One of the most frequent questions Cigar studios’ team would like customers to ask is – ‘how large of a humidor should I buy?’ suggesting customers purchase a humidor as they begin their collection. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Instead, we often get asked, ‘how many cigars will ‘that’ humidor hold?’ suggesting they are shopping for a humidor after they have begun to collect cigars or following a trip away where they have ended up with a box or two more than they can store. This often results in customers ending up with one, two, or even three humidors as their cigar collection gets more critical than their existing storage capacity. This is good for the humidor industry but not necessarily a favorable decision for the customer.
So what to do? Being in the cigar business for a long time, we have experience owning a humidor that holds up to 50 cigars that is approximately two boxes, and is sufficient for an average cigar smoker. You probably may question, 50 cigars that are way more than I need to store; please note one important issue.
The cost of having a smaller humidor is relatively minimal since the size is not the main factor driving humidor cost. What drives humidor cost is the overall finish and features. Plus, we have come across instances with our knowledge, where smokers having a small humidor for about 25 cigars or less will most likely run out of space as soon as they are given or buy one extra box of cigars while stocking up. It’s a fact; we experience such situations quite often. So for someone who smokes 1-2 cigars a week, 50 cigars is a half year’s worth of cigar heaven, but not too many to discourage regular visits to your favorite cigar shop to see what’s new.
Following are few pointers to remember while choosing a cigar humidor:
- Size: Humidors are produced in varied sizes; it ranges from three-stick travel humidor to life-size furniture that stores about multiple thousands of cigars. But, if you are beginning, you need to consider a few things- like how many cigars you’d like to keep on hand, what kind of cigars you prefer, and how frequently you enjoy smoking.
- Capacity: Consider the ability while choosing the right humidor for you. If you only occasionally smoke, there no point buying a humidor that holds about Fifty or hundreds of cigars. If you are newly introduced to cigars, there’s not much gain in making room for a great humidor to keep about 600 cigars you may not even own or wish to buy.
- Wood: Spanish cedar is the standard wood, but it’s not the only option. Spanish cedar or Cedrela odorata is the gold standard of cigar humidor production for quite some time. Notably, because of its ability to retain and absorb humidity and be reasonably resistant to decay and protection from tobacco insects. Fascinatingly, Spanish cedar is not the only wood available in the market; there is Honduran Mahogany, Red cedar; for more information on the wood, visit the website.
- Seal: A well-sealed humidor is a key to fresh cigars. Even before setting up the fragrances of the humidor, the unit should have a good seal. The humidor should not be air-tight, as the wood swells or shrinks depending on the humidity inside the humidor. That is where the humidifier comes into the pictures, as it helps retain cedar lining moist, in addition to keeping the contents of your humidor at the right temperature.
- Quality: Good work isn’t cheap and cheap work isn’t good. While choosing a humidor, consider its quality and not the price tag. Just because a humidor is reasonable, don’t go for it because it’s a great deal or vice versa; it doesn’t work like that. There are several great deals out there, but you need to research a bit to find a quality humidor that suits your needs.
Contact Cigar Studio at hello@cigarstudio.com for more information on Humidors.
