subject and that we'll see you around !
 
At this point, a traditional desktop is more a showpiece than anything. The same thing can be accomplised with the tupperware. But you're right - when you want to share a smoke with company, pulling out a tupperware container just isn't the same.

Personally, I have 2 desktops. Both are full to the brim, and sit on top of my bar. I also have a couple tupperware containers kicking around. That's overflow from the desktops. I don't have a cooler, mainly due to space issues in my apt, but I do have a wine fridge I use in the same way, and for days like today when it's going to top 95*, it works better for me than a cooler would.
 
Rod said:
Starflyte - The desktop wooden humidors are only for looks. We suggested the cooler/tupperware idea only as a means to store your cigars, especially if you're buying singles. Cigars so easily go missing. Humidification is a joke, and only a ploy for companies to make money with all of their useless fancy cigar accessories.

If you don't care about losing cigars, or are not concerned about a fancy box, then just stick the cigars in your refrigerator. No humidification required, it's all nonsense really. Cigar humidor companies just want to sell you something pretty. Your fridge will be fine, plus it will help to age the cigars and provide very nice flavor over time. I suggest using the crisper, so that they're not in your way. I only suggest that you allow the cigar to sit for 5 min before smoking it, to allow it to cool down. Lighting a cold cigar might cause it to crack. I hope this isn't too much for you, and I wish you all the best in your new hobby.

Good luck.
Click to expand...


Rod, thank you very much for breaking that down.

So it's not the wooden container that makes the cigars gain flavor, but the cigars gain flavor on their own, I take it. Will this effect (the gaining of flavor) be the same in a fridge as it would a tupper-ware container? And do the cigars emit an odor into the fridge, or vice versa? (I'm guessing no, because of leaving the wrapper on them)

Last question, do not many of the experts use wooden containers? Maybe I've watched too many movies, but I always see the cigar aficionados break out some nice looking wooden box, with open cigars in it.
 
The reason I and others recommended tupperware is because of what you labeled as #1 on your initial post. You are thinking about buying a $30 humidor. a cheap humidor might or might not have a good seal, and a good seal is critical in a humidor. Tupperdors have good seals, so that eliminates that problem/

Next up, $30 humidors come with analog hygrometers that do not work. So now, you must buy a good digital hygrometer for about $25. So now your $30 humidor really cost $55.

Next on the list is humidification. Your $30 (now $55) humidor comes with an outdated humidifier that nobody on this forum would recommend. So now, you will have to spend even more money to get a good humidifier (beads, Boveda, etc). so now, you are up to about $80 for your $30 humidor. And dont forget, if your $30 humidor has a poor seal, then the $80 that you spent is a waste of money.

My roughly $10 tupperware/Boveda combo will do a perfect job of storing cigars with no worries about leaking humidors, hygrometer calibration, how much water too add, and all the other questions that newbies have.
 
I have three beautiful wooden humidors at my place. One of them is on my dresser and holds my wallet, keys, etc because it was cheap and didn't hold humidity. One of them is on the floor next to my cooler and holds my cutter, lighters, etc because it didn't hold humidity and ruined some of my cigars. One of them is in the back of the closet because it was already broken when I opened it from being damaged during shipping. None of my cigar smoking friends seems impressed by them when they come over.

What does impress them is when I hand them a perfectly aged, perfectly humidified, great tasting cigar that came out of my ugly white marine cooler, with my humidity beads and digital hygrometer.

Do you also drive a gas guzzling, always broken down car because it's shiny and impresses your friends? Do you wear shoes that hurt your feet, and cause blisters because they look good? Do you have am awesome looking watch that doesn't tell the correct time? See where I'm going with this?

If you want to smoke a good, well cared for, maintenance free cigars, or show off a fancy box? Some wooden desktop humidors are great, many of them suck. I enjoy the cigar itself, not the prestige of the box it sits in. Most of us on this forum are the same way.
 
Starflyte said:
Rod said:
Starflyte - The desktop wooden humidors are only for looks. We suggested the cooler/tupperware idea only as a means to store your cigars, especially if you're buying singles. Cigars so easily go missing. Humidification is a joke, and only a ploy for companies to make money with all of their useless fancy cigar accessories.

