Possible Options for Dry Boxing in Humid Houston Environment

[WoadyCypress]

What would be my best options for Dry Boxing in a high humidity environment like Houston Texas? I am thinking about a Tupperware with a 62 Boveda, these bovedas are hard to come by around town so I will probably order a few. Would this be my best bet?

 

Also, if this approach works. What will be the effect on the cigar when I pull it out and smoke it in the humid environment?

 

I store my cigars at or around 65/65 if this is relevant.

 

Thanks in advance for any and all opinions.

 

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[TBird55]

I used to keep my cigars that cold, and had trouble with therm being to wet.  I think this is a question for our resident cigar climatologist.

[ChampagneInHand]

An empty cigar box with a 62rH boveda and have a large freezer bag sealing the box from the outside humidity of the house.

This worked for me in Nicaragua these past two weeks. For a full box of PCs I didn't even need a boveda as I kept them in a cool wardrobe.

Best of luck. Hot humid conditions are a tough thing to contend with but my solution worked well even at 94F with full humidity at night and 70rH most of the days.

Dog days for sure.


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[WoadyCypress]

An empty cigar box with a 62rH boveda and have a large freezer bag sealing the box from the outside humidity of the house.

This worked for me in Nicaragua these past two weeks. For a full box of PCs I didn't even need a boveda as I kept them in a cool wardrobe.

Best of luck. Hot humid conditions are a tough thing to contend with but my solution worked well even at 94F with full humidity at night and 70rH most of the days.

Dog days for sure.


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So an airtight Tupperware and 62 boveda would work also?

How did they smoked when they hit the humid environment?

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[BEVOSREVENGE]

Empty wood cigar box or empty wood humidor works for me.  No boveda, no nothing.

Unless you are a masochist and never run your ac, dry boxing time will vary on how dry you like your cigars.  If you are a masochist, dry boxing in Houston will be an exercise in futility.

My dry boxes sit ~55/69DF

There are few of us Houston FOHers that get together to smoke about once a month.  Pretty sure  all of us dry box with no issue.

 

 

[WoadyCypress]

Empty wood cigar box or empty wood humidor works for me.  No boveda, no nothing.

Unless you are a masochist and never run your ac, dry boxing time will vary on how dry you like your cigars.  If you are a masochist, dry boxing in Houston will be an exercise in futility.

My dry boxes sit ~55/69DF

There are few of us Houston FOHers that get together to smoke about once a month.  Pretty sure  all of us dry box with no issue.

 

 

Thanks! Nope my A/C runs almost constant, lol

Where do you guys get together at?

None of my friends smoke cigars, so most of my sessions are on the back patio with little to no social interaction. Ha!

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[BEVOSREVENGE]

Same for me.  We usually meet at Roegels BBQ, but it is getting a little roasty toasty to sit outside and smoke this time of year.

Me thinks we will be picking a new venue for the summer months; just haven't come to a consensus on where yet.

Will let you know next time we circle the wagons.

[WoadyCypress]

Nice. I work by that spot and have never ate there. Going to have to give it a try.

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[Dozerhead]

1 hour ago, BEVOSREVENGE said:

Empty wood cigar box or empty wood humidor works for me.  No boveda, no nothing.

Unless you are a masochist and never run your ac, dry boxing time will vary on how dry you like your cigars.  If you are a masochist, dry boxing in Houston will be an exercise in futility.

My dry boxes sit ~55/69DF

There are few of us Houston FOHers that get together to smoke about once a month.  Pretty sure  all of us dry box with no issue.

 

 

Yep, I live in the Houston area, too, and I agree with this.

[PapaDisco]

In Saigon I've always had a tough time making 'dry boxing' work out.  Use the fridge, the A/C in the hotel room, bovedas in a ziplock, etc. and none of it seemed to work well in conjunction with a smoke out of doors at 90/90.  If cigars went from my conditioned storage to an indoor smoking lounge then they generally smoked quite well, but taken out of doors and my experience was a greater percentage of tough draws and more bitter flavors.

Oddly enough, when I let my sticks acclimatize to local conditions (basically let them get hot and humid), they eventually smoked almost as consistently as at home (more relights though).  It's risky though to store at a hot and humid temperature though.  I haven't figured out the science on all this, nor a precise formula.  Basically I just turn off the AC in my hotel room when I leave for the day, or leave them zip locked in a cabinet in my office (no A/C after 5), so it's a pretty tough life for the cigars, but within 3 days they smoke much better than taking them from 65/65 straight to 90/90.

[WoadyCypress]

Yep, I live in the Houston area, too, and I agree with this.

Have one with a hygrometer in it now to see how low it will go. Thanks fellow Houstonians!

