How important is having a humidor, really?

Unless you are quickly collecting a lot of cigars or want to “home age” your cigars, it is not necessary to buy a humidor. For the short run, you can purchase a common sealable plastic food container and a Dry-Mistat™ stick or similar humidifying device and place the cigars in there. If monitored properly, they will last almost indefinitely. But if you decide to go this route, keep a corner of the container opened a crack to allow air flow and prevent too much moisture from building up, which may cause mold. One drawback is your cigars may not have that distinctive cedar wood fragrance you get from a good quality humidor. But that can be remedied by taking a cedar “spacer” from a cigar box and adding it to the container, or lining the bottom of the container with a row of spacers.

Of course, there’s nothing like being the proud owner of a well-made, wooden humidor where your cigars can nestle in the climate-controlled comfort of its Spanish cedar lining, but it’s nice to know there is a low-budget alternative.