Haha I wonder if you could revive a bit them by lettting them set at proper humidity for a while. I heard the flavor goes flat but maybe they at least smoke a bit better after resting properly. If you somehow see this since it’s been a year please reply I’m curious.
@@jacobrichards720 So the issue isn't just that it gets dry, then getting it wet enough again is fine. It's that when it gets dry like that, the natural oils have evaporated off as well. Like grease. When it's wet it stays wet. but if you burn it off, it doesn't just come back when it cools down. Which is why they have different operating temps. Once it's gone, it's gone. it's a phase change. had it maintained proper RH, then it would never evaporate. and can age for DECADES if you wanted. (depending on the cigar)
I live in New Mexico, where it is usually very dry. I used to use a Boveda 69, but recently changed to a 65, and my smoking experience has been much better.
I live in the northeast where humidity changes alot, I use the boveda 65% packs which maintain 66 to 68 in the summer and 65 in the winter. I've also noticed since half the time they are absorbing moisture my humidipacks last waaaay longer than they say they will
I keep an open container of distilled water mixed with a touch of vodka in mine in the winter (northern central US) to keep the humidity higher, if you have room I'd try that.
I live in Singapore, it’s a very humid tropical environment so I keep my humidor at 65% RH with bovida packs (66-68 realistically) I have noticed a amazing burn as well as very pronounced flavor even compared to 72% RH
I totally agree. Like many, I am a recovering member of the 70/70 cult and just barely made it out alive. I stay right in the mid sixties (shooting for 65) and find it to be much better.
Mine also hangs around 71-72, but I’ll let my cigar “rest” or acclimate for an hour before I light it up. This works for me, and that’s what I care about. I tell everyone that my cigar smoking is for medical reasons. It relieves my anxiety.
This video is totelly on point. Such a good channel. Im 62% on the bovedas in the tupperdor. Ends up at 65 to 66%. The cigars are so much better than the higher levels experienced for years.
My grandfather’s was a 70/70 guy. But he basically used that for “storage”. He would tell me “cigars are like steaks. Get them to the temp they need to be at and then let them rest”. He would take them out of his humidor and leave them out for about hour or so to dry out a bit. It’s not enough time to get dry tot he point of cracking but dry enough to stay lit and get a good smoke from it. That’s what I do and I’m pretty happy with it. And I use a tupperdore that goes from 69-73 depending how often I open it. A
I've had less consistent burns from higher humidity. Only recently I started pushing my humidity lower. Eventually probably settle on 62% packs during summer and 65% during the winter. Less than 70% seems to be a must.
I live in the mid-Atlantic region of the a states, where it’s hot and humid in the summers & dry and cold in the winter. As a result, I hold my humidity in the summer around 66% & 71% in the winter months. This set up has not failed me yet
I live in AZ and have to smoke em outside. In the summer if my humidity is too high I notice the sticks can crack with the rapid change in temp and humidity . Personally I prefer about 65%, I try to keep em about 68 degrees but it’s largely contingent on what the temp in the house is. I’ve noticed that humidity above 70% tends to smoke bitter as well.
Coming from the upper Midwest and I discovered that also this weekend. One humidor is at 71 and one at 67 and the lower definitely smokes better with more flavor. Glad I watched this to confirm my findings.
I live on the Florida coast so the humidity is always high so I keep my humidor in my closet in a drawer (to try to help with the heat) and I use 65% boveda packs. Weirdly enough though I find that smoking a cigar in high humidity, regardless of what your stick was at when you lit up, after about an hour what’s left of your smoke will actually get pretty humid
When using my meter, I’m most happy when the cigar measures 62-64 before light up. If it measures close to 70, and I have time, I’ll dry box it until it gets to my target. Also have just changed my containers to 62% hoping that they’ll all land around 67-68. Good info, thanks!
i'm in new orleans, la where its almost always humid and can be pretty hot most of the year. i've tried 65%, 69%, and 72% and 65% burns far better here. 72% can be problematic at times.
Thanks. I'm in Cenla, so I'm gonna try this out. I've been curious about a lower humidity since Tim had Willy on, and I just got an order of boveda 65% today.
I’m also in NOLA and have encountered similar problems up near 72%, especially with longer smokes outside. I’ve been keeping around 69% and then dry boxing for up to 2 days before smoking and I’ve found that to be a great solution: my flavors are more pronounced and I have much fewer burn issues
I am a pipe maker, and pipe smoker, I haven’t smoked a cigar yet. I have purchased an acrylic humidor with a boveda pack. I’ve purchased about 7-8 cigars of different types. I can’t wait to try on on my day off! Your videos are awesome!
I've found success adjusting the humidity based in the time of year. I live in the northeast and in the summer with the high humidity I like 65% and in the winter when its dry out I like 68 or 70, so I change out the type of humidipak in my tupperdor throughout the year.
Finally!!!!!!!!! A video addressing this stupid 70/70 rule. Way to go Tim. You nailed it. I bought one those little humidity meters and it has changed everything. 60-65% is wheelhouse now.
How I found out the 70/70 rule isn’t an end-all be-all solution. I have a thermoelectric humidor, in the beginning kept around 70-72 degrees F. I used to use 72% Boveda, 320 gram packs. Ordered a box of AJ New World Toro, smoked excellent off the truck and the first few were great. Once they acclimated to my settings, they became harder to keep lit, washed out the amazing flavor that cigar has, and I put down about 3 of them maybe an inch into it because they were that bad. I live in South Carolina where humidity is always 80-90%, and through trial and error, found that cigars here like to be stored around 65-68% rh and around the same temperature. This is because once I remove the cigar from my humidor and smoke outside in the intense humidity, my cigar will gradually absorb moisture from the air and even surpass the 70% threshold. If anyone reading lives in the southeast, try storing your sticks at 65-68%, it made me understand how to best keep my cigars for this region.
Thanks for the tip. I haven't actually gotten into cigars yet but plan to soon. I've had a few and enjoyed them so I'd like to get into the hobby. I'm from Greenville, SC
That’s crazy cuz I’m not far from you and it took me about a year to figure it out and come out with the same conclusion. I store some colder at 72%. It drops humidity down because of the cold so it’s perfect. But the desktop humidor actually has the 69% and they are perfect every single time.
I love a 62- 65%RH and 53-55°F environment for my cigars. Usually a bit soft but the flavor is very consistent and decadent! Which I gleamed from the Sahakians of Davidoff of London for their humidors for decades now.
I live in the South Eastern part of Tennessee, and my 50 count glass top humidor stays roughly between 65 and 70 degrees, a happy medium would be about 68 where it is currently. I keep my humidor in my wooden desk drawer, a towel between the bottom surface of the drawer and my humidor so the coolness of the wood won’t affect the humidor’s temperature. It stays out of sunlight and the cool/warm air (depending on the season) locked away with my other tobacco smoking paraphernalia (the unending bags of pipe tobacco in zip lock bags inside other zip lock bags). I find this method to be the best for me. My cigars are firm but not hard as a rock, are squishy but not soft as a dry sponge. The smell, though, that permeates when I open the drawer is magnificent. A blend of pipe tobacco and my Spanish cedar humidor is just wonderful. No Boveda packs for me, I use the humidifier that came with the humidor, the reusable and trusty Humidifier Gel Beads that you let soak for about 5-10 minutes. I have to re-soak them every 60 or so days, and are very reliable.
Newbie here, I am using very well sealed tuppador style boxes and have 70% humidifiers of the proper number for the amount of cigars. In each box I have a Govee that has been calibrated. However, my RG is always around 68% even if I don't open them for days. I watched this video to see if that is a probem and I see that it is not. I shall carry on! Thanks Tim!
I live in the mountains of Costa Rica. And humidity here is usually around 80~85% during dry season (we don't have 4 seasons). I keep a dehumifier in my studio where I keep my humidor. Now I inherited my dad's old humidor. Mine stays in 69~70% but my dad's always 64~68%. Will have to try one cigar from each to verify. Temp is another whole story... it changes A LOT.
