If you only use your travel humidor for seasonal or occasional trips, it’s a good idea to make sure it is travel-ready. 
This can mean a number of things, depending on what kind of travel humidor you are using. First and foremost, make sure you have a good one. Yes, we sell them here, but we also know there many other options, so here are a few key things to consider:
- Is your travel humidor constructed with rigid/hard sides? Leather sleeves and other soft side cases can be classy and fit handsomely in your coat pocket, but they are not the best choice for travel. A hard-sided case will protect your cigars from being crushed. Considering that the single most influential part of the cigar to affect its taste is the wrapper, you don’t want it to get damaged. Not only can a cracked wrapper cause it to come loose or even fall off, it can also change the burn quality of the cigar, causing it to burn hotter and faster than the part that isn’t broken. Light one up with a broken wrapper and pretty quickly it will start to look like a cartoon prop that had a firecracker rolled up inside it. Personally, anytime a cigar I am smoking begins to look like this, it’s over. And if it happened because I lit it with a cracked wrapper, I’ll call myself an idiot, because I should’ve known better…but if it happened without having a cracked wrapper, then it’s a defective cigar that the manufacturer will likely want to be aware of, and most reputable cigar shops will replace it free of charge in this case, passing on the replacement cost to the manufacturer. Oops, I ran down a rabbit trail. If you don’t have a hard side travel humidor, get one.
- Make sure you have enough Boveda humidity packs for your humidor. These two way moisture control packs are an absolute essential for travel. No batteries required, no water level to check or add — just drop them in and go. If you’re not already familiar with Boveda, any good cigar shop will have them. Getcha some.
- Are you flying or driving? If you use an watertight/airtight case and your trip includes air travel, does your case have a pressure relief (equalization) valve? These genius little devices keep the air pressure inside the case at the same level it is outside the case. A case without this valve could prove difficult to open after a flight because the charge in cabin pressure could have created a vacuum inside the case that would hold the lid shut, kind of like a stubborn pickle jar. If your case doesn’t have one of these, you’re definitely due for an upgrade. I recommend a Benchmark. :)
- If your humidor is either made of or has a Spanish Cedar liner in it, make sure it is adequately seasoned prior to your departure. And the more cedar it has, the more important it that it be seasoned. The best advice is to keep it seasoned and ready to go at all times. A dry Spanish Cedar cigar enclosure can work against you, not for you if you’re not careful. Spanish Cedar is an excellent humidor enclosure material, but it if it is drier than your cigars, it will absorb their moisture instead of vice-versa. For more on properly and adequately seasoning your humidor, click here. As always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out — we’d love to hear from you! Until next time, Happy Trails…and cheers!
—Danny Jackson