Humidors
HUMIDORS
A humidor keeps cigars at the humidity they were rolled at, which is what stops them drying out, cracking and burning hot. We stock more than 600 of them — acrylic jars, hard-shell travel cases, glass-top desktop boxes, hundred-count chests and full cabinets — along with the hygrometers and humidification you need to run one properly. Still deciding what to keep in it? Start with our guide to the best cigars for beginners. Buying guidance, seasoning instructions and the questions we get asked most are below the products.
Which humidor should you buy?
Four humidors that cover most people, from a first jar to a hundred-count chest. Whichever you pick, buy roughly double the capacity you think you need - every cigar smoker fills a humidor faster than they expect.
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1
25 Count Acrylic Humidor Jar
- Holds
- About 25 cigars
- Type
- Sealed acrylic jar
- Seasoning
- Not required
- Price
- from $18.95
The cheapest thing that genuinely works. An airtight jar with a humidifier holds humidity as reliably as a cheap wooden box and needs no seasoning, because there is no Spanish cedar to condition. Buy this if you own ten cigars and are not ready to spend real money.
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2
20 Cigar Travel Humidor
- Holds
- Up to 20 cigars
- Type
- Hard-shell travel case
- Seasoning
- Not required
- Price
- from $24.95
A crush-proof case with a foam interior and a humidifier, for taking cigars to a golf course or on a plane. Not a storage humidor - it holds humidity for days rather than months - but it stops the far more common disaster of good cigars cracking in a jacket pocket.
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3
Capri 25-50 Glass Top Humidor
- Holds
- 25 to 50 cigars
- Type
- Spanish cedar, glass top
- Seasoning
- Required before first use
- Price
- from $42.95
The one most people should buy. Spanish-cedar lined, front-mounted hygrometer so you can read the humidity without opening the lid, and a glass top that lets you see what you have. Our best-selling humidor, and the size that stops being frustrating within a year.
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4
Berkeley 100 Count Humidor
- Holds
- About 100 cigars
- Type
- Spanish cedar, glass top, external hygrometer
- Seasoning
- Required before first use
- Price
- from $95.95
The step up for someone who buys by the box. A hundred-count chest with dividers and trays so you can separate blends, and an external hygrometer you can read at a glance. If you already own two boxes of cigars, start here rather than buying a fifty and replacing it.
How to choose a humidor
Three things decide whether a humidor works: whether it seals, whether it is lined with Spanish cedar, and whether you can trust the hygrometer. Everything else - the finish, the inlay, the lock - is furniture.
The seal matters most. Close the lid on a slip of paper and pull: you should feel resistance. A well-made humidor lid drops shut with a soft sigh of displaced air rather than a clack.
Spanish cedar lining regulates moisture, adds aroma and repels tobacco beetles. Some cheaper humidors use other woods or veneer, which do none of those things.
Capacity should be roughly double what you think you need. Ratings assume the box is packed with loose cigars and no dividers, trays or humidifier, which is never how anyone actually uses one.
Seasoning a new humidor
A new humidor must be seasoned before cigars go in. The cedar lining ships bone dry, and dry cedar pulls moisture out of your cigars faster than any humidifier can put it back. This is the single most common reason a first humidor ruins a first box of cigars.
- Wipe the interior cedar with a cloth barely damp with distilled water. Damp, not wet - never soak the wood, and never use tap water.
- Charge your humidifier and put it inside with a hygrometer.
- Close the lid and leave it two to three days.
- Check that it holds a steady 70% without falling. If it drops, repeat.
- Only now add cigars, and expect the reading to settle over another week.
Two-way humidity packs season a humidor with no water and no mess, which is why most people now use them.
Humidification and hygrometers
You have three options for adding moisture. Two-way packs hold a fixed humidity in both directions and need no maintenance - the easiest choice by far. Crystal gel jars are cheap, last months and need topping up with distilled water. Foam humidifiers, the kind taped inside cheaper humidors, work but swing more and need refilling often.
Whatever you use, do not trust the included hygrometer without testing it. Cheap analog dials can read ten points off, which is the difference between cigars that are fine and cigars growing mould. A digital hygrometer costs very little and removes the guesswork.
Browse all humidors and humidification, or see our guide to cigars for beginners if you are still working out what to keep in it.
Humidor questions we get asked
Do I need a humidor?
If you keep more than a handful of cigars for more than a couple of weeks, yes. Cigars dry out at normal room humidity, and a dried-out cigar burns hot and tastes papery - the damage is permanent. For your first few cigars, the cellophane and a zip bag with a humidity pack is genuinely enough.
What size humidor do I need?
Buy roughly double the capacity you think you need. A humidor rated for 50 cigars holds closer to 35 once boxes, dividers and the humidifier take up room, and almost everyone accumulates cigars faster than expected. For most people a 50-count is the right first humidor and a 100-count is the right second one.
How do I season a new humidor?
Wipe the interior cedar with a cloth barely damp with distilled water - never soaking, never tap water. Put a humidification device and a hygrometer inside, close it, and leave it two to three days until it holds a steady 70% without dropping. Only then add cigars. Skipping this is the single most common reason a new humidor fails: dry cedar pulls moisture straight out of your cigars.
What humidity should a humidor be kept at?
Around 70% relative humidity at about 70F - the "70/70 rule". Anywhere from 65% to 72% is fine, and many people prefer 65% for a firmer draw. Above 75% cigars can develop mould; below 60% they dry out and burn hot.
What is the difference between a desktop and a cabinet humidor?
A desktop humidor is a box that sits on a table and holds roughly 25 to 150 cigars. A cabinet humidor is furniture - hundreds to thousands of cigars, usually with a powered humidification system. Travel humidors are a third category: hard cases that protect cigars for days rather than storing them long-term.
Do I need to use distilled water in a humidor?
Yes. Tap water carries minerals and bacteria that clog humidifiers and can grow mould on cedar. Use distilled water, or propylene glycol solution, or sealed two-way humidity packs which need no water at all.
Are the hygrometers included with humidors accurate?
Often not. Cheap analog hygrometers can read 5 to 10 points off out of the box. Test yours with the salt test, or replace it with a digital one - it costs little and it is the only instrument telling you whether your cigars are safe.
Can I use a plastic container instead of a humidor?
Yes, and plenty of people do - an airtight food container with a humidity pack, known as a tupperdor, holds humidity better than a poorly sealed wooden box. You lose the cedar aroma and the look, but for pure storage it works.
How long do cigars last in a humidor?
Indefinitely, if humidity stays stable. Cigars kept at a steady 65-70% will hold for years and many improve with age, the way wine does. What ruins them is swings between wet and dry, not time itself.