I've found my cigar smoking experience much improved by lowering the humidity in my humidors. For years I've kept my cigars as close to 70% as I could. Now I keep two of my humidors at 65% and a smaller 100 count humidor at 69%. My larger ring cigars (Flathead, Diamond Crown, Perdomo, Camacho, Kristoff, etc) are at their best for my taste at around 65%. I've been keeping the smaller ring Guage cigars at 69% and am experimenting with bringing some of those down to 65. So far so good.
I keep my cigars at 65 percent humidity. They get stored in my basement in an acrylic humidor and my basement maintains about 65-70 degrees all year long. Since I’ve followed your advice and bought an acrylic humidor, I’ve had zero issues.
I've always been a 70/70 guy (because I DO listen to you Tim😜) but have recently had some relight issues etc and was considering lowering it a bit. Now I'm definitely gonna. All hail Tim!!!
A friend and myself went to hamburg PA to cigar international and smoked a Liga Privada No 10 and I commented how dry they kept their cigars but man was that cigar a really good smoke! I purchased a box of #10 and few months later I smoked another Liga 10 and it didn't have as much flavor. So I decided to dry box one and the flavors returned. It's a valuable lesson to me to turn my humidity down and also dry box when I can. Try it your self 👍
I've read that some folks will do long-term storage at 70% RH, but they will keep short-term sticks in a dry box to absorb the excess humidity in order to provide that better smoking experience you mention in the video.
I keep all of my cigars in acrylic jars now (thanks for the advice Tim!). I have 9 of them stacked. Never have to worry about seasoning or humidity issues and I am able to find the sticks I want quickly. 69% Boveda pack in each one and I am set. I also use the Humidimeter on each cigar I smoke and I get a perfect 60% to 70% reading on most of my cigars.
I am now using 62% boveda packs for my Cuban cigars and now use 2 of them for only 6 cigars in a sealed glass jar, the humidity end up at 67% at 21c and same at 25c. With 68% boveda pack humidity in same jar is at 72% but with non Cuban cigars and if I take of the cellophane the humidity rises fast to 75%+++ .
I was literally just changing my humidity this past week because I felt some cigars are too mushy using the 69 Boveda. Hopefully 65 does the trick and unlocks the flavor!
Tim I Love you're shop and Chanel. I don't have anyone to smoke with so I smoke while watching you're Chanel, I received my order today and I was blown away by the care used to pack them . I Love the journal also. Thank you for holding the unicorn cigar for me. Customer for life. I use Bovida 62 in a Humidor 100 count.
A few months ago, somebody on a cigar forum recommended 67%. I decided to give it a try, and I am enjoying _all_ my cigars more than ever! That's probably because I used to be so paranoid about humidification that I kept it closer to 72%. In retrospect, that's probably why so many of my cigars had a slightly troublesome draw. I just received my first Boveda packs in the mail, and I'm excited to see what 69% will do. Either way, perhaps because of environmental factors on the Oregon Coast, it seems less is more when it comes to humidification.
I keep mine around 70/70 now, but probably for a good 10 years, my humidor was closer to around 65-66% humidity and I didn’t notice much of a difference with the cigars. I started placing a weight on the lid of my humidor more recently, and now it maintains 70% consistently.
In Texas for work, the cigars i purchased stayed in the zip lock bags the store provided for me, all i did was soak some cedar spills, roll it in a paper towel and placed it in the bags.. like a makeshift boveda. Smoked one of the cigars that was stored in such manner for weeks and i must say it burned well..
I keep ut at 66 or as low as 62 as my home in Piedmont, SC is quite humid. Used to keep them at 70 but it gave my cigars a very tight draw. I have a classic humidor with an analog hydrometer and use Boeva packs. I dont worry about temp controlled or 1000 dollar humidors...if it was good enough for Churchill then its good enough for me
I started keeping my Cuban Partagas boxes at 62%RH. Cubans have draw issues anyway, & the lower percent helps improve that. I ideally like to keep my humidor and tupperdors at 65-69%. But is harder to do with the A/C on to keep temps down to 69-70F. In cooler weather with the heater on, the humidity percentage goes down more to where I like it. And the flavors and burn are definitely better. I recently switched from boxes the bundles of cigars came in full of Ziploc bags to the tupperdors. I could then separate the Habono's, Connecticut's & Maduro's so as to keep their flavors to themselves. I'll see how that works out over fall/winter? Temps are around 70-73 with the A/C on. It'll be interesting to note the ranges in fall/winter.
I’m glad I bought a humidimeter. I’ve been playing with my humidor Rh. I’ve found that I like my boveda at 65% which keeps my tupperdor at around 65-68% when testing with the humidimeter if a cigar measures 64-66% it’s ready to smoke. Anything higher it starts tasting bad and burning bad. If it’s higher I just put it back and let it rest longer.
I use a 72 for newly purchased cigars for the first month or two because when I order them they are pretty dry. Then I move them to a 69 or 65 depending on how tight they are rolled. Buy doing this it speeds up the time a bit without risking mold. I also use an 84 to season any cigar trays before I use them. Otherwise the dry trays pull moisture from the cigars really fast.
I use 65% Boveda in my 68 degree humi. Ambient RH usually sits at 65%-68%, so I may never have to replace the Boveda packs, lol. I would probably keep the humidity a lil higher if I lived in PHX vs TPA. Good job as usual, Tim!
Being that it has only been one year for me collecting cigars. This video was very helpful. I have been using the 72 and 75 Boveda and found that my cigars are a little spongy, so I am going to try the 69 Boveda packs
I can definitely say that I enjoy my cigar much more now that I keep my humidor sitting at about 68% than I did when I kept it at 70%. It seems like such a minute difference and really it is but I feel that the burn and flavor on my sticks is way better than they used to be.
I live in Singapore, it’s a very humid tropical environment so I keep my humidor at 65% RH with bovida packs (66-68 realistically) I have noticed a amazing burn as well as very pronounced flavor even compared to 72% RH
I noticed that for me continuous variations in temp and Rh is what damages taste most. I have one of these temp controled humidors (newair type), and after lots of trials and errors I was able to keep humidity and temp stable. What was an issue at first was the bottom 1/3 of the humidor was always cooler and more humid ~2 degrees cooler and 4 Rh more humid. It turned out great: I keep boxes and long term storage at the bottom at ~70/70 and the top is for cigars I want to smoke everyday ~72/66. Works well for me.
Been smoking cigars for about 18 years. Over the years I’ve tried different humidity levels and have found I like them best between 65% to 68%. And the temperature in is usually between 72 and 75 degrees. I use 65% boveda packs and haven’t had any issues.
I still use the 70/70 rule because I believe just like when you open your humidor and loose humidity, so will your cigars. Keep your cigars at 70% and want to smoke them at lower humidity? Take them out for 15-30 minutes before smoking. Your flame also dries out your cigar a small percent. Everyone's different but this works for me.
I have noticed that I like mine it the mid 60s more than the low 70s Plus I love the bloopers at the end, I don't know if that's new or not, but keep doing it
I like to store my stuff more humid (69-70). A good smoke humidity for me is 62-68. I’ve noted that on a few cigars actually. Glad I’m not the only crazy lol. I keep most of my sticks in my bigger humidor. Keep a small 10-20 box separate with sticks you want to smoke coming up. Kind of like a curing process. Love the channel. Have greatly valued your opinion when I jumped into cigar smoking. Makes me feel better know that I’m not “ruining cigars” like some people say I’m doing by smoking them with that low of humidity.
I keep mine at 68 and they are great for me but I’m slowly moving down as I get more into cigars. I have been moving my humidor around to different rooms for temp and that has been helping out a lot also
All my coolidors, tuppidors and jars have 65% bovedas for storage. I usually keep 20-25 sticks in a desk top humidor. A 65% boveda in it maintains 60-62% rh which seems great for the cigars I smoke. Temps for everything is in the normal house range of 70-75. Live in the Midwest.
