Cigar Storage Humidor Options

Cigar Humidors

You’ve spent your paycheck on a ton of awesome smokes and are anxiously awaiting the package when it hits you… Where am I going to keep these beauties? You surely may be tempted to smoke all of them right away, but after you realize there are not enough hours in the day to enjoy them all and be a functioning member of society, you turn to humidors.

Simply put, a humidor is a box meant to store cigars. You can get fancy ones such as the Chelsea 50-Cigar Humidor or you can use the most plain of ones such as a new piece of Tupperware or even cheap Gladware or a cooler. You can get a large one like the Ravello 300 Cigar Humidor or a small one, like the 5 Cigar Xikar Travel Humidor. The one thing all these different shapes and styles have in common is a perfect seal. The key to any box you are going to use to store a cigar is to keep the outside humidity out and create the perfect environment inside. It shouldn't matter if you live in the dry desert of Arizona or if you are in Florida, like us, where it is 1,000% humidity 300+ days of the year. You need to be able to trust that inside your humidor is the perfect 65-70% humidity everyday.

So now you have this amazing box to hold your cigars and fine selections of smokes, you just throw them in the humidor and you are ready to go, right? Unfortunately not, there is a little bit of prep work to get your long-term storage humidor ready for your cigars. The main thing is to get the inside of your box up to the desired range of 65 -70% relative humidity. That gorgeous and fragrant Spanish Cedar may be the perfect wood to age cigars, but it will also suck all the humidity out of the air unless you prep your box right.

The first thing to do is wipe down the whole interior of your new humidor with a fresh clean sponge just slightly dampened with distilled water. You are not looking to saturate the wood but to just get it introduced to water. Next, you dampen the sponge again and put it inside the humidor in a plastic bag so it doesn't come in contact with the wood. Close the lid and start to prepare your humidification devices.

While there are many different humidification devices, they all boil down to two things, liquid and something to hold the liquid. What the liquid is depends on the device you are using. There are some that are precharged with a propylene glycol(PG) solution which only requires distilled water and there are some that require a mixture of distilled and the PG. Whichever device you have, you will need to read the manufacturer's instructions in order to find out the recommended use.

We are big fans of the Xikar Crystal Humidifiers and the Xikar Propylene Glycol solution. The gel in these units is made to perfectly hold the humidity level at that 70% range along with providing anti-mold protection. With the humidification device prepared, put it inside the humidor with your recently calibrated hygrometer, close the lid, and let the box sit overnight.

If you don’t feel like dealing with putting in your own PG solution and monitoring when to add more, there is another option as well. Boveda packs are as set-it-and-forget-it as they come. Each of these amazing packs is calibrated to a certain humidity level. All you need to do is add one pack for every 25 cigars your humidor holds and replace it in about three months. You will know when it is time to replace because the packs will become rigid. There are even ways to recharge the packs after they are no longer useful, but that is a topic for a whole other blog post.

You wake up the next morning and are psyched to finally put in your cigars, right? RIGHT?!?! Well, not quite yet there, Speedy. Open the lid and see what the humidification level shows. Feel the sponge. If it is dry, dampen it again with more distilled water. Check the humidification devices and see if they need more liquid as well. After all this, close the lid and let it sit for yet another day.

The sun rises the next day, and after the torture of staring at your brand new spiffy humidor for what may seem like an eternity, it is now time. Hopefully you haven't smoked all of your new cigars in anticipation. Remove the sponge from the humidor and start putting those sticks in. Don't be alarmed if the humidity level on your box is a little over the ideal 65-70% range; all those tasty sticks of deliciousness will start to absorb that humidity and all will be right in the world.

Thank you for visiting our online cigar shop!

It is our mission to provide you with the best prices, discounts and deals for cigars, humidifiers, lighters, cutters, gifts and other cigar accessories. Shop and browse one of the largest collections of premium cigar brands and samplers.