Alternatives to Humidors

If you're someone that enjoys smoking cigars every now and again and wants to have a few on hand or are expanding your hobby and looking to buy boxes of cigars, the next logical step is to worry about how to store these suckers.

Wooden Humidors come in all shapes and sizes and are usually lined with spanish cedar on the inside. They can get rather expensive, but you can find some nice cheap deals online. Buying humidors online is sort of hit or miss, i've bought at least one defective humidor and know other people who have as well, good online vendors usually let you return it for a new one or credit towards your next purchase. However, you don't have to buy a fancy new wooden humidor to store your cigars.

Before discussing alternatives to the actual humidors, GET A HUMIDIFICATION ELEMENT. I highly, highly, highly recommend humidity beads especially from this website: http://heartfeltindustries.com/. I've had nothing but amazing service from this vendor and their product! Beads are nice because they are basically a 'set it and forget it' type deal. You can read up more on beads on that website.

One safe way of storing cigars is in plastic tupperware containers. The key thing is to make sure that they are brand new and that no food has been stored inside, otherwise the smell/taste of food will infuse itself into cigars. Tupperware containers are usually very well made and you don't have to worry about faulty seals or seasoning them like regular humidors.

If you're really desperate, lazy or cheap, you can use the resealable heavy duty freezer zip=lock bags. In my experience they are durable and last a while, but are a pain to organize and store without some sort of container.

In terms of storing large volumes of cigars and boxes, some people to temperature controlled wine cooler containers. The most popular and least expensive ones are Vino Temps usually availabe at Target or Wal Mart, but you can buy them online at Amazon. The best thing about these is that they have a very good seal, and can be temperature controlled. However, they require some simple post-market modification and set-up (depending on how to want to humidify your smokes)to store cigars. Here's a great wealth of information on setting these up:
http://www.puff.com/forums/vb/cigar-accessory-discussion/145674-vinotemp-101-a.html

My preferred method for storing boxes and multiple sticks is using regular plastic coolers, like the ones you use for drinks. Be it a Coleman, Igloo, whaterver, these are great for storing cigars! Much cheaper than humidors of equal volume and easier to maintain. These take no extra set-up or modification besides washing them down. These work great and are on the cheap side (relatively speaking), I got an 80 qt. cooler from Walmart for $30 on sale and it works fantastic. The main issue with large coolers, as well as large wooden humidors, is air circulation throughout the container. I recommend purchasing some small hand-held fans (I use Oust fans, but I don't think they are being manufactured anymore) and placing them in the humidor.