Humidor - I got shot down!

0 That Guy 0

Not really......but today I walked into a Smoke shop in the Charlotte area to look for a humidor and was staright up told not to buy one by a guy who makes his living in sales. I was surprised to say the least but his reasoning for me was that A) if I'm not smoking one everyday or even a few times a week it's not worth it and they need to be babied constantly in order to maintain them, from recharching to rotating cigars to whatever else is involved. I guess he was saying its more of a pain then a luxury. I never really had a good vibe from the guy and he kind of made me feel like I was too young and inexperienced to worry about getting this involved. That being said we did talk cigars for a while but I ended up walking out with a couple of sticks rather then what I actually went in for.

I am new to cigars but what do you all think? Is a humidor necessary and easier to maintain then what this guy made it out to be?

 

Thanks

kuzi16

wow

go find a new shop.

humidors do take SOME work. but i would say i put about 20min every MONTH in upkeep. once it is set up, recharging is easy. rotation happens naturally if you put all your "new" smokes on the bottom. heck, i only "rotate" once every 3 months at most. maybe his humidor sucks and he has to baby it. but my humidor almost takes care of itself.



you should have asked him if you wanted to age a cigar how would you do it without a humidor.

SlickRS

I am relatively new to smoking cigars. I have a humidor and I will be honest you have to keep an eye on your humidor. But if you have been bitten by the bug you should get a humidor. The guys out here will say the bigger the better when it comes to humidors. But I think you should start with a water pack and a zip lock bag. Do not invest in a humidor unless your sure your in it for the long hall. I have a 50 stick humidor and its plenty for me. I smoke a cigar a week. If you are smoking more than that you should invest. Welcome to the site.

0 That Guy 0

Hey thanks for the welcome!

My personal reason for wanting one is to take advantage of all the daily specials on this site as well as the sample packs. This way I can truly get a taste for what it is I'm looking for in a good cigar. I didn't want to start buying sample packs unitl I had a place to store them properly and I also figured this method would cause me to collect cigars at a faster rate then I can actaully smoke them which is again why I thought I qaulified for a humidor.

I do use the bag right now which seems to be working fine and I do appreciate the guy trying to save me money until I truly know what it is I'm looking for or if I even remain interested in cigars but I was still shocked by his response to say the least.

On the other hand I did pick up  an Aruro Fuenta gran reserva and a Padron Anneversiary -----yummy

xmacro

Besides what was said above, a humidor allows you to buy cigars in bulk/boxes. Look around the internet - you'll see cigars that sell for $10 each, but a box 20 sells for around $100 - a B/M selling singles is just a rip-off if you have any idea what you like. I picked up a little 50-count humidor for $20 - getting one isn't that expensive (though the top quality ones typically run a couple hundred)

betasynn

What I did at first was convert a cigar box into a humidor by carving out a lip. It worked fine, but as soon as I found this site, I filled it with my first weekend blitz. So I went and bought a 120 count, now that is filled so I have a new 150 getting seasoned. It can all add up faster then you'd think.

Garen B

Don't let that guy talk you out of it, as mentioned above, you get to buy in bulk and actually save money by not buying singles. Also, what isn't mentioned is that in a B&M, you don't have control of the humidity and temp that the sticks are kept at, also you have no idea how long those sticks have been there, believe me, it's really nice to look at your humi and say "This one has about 6 months on it, this other one has 2 years, etc." Overall, if you don't want to go for the long haul, get a small 20 cnt humi, and just have a few sticks on hand.

