Cigar Humidor Shopping: Top Ten Things to Know Before you Buy

Top Ten Things to look for in your next Cigar Humidor

This is the first edition of Smok-N-Joe's Cigar tips. We would like to add a new edition each week to help new cigar fans and old aficionado's alike to learn about recent trends in the cigar world or just buying guides and how-to's. At Smok-n-Joe's Cigars we sell quite a few humidors out of our retail store and online and have either bought or sold most of the humidors on the market. Some good, some great, and some not worth writing home about. I would like to share both some of my personal and retail humidor experiences with you. I've personally owned in the neighborhood of thirty humidors. I've made a lot of mistakes along the way. (Disclaimer - Although we do offer a full line of humidors at our stores this isn't a plug for anything I sell. I hope that after reading this that you will take the time to shop around and find something that fits your needs in every way. Sometimes we may not have what is best for you.)

Tip # 1 - Cheaper is almost never better
A decent humidor will run in the neighborhood of $50 to $100.00. One of the most common questions I get as a humidor retailer is "will you take $xx.xxx for this? I really like this but don't have the money." One of the first things that come to my mind is the $7.00 a cigar they just spent on their favorite cigars. If you're like me you spend anywhere from $5.00 up to $15.00 on a good cigar. You may only get one day in the week where you have a quiet hour to sit and enjoy it. Do you really want to put it in the cheapest box you can find? A good humidor will keep your cigar investment fresh for years and ensure that each cigar experience you have is memorable. The exception to this rule is the smaller travel size humidors. You can buy one of the hardened plastic models and they seal and protect exceptionally well. One of our best sellers is the Cigar Caddy. If you really don't have the budget for a nice piece, then take a look at this site about making your own humidor out of household items (http://www.stogiefresh.com/buildyourown.htm).

Tip # 2 - Listen for the "Swoosh"
A good humidor will create a perfect seal when closed. When you drop the lid, you should hear the satisfying "swoosh." The humidor should be able to maintain that perfect relative humidity over a long period of time. If the lid is poorly fitted then you will lose moisture over time, no matter how many times you refill the humidifier. The ideal humidor will keep your cigars at optimum conditions without too much fuss. If you're like me, you want something that you can set up once and check on once or twice a month.

Tip # 3 - Cedar lining is a must
Most cigar manufacturers will use Spanish cedar on the inside of humidors. You'll notice some cigars come with cedar wraps or cedar boxes. This is because cedar can enhance the flavor of a cigar without taking over the flavor of a cigar. Additionally, cedar will hold the moisture pretty well without putting off any offending odors that can ruin the taste of your cigars. If the humidor doesn't have a cedar interior, then pass it by. There are too many great humidors on the market that use cedar to pay more than $20 for one that doesn't.

Tip # 4 - Make sure the humidifier matches the humidor
If the humidor comes with a humidifier ensure that the humidifier is up to the task of keeping the max amount of cigars humid. A humidifier that is too small for the humidor will keep you busy trying to keep up with all your cigars. When in doubt bigger is usually better but matching a humidifier with a good hygrometer will keep you up to date on the relative humidity. You don't want to be in a situation where the humidor holds 200 cigars and you have one small humidifier. In my experience, the larger humidors take more humidification than normal just to keep the cedar seasoned. A rule of thumb to use; if the humidor holds over 200 cigars you will either need two small humidifiers or one large unit.

Tip # 5 - Go Big or Go Home!
Even if you only plan on keeping ten or fifteen cigars at a time, plan for more. I bought my first humidor about twelve years ago and it was meant to hold 50 cigars. Six months later I ended up spending more money to buy another humidor. It starts out with a friend giving you one or two cigars to try, or getting a box for your birthday or Christmas, then turns into finding a great deal on your favorite brand and bringing a box home. You want a humidor that can grow with you as your collection gets bigger. One caveat, a humidor that's meant to hold 250 or 300 cigars is really only going to work properly if it is filled to at least medium capacity. The manufacturers of the better humidors match the humidifier and hygrometer to the box size. If you can't fill it up at least halfway you might ask one of your buddies to store some of his in your humidor. You know he just leaves them in his desk drawer anyway. If you already have a smaller humidor and are looking to upgrade, you can always use the small guy to keep some of your cigars separate while aging. I have some cigars that are on the stronger side and don't like mixing them up with some of my milder smokes. If you are an ACID cigar fan, a separate humidor is a must! Even one of those cigars in your humidor will make every other cigar in your humidor taste different.