It depends on where ya live from my almost 2 decades of experience. Back home in NYC I usually kept right around 69/70 and never had much issue, though in the summer I did prefer to smoke a little lower. But when I moved to Memphis I started lowering it and dry boxing more and when I moved to Florida I started storing everything at 65% RH. I don't mind if it goes as low as 61% or as high as 66% but below 60% they can get harsh and over time lose oils and over 67% they don't burn well or taste as good. But I know people out west who store at 72% and smoke around 68% and say it works best for them. I know people in South Florida, the Caribbean, and Central and South America that don't even really mess with humidors, people in different parts of Europe who match things depending on where they are, and people in a couple different countries throughout Asia who range from low RH storage to no humidor at all. I also tend to have different preferences for different types of tobacco and from different parts of the world. I like Cubans and Nicaraguans between 60-63%, Honduran and Dominican can smoke a little higher (65-67), CT Shade leaf is fine higher while CT/PA Broadleaf and San Andres seems to burn better a little dryer, Sumatra, Habano, Criollo, and Corojo seem to depend on a lotta other factors but I generally keep em around 65%. I have 2 300ct New Airs, a 250ct DE humidor, a few 50ct Boveda Humidor Bags, couple coolers, and a grip of Tupperware style containers. I run 65% Boveda in all but the DE humidor where I run 69% to maintain low 60's RH and just stick cigars where I think they should go based on how it sits. The New Air units are for what I'm smoking now and the rest is storage that'll rotate to the New Airs as I smoke through what's in there and the New Air's tend to have some variance between the top and bottom that I use to my advantage so I can keep cigars where I think they perform best. Sounds like a complicated pain but it's really not, it's a fairly simple system that's taken me almost 20 years to nail down lol
I live in the desert of Las Vegas. Very dry. I started out jacking up the humidity of my humidor at 70-75%. Same issues...mushy not great tasting cigars. So I started dropping the humidity to 68, to 65, to 60. Below 60 I noticed they were getting a bit too dry for me and the wrapping starting drying. So 60-68 I guess is the sweet spot for me. But honestly, now I keep most of my cigars in specially designed pouches with bovida packs...works great and eliminated the maintenance and worries of my humidor.
Great video as usual! It's really humid where I live so I have always usually keep mine around 67-68 so they don't get too wet. Just found it to improve the burn and make them have a stronger flavor. I've always looked at the 70/70 as more of just a good starting point anyways.
I started smoking cigars 4 years ago and Tim was THE guy to help me get into the cigar world with as little missteps and faux pas as possible. I too thought my cigars SLIGHTLY mushy was what was to be desired. Then I went down to 69%. Then a year ago I was lucky enough to sit down with Steve Saka and Dunbarton's VP of sales for a dinner in Napa Valley and they both said 65% was ideal for most climates. I found almost ALL my cigars burn better with a lot more flavor then they used to (i still smoke a lot of the same cigars).
Always like your reviews, surely never a lack of excitement...good job. 65* and 68% is what I try to keep them, but ya have to remember when you are in/out of the humidor frequently, or add higher humidity cigars to the box, the temp and % will change drastically for a while
Humidity level is certainly a personal preference, and varies even between types of cigars; I find I like many of the fire-cured or broadleaf sticks drier than average, and certain Honduran brands much moister than average. What causes the most irritation with the 70/70 rule is that there is very, very little education around the differences between RELATIVE humidity and ABSOLUTE humidity. All our consumer devices are set to measure relative humidity, because that's what the weather reports are posted in, because that makes the biggest difference on how our skin feels... hence the heat index, etc. I don't believe your leaves care what the RELATIVE humidity is though: they care about how much moisture is actually absorbed into the leaves. This is absolute humidity, and it is measured in milligrams of water per litre of air, and is joined-at-the-hip to temperature. Take a look at the comparisons sometime: the amount of water that's in a cigar at 70/70 is the same as only 65% humidity if the temperature is 72 degrees. TWO degrees warmer and your cigar tastes the same at 65% humidity. That's how people get so confused. Tiny temperature fluctuations make massive relative humidity differences, even if you're using a Boveda. By the time your temperature gets down to 60 degrees, you cannot keep enough moisture suspended in the air to maintain the same humidity as 70/70. This really screws with your experimentation and tastings if you can't maintain exactly the same temperature. As an engineer and a cigar fan, this drives me nuts trying to compare apples and apples. What a lot of people are arguing about "70 vs 68 vs 65" is absolutely pointless (in my humble opinion) if the temperature is not known. You may all be talking about the same thing, but we don't know if we don't know room temperature. To this end, what I did that solved all my problems (at least in this one area of life) was to buy a small refrigerator, install an aftermarket thermostat in it instead, so I can set the fridge compressor to cool to 71 degrees, then installed a well-regulated heating pad in the bottom that also has its own good thermostat, at set it at 69 degrees. The two don't fight, it uses $5 of electricity a year, and maintains between 69.5 and 70.5 degrees year round, no matter what the house temperature. Then I could get multiple plastic humidors inside, each with their own Boveda packs, to finally understand exactly what a true "69 vs 72 vs 75" tastes like. It makes all the difference in the world. Most folks probably don't want to go to all that trouble, but at least be aware of just how much of a moisture variation temperature causes, when measuring in relative humidity. LOVE this channel! Thanks so much for all the content!
In my 15+ years of frequenting UA-cam and all of its ‘ness’, I have to award you with what I regard as one of the best comments I’ve ever come across. You presented an issue, added context, offered a solution, and best of all didn’t use commas for periods. I just hope you didn’t use ChatGPT! 😂 Sincerely, Former Engineer Manager / Principal Analyst
That's where I can't weigh in objectively, haha. I'm convinced I like my stuff about 5% wetter than everyone else. It's a little more work to keep lit, but I prefer the cooler, even mossier flavors to dry, hot things. To that end, I like the sungrowns/naturals/Connecticuts at 72% (given 70 degrees F), and maduros/broadleafs at 70%, as they're too tough to keep going otherwise. (And some flavored ones, like Acids may need even drier.) I've not ever had a mold problem (since they don't get above 72%). I can also tell you that only the lightest and cheapest sticks can burn at 75%. (Of course, if your temp was closer to 67 degrees, that might be exactly what you need.) It's like any other hobby; real easy to get lost in, haha.
@@kirksyoutubestuff8193 yeah man, I’ve experimented over the last couple years with it. But now that i have a cigar “coolidor fridge” temp at 70 constantly and humidity at 69/70 at all times. The flavor is just oozes from my sticks. And because the temp doesn’t fluctuate and the humidity stays the same I rarely have burn problems besides a little wavy burn that i have to fix, but bedsides that. I’m on the wetter side myself.
I live in the piedmont of NC where we have high humidity in the summer and low in the winter. I was having problems keeping my humidity at 70%. After destroying several good sticks and asking questions why my sticks were splitting and swelling up when smoked I changed to the 69 Bovid pack and doing much better may drop to the 65 and see if more improvement.
I use the biggest ball jar I can find and some cigars are in cellophane and some not - I use a humidity packet and throw a big piece of cedar in every cigar I have smoked seems so perfect. I never had a single problem.
Great video! I like to be between 65-68 Rh. The real demon I battle is temp. I thought getting a refrigerated humidor would be my salvation...nope. Even with the correct type of unit...the cooling effect still drives my Rh down into the high 50's. If they get too high on the Rh...I simply stage them for a day or too prior to smoking.
Interesting! I have one at 65°-69°, and another one that never drops below 70° for the mostpart. This had me realizing the highrer humidity humidor hasn't been smoking as well as the lower. I am gonna start playing around with this, thank you.
Once again the cigar snob high priests believe their job is to ensure they ruin cigar collecting and smoking for as many people as they can so they can keep the hobby or addiction as an exclusive good ole boys club. That is why I’m thankful for guys like you who represent this hobby so well and present cigars in a honest down to earth plus very fun way!
