Chinese Made Humidor Or Not

[LPFerrante]

A little background, I came back to cigars in 2016.

After I decided I would stay a while, I bought a desk top Chinese made humidor. I battled with that thing for months and couldn't get it to hold RH above 64. This was using Boveda and then beads. Finally, I bought a higher priced humidor. I seasoned it and never looked back.

I just wanted to know your take on the let's call them budget friendly humidors.

[icehog3]

You get what you pay for.

Only sometimes you don't.

[LPFerrante]

Originally Posted by icehog3

You get what you pay for.

Only sometimes you don't.

Have to agree on that.

As soon as I setup the new humi, all fine.

But I'd be glad to hear how others faired with Asian made,

[kgoings]

My firs time around I started with a desktop Chinese made humi, then I moved to a Vinotemp that was wonderful...till it died lmao. Doing a cooler-dor this time.

[Chainsaw13]

I used to have nice desktops, cheap desktops, cheap cabinet. All did fairly well jobs, but best bang for the buck has been my coolidors. Just use adequate enough amount of HCM beads and I'm all set.

[LPFerrante]

Originally Posted by kgoings

My firs time around I started with a desktop Chinese made humi, then I moved to a Vinotemp that was wonderful...till it died lmao. Doing a cooler-dor this time.

Yes, it seems to be the situation dictates the need.

[LPFerrante]

Originally Posted by Chainsaw13

I used to have nice desktops, cheap desktops, cheap cabinet. All did fairly well jobs, but best bang for the buck has been my coolidors. Just use adequate enough amount of HCM beads and I'm all set.

IMHO, it's the best set it and forget it solution.

[Wharf Rat]

My experience is that most wood humidors just don’t remain that airtight. This is true regardless of cost. I’ve had 4 or 5 wood humidors over the years and only one holds moisture reliably (a cheap one). It only takes a minute amount of warpage or swelling to make a wood box leak.

It’s fine to have a nice wood humidors to temporarily store some cigars in the smoking room. But, a coolerdor is what you want over time.

Before I get jumped on, some folks have large humidors with active control of the humidity. This can overpower the leaks. My comments are about humidors with passive humidification, like beads.

[LPFerrante]

Originally Posted by Wharf Rat

My experience is that most wood humidors just don’t remain that airtight. This is true regardless of cost. I’ve had 4 or 5 wood humidors over the years and only one holds moisture reliably (a cheap one). It only takes a minute amount of warpage or swelling to make a wood box leak.

It’s fine to have a nice wood humidors to temporarily store some cigars in the smoking room. But, a coolerdor is what you want over time.

Before I get jumped on, some folks have large humidors with active control of the humidity. This can overpower the leaks. My comments are about humidors with passive humidification, like beads.

I would agree on this too. Once you get over 100 cigars, an active humidification system, like a winedor, is best.

[Gabe215]

My igloo has been my go to for 7 years now and never had any issues

[Tio Gato]

Stacks of coolidors for me. So easy and not as fickle during the changing seasons.
However I do have one cheapo humi that works well. Better than some of the more pricey ones I've tried.

I guess my point is go with whatever keeps those babies aging nicely. Good luck.

[longknocker]

Originally Posted by kgoings

My firs time around I started with a desktop Chinese made humi, then I moved to a Vinotemp that was wonderful...till it died lmao. Doing a cooler-dor this time.

Cooler-dors Are My Go To, Also. I Have 6 Nice Various Sized Custom Made Wooden Humidors, But My Cooler-dors Are Much Easier To Maintain RH.

[4WheelVFR]

I've thought about selling my Aristocrat mini end table and going to coolers. Then I'd get a nice, high end desktop humi for ready to go stogies.

[hammondc]

Agree with everyone. Coolers or wineador. Personally, I am filling a cooler for a bit until I get a deal (free?) wine cooler to convert.

[The Poet]

I own 6 or 8 humidors, and did not pay a penny for any of them. A few were part of kits, and most were freebies with certain cigar deals. They all work well enough to suit me, as I am of the opinion that cigars are not Faberge eggs and do not truly need the 70/70 obsession some espouse. I could be wrong, but as I am the one both buying and smoking these cigars it is all good with me. Bottom line, I at least got as much as I paid for.

Prove me wrong.

[14holestogie]

I probably have at least 6 humidors left that I had to pay for.
Best move was moving to a cooler along with beads years ago. Zero issues since.

[GmenJeff13]

What kind of coolerdors do you guys recommend? I bought a Whynter and it sucks at holding RH. Finally had enough and stuffed my sticks in a Tupperware with a Boveda pack and then stuck the whole Tupperware in the whynter for temp control only.

[The Poet]

Igloos are a popular choice, Jeff.

[Wharf Rat]

Originally Posted by GmenJeff13

What kind of coolerdors do you guys recommend? I bought a Whynter and it sucks at holding RH. Finally had enough and stuffed my sticks in a Tupperware with a Boveda pack and then stuck the whole Tupperware in the whynter for temp control only.

When we say coolerdor, we’re referring to insulated chests like you might take on a picnic. You can easily maintain RH in them with a passive system like beads.

You can find other threads on this, but it’s real hard to maintain RH if you have the refrigeration system going in a wine cabinet. The cold cooling coil or thermoelectric surface condense the moisture out of the air.

[GmenJeff13]

Ahh, gotcha. What do you guys for temp control then?