If you don't care about losing cigars, or are not concerned about a fancy box, then just stick the cigars in your refrigerator. No humidification required, it's all nonsense really. Cigar humidor companies just want to sell you something pretty. Your fridge will be fine, plus it will help to age the cigars and provide very nice flavor over time. I suggest using the crisper, so that they're not in your way. I only suggest that you allow the cigar to sit for 5 min before smoking it, to allow it to cool down. Lighting a cold cigar might cause it to crack. I hope this isn't too much for you, and I wish you all the best in your new hobby.

Good luck.
Click to expand...


Rod, thank you very much for breaking that down.

So it's not the wooden container that makes the cigars gain flavor, but the cigars gain flavor on their own, I take it. Will this effect (the gaining of flavor) be the same in a fridge as it would a tupper-ware container? And do the cigars emit an odor into the fridge, or vice versa? (I'm guessing no, because of leaving the wrapper on them)

Last question, do not many of the experts use wooden containers? Maybe I've watched too many movies, but I always see the cigar aficionados break out some nice looking wooden box, with open cigars in it.
Click to expand...

It was a joke.

Like BBS said, you have people here with many years of experience, and thousands upon thousands of dollars invested in not only cigars, but also equipment.

You are being given some excellent advice here. If you truly choose to make cigars a hobby, even if it's an occasional single purchase here and there, I highly recommend that you absorb this information. It's your choice. Remember, pleasure is earned by those who take the time to do things right.
 
Here's somethings to help.

If you want to go with a wooden show piece like desktop humidor, don't get one with any glass or a built in hygrometer like this. Get a digital hygrometer instead of a analog and a RH Bead tube. Most of us outgrow this type of humidor in a month or less.

100_2699.jpg

100_2700.jpg

100_2705.jpg


Since most of us knew we would waste out money on something obsolete in a month, we made a temporary humidor that looks like this. A tupperdor, with a Boveda humidty pack that locks shut.

100_2703.jpg

100_2702.jpg


Once we've realized how much money we can save, when we need more space we go with a cooler or a large tupperdor like this, with RH beads and hygrometers. More money to spend on cigars, $17 container, 2 $20 hygrometers, $150s in beads, all together equaling 1/10 of what just a wooden cabinet will by itself.

100_2698.jpg

100_2697.jpg
 
ronc said:
The reason I and others recommended tupperware is because of what you labeled as #1 on your initial post. You are thinking about buying a $30 humidor. a cheap humidor might or might not have a good seal, and a good seal is critical in a humidor. Tupperdors have good seals, so that eliminates that problem/

Next up, $30 humidors come with analog hygrometers that do not work. So now, you must buy a good digital hygrometer for about $25. So now your $30 humidor really cost $55.

Next on the list is humidification. Your $30 (now $55) humidor comes with an outdated humidifier that nobody on this forum would recommend. So now, you will have to spend even more money to get a good humidifier (beads, Boveda, etc). so now, you are up to about $80 for your $30 humidor. And dont forget, if your $30 humidor has a poor seal, then the $80 that you spent is a waste of money.

My roughly $10 tupperware/Boveda combo will do a perfect job of storing cigars with no worries about leaking humidors, hygrometer calibration, how much water too add, and all the other questions that newbies have.
Click to expand...

Ronc,

Thank you.

"I see!" Said the blind man.

So in other words, if I want to have a nice box to impress people, it's basically a big waste of money.

And from what I gather, the wood doesn't age the cigars any better than the tupperware.
 
wkoti,

Now THAT is an instructional for beginners/dummies!!! ;)

This cigar dummy approves!!!! :)


Seriously though, thank you for sharing that. I get it now.
 
The guys resuned much of the big picture and saved you a couple of hours searching for sure !
 
This Hobby you are interested in isn't hard and it doesn't require a lot of work. As you learn more and more about it, and become a part of it, you will find it really isn't a hobby at all. It is a culture unto it-self. The vast majority of us here have passed into the cultural aspect of cigar smoking. I have smoked them for over 40 years and I am junior to many on this site. Slow down a little. Take the time to enjoy a cigar that you have personally aged in your storage box of choice. Smile a little. Life is too short to get all wound up about such a beautiful hobby. Relax, give the brothers a chance to educate you. They are very good at it.

Steve
 
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