I live 2 hours from the coast in North Carolina and I keep my humidor on 70 degrees and use my 69 percent boveda bags and I love the way my sticks smoke!
I'm in the northeast, and found that you really need to keep your smokes on the dry side if you smoke outdoors on very humid days. Otherwise, drawing humid air through it as you smoke, will soon turn the stick into a spongy mess that you'll constantly be relighting, and not enjoying very much.
The 70/70 rule usually works with lighter cigars with darker cigars it's actually more beneficial to keep them between 60 and 68 depending on the climate
The season changes here in the new england region drive me nuts with my way too large collection. Especially during the winter when the air gets veryy dru and cold outside but very dry and hot inside with the heat on…when the AC is running its all sunshine and rainbows. But for this reason it is making me question dumping way too much money into a 1k count new fully automated coolidor unit…just to avoid the aggravation and worry of my awesome collection going to crap
100% agree. 66%-68%. I learned after keeping 70/70 that the cigars didn't taste or smoke as well at 70% humidity as the slightly lower humidity. P.S. Alex Bradley makes tasty sticks aplenty.
Hey Tim. I love your content. All my cigars i have purchased are from CD. And i have an Audew cigar cooler thing. And i have to say. I keep them with 67 humidity and 63 degrees. I have cubans mixed in in a rack (seperste) but i will lower my humidity to see if i find a better experience
Here just north of Galveston, I strive for 65% humidity in my 2 Whynter humidors. 1 for my Cubans and the other for non-Cubans (humidor on 1 side, wineador on the other). My Cubans seem to have a natural humidity since I never have had to insert any kind of moisture element. The non-Cuban humidor has 2 small containers of humidity beads. I regulate humidity by temperature - both around 63 degrees F. That works for me.
I live in Miami…right near the Everglades…so my cigars stay humid enough for my taste at 60-65%. Sometimes my humidor even drops to 58 and I’ve never had a bad cigar at that humidity point.
I live in Manhattan. I keep my Audew set at 68° which I does very well. I use two lexan boxes with cedar cedar sheets seasoned with polyethylene glycol. As it works out I have to use Boveda 58% in the boxes in order to keep the humidity in the boxes at 68% as monitored by two Govee monitors. After using successively lower humidity pack I finally was able to drop the humidity from a tot above 70% to a little above 68%. It was fun fiddling with it to get it right. In the end there is nothing like a good smoke. Cheers
I’m sorry, did you say something? I was distracted by the bottle of Jameson in the back. Seriously though I’ve learned that I get a better burn with a lower humidity. I keep 69% Boveda packs in my humidor. The analog hygrometer built into it tells me it’s closer to 70% but the digital ones I keep in both that one and my tuppidor both read closer to 65%
I just swapped to 62% boveda packs for my humidor jars. I have about 300 cigars in 10 large jars. I'm definitely enjoying the lower humidity. To be fair my jars stay around 65-67% with the 62% packs, but I expect it will creep down a bit over time.
I'm new to the game, about a month in. I use 2 60 gram Boveda 69% packs in my humidor. I have about 35 cigars inside, mostly out of the cellophane sleeves. Although I don't have any comparisons it's working for me so far. ( EDIT: I didnt realize how old this video actually was)
I am also in the lower RH camp. To damp and they taste and burn like crap. I'm in Nebraska, and with the humid summers I use the 62 Bovedas, and still have to dry box for a day or so. Dead of winter, I use 65's. My humidors are clamp top glass jars with a silicone seal. Sometimes I wonder if they are too air tight. The humidity packs last forever. A lot of variables involved, but this is where I've landed for now.
I use 2 clamp top glass jars and this summer humidity outside has been 85 -99% here in North Norway. I use now 62% boveda packs and 2 of them and still humidity stay for over a month now at 67 - 68% inside the glass car with only 6 Cuban cigars in it. It seems the boveda packs do not suck up moisture very vell. To get down to 65% humidity I have to open the jar and have at least 1cm opening. Humidity in the room have been at 55%. All summer I have had trouble with cigars being to moist and burn problems even when dry boxing for 2 days.
I don't focus so much on temperature but definitely keep my humidity at 68 to 69. Nothing worse than a wet cigar that won't stay lit. I find 70 to wet. Also a touch dryer they have better flavor.
I keep my humidor as close to 65% as possible and I enjoy my cigars at home… My favorite cigar lounge is a 70/70 guy, I’m always having to touch up my cigars when I’m there.
I store mine in a room around 17 to 19 degrees Celsius with a humidity between 72 and 77 and find my cubans and non cubans smoke far richer fresh in flavor and the smoke is softer. Never had any issues with beetles or mold. I also find that the aging of the cigar runs a better course with the higher humidity and cooler temps. ( I have aged stuff from 1 year to 7 years. It is amazing how the flavors can mature and become even better. The same cigars with less humidity in the sixties I find the opposite, the flavors change to a slight softer flavoring while the smoke gets slightly harder with sharpness.
Cigar shop worker here. I've found that most people (even ones who have smoked regularly for years) don't really know what humidity is ideal. We used to keep our humidors at 70% (we have 10 separate electronic humidity meters to monitor humidity) and we would get constant complaints of our humidors being too dry. Nowadays we keep them at about 72-73% and have a lot less complaints, but still some people who say they are too dry. We have one cabinet that has been as high as 78% (usually a point where we take drastic corrective action, but had a cigar come back for being too dry. We have yet in my 3 years of working there to have a complaint about our humidors being too wet. I really think the 70/70 thing is absurd as most people can't tell the difference. Also to have a peltier device in each cabinet to cool it would be borderline absurd for a shop, and to keep the ambient room temperature at 65 so that the LED lights warm up the cabinet to 70 degrees would mean complaints from lounge goers of the place being to cold for them. It's an almost unwinnable battle
Lost my humidor in a move. Found it 2 years and a few months later. I can confirm cigars between 20-30% don't smoke well.
Haha I wonder if you could revive a bit them by lettting them set at proper humidity for a while. I heard the flavor goes flat but maybe they at least smoke a bit better after resting properly. If you somehow see this since it’s been a year please reply I’m curious.
Should Have Rehydrated Them 👍
@@jacobrichards720I mean if you enjoy smoking paper bags lol. Bc that’s how they’d taste after losing their humidity. They can’t be revived.
@@voyagerelegance7907 ahh too bad. Ive just gotten into it and haven’t had anything dry out on me so now I don’t have to learn the hard way luckily
@@jacobrichards720 So the issue isn't just that it gets dry, then getting it wet enough again is fine. It's that when it gets dry like that, the natural oils have evaporated off as well. Like grease. When it's wet it stays wet. but if you burn it off, it doesn't just come back when it cools down. Which is why they have different operating temps. Once it's gone, it's gone. it's a phase change. had it maintained proper RH, then it would never evaporate. and can age for DECADES if you wanted. (depending on the cigar)
Bought 69% packs after a recommendation in your video… now you’re saying 65%! Ya killin me smalls!!
69 will bring it to about 68.5
65-75 percent is fine
I live in New Mexico, where it is usually very dry. I used to use a Boveda 69, but recently changed to a 65, and my smoking experience has been much better.
same here!
I live in the northeast where humidity changes alot, I use the boveda 65% packs which maintain 66 to 68 in the summer and 65 in the winter. I've also noticed since half the time they are absorbing moisture my humidipacks last waaaay longer than they say they will
I'm right there with you
I'm also in the northeast and do the same 65rh works year round
I keep an open container of distilled water mixed with a touch of vodka in mine in the winter (northern central US) to keep the humidity higher, if you have room I'd try that.
I live in Singapore, it’s a very humid tropical environment so I keep my humidor at 65% RH with bovida packs (66-68 realistically) I have noticed a amazing burn as well as very pronounced flavor even compared to 72% RH
You do know that you can recharge your boveda packs right?
I totally agree. Like many, I am a recovering member of the 70/70 cult and just barely made it out alive. I stay right in the mid sixties (shooting for 65) and find it to be much better.
