I'm looking for a little input regarding storage methods without glass and maintaining RH. Both my current humidors have glass so it's easy, I can check it by just looking through the glass. However, I have a 5 count Herfidor and the thing that drives me crazy is to check the RH you have to open it, which means letting all the humid air out, and letting in all new (in my part of the country) drier air, thereby negating the reading I just took. I'm assuming people probably use Boveda Packs. I have no experience with these, are the reusable, how long do they last, what other methods do people use?

Humidors are meant to be opened....so try to relax as the insides will reacclimate pretty quickly when you close it.  If you want to see what your RH is all the time get yourself a RubberMaid that holds at least 100 cigars and you can see inside your hygro anytime you want w/o opening it up.  You didn't mention how big your wood humidor was....where it was made as a lot of glasstop humidors tend to leech air and thus make maintaining RH a challenge. Bovedas are a 2 way system...they take in and give off...and the company says they aren't made to be recharged ( even though others will recharge them but it takes a few days to do it ) and they last about 6 months.  One Boveda Pak will take care of about 20 cigars so do the math as far as "how many" to use.

QuoteCigary - 10/8/2015  1:31 PM  Humidors are meant to be opened....so try to relax as the insides will reacclimate pretty quickly when you close it.  If you want to see what your RH is all the time get yourself a RubberMaid that holds at least 100 cigars and you can see inside your hygro anytime you want w/o opening it up.  You didn't mention how big your wood humidor was....where it was made as a lot of glasstop humidors tend to leech air and thus make maintaining RH a challenge. Bovedas are a 2 way system...they take in and give off...and the company says they aren't made to be recharged ( even though others will recharge them but it takes a few days to do it ) and they last about 6 months.  One Boveda Pak will take care of about 20 cigars so do the math as far as "how many" to use.

 Good point bu Gary that humidors are meant to be opened.  Also Bovidas come in two sizes.  I have found that the larger pack will keep 25 - 40 cigars in my overflow humi nice and fresh for at least 4 months and yes you can recharge them. 

Heartfelt beads are spectacular in keeping steady RH

Yeah, I've got a combo of heartfelt beads and kitty litter in my desktop humidor, which has glass, but it keeps RH very well. My second one, I just got and haven't set it up but, but it also has a glass door. I'm planning to use kitty litter and may end up buying HF beads for it too. Mainly, I was just curious what people use for their travel humidors. It came with that green foam, but I hate that crap. I opened it up and pulled it out and put KL in there, but it was too fine for the openings and it all came out. I have thought about buying a finer mesh and cutting it to size to put KL in there again. I like the Boveda pack idea, but I was reading on their website and it said they don't have to activated and are once use, not rechargable. That's why I asked if anyone has recharged them, didn't know if it could be done anyway. I don't use my travel but a few times a year and hate the idea of buying a new Boveda every time I want to use it. If it's just a day or two I don't really worry about it, as it seems to keep a good enough seal that it isn't needed, but longer term I want something.

I don't worry about cigars in my herfador because they never last long enough to make a difference~!

 

QuoteVroomp - 10/8/2015  2:50 PM

I don't worry about cigars in my herfador because they never last long enough to make a difference~!

 

 

I always try to take enough so I have a bit of a selection, which means, I usually bring some back with me.

I have recharged Bovedas in the past with no issue but in the end I still prefer the beads.

I don't use any humidification in my Herfador (15ct) as it keeps RH for weeks even if opened daily. I tried it this summer and it was still showing 62% RH after 12 days of being opened daily. The humidity in the sticks seems to be plenty to keep it at an acceptable level for a long enough time

Oh my! Yet another thing to obsess about! Don't worry about opening the humidor and staring at the cigars for however long you want. They are NOT delicate flowers. If you use any sort of reasonable humidifying device be it beads, Boveda packs, a damp paper towel, or what-have-you the humidity in the humidor will come back to a level needed to keep the cigars smokable.

Don't overthink this storage business or you will find yourself chasing rabbits instead of smoking a good stick. Relax a bit and enjoy your cigars. This ain't rocket science you know!  

QuoteMojo66 - 10/8/2015  2:40 PM

Heartfelt beads are spectacular in keeping steady RH

As Sébastien stated, herfadors have awesome seals on them and will hold a steady RH without any humidification for quite awhile.  When traveling, I never use humidifiers in mine