How to store cigars without a humidor

How long cigars last without a humidor

It depends on how dry the room is and whether anything is holding moisture in. Without a humidity source, cigars dry fast. A 2016 magazine article says cigars outside a humidor will start to dry out within a day, no matter how tight the seal on the box. A humidity-pack maker gives the factory box more time.

Too much moisture is the other risk. Sealed in with a wet sponge or towel, or with humidity that runs too high, cigars can mold. A two-way pack is what makes a sealed container work for longer.

The setup that works: a sealed container and a two-way humidity pack

A sealed container holds the moisture in, and a two-way humidity pack keeps it at the right level. The pack is a sealed pouch of salt solution that gives off moisture when the air is drier than its rating and takes it back when the air is wetter, so the container stays near one humidity. For which number to buy, see the humidity cigars need.

Then pick the container by how many cigars you have and how long you'll hold them.

A few cigars: a zip-top bag. Seal the cigars in with a small two-way pack. Some humidor bags come with a two-way pack already inside.

A box or two, for longer: a tupperdor. A tupperdor is a lidded, airtight plastic food container with a humidity source inside, used to hold cigars instead of a humidor. Use a clean one that doesn't smell of food, because cigars pick up strong smells. Keep the lid shut except when you're taking a cigar out. A whole box can go in; the pack maker says a box can sit in a tupperdor or a cooler with its packs. Size the packs to the container the way the humidity guide describes.

A lot of cigars: a coolidor. A coolidor is a clean cooler kept only for cigars, with a tight lid and humidity packs, used to hold a large number of cigars. Humidity packs also come in larger sizes made for coolers and other big spaces.

No pack yet: a damp paper towel. In a pinch, put the cigars in a big zip-top bag with a piece of paper towel about two inches square, damp but not wet. Treat it as a bridge to a pack for a day or so.

Where to put it. Somewhere cool and dark, like an interior closet, away from sunny windows, heat sources and air-conditioning vents.

Cigars you just bought or had shipped

If you'll smoke them today, leave them in whatever they came in, closed, and out of the heat.

If you'll hold them longer, put them in a sealed bag or container with a two-way pack the day you get them home. You don't have to unbox them; the whole box can go in.

Orders from our online store ship to all 50 states with Boveda humidity packs. When the box arrives, it goes into the same setup, including a box you're holding as a gift until you hand it over.

Can you keep cigars in the fridge or freezer?

No, not for storage. A refrigerator or freezer damages the tobacco and slows the way cigars age. Fridge air is cold and dry, which works against what cigars need, and cigars there can pick up food smells.

The freezer is only for killing tobacco beetles in cigars you think are infested. That's a treatment with its own steps, covered in freezing out tobacco beetles.

Packing cigars for a trip

Match the setup to the length of the trip.

If it's one evening out, a cigar tube or the cellophane it came in is enough.

If it's a weekend, a zip-top bag with a small two-way pack is enough.

If you're gone a week or more, or moving a whole box, a hard travel humidor with its own humidifier is worth having. The Xikar 60 Ct Travel Humidor, an airtight hard case, is one of the travel humidors we carry online.

Whatever you pack them in, don't leave cigars in a hot car. Heat dries them out fast and can damage the wrapper.