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[WoadyCypress]

I'd say this might work. Thanks FOH and fellow Houstonians!

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[Philc2001]

I think you've already gotten great feedback. Just one thing I would add; I don't think of Bovedas as a desiccate, so I don't think it would be effective at removing moisture or drying your cigars. But I could be wrong. 

[WoadyCypress]

I think you've already gotten great feedback. Just one thing I would add; I don't think of Bovedas as a desiccate, so I don't think it would be effective at removing moisture or drying your cigars. But I could be wrong. 

10-4. As of now I'm going to stuck with the empty old wood cigar box. Thanks

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[einzelgaenger]

11 minutes ago, Philc2001 said:

I think you've already gotten great feedback. Just one thing I would add; I don't think of Bovedas as a desiccate, so I don't think it would be effective at removing moisture or drying your cigars. But I could be wrong. 

Bovedas act as a desiccant, also.

[stogieluver]

Woady, your climate in Houston is almost identical to ours in Mobile.  If you are running your central a/c almost constantly, as are we, I'm willing to bet that your ambient rH inside your house is around 55%, if your a/c is working properly.  All I have to do to dry box, which I rarely do, is simply move the stick from my humidor, which runs low 60's rH, to anywhere in the room overnight or for a day or two.  Instant dry box conditions.  This is the room I also smoke in.

If you smoke all your sticks outside in high rH/high temps (90/90), any larger ring gauge cigar is going to fill with water before you finish it and it will become harsh tasting and will have burn issues.  Not much you can do about it, except move inside an air conditioned environment to smoke.

[Philc2001]

1 hour ago, einzelgaenger said:

Bovedas act as a desiccant, also.

Yes, I just read that, so I stand corrected. But I still don't know anyone who uses them to dry their cigars.

[SticksAndSticks]

Rob posted not too long ago about using the freezer to drybox (1-2 hours I think) in warmer climates. I haven't tried it myself. Anyone else remember that?

[boopdeep]

I'm also in Houston.  I have spent considerable time testing different storage parameters and dry boxing to find what suits me. For me, I did not find that dry boxing provided much benefit, particularly when smoking outdoors (as I generally do).  Regardless, you will get some burn issues smoking outdoors, but it is minor, even when raining.  

What works best for me is storing my cigars with RH in low 60s and temperatures in low 70s.  (I generally keep between 61-63RH and 71-74F).  I do not dry box anymore. 

When I did dry box, I would use a desktop humidor without any humidifcation device or boveda, etc. With AC in my house, the conditions would generally be around 51-54%RH and 70-74F.  

I personally did not find any benefit to dryboxing and had the same burn issues when smoking - and this usually just means having to re-light once or twice or correct the burn occasionally.  

Going direct from humidor to smoking now (simply bc cuts out the middle step) and found it works fine for me. The burn is the same.  I do not find that the cigars get harsher towards the end as other posters have stated.

Find what's right for you - no amount of reading about others' opinions will lead you to your answer.  

 

[BEVOSREVENGE]

19 hours ago, WoadyCypress said:

Nice. I work by that spot and have never ate there. Going to have to give it a try.

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@SignalJoe will tell you that Russell makes some dang good q.  Go early because they have been getting slammed lately.

[SignalJoe]

3 minutes ago, BEVOSREVENGE said:

@SignalJoe will tell you that Russell makes some dang good q.  Go early because they have been getting slammed lately.

I can certainly attest to the quality and the influx of customers.  A positive by product of being named to the top 50 by Texas Monthly.   I'am also looking for alternate sites in the general area for future herfs.  I'm a firm believer in AC this time of year in Texas!  

[rtrimbath]

If you go on Boveda's website, they sell packs at lower humidity ranges. They have s 49% pack that could help with the naturally high rh% in Houston.


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[WoadyCypress]

I can certainly attest to the quality and the influx of customers.  A positive by product of being named to the top 50 by Texas Monthly.   I'am also looking for alternate sites in the general area for future herfs.  I'm a firm believer in AC this time of year in Texas!  

Ok, this might be a dumb question but what does herf stand for. I assuming it's a meeting of FOH members but I still haven't broke the code.

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[stogieluver]

"Herf" is a general term referring to people getting to together to smoke cigars, drink, and fellowship.

[BuzzArd]

On June 3, 2017 at 5:58 PM, WoadyCypress said:

 so most of my sessions are on the back patio with little to no social interaction.
 

 

My favorite place.  

I used to live in HOU.  Definitely do not miss it.  The desert SW has its own humidity struggles for a cigar lover, but I'd rather have to humidify than to have sopping wet cigars.