For those who may not quite know, cigar tubes are tubes made to carry and store cigars. There are a wide and varying, with some merely being a simple casing for the cigar. The most useful kinds of cigar tubes are portable humidors. These types will keep your cigar fresh and properly humidified, even while traveling.
Also, if you want to keep your cigars intact, you can case your cigars in tubes and then store them in you humidor the right way. If you choose this method, you must first open your cigar, primarily to check for mold, as cigars kept within portable humidor cases have an tendency to form pods of quicker than in proper well-spaced humidors.
It is at this point important to note that "cigar tubes" may also refer to gel containing humidifiers, which are meant to be placed with a humidifier to better manage humidity. This is crucial because if the humidity is too high, then your stogie will absorb way more moisture that it’s supposed to, which can both ruin the flavor and, in extreme cases (especially if in sealed tubes within a humidor) cause mold and rot.
High humidity levels can also attract unwanted intruders, like rats and beetles, which will eat, burrow and make their homes in your cigars. The suggested humidity for optimal storing cigars is generally between 66%-79%.
If your humidor is old, malfunctioning, doesn’t work like it really should or is possibly cheaply made, or simply homemade and not very effective, and you want better humidity control results - have no fear! It’s easy to build your own cigar tube humidifier.
Here is what you will need and to do:
- Propylene glycol crystals (the only material that's a little difficult to come by)
- Hollow aluminum tube (the softness of the metal is helpful for the holes you'll need to drill)
- Sander,
- 1/8th drill bit and drill and a center punch.
- Then simply strip the tube, drill as many holes as needed (requires testing in humidor) and insert the gel - bam, you've got yourself a personalized cigar tube.