Me too. I do 65/65
This makes me breath easier when I hear this.
I'm in North East Arizona in the mountains, and I keep my sticks at 65-65 and I found the burn a lot more crisp and taste is more sharp.
Mine also hangs around 71-72, but I’ll let my cigar “rest” or acclimate for an hour before I light it up. This works for me, and that’s what I care about. I tell everyone that my cigar smoking is for medical reasons. It relieves my anxiety.
This video is totelly on point. Such a good channel. Im 62% on the bovedas in the tupperdor. Ends up at 65 to 66%. The cigars are so much better than the higher levels experienced for years.
My grandfather’s was a 70/70 guy. But he basically used that for “storage”. He would tell me “cigars are like steaks. Get them to the temp they need to be at and then let them rest”. He would take them out of his humidor and leave them out for about hour or so to dry out a bit. It’s not enough time to get dry tot he point of cracking but dry enough to stay lit and get a good smoke from it. That’s what I do and I’m pretty happy with it. And I use a tupperdore that goes from 69-73 depending how often I open it. A
I've had less consistent burns from higher humidity. Only recently I started pushing my humidity lower. Eventually probably settle on 62% packs during summer and 65% during the winter. Less than 70% seems to be a must.
I store and long age my cigars at 65/65. If you want to store cigars for decades you have to. And the flavour and aroma profile is spectacular.
I started keeping all my cigars at 65% a little over a year ago. I will never go back. Better flavor and more consistent burn.
I live in the mid-Atlantic region of the a states, where it’s hot and humid in the summers & dry and cold in the winter. As a result, I hold my humidity in the summer around 66% & 71% in the winter months. This set up has not failed me yet
What humidification system are you using for season changes? Thats what i have to do but im using heartfelt beads at the moment. The 70% ones
I live in AZ and have to smoke em outside. In the summer if my humidity is too high I notice the sticks can crack with the rapid change in temp and humidity . Personally I prefer about 65%, I try to keep em about 68 degrees but it’s largely contingent on what the temp in the house is. I’ve noticed that humidity above 70% tends to smoke bitter as well.
Thanks. I live in NM so this information is helpful.
Coming from the upper Midwest and I discovered that also this weekend. One humidor is at 71 and one at 67 and the lower definitely smokes better with more flavor. Glad I watched this to confirm my findings.
I live on the Florida coast so the humidity is always high so I keep my humidor in my closet in a drawer (to try to help with the heat) and I use 65% boveda packs. Weirdly enough though I find that smoking a cigar in high humidity, regardless of what your stick was at when you lit up, after about an hour what’s left of your smoke will actually get pretty humid
When using my meter, I’m most happy when the cigar measures 62-64 before light up. If it measures close to 70, and I have time, I’ll dry box it until it gets to my target. Also have just changed my containers to 62% hoping that they’ll all land around 67-68. Good info, thanks!
thanks for using the meter Chad! Glad it helps.
@@cigarmedicsinc.-1416 thank you for the wonderful tool, it’s just as important as a cutter and lighter to me!
Do you find at the lower levels, the cigars will crackle a bit when you roll them in your fingers?
Smart man.
i'm in new orleans, la where its almost always humid and can be pretty hot most of the year. i've tried 65%, 69%, and 72% and 65% burns far better here. 72% can be problematic at times.
Thanks. I'm in Cenla, so I'm gonna try this out. I've been curious about a lower humidity since Tim had Willy on, and I just got an order of boveda 65% today.
I’m also in NOLA and have encountered similar problems up near 72%, especially with longer smokes outside. I’ve been keeping around 69% and then dry boxing for up to 2 days before smoking and I’ve found that to be a great solution: my flavors are more pronounced and I have much fewer burn issues
Also in New Orleans. Keep my humidor at about 63-65%. Hope you made out well also
@@justinragland9133 Also from NOLA too. Hope you made out well and I also try to keep my Humidity in the 60's
I am a pipe maker, and pipe smoker, I haven’t smoked a cigar yet. I have purchased an acrylic humidor with a boveda pack. I’ve purchased about 7-8 cigars of different types. I can’t wait to try on on my day off! Your videos are awesome!
Very similar to my journey. Using a large mason jar with a pack. Been a good experience but I sure do love smoking the tobacco pipe
I've found success adjusting the humidity based in the time of year. I live in the northeast and in the summer with the high humidity I like 65% and in the winter when its dry out I like 68 or 70, so I change out the type of humidipak in my tupperdor throughout the year.
Finally!!!!!!!!! A video addressing this stupid 70/70 rule. Way to go Tim. You nailed it. I bought one those little humidity meters and it has changed everything. 60-65% is wheelhouse now.
agreed
thank you impresario. We appreciate that you use it to improve your experiences.
How I found out the 70/70 rule isn’t an end-all be-all solution. I have a thermoelectric humidor, in the beginning kept around 70-72 degrees F. I used to use 72% Boveda, 320 gram packs. Ordered a box of AJ New World Toro, smoked excellent off the truck and the first few were great. Once they acclimated to my settings, they became harder to keep lit, washed out the amazing flavor that cigar has, and I put down about 3 of them maybe an inch into it because they were that bad. I live in South Carolina where humidity is always 80-90%, and through trial and error, found that cigars here like to be stored around 65-68% rh and around the same temperature. This is because once I remove the cigar from my humidor and smoke outside in the intense humidity, my cigar will gradually absorb moisture from the air and even surpass the 70% threshold. If anyone reading lives in the southeast, try storing your sticks at 65-68%, it made me understand how to best keep my cigars for this region.
Thanks for the tip. I haven't actually gotten into cigars yet but plan to soon. I've had a few and enjoyed them so I'd like to get into the hobby. I'm from Greenville, SC
@@RonaldMSalyer Right on!
That’s crazy cuz I’m not far from you and it took me about a year to figure it out and come out with the same conclusion. I store some colder at 72%. It drops humidity down because of the cold so it’s perfect. But the desktop humidor actually has the 69% and they are perfect every single time.
I love a 62- 65%RH and 53-55°F environment for my cigars. Usually a bit soft but the flavor is very consistent and decadent! Which I gleamed from the Sahakians of Davidoff of London for their humidors for decades now.
That’s where might sit 65-68% RH and 55 ish
Absolutely. Here in Pa . I find mine is kept 67% to 69% works for me. Well done. Keep em burning and blessings from Gettysburg….
I live in the South Eastern part of Tennessee, and my 50 count glass top humidor stays roughly between 65 and 70 degrees, a happy medium would be about 68 where it is currently. I keep my humidor in my wooden desk drawer, a towel between the bottom surface of the drawer and my humidor so the coolness of the wood won’t affect the humidor’s temperature. It stays out of sunlight and the cool/warm air (depending on the season) locked away with my other tobacco smoking paraphernalia (the unending bags of pipe tobacco in zip lock bags inside other zip lock bags). I find this method to be the best for me. My cigars are firm but not hard as a rock, are squishy but not soft as a dry sponge. The smell, though, that permeates when I open the drawer is magnificent. A blend of pipe tobacco and my Spanish cedar humidor is just wonderful. No Boveda packs for me, I use the humidifier that came with the humidor, the reusable and trusty Humidifier Gel Beads that you let soak for about 5-10 minutes. I have to re-soak them every 60 or so days, and are very reliable.
Newbie here, I am using very well sealed tuppador style boxes and have 70% humidifiers of the proper number for the amount of cigars. In each box I have a Govee that has been calibrated. However, my RG is always around 68% even if I don't open them for days. I watched this video to see if that is a probem and I see that it is not. I shall carry on! Thanks Tim!
I live in the mountains of Costa Rica. And humidity here is usually around 80~85% during dry season (we don't have 4 seasons). I keep a dehumifier in my studio where I keep my humidor. Now I inherited my dad's old humidor. Mine stays in 69~70% but my dad's always 64~68%. Will have to try one cigar from each to verify. Temp is another whole story... it changes A LOT.
