Thread: Couple of Humidor questions

So my parents were down in cuba a couple of weeks ago and picked me up this beautiful handmade humidor, finally got it in the mail from them today along with a small selection of cigars.

Now my question is, how do I go about using a humidor? I've never had one before so I'm curious. There's a gauge in there but I'm not sure how any of it works. Do I just place my cigars in there? Do i have to add anything?

Thanks for any tips.

1- season humidor:

Properly Seasoning a New Humidor - Cigar Asylum Cigar Forum

2 - buy some humidification beads. The two most popular brands are hcm (HCM Beads) and heartfelt (Heartfelt Industries, Cigar Humidification, Cigar Humidor Humidity Beads, Heartfelt Beads, quality Cigar Accessories). Both sites have a calculator for how much you need. I have seen some people use Exquisicat kitty litter. I have no experience with using KL, so I cannot recommend it based on my own experience.


3 - buy - and calibrate - a proper hygrometer from whatever bead vendor you choose.


Or if it's only a few sticks, and you con't see yourself being in the hobby very long, just pick up some Boveda packs and watch the humidity. When it starts to drop, replace the pack.

I should also add: Depending on the humidor they bought, it could also be "leaky" (leaks humidity from a subpar seal). Most humidors in the entry and mid-level price ranges are most prone to leaking. If you find your humidor does not hold humidity well enough, I advise just putting your cigars into a tupperware container with the boveda pack (don't buy anything higher than 65% rh). I suppose you could even put your entire loaded humidor (with beads or boveda packs) into the tupperware as well. I know plenty of guys who store boxes of cigars long-term in tupperware containers (lovingly known as "tupperdors").

^^ Everything he said. You want to keep the humidity around 70%, give or take.

Thanks for the tips guys. Here's some pics of the Humidor and the cigars. They're nothing crazy but I'm fairly new to the whole cigar scene.

Well done nice gift enjoy....

Nice starter pack and travel humidor. My problem is that I only have a Big humidor (150-200 count) and dont have anything to travel with.

I prefer 60 - 65% humidity. Ensure you keep that thing in a cool part of the house - ideally, you don't want it warmer than 65 -70 degrees F.