A humidor isn’t a purchase to make lightly based on one aspect, such as price. It’s a finely crafted piece that will serve you for years to come in many cases, and needs to possess all of the qualities that you need. While it does need to be affordable, other aspects are more important. Chief among these are size and weight, as they’ll determine how portable and where your humidor can be located as your cigars are stored and aged. Whatever humidor you end up buying, know that you are joining a membership of smokers the world over who maintain their cigars in the best possible conditions.
The size of the humidor isn’t only how physically large it is but also how many cigars it can hold comfortably. You should usually try to buy one slightly larger than you think you need, so you can “grow” into it as your collection invariably expands. This’ll also allow you to re-hydrate dried out stogies as far away from the humidification device as possible – a must for properly re-hydrated cigars. If you’re opting for a larger model, consider one with shelves that’ll allow you to easily rotate your cigars, which’s essential for proper aging and humidity control.
A humidor’s weight has obvious and less obvious implications: You don’t want to be dragging a very large, heavy humidor to outings unless it’s absolutely necessary, but it should also be a very balanced piece of equipment. It does need to have a tight-shutting lid which often relies on some weight in the lid, though it should not shut so tightly that no air can circulate through the humidor – this’ll cause mold. Alternatively, too much airflow will cause a loss of humidity. It needs to be a happy medium leaning toward tight closing. The lid shouldn’t cause the humidor to tip over when left open, nor close on your hand, either.
All in all, the right size and weight humidor for you is dictated by the space in which it’ll spend most of its time. Remember that the humidor shouldn’t be stored in direct sunlight, and the cigars inside should be rotated (and inspected) once per month to ensure good storage and humidity control.