I've found my cigar smoking experience much improved by lowering the humidity in my humidors. For years I've kept my cigars as close to 70% as I could. Now I keep two of my humidors at 65% and a smaller 100 count humidor at 69%. My larger ring cigars (Flathead, Diamond Crown, Perdomo, Camacho, Kristoff, etc) are at their best for my taste at around 65%. I've been keeping the smaller ring Guage cigars at 69% and am experimenting with bringing some of those down to 65. So far so good.
I keep my cigars at 65 percent humidity. They get stored in my basement in an acrylic humidor and my basement maintains about 65-70 degrees all year long. Since I’ve followed your advice and bought an acrylic humidor, I’ve had zero issues.
I've always been a 70/70 guy (because I DO listen to you Tim😜) but have recently had some relight issues etc and was considering lowering it a bit. Now I'm definitely gonna. All hail Tim!!!
65-70 is perfect. Any less any your wrapper will eventually be a bit brittle
A friend and myself went to hamburg PA to cigar international and smoked a Liga Privada No 10 and I commented how dry they kept their cigars but man was that cigar a really good smoke! I purchased a box of #10 and few months later I smoked another Liga 10 and it didn't have as much flavor. So I decided to dry box one and the flavors returned. It's a valuable lesson to me to turn my humidity down and also dry box when I can. Try it your self 👍
I've read that some folks will do long-term storage at 70% RH, but they will keep short-term sticks in a dry box to absorb the excess humidity in order to provide that better smoking experience you mention in the video.
Agreed. Had a bad experience w a cigar being kept by a 69 boveda, completely changed my mind about higher humidity levels
Re your intro - the real cigar geeks know that’s not a hard and fast rule. Keep up the good work!
Am using Humidimeter myself. It’s made life so easy. Excellent product.
I keep all of my cigars in acrylic jars now (thanks for the advice Tim!). I have 9 of them stacked. Never have to worry about seasoning or humidity issues and I am able to find the sticks I want quickly. 69% Boveda pack in each one and I am set. I also use the Humidimeter on each cigar I smoke and I get a perfect 60% to 70% reading on most of my cigars.
Acrilic jars stay at a rock solid 65% with a boveda.
I am now using 62% boveda packs for my Cuban cigars and now use 2 of them for only 6 cigars in a sealed glass jar, the humidity end up at 67% at 21c and same at 25c. With 68% boveda pack humidity in same jar is at 72% but with non Cuban cigars and if I take of the cellophane the humidity rises fast to 75%+++ .
I was literally just changing my humidity this past week because I felt some cigars are too mushy using the 69 Boveda. Hopefully 65 does the trick and unlocks the flavor!
Agree. The 69% bovedas are just to high for me, especially in a tupperdor. 62% or 65% bovedas for the win
Tim I Love you're shop and Chanel. I don't have anyone to smoke with so I smoke while watching you're Chanel, I received my order today and I was blown away by the care used to pack them . I Love the journal also. Thank you for holding the unicorn cigar for me. Customer for life. I use Bovida 62 in a Humidor 100 count.
A few months ago, somebody on a cigar forum recommended 67%. I decided to give it a try, and I am enjoying _all_ my cigars more than ever! That's probably because I used to be so paranoid about humidification that I kept it closer to 72%. In retrospect, that's probably why so many of my cigars had a slightly troublesome draw. I just received my first Boveda packs in the mail, and I'm excited to see what 69% will do. Either way, perhaps because of environmental factors on the Oregon Coast, it seems less is more when it comes to humidification.
I keep mine around 70/70 now, but probably for a good 10 years, my humidor was closer to around 65-66% humidity and I didn’t notice much of a difference with the cigars. I started placing a weight on the lid of my humidor more recently, and now it maintains 70% consistently.
In Texas for work, the cigars i purchased stayed in the zip lock bags the store provided for me, all i did was soak some cedar spills, roll it in a paper towel and placed it in the bags.. like a makeshift boveda. Smoked one of the cigars that was stored in such manner for weeks and i must say it burned well..
I keep ut at 66 or as low as 62 as my home in Piedmont, SC is quite humid. Used to keep them at 70 but it gave my cigars a very tight draw. I have a classic humidor with an analog hydrometer and use Boeva packs. I dont worry about temp controlled or 1000 dollar humidors...if it was good enough for Churchill then its good enough for me
I completely agree with you on smoking cigars with lower humidity. For me 65% is the sweet spot.
OMG😂 The ending of this video was hilarious. Great stuff made my weekend. Thanks bro.
I started keeping my Cuban Partagas boxes at 62%RH. Cubans have draw issues anyway, & the lower percent helps improve that. I ideally like to keep my humidor and tupperdors at 65-69%. But is harder to do with the A/C on to keep temps down to 69-70F. In cooler weather with the heater on, the humidity percentage goes down more to where I like it. And the flavors and burn are definitely better. I recently switched from boxes the bundles of cigars came in full of Ziploc bags to the tupperdors. I could then separate the Habono's, Connecticut's & Maduro's so as to keep their flavors to themselves. I'll see how that works out over fall/winter? Temps are around 70-73 with the A/C on. It'll be interesting to note the ranges in fall/winter.
I’m glad I bought a humidimeter. I’ve been playing with my humidor Rh. I’ve found that I like my boveda at 65% which keeps my tupperdor at around 65-68% when testing with the humidimeter if a cigar measures 64-66% it’s ready to smoke. Anything higher it starts tasting bad and burning bad. If it’s higher I just put it back and let it rest longer.
We're glad your using the meter to help you get more out of your smokes!
I use a 72 for newly purchased cigars for the first month or two because when I order them they are pretty dry. Then I move them to a 69 or 65 depending on how tight they are rolled. Buy doing this it speeds up the time a bit without risking mold. I also use an 84 to season any cigar trays before I use them. Otherwise the dry trays pull moisture from the cigars really fast.
I use 65% Boveda in my 68 degree humi. Ambient RH usually sits at 65%-68%, so I may never have to replace the Boveda packs, lol.
I would probably keep the humidity a lil higher if I lived in PHX vs TPA.
Good job as usual, Tim!
That's what I've switched to. My humidor sat at 72/73 with 69% Boveda packs.
Being that it has only been one year for me collecting cigars. This video was very helpful. I have been using the 72 and 75 Boveda and found that my cigars are a little spongy, so I am going to try the 69 Boveda packs
I can definitely say that I enjoy my cigar much more now that I keep my humidor sitting at about 68% than I did when I kept it at 70%. It seems like such a minute difference and really it is but I feel that the burn and flavor on my sticks is way better than they used to be.
I live in Singapore, it’s a very humid tropical environment so I keep my humidor at 65% RH with bovida packs (66-68 realistically) I have noticed a amazing burn as well as very pronounced flavor even compared to 72% RH
I noticed that for me continuous variations in temp and Rh is what damages taste most.
I have one of these temp controled humidors (newair type), and after lots of trials and errors I was able to keep humidity and temp stable. What was an issue at first was the bottom 1/3 of the humidor was always cooler and more humid ~2 degrees cooler and 4 Rh more humid. It turned out great: I keep boxes and long term storage at the bottom at ~70/70 and the top is for cigars I want to smoke everyday ~72/66. Works well for me.
Great advice!
I have a small desktop wood humidor (25-50) and use 69% Boveda packs (2) and the humidity is usually around 65% - 67% and really enjoy my smokes.
Been smoking cigars for about 18 years. Over the years I’ve tried different humidity levels and have found I like them best between 65% to 68%. And the temperature in is usually between 72 and 75 degrees. I use 65% boveda packs and haven’t had any issues.
I still use the 70/70 rule because I believe just like when you open your humidor and loose humidity, so will your cigars. Keep your cigars at 70% and want to smoke them at lower humidity? Take them out for 15-30 minutes before smoking. Your flame also dries out your cigar a small percent. Everyone's different but this works for me.
