Storage
Storing cigars without a humidor
Put the cigars in an airtight plastic container with a two-way humidity pack and keep it somewhere cool and dark. That setup holds cigars as well as most wooden humidors.
What cigars actually need
Cigars need steady humidity, roughly 65% to 72% relative humidity, at a stable room temperature away from light and strong smells. A humidor is one way to get that. It's not the only way.
Leaf is hygroscopic. It trades water with the air around it until both match. In an open drawer that's the room's air, which in a heated house in winter can drop to 30% or lower. The cigar follows it down. Wrapper cracks, the burn goes hot and fast, flavor goes flat.
So the job is simple. Seal off a small pocket of air. Hold it at the right humidity. Keep it out of the heat.
Your options, ranked by what works
The options range from sealed hard containers, which hold humidity for months, down to bare cellophane and the fridge, which fail in days.
| Container | Seal | With a two-way pack | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airtight plastic box ("tupperdor") | Gasket lid, airtight | Holds steady for months | Long-term storage of a handful to a few dozen |
| Picnic cooler ("coolidor") | Good, if the lid gasket is tight | Holds steady; insulated against swings | Large collections, boxes kept whole |
| Purpose-made humidor bag | Barrier-laminated, zip | Holds steady | A few cigars, travel |
| Food zip bag | Not airtight | Days in dry winter air, longer in mild months | A pinch only |
| Cellophane or the shop box | Leaky | Not practical | A week or two at most |
| Refrigerator | Dehumidifies by design | Fights the pack | Never for storage |
Boveda, which sells both packs and bags, puts it bluntly: a food bag isn't airtight, and its air swaps out with the room's within a few days. In winter that can mean the bag is only good for days. Fine overnight. Not for a month.
Why the two-way pack does the real work
A two-way humidity pack is a sealed pouch of salt solution that releases water when the air is dry and absorbs it when the air is damp, so it holds a sealed container near one set humidity. 65%, 69% and 72% are the common cigar settings. No refilling. When the pack goes stiff and crunchy, it's spent.
The container's only job is to stop air leaking in and out. A hard plastic box with a rubber gasket does that well, which is why the "tupperdor" is the cheap answer most smokers land on. The tupperdor build guide has the full setup, from picking the box to placing the pack. The humidity pack calculator tells you how many grams of pack a given container needs.
Where you put it matters as much as what it is. A closet shelf is good. A sunny windowsill, the top of the fridge or a spot over a heating vent is not.
Is a cooler better than a plastic box?
A cooler is a larger, insulated version of the same idea, and its main advantage is that thick walls slow temperature swings. For forty cigars or more, or for whole boxes, it's the cheap answer. Many long-time smokers keep their main stash in one.
The downside is the plastic smell of a new cooler. Air it out with the lid open for a few days first. Some people add strips of Spanish cedar to give the cigars a familiar scent. Optional.
Heat is the other enemy
Temperature matters because warm, damp tobacco is where cigar beetles breed. The University of Florida's extension notes the beetle can't complete development below about 17°C (63°F), and develops far faster in heat. A room around 65°F to 70°F keeps the risk low. Read the cigar beetle guide for the details.
Warmth also changes what humidity number you should aim for. At 75°F, the same 70% holds more water than it does at 70°F. The 70/70 humidity calculator adjusts the target for your room.
Keep the container off radiators and out of cars. A car in summer cooks cigars in an afternoon, sealed box or not.
Cigars that already dried out
A cigar that dried out in a drawer can usually be saved by rehydrating it slowly, over weeks, in a sealed container. Fast is the enemy. The wrapper swells faster than the filler and splits. The dry cigar guide has the squeeze test and a step-up plan.
How long cigars hold up in each kind of storage is its own question. The cigar shelf life guide takes it on.
Storage questions without a humidor
Can you keep cigars in the fridge?
Not for storage. A fridge is built to pull moisture out of the air, so cigars dry and crack, and they pick up food smells. A short spell in a sealed bag is a beetle treatment, not a way to keep them.
Will cigars stay fresh in their cellophane?
For a week or two, roughly. Cellophane slows moisture loss but is not airtight, so cigars in a dry room still dry out, just more slowly.
Can you use a damp paper towel to keep cigars humid?
It works for a day in an emergency, but it grows mold fast and can over-wet any leaf it touches. A two-way humidity pack is far more stable.
Do you need Spanish cedar in a plastic container?
No. Cedar adds aroma and a little humidity buffer, but the airtight seal and the humidity pack do the real work.
Sources for storage and humidity
- Why food bags aren't for cigars, Boveda
- Humidor: target humidity and temperature, Wikipedia
- Cigarette beetle, Lasioderma serricorne (EENY-227), University of Florida IFAS Extension