Over the years I have tried multiple brands of digital hygrometers and while most seem fairly close when doing a saturated salt test, some are off more than a few percent when they should read 75% in a salt test. Even those which are only a few percent off seem to get increasingly off as I periodically test them again over the year. Has anybody found a model that has proven reliable? I have read articles saying the salt test is fairly accurate over a fairly wide range of temperatures, but the whole idea of RH is percentage of moisture air will hold at a given temperature. So, a sealed container of air may be 70% RH at 70 degrees. If you lower the temperature to 65 degrees the RH becomes 83%, because cold air does not have the ability to hold as much moisture before condensation occurs. So I wonder, if the hygrometer is inaccurate 1-5 percent and the temperature is not right on 70 degrees, are these gauges just ball park accurate at best? We may be creating a false confidence. My theory is that it is better to be off to the dry side in order to prevent mold and cigars that won't burn well. Should the salt test value be adjusted to temperature and not be simply 75%?

I have indeed found the “model”……
65rh Bovedas combined with 65rh beads (Heartfelt, or silica I have trained)

I have various hygros in my various storage setups, but just look at them for chits and giggles………….
Haven’t done a salt test in years.
I just recharge Bovedas as necessary and haven’t had to spritz or dry out beads in years either.

I do live in a rather favorable cigar storage climate, so it is easier for me than some of you.

Edit
I do also have a desktop that I keep with the 62rh “Cannabis” Bovedas and some 65rh beads for cigars that like a slightly lower rh

No hygrometer, heartfelt and bovedas. Recharge heartfelt when bovedas shrink.

Desktop leaks more than the sealed cases so it needs maintenance a few times a year. The big cases maybe annually tops.

HCM Beads

https://mlbaproducts.com/using-hcm-beads/ 

Nothing better on the market.

Temperature doesn't matter with salt test. Should always be 75%. +/-2% if using a cheap digital hygrometer

Humidity readings will drive you crazy if you expect precision. I seem to find analog hygrometers to be just about as good as the digital ones as the digital ones rarely are ever precise. Beads and bovedas seem to be the best combo, but any storage container will lose humidity if it is opened frequently, I'm happy if my range is 57 to 68.

It would seem to me that no matter what you use to maintain the RH level, you will need to have some way of verifying it is actually working. That implies the need for a recently calibrated hygrometer. Even Boveda can make a bad batch at some point and if that happens and you are running on trust alone for months, you'd be wrong. So for the small amount of effort and minimal expense, having a frequently calibrated hygrometer is a damn handy thing. What brings me back to this subject is that I've been doing a bit of internet research on the use of saturated salts to control humidity. I notice that the scientific articles always say the saturated salts generate a certain humidity 🅱above [/b ]the salts. That sounds to me like if you want to get an accurate calibration, the hygrometer should less than an inch above he salts. I never see that mentioned in the cigar related salt test explanations. It could be it makes minimal difference but why not be as accurate as possible?