I have noticed that I like mine it the mid 60s more than the low 70s
Plus I love the bloopers at the end, I don't know if that's new or not, but keep doing it
I like to store my stuff more humid (69-70). A good smoke humidity for me is 62-68. I’ve noted that on a few cigars actually. Glad I’m not the only crazy lol. I keep most of my sticks in my bigger humidor. Keep a small 10-20 box separate with sticks you want to smoke coming up. Kind of like a curing process. Love the channel. Have greatly valued your opinion when I jumped into cigar smoking. Makes me feel better know that I’m not “ruining cigars” like some people say I’m doing by smoking them with that low of humidity.
I keep mine at 68 and they are great for me but I’m slowly moving down as I get more into cigars. I have been moving my humidor around to different rooms for temp and that has been helping out a lot also
I know this is an older video but thanks for the bloopers! I needed a good little laugh today
All my coolidors, tuppidors and jars have 65% bovedas for storage. I usually keep 20-25 sticks in a desk top humidor. A 65% boveda in it maintains 60-62% rh which seems great for the cigars I smoke. Temps for everything is in the normal house range of 70-75. Live in the Midwest.
It depends on where ya live from my almost 2 decades of experience.
Back home in NYC I usually kept right around 69/70 and never had much issue, though in the summer I did prefer to smoke a little lower.
But when I moved to Memphis I started lowering it and dry boxing more and when I moved to Florida I started storing everything at 65% RH.
I don't mind if it goes as low as 61% or as high as 66% but below 60% they can get harsh and over time lose oils and over 67% they don't burn well or taste as good.
But I know people out west who store at 72% and smoke around 68% and say it works best for them. I know people in South Florida, the Caribbean, and Central and South America that don't even really mess with humidors, people in different parts of Europe who match things depending on where they are, and people in a couple different countries throughout Asia who range from low RH storage to no humidor at all.
I also tend to have different preferences for different types of tobacco and from different parts of the world. I like Cubans and Nicaraguans between 60-63%, Honduran and Dominican can smoke a little higher (65-67), CT Shade leaf is fine higher while CT/PA Broadleaf and San Andres seems to burn better a little dryer, Sumatra, Habano, Criollo, and Corojo seem to depend on a lotta other factors but I generally keep em around 65%.
I have 2 300ct New Airs, a 250ct DE humidor, a few 50ct Boveda Humidor Bags, couple coolers, and a grip of Tupperware style containers. I run 65% Boveda in all but the DE humidor where I run 69% to maintain low 60's RH and just stick cigars where I think they should go based on how it sits. The New Air units are for what I'm smoking now and the rest is storage that'll rotate to the New Airs as I smoke through what's in there and the New Air's tend to have some variance between the top and bottom that I use to my advantage so I can keep cigars where I think they perform best.
Sounds like a complicated pain but it's really not, it's a fairly simple system that's taken me almost 20 years to nail down lol
The best part of this vid is that you’ve finally started pronouncing Boveda correctly 😃
I live in the desert of Las Vegas. Very dry. I started out jacking up the humidity of my humidor at 70-75%. Same issues...mushy not great tasting cigars. So I started dropping the humidity to 68, to 65, to 60. Below 60 I noticed they were getting a bit too dry for me and the wrapping starting drying. So 60-68 I guess is the sweet spot for me. But honestly, now I keep most of my cigars in specially designed pouches with bovida packs...works great and eliminated the maintenance and worries of my humidor.
Great video as usual! It's really humid where I live so I have always usually keep mine around 67-68 so they don't get too wet. Just found it to improve the burn and make them have a stronger flavor. I've always looked at the 70/70 as more of just a good starting point anyways.
I started smoking cigars 4 years ago and Tim was THE guy to help me get into the cigar world with as little missteps and faux pas as possible. I too thought my cigars SLIGHTLY mushy was what was to be desired. Then I went down to 69%. Then a year ago I was lucky enough to sit down with Steve Saka and Dunbarton's VP of sales for a dinner in Napa Valley and they both said 65% was ideal for most climates. I found almost ALL my cigars burn better with a lot more flavor then they used to (i still smoke a lot of the same cigars).
Always like your reviews, surely never a lack of excitement...good job.
65* and 68% is what I try to keep them, but ya have to remember when you are in/out of the humidor frequently, or add higher humidity cigars to the box, the temp and % will change drastically for a while
Humidity level is certainly a personal preference, and varies even between types of cigars; I find I like many of the fire-cured or broadleaf sticks drier than average, and certain Honduran brands much moister than average. What causes the most irritation with the 70/70 rule is that there is very, very little education around the differences between RELATIVE humidity and ABSOLUTE humidity. All our consumer devices are set to measure relative humidity, because that's what the weather reports are posted in, because that makes the biggest difference on how our skin feels... hence the heat index, etc. I don't believe your leaves care what the RELATIVE humidity is though: they care about how much moisture is actually absorbed into the leaves. This is absolute humidity, and it is measured in milligrams of water per litre of air, and is joined-at-the-hip to temperature. Take a look at the comparisons sometime: the amount of water that's in a cigar at 70/70 is the same as only 65% humidity if the temperature is 72 degrees. TWO degrees warmer and your cigar tastes the same at 65% humidity. That's how people get so confused. Tiny temperature fluctuations make massive relative humidity differences, even if you're using a Boveda. By the time your temperature gets down to 60 degrees, you cannot keep enough moisture suspended in the air to maintain the same humidity as 70/70. This really screws with your experimentation and tastings if you can't maintain exactly the same temperature. As an engineer and a cigar fan, this drives me nuts trying to compare apples and apples. What a lot of people are arguing about "70 vs 68 vs 65" is absolutely pointless (in my humble opinion) if the temperature is not known. You may all be talking about the same thing, but we don't know if we don't know room temperature. To this end, what I did that solved all my problems (at least in this one area of life) was to buy a small refrigerator, install an aftermarket thermostat in it instead, so I can set the fridge compressor to cool to 71 degrees, then installed a well-regulated heating pad in the bottom that also has its own good thermostat, at set it at 69 degrees. The two don't fight, it uses $5 of electricity a year, and maintains between 69.5 and 70.5 degrees year round, no matter what the house temperature. Then I could get multiple plastic humidors inside, each with their own Boveda packs, to finally understand exactly what a true "69 vs 72 vs 75" tastes like. It makes all the difference in the world. Most folks probably don't want to go to all that trouble, but at least be aware of just how much of a moisture variation temperature causes, when measuring in relative humidity. LOVE this channel! Thanks so much for all the content!
In my 15+ years of frequenting UA-cam and all of its ‘ness’, I have to award you with what I regard as one of the best comments I’ve ever come across. You presented an issue, added context, offered a solution, and best of all didn’t use commas for periods.
I just hope you didn’t use ChatGPT! 😂
Sincerely,
Former Engineer Manager / Principal Analyst
So out of the three rh’s at a consistent temp, what was the best in your opinion?
That's where I can't weigh in objectively, haha. I'm convinced I like my stuff about 5% wetter than everyone else. It's a little more work to keep lit, but I prefer the cooler, even mossier flavors to dry, hot things. To that end, I like the sungrowns/naturals/Connecticuts at 72% (given 70 degrees F), and maduros/broadleafs at 70%, as they're too tough to keep going otherwise. (And some flavored ones, like Acids may need even drier.) I've not ever had a mold problem (since they don't get above 72%). I can also tell you that only the lightest and cheapest sticks can burn at 75%. (Of course, if your temp was closer to 67 degrees, that might be exactly what you need.) It's like any other hobby; real easy to get lost in, haha.
@@kirksyoutubestuff8193 yeah man, I’ve experimented over the last couple years with it. But now that i have a cigar “coolidor fridge” temp at 70 constantly and humidity at 69/70 at all times. The flavor is just oozes from my sticks. And because the temp doesn’t fluctuate and the humidity stays the same I rarely have burn problems besides a little wavy burn that i have to fix, but bedsides that. I’m on the wetter side myself.
Thank you Kirk for this!
