Choosing a Humidor

The purpose of a humidor is to recreate the mild, humid climate of the Caribbean, where the cigars are made. 

After you’ve had time to consider your preferences, decide on where you’d like to buy the humidor; eBay offers some great deals and you can get ripped off as well.   Make sure that the humidor is real Spanish cedar and not just the inserts are cedar or worse Maple. You do not need Spanish Cedar in you humidor for humidity control. And I know there are some on eBay that say Maple if fine. I would have to agree if you are smoking cheap cigars.  But then why not just use a Tupperware container and save the cost of a cheap Humidor.  The Spanish Cedar is used to help the aging of good cigars.  Using Maple in a Humidor would be the same as using Maple barrels to age a 20 year old Scotch. It just would not taste the same.  

If it has glass in it make sure it is real tempered glass and not acrylic (Plastic). 

It has to have a good seal or it will not hold the proper humidity.  Here is a quick and easy way to check how good your humidor's seal is.  Empty it, place an lit flashlight inside, close the lid, and inspect it in a dark room.  If there are any leaks or gaps, the light will shine right through.

If it comes with a built-in humidification, you’ll want to decide whether to keep that one or buy a humidification device. Also, decide if and what type of thermometer/hygrometer device you may want to use to monitor the humidity. 

Hygrometers

The hygrometer is a device used for measuring the relative humidity inside of your humidor. There are two varieties.

Analog - This is the standard type of hygrometer. They are the least expensive and also the least reliable. They operate with a needle controlled by a hairspring that points to the correct percentage of humidity.
Digital - Far more reliable, is the digital hygrometer.  It operates on a standard camera or watch battery and digitally reads the humidity as well as the temperature. This device is by no means perfect, but is still much more accurate than the analog hygrometers. They also give you temperature which is as important as humidity.