Hay un consejo común, casi un cliché, que oirás cuando compres un humidor. “Buy big.” Many offer that suggestion first before any other advice–before mentioning Spanish cedar, before talking about humidor humidifiers, before talking about the importance of a quality seal. Instead, you hear a resounding, “Go large, or you will regret it later.”
Now, that's not to say that there isn't some logic behind opting for a larger cigar humidor. Your humidor won’t perform well when overfilled, and having room to expand your cigar collection is pretty important. But all too often, we see people selecting a humidor far larger than they need. It may seem great at first, but once they realize that they have to blow a sizable chunk of their monthly income on cigars to keep humidity levels just right, that large, expensive cabinet humidor becomes more of an albatross than an accessory.
Here is why we here at Klaro feel that selecting a humidor (or two) that are smaller in stature is oftentimes the better route than going big.
What Is a Small Humidor?
A small humidor typically constitutes any cigar storage container that can hold between 5–100 cigars. After all, worrying about protecting five cigars is a very different experience than caring for twenty times that figure, so choose wisely based upon your smoking needs.
At Klaro, we define small humidors by more than just capacity, though. Small humidors are a self-humidified unit that doesn’t rely on an electric humidifier or any form of air circulation system. In other words, a humidor with a sistema de humidificación pasiva con capacidad para 100 cigarros o menos.
Some humidors included in the "small humidor category” include:
- Humidificadores de sobremesa
- Humidificadores de vidrio
- Humidificadores de viaje
- Tarros humidificadores
Most Klaro humidors are glass top models with front-facing digital hygrometers. These features help reduce the frequency of opening the humidor, which allows for more consistent humidity control. Furthermore, each humidor uses passive humidification via our patented Bandeja hidráulica o Canal Hidráulico systems, which deliver the ideal amount of optimal humidity levels for any cigar collection.
You might notice a pattern. Each design element within a Klaro humidors is based on optimizing the climate inside, therefore better preserving your cigars. When we began to research how we could make storing cigars even better, we discovered that most people only required a smaller-capacity humidor, and that their fácil de controlar, low maintenance appeal was overwhelming.
Por qué dos pueden ser mejor que uno
Moving into the mid-range size humidors, you get to that 100-500 cigar capacity, which is a massive increase in the real estate you have to monitor and control. Even with active humidification systems, there are a lot of variables that can happen inside a mid-range humidor that you won’t be able to control and monitor as well as in a small humidor.
I will go as far as to say that the vast majority of 300+ size humidor cabinets, most fridgadors, and pretty much any walk-in humidor is totally overkill for most cigar collectors. Instead, opting for a couple of small humidors will allow you to maintain greater control over your cigar collection. This approach also allows you the opportunity to place your humidors in different rooms in the house, or even take them outdoors. Try doing that with a 200+ pound fridgador!
Storing stogies at diferentes niveles de humedad based upon their cigar flavor or wrapper is also a consideration. For example, if you plan on envejecimiento de puros for a prolonged period of time, you’ll want them at a slightly lower humidity level than those sticks you will smoke in the upcomAnywhere between 6 0–65% tends to be the suggested humidity level most cigar manufacturers say is best for lengthy aging times.
This is where owning two small humidors can be better than one. Not only can you separate cigars into two different humidity levels, but you can also divide them based on type, effectively reducing the risk of unwanted flavor blending. Store your medium and light cigars in one, store your bolder, full-bodied cigars in the other and maybe make the stronger cigar humidor your aging box.
El problema con los cajones del humidor
More often than not, a humidor cabinet or walk-in humidor is just too much space for you to properly manage the correct humidity distribution. Take humidor drawers as an example. Humidor drawers create a tiered shelf for separating cigars, but they also form physical barrier, which when over-filled or improperly engineered, can create uneven humidity distribution.
Sure, having separate storage compartments is great if you don't want to mix or stack strong cigars that are prone to influencing lighter blends with their pungent flavors and aromas. However, all too often we see people overloading these trays, and then they are left with little air circulation between tiers.
The cigar drawers stored close to the active humidification system can also be problematic, as they often have a much higher humidity level, thus increasing the likelihood of mold build-up or damp cigars that won't combust correctly. In contrast, the humidor drawer located furthest from the humidifier will likely be the driest, and so in order to monitor everything and anything in between, you will want a humidor digital hygrometer on every level.
Colocación del higrómetro
A running theme here has been humidor real estate. Controlling humidity is just more difficult when you have a ton of internal space. It also can be a hell of a lot harder to monitor. In larger humidors with poor air circulation, humidity will change based on where the humidification source is, with higher humidification levels being closer to the source and lower further away. To accurately monitor humidity in this sort of situation, you will likely need multiple hygrometers in various places or you won’t get accurate readings.
On a small Klaro humidor, the hygrometer is strategically placed where its sensors will provide the most accurate relative humidity level readings for the entire box. A single hygrometer not only makes assessing the status of the air inside the humidor a cinch, but it also eliminates the need for extra maintenance and calibration.
Humidor Wood and Spanish Cedar Ratios Explained
Many humidors, ma they be large or small, aren’t built with suficiente grosor de cedro español. This makes it nearly impossible for your humidor to adapt to outside fluctuations in humidity and temperature. Humidor wood is
The more space you have, the harder it becomes to manage relative humidity. The more open-air you have, the more Spanish cedar is needed to adequately retain moisture content. This comes down to simple distribution. If a 12” x 9” size humidor requires approximately 3mm of Spanish cedar inlay, then consider the thickness needed for a 4.5’ x 2’ humidor cabinet. Now, imagine how much that number is going to increase when you consider the size of something like a walk-in humidor.
Puffs de despedida
Perhaps the most assuring factor about a small, passive humidification humidor is that it’s naturally self-propelled. When made with quality materials, excellent craftsmanship, and a substantial amount of Spanish cedar, small humidors don’t require much maintenance or monitoring–or power. Simply set them up properly, and you don’t have much to worry about.
En cuanto añades la humidificación activa, el control de la temperatura y los elementos eléctricos, tienes más cosas de las que preocuparte. Por no hablar de los raros pero realistas cortes de electricidad que pueden afectar a su instalación. Con Humidificadores KlaroEn el caso de los humidores de alta gama, se sigue obteniendo la estética de un humidor de alta gama, así como parte de la capacidad, pero con un humidor se puede entender mejor y controlar más.
Si está interesado en saber más sobre los humidores, consulte nuestro guía completa a todo lo relacionado con los humidores, donde desglosamos el mantenimiento y el cuidado, las funciones y las mejores prácticas para ser propietario de un humidor.
