How to Choose a Humidor: 11 Tips for Beginners and Experts

Cigars, like fine wine, need time to reach their full potential. While some may offer a delightful flavor profile from the start, others require five to ten years of aging before they can be fully appreciated for all of their complexity and richness. The key is finding the right balance.

You may be asking yourself, "What humidor should I buy?" Don’t worry, we've got you covered! We created this ultimate buying guide to help you choose the best humidor.

1. Choose a Humidor to Fit Your Collection

To purchase an appropriately sized humidor, follow this simple guideline: Always buy a humidor that is larger than the number of cigars you intend to store.

This is the most important thing to consider because humidors need proper airflow to maintain the perfect climate for your precious cigars. An overly populated humidor will have a significant effect on the temperature and humidity inside which can ruin your expensive collection.

A humidor that is too small or too big for your needs will be difficult to regulate and achieve the ideal humidification.

Every humidor on the market comes with a cigar count that is ideal for its shape and size, and the capacity can range from hundreds to thousands. If you plan on storing 50 stogies, we recommend getting a humidor that holds up to 100 cigars.

2. Consider the Different Cigars You Want to Store

Aside from getting a bigger humidor, one of the essential factors to ponder is the kinds of cigars you plan to keep. Many cigar enthusiasts have a habit of collecting various stogies to satisfy their smoking needs — from mild, medium, to full-bodied cigars.

If different cigars are not properly separated from each other, it will affect their flavor profile and aroma. Ultimately, this mistake could ruin your blissful smoking experience.

Part of being a cigar aficionado is enjoying your cigars the way the master blenders intended them to be, so invest in a humidor with multiple drawers or compartments if you plan to store various cigars in one humidor.

3. Understand the Aging Potential of Your Cigars

When it comes to cigars, patience is key. While some cigars deliver a great smoking experience right away, others need years to mature and reveal their full flavor. Aging cigars properly can enhance their complexity, richness, and smoothness. Whether you're buying a few cigars to enjoy now or investing in a long-term collection, understanding how aging affects cigars is essential.

To store cigars for the long haul, you'll need a humidor that can maintain the right temperature and humidity levels. This ensures your cigars age well and stays in perfect condition until you're ready to enjoy them.

4. Get a Humidor That Fits Your Environment

How do you choose a humidor for cigars that will perfectly complement your space? There are different categories of humidors to choose from, such as:

• Humidor Cabinets: Perfect for serious collectors, humidor cabinets offer spacious storage and advanced humidity control, ensuring cigars stay fresh for extended periods.
  
• Electric Humidors: These humidors use electricity to maintain the ideal humidity and temperature levels, offering hassle-free cigar storage for connoisseurs who want precision and convenience.
• Cigar Lockers: Ideal for personal or shared storage, cigar lockers offer a secure and organized way to keep cigars at their best in a compact, individual unit.
• Walk-In Humidors: A luxurious and spacious option for cigar enthusiasts, walk-in humidors provide ample room for large collections and offer the ultimate control over climate conditions.
• Desktop Humidors: A great choice for casual cigar smokers, desktop humidors are compact and portable, perfect for keeping cigars fresh on a smaller scale.
• Travel Humidors: Designed for cigar lovers on the go, travel humidors are small, durable, and portable, offering a safe and moisture-controlled environment for your cigars while traveling.

You can find these humidors in various wood finishes like walnut, mahogany, dark cherry, and more. If you’re looking for a humidor that complements your living room or office, buy one that is not only functional but also doubles as a stylish furniture piece.

5. Think About Geographic Location

When wondering what to look for when buying a humidor, consider your climate. While often overlooked, location is a crucial factor to keep in mind.

For instance, if you live in a region that experiences moderate temperatures year-round then there likely won’t be any challenges in terms of maintaining the ideal conditions. However, if you live in a region that experiences extremely chilly winters and scorching hot summers, then it may impact the way your humidor functions.

That said, it’s nothing that can’t be addressed with the perfect electronic humidification system. Once you have that in place, all you need to do is monitor the temperature and moisture levels of your humidor from time to time. That’s all it takes to fine-tune your humidor’s technical parameters according to its locale.

6. Think About Installation Space

The location also includes the right storage area. So, apart from the geographical region, the amount of installation space it requires is paramount.

