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Thanks guys, just posted my first review. I enjoyed the smoking (of course) but I also really enjoyed taking the time to focus on the cigar and what I was tasting and experiencing.

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Nice link.... to the "Refining your palate" thread. :r

Re: Beginner Questions (Ask Them Here!)
 

Haha, wow thanks for noticing that. In my review I link to the "Refining" thread and must have mixed up the two links. My real first review is here.

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I have a question about Boveda humidity packs. Do you think they are enough on their own for a desktop?
They seem to work pretty well, I like that if I go on a weekend trip I can just put one in a container w/ my sticks.

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A weekend wont matter one way or another. If your humidor has a decent seal it should last for several weeks without any humidification. Most here use humidity beads, I prefer 65% beads from Heartfelt Industries. 1-2oz's is enough for most 100-150ct humidors, they only need to be recharged once every month or two. Even if your cigars drop to 50-55% for a short time it wont make a big difference in the long run. Cigars are much tougher than most think.

If you have a Boveda pack throwing it in your humidor while you are away will help. What is your main source of humidification? If you using a sponge with PG solution, I would change to beads as soon as possible. :2

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I use beads in my coolers and boveda packs in my desktops. No issues. When they get hard, I replace them.

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The Boveda packs are my main source. I use 4 69% packs, and it stays @ 67%. I have been pretty happy so far (about 6 weeks), I was wondering if there is maybe some downside I did'nt consider.

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Do you use them like a blanket, off to the sides or attached to the top?

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Love the avitar! "you wanna roll with The Patroit!?"

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Absolutely no reason to throw them away. They say that they cannot be recharged but this is not true. Put the dried out pack in a tupperware container with a small sponge(or piece of a sponge) moistened with distilled water. After 3 or 4 days the Boveda pack should be recharged and ready to use again.

Regarding the disadvantages of only using Boveda packs. They do not absorb moisture as quickly as beads, nor do they have the holding capacity. Boveda packs are a short term solution while beads are long term. :2

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Bob is wise. :)

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To add to that...

Don't wait until the pack is crunchy or this might not work.

If you catch the pack when it is just getting thin, you're fine and it'll pump back up quickly.

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I just put a pack up top and a pack down below. I use 70% and that's just about where it stays.

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I never knew that. Thanks Brother. You just saved me some serious cash in the future. Much appreciated.

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I keep having to re-light my cigar. Does this have something to do with the cigar itself or with how I'm lighting it? I've watched countless videos on how to light a cigar and think I'm doing it correctly.

Please advise this newbie!

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So I'm heading down to Key West for my honeymoon and can't wait to get some of the cigars down there. I'm hearing there are a bunch of places that roll them right in front of you.
My question is, do you have to let these "age" or can you smoke them right way? I think that I'd go crazy waiting to smoke them if I had to!!

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Most likely its the cigar, it may be too wet.

What many here do is store our cigars at 60-65% rH instead of 70% and this eliminates most of the burn and relighting issues.

A quick fix is to let the cigar "drybox" for a day or two before smoking it. Place the cigar in a unhumidified box for a day or two and it will dry it out enough to smoke.

Another issue I have sometimes is the humidity in the air. I smoke outside a good bit and in GA during the summers it can get a bit humid causing my smokes to not want to stay lit. When this happens I just put up with the relighting, what other choice do I have.

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I'm in Indiana and it's been really humid here. I don't have a humidor yet and thought I'd better smoke what I bought last week before they degrade.

Here is another question. I get the humidor 70% thing but what about temps? I don't have A/C and sometimes it gets pretty darn hot here. Is it ever better to move the humidor into the fridge on a really hot day??

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Typically a bad light will cause an uneven burn more than it will cause the cigar to go out. You want to light the entire foot fairly evenly and you should be fine. Lighting only a tiny corner, yeah, that could go out easily on you.

Probably more to do with the ambient humidity where you are and how moist the cigar is.

What are you keeping your humidors at?

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You can smoke fresh rolled cigars. Sometimes they are good to go, sometimes they need time. There really is no set rule.

A lot of it depends on how much age the leaves have before they were rolled. Also, depending on how moist the roller made the leaves when bunching, you mgiht run into a physical burn issue when trying to smoke them fresh.

Buy five. Smoke one. That will tell you right there about that particular cigar blend/size.