For Those of Us in Dry Climates

P

PolarGar

ChestBeater
Hi all,

I live in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Canada which can best be described as an arctic desert. For about six months of the year it is brutally cold and very dry. The remaining time is warmer but the humidity never gets anywhere near 70% pretty much all year.

What I wonder is what do those of you who also live in dry climates do to fortify your humidors and/or cabinets so that your cigars not only smoke well but also age well.

I have heard great things about the puck from listening to the boys on the Dog Watch herfcast and will likely be looking into that.
 
I have a similar problem, living in Arizona.
I highly recommend you get the 65% (or 70%) humidity beads.
Do a Search on this site & you'll get a wealth of info on these.
 
Beads here, but I still have to watch them & add water more regularly in winter... Just a fact of life living in a dry climate... My cooler definitely holds a lot better than my humis, so you might want to think about that option.
 
I live a little south of you but we experience the same dryness in winter I went through all last winter with out any problem just using beads. I have been using the 70%. bought them before I joined here, probably should have used 65%. I have had no problem with mine you just have to watch the temperature. I had to move my cooler from the storage room in the basement to my bedroom closet in order to keep the temperature up in the winter.
 
If you have the space, consider a coolidor. Those things are air tight and you won't lose any humidy from in there at all (as opposed to a desktop humi). Combined with beads you simply can't go wrong here.
Depending on the size of your humi, you may also want to consider and active humidity source like a Hydra or a Oasis.
 
This would be the perfect thread for the resident polar bear, Craig. I believe he created a fully sealed environment and subsequented his humidity with beads and lots of distilled water. You could search for some of his past posts (str8edg). :tu
 
chippewastud79 said:
This would be the perfect thread for the resident polar bear, Craig. I believe he created a fully sealed environment and subsequented his humidity with beads and lots of distilled water. You could search for some of his past posts (str8edg). :tu
Click to expand...
Craig is in Resolute, Nunavut. Is that near you?
 
Wow you guys rock. :ss

I did email Craig some time back soon after joining the board but perhaps he is not checking his mail. I will check out his posts for sure. My foot locker humi did well over the winter but that was without too many boxes in there and I have quite a few more now and on the way than will fit in that chest anymore.

The grand plan is to convert a closet into a humidor but until that happens and is properly seasoned I will need an "in transit" option.
 
Relatively speaking. We are in the same territory in arctic Canada but it is a massive territory. I have been there several times for clients but never met Craig - to the best of my knowledge!

I did a fair bit of work at a client even further north than Resolute in fact called Grise Fiord which is the most northerly populated community in North America if I'm not mistaken.

Beautiful country and very cool (almost frozen) people! :tu

duhman said:
Craig is in Resolute, Nunavut. Is that near you?
Click to expand...
 
I'd be curious to find out what humidity percentage you like when you smoke. My ongoing theory is that the drier the climate the closer to 70 you go.
 
nunavut10.gif

Resolute is the second dot from the top, Rankin Inlet is third from the bottom! That's a huge territory!
 
Rolando said:
I'd be curious to find out what humidity percentage you like when you smoke. My ongoing theory is that the drier the climate the closer to 70 you go.
Click to expand...

Actually, I have found that the drier the smoking environment, the drier the cigar should be.

Here in CO, the humidity is frequently in the teens and occasionally in the single digits. I have found that when it is really dry out, a cigar stored at 70% will usually self-destruct (sometimes even before lighting) when smoked. A 60% to 65% humidity level seems to survive & taste better.
 
That is an impressive map. I have been to just about every community on it at one time or another for work.

I had an interesting experience smoking on a deck in Orlando. For the first time in my life I couldn't smoke properly because it was TOO humid! The wrapper was so damp it just would not burn properly.

While I was smoking at the Corona Cigar Co I met a local gent who swears by keeping his cigars in his freezer. He said he puts a stick in his shirt pocket and by the time he gets to the store it is thawed completely and ready! :r

For this arctic lad that is just way out there. :D
 
glking said:
Actually, I have found that the drier the smoking environment, the drier the cigar should be.

Here in CO, the humidity is frequently in the teens and occasionally in the single digits. I have found that when it is really dry out, a cigar stored at 70% will usually self-destruct (sometimes even before lighting) when smoked. A 60% to 65% humidity level seems to survive & taste better.
Click to expand...


Odd. I have found when I have been in dry climates the lower humidity cigars burn way too fast. The taste was not really off but I had to slow way down on smoking it. I don't think I have ever had a cigar self destruct at any humidity. I have cut caps wrong and I have seen a few foot problems in the humidor back in the 70 days but never just fall apart.
 
I really want to thank all who replied to this plea as I have not only found a solution to my problem but a source for the supplies I will require.

FYI add me to the list of fans of Dave at Heartfelt. As I am discovering on this board the cream tends to rise to the top when it comes to cutters, online retailers, etc and there is no better way to cut through the BS and marketing than to ask a bunch of stogie chompers!

Thanks again lads! :tu
 
I live in a dry climate and keep my cooler's (120 quart) at 65% with Heartfelt beads. I no longer wet the beads with distilled water, just put a little glass container with distilled water in the coolers. With all of the boxes in the coolers, humidity holds rock solid. I do use little computer fans in each cooler. Probably not needed but it makes me feel good:).

WyoBob
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top