I live in the piedmont of NC where we have high humidity in the summer and low in the winter. I was having problems keeping my humidity at 70%. After destroying several good sticks and asking questions why my sticks were splitting and swelling up when smoked I changed to the 69 Bovid pack and doing much better may drop to the 65 and see if more improvement.
Great video, this will help leased my OCD. 🤣🤣
I use the biggest ball jar I can find and some cigars are in cellophane and some not - I use a humidity packet and throw a big piece of cedar in every cigar I have smoked seems so perfect. I never had a single problem.
I live in NC along the ocean and I have recently changed to 65% and I’m really enjoying my cigars a lot more!
Great video! I like to be between 65-68 Rh. The real demon I battle is temp. I thought getting a refrigerated humidor would be my salvation...nope. Even with the correct type of unit...the cooling effect still drives my Rh down into the high 50's. If they get too high on the Rh...I simply stage them for a day or too prior to smoking.
Interesting! I have one at 65°-69°, and another one that never drops below 70° for the mostpart. This had me realizing the highrer humidity humidor hasn't been smoking as well as the lower.
I am gonna start playing around with this, thank you.
All good information. Definitely love the blooper reel at the end.
Once again the cigar snob high priests believe their job is to ensure they ruin cigar collecting and smoking for as many people as they can so they can keep the hobby or addiction as an exclusive good ole boys club. That is why I’m thankful for guys like you who represent this hobby so well and present cigars in a honest down to earth plus very fun way!
I live 2 hours from the coast in North Carolina and I keep my humidor on 70 degrees and use my 69 percent boveda bags and I love the way my sticks smoke!
I'm in the northeast, and found that you really need to keep your smokes on the dry side if you smoke outdoors on very humid days. Otherwise, drawing humid air through it as you smoke, will soon turn the stick into a spongy mess that you'll constantly be relighting, and not enjoying very much.
The 70/70 rule usually works with lighter cigars with darker cigars it's actually more beneficial to keep them between 60 and 68 depending on the climate
The season changes here in the new england region drive me nuts with my way too large collection. Especially during the winter when the air gets veryy dru and cold outside but very dry and hot inside with the heat on…when the AC is running its all sunshine and rainbows. But for this reason it is making me question dumping way too much money into a 1k count new fully automated coolidor unit…just to avoid the aggravation and worry of my awesome collection going to crap
100% agree. 66%-68%. I learned after keeping 70/70 that the cigars didn't taste or smoke as well at 70% humidity as the slightly lower humidity.
P.S. Alex Bradley makes tasty sticks aplenty.
New smoker My humidor sits at 67-68%.
After my stogies were in for a couple weeks it was incredible the difference from the first few I smoked
Hey Tim. I love your content. All my cigars i have purchased are from CD. And i have an Audew cigar cooler thing. And i have to say. I keep them with 67 humidity and 63 degrees. I have cubans mixed in in a rack (seperste) but i will lower my humidity to see if i find a better experience
Here just north of Galveston, I strive for 65% humidity in my 2 Whynter humidors. 1 for my Cubans and the other for non-Cubans (humidor on 1 side, wineador on the other). My Cubans seem to have a natural humidity since I never have had to insert any kind of moisture element. The non-Cuban humidor has 2 small containers of humidity beads. I regulate humidity by temperature - both around 63 degrees F. That works for me.
That AB is a really good smoke. Highly encourage anyone who hasn't had one, go try one. You will thank yourself for it.
I keep mine at 65 perfect smokes great 👍
I live in Miami…right near the Everglades…so my cigars stay humid enough for my taste at 60-65%. Sometimes my humidor even drops to 58 and I’ve never had a bad cigar at that humidity point.
I live in Manhattan. I keep my Audew set at 68° which I does very well. I use two lexan boxes with cedar cedar sheets seasoned with polyethylene glycol. As it works out I have to use Boveda 58% in the boxes in order to keep the humidity in the boxes at 68% as monitored by two Govee monitors. After using successively lower humidity pack I finally was able to drop the humidity from a tot above 70% to a little above 68%. It was fun fiddling with it to get it right. In the end there is nothing like a good smoke.
Cheers
I’m sorry, did you say something? I was distracted by the bottle of Jameson in the back.
Seriously though I’ve learned that I get a better burn with a lower humidity. I keep 69% Boveda packs in my humidor. The analog hygrometer built into it tells me it’s closer to 70% but the digital ones I keep in both that one and my tuppidor both read closer to 65%
I just swapped to 62% boveda packs for my humidor jars. I have about 300 cigars in 10 large jars. I'm definitely enjoying the lower humidity. To be fair my jars stay around 65-67% with the 62% packs, but I expect it will creep down a bit over time.
I'm new to the game, about a month in. I use 2 60 gram Boveda 69% packs in my humidor. I have about 35 cigars inside, mostly out of the cellophane sleeves. Although I don't have any comparisons it's working for me so far. ( EDIT: I didnt realize how old this video actually was)
Tim love the subject. Thanks for your video. I do not smoke Cubans.
I love 65% 67 sometimes I also let it sit out.
This makes me feel better about my humidor that seems to lose a few % than the 72% Boveda pack I put in it!
I am also in the lower RH camp. To damp and they taste and burn like crap. I'm in Nebraska, and with the humid summers I use the 62 Bovedas, and still have to dry box for a day or so. Dead of winter, I use 65's. My humidors are clamp top glass jars with a silicone seal. Sometimes I wonder if they are too air tight. The humidity packs last forever. A lot of variables involved, but this is where I've landed for now.
I use 2 clamp top glass jars and this summer humidity outside has been 85 -99% here in North Norway. I use now 62% boveda packs and 2 of them and still humidity stay for over a month now at 67 - 68% inside the glass car with only 6 Cuban cigars in it. It seems the boveda packs do not suck up moisture very vell. To get down to 65% humidity I have to open the jar and have at least 1cm opening. Humidity in the room have been at 55%. All summer I have had trouble with cigars being to moist and burn problems even when dry boxing for 2 days.
I don't focus so much on temperature but definitely keep my humidity at 68 to 69. Nothing worse than a wet cigar that won't stay lit. I find 70 to wet. Also a touch dryer they have better flavor.
I keep my humidor as close to 65% as possible and I enjoy my cigars at home…
My favorite cigar lounge is a 70/70 guy, I’m always having to touch up my cigars when I’m there.
65-67 have been money for me! I usually will keep a smoke in my humidor for 3-12 months before lighting! They just seem to really get better that way
I store mine in a room around 17 to 19 degrees Celsius with a humidity between 72 and 77 and find my cubans and non cubans smoke far richer fresh in flavor and the smoke is softer. Never had any issues with beetles or mold. I also find that the aging of the cigar runs a better course with the higher humidity and cooler temps. ( I have aged stuff from 1 year to 7 years. It is amazing how the flavors can mature and become even better. The same cigars with less humidity in the sixties I find the opposite, the flavors change to a slight softer flavoring while the smoke gets slightly harder with sharpness.
Cigar shop worker here. I've found that most people (even ones who have smoked regularly for years) don't really know what humidity is ideal. We used to keep our humidors at 70% (we have 10 separate electronic humidity meters to monitor humidity) and we would get constant complaints of our humidors being too dry. Nowadays we keep them at about 72-73% and have a lot less complaints, but still some people who say they are too dry. We have one cabinet that has been as high as 78% (usually a point where we take drastic corrective action, but had a cigar come back for being too dry. We have yet in my 3 years of working there to have a complaint about our humidors being too wet. I really think the 70/70 thing is absurd as most people can't tell the difference. Also to have a peltier device in each cabinet to cool it would be borderline absurd for a shop, and to keep the ambient room temperature at 65 so that the LED lights warm up the cabinet to 70 degrees would mean complaints from lounge goers of the place being to cold for them. It's an almost unwinnable battle
I am living in Charleston SC here in summer humidity is around 80%. But I keep it my cigar 68% humidity and 72°F in cedar humidors
Montréal Canada 🇨🇦. I find around 65% seems to give best flavour without compromising burn or having the wrapper dry out.