Recently quite a few of my gars have had the wrapper split after I light and begin smoking.

these have come from different humis with humidity from 63 to 70. They have all been quality smokes. The last one to do this was a Tribute torp. Also happened on an AF Hemi and a Monte.

What is causing this? All have been smoked outside on nice warm although windy days - temps in the high 60s. It did not happen to any Bucs or ISOMs. the only thing all the gars had in common was a very thin wrapper. Some of them sat 3 weeks after being received.

I'm not sure how long it takes for humidity to "normalize" to the ambiant environment. i.e., if you're humie is 60 something percent and you put moister cigars in it, I'm not sure how long it takes for them to come through and through to the ambiant humidity. It sounds like they're too wet if they are splitting.

just a question -- those weren't humid days were they? i wouldn't think so, as the high humidity hasn't hit us (NC) yet, but...

could the wind have been a factor, drying part of the cigar out unevenly?

were the cigars burning unevenly on you?

I had the same thing happen to me. I heard from the boards that it could be the humidity outside was too different form the humidor I had them in, it's just what I heard ..

Rob

and Oh BTW you are an expert buddy

you were probably drooling on them. Actually this happens when i light up in a stiff wind sometimes , is that a possibility?

I'd say thin wrapper with a thick/tight roll. I have noticed the Tribute being a very solid cigar to the touch, but being VERY delicate. Many Hemminways also have a really solid feel.

I am no expert, but it would seem, that a cigar would expand a little if rolled tightly, and smoke being drawn through the cigar.

JMO, cause it has happened to me on a Gran Consul Antano. Another delicate cigar, with thick roll.

Dave

Oh I almost forgot it happend to a Siglo VI and I almost cried.

The tribute just flapped in the wind. All of these were smoked near water.

This did not happen to me in the winter when it was dry outside. Humidity probably ranged from 40 - 60 outdoors.

I would have cried.

I had this happen to me a lot with the ERDM Rectangulares. I love that smoke, but it has a thin wrapper and every time I get them they do that to me. Grrrrrrr.

This happened to me twice this week w/two different gars. Each time I had laid them down for a short time before lighting. It has been extremely dry here. Not even any dew at night, (so I don't have to clean dog's feet). I think the wrapper just dried up and allowed the innards to escape. I keep mine between 70 and 75 %, so that probably didn't help.

We may be getting closer to figuring this out! Let's say.....you get some nice smokes in the mail. They are usually shipped wet. You put them in your 65% humidor. The wrapper dries first. Does it shrink? Maybe. The inside is still moist. You light it and.....the moisture in the filler heats up and hits the wrapper causing it to split.

I know, the theory needs work. I think I'm on to something though. I try and enforce a policy of one year in the humidor. They ALWAYS smoke better that way. Do I rush one occassionally? Yeah, and I often regret it!

1 year!!!!! i could never make it that long, what would I smoke!!!! Ok maybe I could steal choners smokes, but heck he doesn't have anything I like 🙂

i'm far, far, far from an expert. i'm interested in figuring out why this is, too, because it just seems to happen sometimes for no apparent reason.

at first, i had all kinds of burn problems because i was smoking them too wet and also had a ceiling fan blowing (on high) right overhead. doh!

but i've got my cigars as stable as can be, and i've learned quite a bit about factors that can screw up a smoke and avoid them now. still, every now and again i'll have a wrapper split -- or it starts to unravel about halfway through (i keep the bands on now until i absolutely HAVE to take 'em off, and that helps.

it seems to just be the case that some wrappers are heartier than others. CTSH seems to be the most delicate and thin. i love them, but i can almost count on them cracking or coming unraveled at some point. whatever the wrappers are on henry clay and punch, they seem to be the heartiest/thickest.

Watch out for the wind, it will suck your wrapper dry and not allow it to give as the rest of the cigar's tabacco swells with the heat and the humidity in it.

I have run into this problem more than a few times on a windy day or a really hot and dry day outside.

Tony

I agree with xrun. A thin wrapper will dry quicker than all that filler.

Box humidity 60-70%.

Outside temp. was in the 60's.

But what was the outside RH (relative humidity)? It could have been low enough to have a difference on a wetter filler that would have expanded on heating.

I bet these were larger ring gauges, weren't they? Maybe you need to dry box them for a few days before enjoying them. My .02 worth.

BTW, I tried my first Trib. Excellent with no problems.

Doug

I have noticed recently that some Cameroon wrappers can almost be called delicate. Doesn't take much for them to tear or split. I kinda like 'em though!

My colon was delicate and felt like it was tearing in Cameroon once, my memories of Douala.

Too much absinthe perhaps?

From what I can tell, I need to give my gars more than 3 weeks before I feel totally confident that the whole gar is the same thru and thru. I've recently noticed that some larger gauge gars have been shipped very humid, but the wrapper dries out a bit. If I put it in the humi for two or three weeks - it's better, but all the leaves may not be the same yet, so the filler could still be wetter than the wrapper. Also - the way you smoke can affect this too. Too many puffs can make it burn hot and split the slightly dry or delicate wrapper. Crap, Tony - you should be telling US this!Never had this happen on a trib, hemi or Cohiba. Hate to hear about the Siglo VI. Hope it was still enjoyable - was that the smithbw special??

I too had this happen to me, just this weekend. Was smoking a Montecristo Le Cigare des Arts Torpedo which I had been received in a trade a couple weeks back, & spent the last few weeks sittin' in my humi.

Was doing some yard work yesterday, it was quite humid in the Northeast, threatening to rain most of the day. About a third way done, the wrapper cracked in two different places. I think Xrun hit it on the nose. The difference in humidity levels within the stick and with the outside is probably the cause.

I smoked the stick down to the numb, even as it was falling apart on me... what else is a guy to do!?!? 😉

As a side note... This particular line of Montecristo (the "Le Cigare des Arts") is not their best effort... not a bad smoke... but not worth the hype, or the price. IMHO...

PT 🙂

Thanks for the replies. It just seemed weird cause I have never had this happen before even on freshly delivered smokes. It just did not make a lot of sense to me. These gars felt good to the touch.

I went with thicker wrappers this weekedn with no problems.

Chuckler the gar you mentioned was one of the problem ones for me also.