Tip # 6 - A Hygrometer is a must
Most of the humidors on the market should come with either an analog or digital hygrometer. It will either attach to the lid with Velcro or a magnet or be mounted so the readout is external. I don't care for the Velcro attachments because they tend to come unglued or fall apart fairly quickly. One of our suppliers uses a metal lining in the humidor lid and a magnetic hygrometer. I find the detachable hygrometers are the easiest to calibrate and maintain and are easier to replace if something goes wrong. There are some really affordable digital hygrometers on the market and they are easy to calibrate and install. They also take the guesswork out of everything. (A note on relative humidity: experts will recommend anything from 68%-72% for long term storage. Set your humidor up in the middle and adjust it as you learn what is best for you.)

Tip # 7 - Quality, Quality, Quality!
If you have the good fortune of having a cigar shop by you with a decent selection you should be able to tell the quality of a humidor fairly easily. Are the joints tightly fitted, do you get the swoosh sound from the lid closing, are the hinges brass, secure and solid? Be on the lookout for defects in the varnish or finish. Sometimes a piece will slip through the cracks and the manufacturer will gladly take it back to be fixed but you want this to be the cigar stores problem, not yours. If you are shopping on the internet take a close look at the photo. It should be readily apparent whether the humidor is quality built or not. If the photo's aren't clear, shop somewhere else or talk to customer service and see if they have any clearer pictures.

Tip # 8 - Look for a warranty or guarantee
Almost all of the major manufacturers offer some form of warranty. My favorite, Quality Importers, offers a lifetime warranty on any of their humidors. Be on the lookout for cheap imitations. There are about ten manufacturers that do really nice work and include a guarantee, the rest are cheap Chinese copies of the originals.

Tip # 9 - The recommended cigar count is just a recommendation
Most cigar humidor listings online will give a manufacturers recommendation for how many cigars they will hold. This is an average based on the average cigar size. If the average is a robust (5" with a 50 ring gauge) and you typically smoke larger cigars you will need to buy bigger. When in doubt see tip # 5.

Tip # 10 - Think of your humidor as furniture
A good humidor will run from $50-$1000. You could spend just as much as you did on your coffee table. You need to think of the setting and which room it is going to go in. That silver flake modern humidor may look great at the cigar shop or on the webpage but may not go with your wife's end table. I bought a great looking humidor online a few years ago, spent about $300.00 and it still sits in my garage because it clashes with every ounce of furniture that I have (If you're interested in a cheap humidor shoot me an email lol!) A good humidor can be a once-in-a-lifetime investment if you buy right. If you keep this in mind you can save yourself some agony down the road.

Buying on the internet - Here are a few pitfalls that I have seen customers run into. No warranty, overspending on shipping, lack of quality, and bad return policies. Every retailer or manufacturer worth their salt should stand by their product. If they don't offer a warranty, run away. A good size humidor will cost about $30 max to ship from coast to coast. If you're spending $50 on shipping for a $50 humidor you may need to shop somewhere else. Also keep in mind that it costs about a minimum of $10.00 for even the some of the smaller travel humidors. The longer a retailer has been in business the better deal they can get on shipping. They should be able to pass the savings on to you. If they don't offer a return policy or list returns only if the package is unopened, run, don't walk, away. You don't want to find that the humidor that looked great in the picture is cheap or the wrong color or whatever.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. I hope this guide will help you avoid some of the mistakes I've made in my cigar journey.
In the words of Mark Twain "Life is too short to smoke cheap cigars"

Thanks,
Dustin Hatfield
Owner
Smok-n-Joe's Cigars
http://www.smoknjoes.com
http://www.smoknjoeshumidors.com