My wife hooked me up with a couple of travel cases for Xmas. I am very happy with my new gifts but need information to include pros and cons from those of you who frequently use these cases. Any and all information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Cigar Caddy 10ct

&

Craftsman's Bench 3-Cigar Leather Case with Spanish Cedar

I don't have any experience with the larger travel cases and herfadors. Have only needed one on a few occassions and just used a tupperware container. But I've heard their nice to have for camping, hunting, etc.

Personally I have 3 and 4-cigar hard-cases both with spanish cedar linings. Everything I've read suggested the cedar lined cases were preferred over just plastic or leather. Some suggest leather alone can wick moisture away from the cigars. The cedar-line cases are supposed to help maintain the RH of the cigars. I don't leave home without one.

I'm not the most experienced here, but I hope this helps. They are nice gifts and IMHO a must have.

Merry Christmas.

My opinion is, it's more important to have your cigars in prime condition before packing them in any travel container. After that, it's a matter of not leaving them in adverse conditions for too long.

works great for me

jim

$10.

I used to do that until I got drunk one time and tried to smoke my pistol.

Perv...

Nope. Just put your cigars in and go. They won't be in there for long enough to make a difference, they really don't lose ./ gain moisture that fast.

If it's really a big deal to you that you want the cedar to have some moisture, which really won't do anything for the cigars anyway due to the lack of a seal on the case, you can just store the 3-finger case in your humidor - eventually the wood will absorb some moisture.

I wouldn't worry about it though.

Yup, learned it from my dawg

I am no vet, but there's no need to season the case that I'm aware of. Generally I don't keep them in the case longer than I'm out for the night - about 6-hours or so. On occasion I have slipped a small humidity pillow in the case before heading out. They are not intended for any lengthy storage. Just be careful of any leather conditioner you might think of using on the exterior. You don't want anything transferring to the cedar inside.

The herfador you might want to charge a couple of days before you need it.

There's no need to use the humidity element the herfidore. In fact, if you charge it, you're introducing the possibility of mold growing in it or in the case.

If your cigars are at your preferred humidity when you put them in a gasket sealed case like a herfidor, they will be fine for weeks under most normal conditions without the need for introducing a humidification element.

I've had cigars in my pelican case herf box for 6+ months and they're fine.

If you must add a humidification element to one of these little cases, I would recommend the tiny Boveda packs - they are about 2" x 2" by less than 1/4" thick. Cost about one or two bucks at the cigar shops. They come in various humidities, don't take up much space, and if you must, you can put them on top of the cigars and close the lid and it won't crush them, they are two way (meaning you can recharge them - put them in a tupperware container with a new sponge of couple of folded up paper towels moistened with distilled water - seal and leave alone for a week - the pack absorb the moisture and will puff back up)

For larger cases, a larger boveda pack or humi-pack like what is found in every box of Fuente cigars and some CAO cigars (boveda pack - humi-pack are the exact same principle and operation) would be fine for extended travel in extreme conditions where you would lose moisture.

I stand corrected again. Thank you sir.

Gotcha - yeah, I guess I misunderstood when you said "pillow" and spoke of charging the herfidore - I thought you meant water pillows (which are great for long shipments of cigars to troops or use in a coolerdor, but kind of suck for traveldors) or charging that useless pos credo that they have built in to some of the boxes.

And some brands do seal better than others, so in certain environments some are going to do better than others.

Please tell me you're joking about the foam....

Nope. No joke about the foam. I read a discussion about it someplace else when researching coolador set-up. I don't have or need a herfador so I have no real clue about them. And all I use are the packs and beads with PG. But I thought it was a funny argument to read.

Thanks again.

Oy vey. People arguing over charging the foam in a travel case. *sigh* Buncha freaking professional window lickers on the short bus...

LMFAO!!! Never heard that one before!

True, dat ... PLUS, you also introduce the problem of almost certainly over-humidifying your cigars ... I learned that the hard way years ago ...

if you are going to be taking your herfidor to a particularly dry climate or be gone for some time (I pack mine with me for vacations) you might want to put a drymistat stick in there ... since it will only release humidity if such is needed, you won't get mold or over humidify your cigars ...

http://www.cigarsinternational.com/proddisp.asp?item=M-HUM19&stext=Drymistat%20Crystal%20Tube