A hydro stick plays an important part when it comes to storing your precious cigars. It is an extra Spanish cedar wood shim which helps regulate humidity. By soaking the cedar shims in a humidor solution, you can ensure a humidity boost to your humidor.
Now, why is humidity a crucial element for cigar storage? Cigars absorb and retain moisture from their surroundings, but can lose it as quickly. Depending on the conditions, they can dry even in a few days. With this, they lose their essential oils and most of their flavor. Also, its humidity level ensures adequate combustion, which must be slow and even, at low temperatures. Dry cigarettes burn fast and hot, making smoke unpleasant and acidic.
On the other hand, if they are exposed to excessive humidity (greater than 70-72 percent), the tobacco leaves swell and it becomes difficult to smoke them. It also affects the burning rate. Probably, one side of the cigar will burn faster than the other, mixing flavors that were not intended to or making one particular flavor overwhelm the rest. Besides, a wet cigar will emit a thicker smoke that will overload your sense of smell.
And to make things a little more complicated, humidity varies depending on location, seasons, and even the time of the day. This is why it is hydro sticks are so important. They help keep cigars at optimum and constant humidity levels so that you have a pleasant experience in every way.
These hydro sticks can add 10 to 20 percent humidity to your humidor. And they are easy to use. You just soak them in humidor solution, flick the excess moisture off and drop them in any humidor.
