Cigar tubes, for the uninitiated, are small tubes made to hold and store cigars. There are a wide and varying, with some merely being a simple casing for the cigar. However, the most useful types of cigar tubes are essentially portable humidors. Meaning, that they’ll keep your cigar fresh and properly humidified even while traveling. Also, if you’re feeling extremely protective, you can case your cigars in tubes and then store them in your humidor properly. However, it’s important that you open your cigar before doing so, primarily to check for mold as cigars kept within portable humidor cases have tendency to mold more quickly than in proper well spaced humidors.
It’s important to note that “cigar tubes” may also refer to gel containing humidifiers which’re meant to be placed with a humidifier to better manage humidity. This is very important because if the humidity’s too high then your cigar will absorb too much moisture which can both ruin the flavor and, in extreme case (especially if they’re in sealed tubes within a humidor) cause mold and rot. High humidity can also attract unwanted intruders, like rats and beetles, which will eat, burrow and make their homes in your prized tobacco – so beware! The recommended humidity for optimal cigar storage is generally between 66% and 79%.
If your humidor is old, malfunctioning, just plain bad or cheap, or simply homemade and not very effective and you want better humidity control – have no fear! It’s fairly easy to build your own cigar tube humidifier. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Propylene glycol crystals (the only material that’s a little difficult to come by)
- A hollow aluminum tube (the softness of the metal is helpful for the holes you’ll need to drill)
- A sander, 1/8 th drill bit and drill and a center punch.
Then simply strip the tube, drill as many holes as needed (requires testing in humidor) and insert the gel. Now you’ve got yourself a personalized cigar tube.
However, if that’s too much work, then you can simply pick one up here at The Cigar Store Today!