As to maintaining a humi, it takes about 2 days to get everything set up, but in actual time your doing something for it, it's probably about 20 mins a month like kuzi said, if that.

brc81

Getting a humidor was probably the best investment I made after I got into the hobby. I first had a small tupperware tub and a water pillow. That worked ok at first but eventually I ended up with some mold issues. I then bought a 50 ct humidor. It has served me well and still used as my primary humidor. It didn't take long to fill it up so I invested into a small cooler and made a coolerdor. Now both my 50ct and my cooler are nearly full. I check on the humidity and the temps when I pull a new stick out or put more in. I currently average 1-2 sticks a week (weather permitting). If I didn't have a humidor to store sticks I'd probably have lost interest long ago as I don't have any good B&Ms nearby to pick up a stick when I'm in the mood for a cigar.

bigharpoon

The procedures and equipment for getting a humidor up and running may seem a little intimidating at first but you will warm up to it quickly and realize it is quite simple. Well worth it as you suspect and everyone has confirmed. It'll save you loads of money on cigars and always be used, no matter what size you buy.

gmill880

Some shops actually do hire people who don't know a damn thing about cigars, I've experienced it first hand. To work at a B&M who's livly hood is hoping you become very interested in cigars and keep coming back to recommend you not buy a humi is just stupid on the employees part and I will bet the manager and owner would have had his a$$ if they heard him tell you that. Now obviously your an adult of legal age and have already decided, at least in your mind, that you like cigars well enough to buy a humi. I recommend you do this asap but not there ! They are not that difficult and after your first one you will find it a breeze. Any questions you have about humi's and their care are probably already answered on here somewhere and if not just ask ...this forum is a wealth of info ...oh and welcome aboard . Do you live in the Charlotte area? Gene

0 That Guy 0

Thanks again! I do not live in Charlotte, I'm in Roanoke, VA and we have a great shop - Milan Bro's thats been around since 1912. The first time I walked in and asked to be educated I was literally EDUCATED. From how cigar tobacco is grown and processed to how many hands touched each cigar that we consume to the owners stay at Rocky Patel's place and his world travels just for the sake of/his passion for the industry. In other words a much better visit than "this isn't for you, don't do it" guy here in Cha Town.

Humi it is for me! And also I just finished a Rocky Patel - Edge with captain and coke and a captain is what I feel like

lovin it

gmill880

0 That Guy 0:

Thanks again! I do not live in Charlotte, I'm in Roanoke, VA and we have a great shop - Milan Bro's thats been around since 1912. The first time I walked in and asked to be educated I was literally EDUCATED. From how cigar tobacco is grown and processed to how many hands touched each cigar that we consume to the owners stay at Rocky Patel's place and his world travels just for the sake of/his passion for the industry. In other words a much better visit than "this isn't for you, don't do it" guy here in Cha Town.

Humi it is for me! And also I just finished a Rocky Patel - Edge with captain and coke and a captain is what I feel like

lovin it

Atta Boy !!!

Krieg

Glad to hear you made the jump, now comes the fun process of finding the one u like! I bought a 120CT humi w/ a glass top, that way i can see my humidity/temp levels without having to open the lid...just a little advice.

jihiggs

well, hes kinda right, if you only plan on keeping a few cigars on hand at any given time, a humidor would be very difficult to manage. empty humidors are a pain!

SmokeRing

I've been smoking cigars for over 15 years. I bought my fisrt humidor about 2 years ago...... For most of that time I would only buy 2-3 cigars a week and smoke them over the course of a weekend. If this is your "pace" then no, a humidor is not necessary.....However, once you start buy in quantities beyond what you can go through in a few days (and if you want to be able to allow your cigars to age) then some form of humidor is essential....Purchaseing this way, especially now using the internet, is far more cost effective than buying from your local tobacconist....I like my local shop and make it a point to stop in every other friday (I work a 9/80 schedule). I buy a very nice cigar and sit in their lounge and enjoy the company and conversation of my fellow cigar and pipe smokers.....So, get a humidor and start really enjoying cigars as a hobby!........Cheers!

0 That Guy 0

Thanks SmokeRing, your 15 years of buying 3 sticks at a time is exactly the reason I have ordered a humidor - SAVE MONEY in the long run. Is it Thursday yet? come on humi............