Depending on the desired storage capacity, office spaces could do with a desk humidor cabinet or even a coffee table humidor. Electronically operated humidors must naturally be plugged in at all times so they need to be located close to a socket.

If you do a fair amount of traveling, it’s worth considering a compact, lightweight, and budget-friendly portable humidor that can hold anywhere between 5 to 40 cigars.

7. Quality and Material Matter

When you’re considering how to choose a cigar humidor, it’s crucial to consider the type of wood. The wood you choose has a significant impact on the humidor’s ability to retain moisture and temperature.

The best cigar humidors in the industry feature interiors lined with cedrela odorata commonly known as Spanish cedar wood. Despite costing more, a Spanish cedar humidor offers many advantages and provides the ideal insulation and protection against tobacco beetles and insects.

8. Buy a Well-Sealed Humidor

To keep the inside of your humidor perfectly insulated and humidified, you need a tight seal to separate it from the outside climate. Cigars should be kept according to the 70/70 rule, meaning 70% RH (relative humidity) at 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Getting a Spanish cedar humidor without a good seal is pointless and will damage your cigars, resulting in stiffness and dryness. If your humidor has moisture it is critical to get a cigar humidifier.

Learning how to spot a cheap humidor will save you a fortune in the long run, so only purchase a humidor from authorized and trusted sellers. Don’t forget to read reviews from fellow cigar lovers to help you decide.

The Dollar Bill Test

This is one of the simple methods you can try to check the seal quality of a humidor. It's best used on larger humidors but not travel humidors or acrylic humidor boxes. You can do it in four easy steps:

Step 1: Using any dollar bill, fold it as flat as possible.

Step 2: Gently insert the bill between the humidor and the lid.

Step 3: Shut the lid. 

Step 4: If the bill can easily be pulled from the humidor, then there's a sealing issue you should address.

A promising sign that the seal is tight and can preserve the cigars inside easily is if the bill doesn't move when you try to tug on it. Other types of humidors like those with glass lids have built-in locks in place, which can also cause air leaks. 

The Flashlight Method

The flashlight method of looking for air leaks in your humidor is pretty self-explanatory. You must be in a very dark room for this test, but it can also work with just the lights off. Mind the blindfolded spots that you don't want shining on any electronics. The glass top will guide you if any light goes beyond the closed lid.

Afterward, shine the light from above; you will see how much air has been lost there. Shine the light down again. This time, look for any light coming out of the seam where it meets with its lid. This will show if there is a leak and tell you if it needs fixing or replacing.

9. Opt For a Built-In Hygrometer and Thermometer

A hygrometer is a device that measures the humidity levels within the humidor, while a thermometer produces a temperature readout.

Both accessories are crucial to cigar aficionados because they are clear indicators of the humidor’s environment in real time. Purchasing a humidor that already has a built-in hygrometer and thermometer makes maintenance easier.

On the other hand, we recommend investing in a high-end humidification system separately. There are many humidifiers to choose from such as travel humidor humidifiers, just remember to use distilled water or Propylene Glycol (PG) solution when filling your unit.

10. Consider the Upkeep

Properly maintaining a cigar humidor requires dedication and effort. To get started, you need to season the humidor, which may involve a bit of effort.

You should also fill your cigar humidor up to 75% capacity consistently while regulating the right humidity and temperature levels. That’s why if you decide to buy an unreliable humidor, you’ll only end up wasting your precious time checking and tweaking your humidor’s conditions.

11. Figure Out Your Budget

When shopping for cigar humidors, it’s important to familiarize the price range to get the best bang for your buck. Ask yourself, “How much money am I willing to spend?”

Humidors come at various price points, but quality humidors aren’t cheap. Do extensive research and find the best humidor that looks good for you and has excellent internal hardware that fits your needs.

Keep in mind that high-quality wood will outlast and outperform cheaper alternatives, so be prepared to spend a little extra.

Find The Perfect Humidor Solution

When selecting a humidor, whether it’s a classic all-wood one or a fancy electronic version, it’s important to consider one key question: What makes smoking cigars enjoyable for me? Your passion for the experience and your lifestyle should take priority over other factors.

If you need assistance in finding your ideal humidor, we can help. Our personalized humidor solutions are tailored to meet your exact needs. Whether you need a custom-made humidor, a smoke eater recommendation, a cooler humidor, or even wholesale options, our team is here to assist you every step of the way. Get in touch with us today!