Measuring Moisture Levels by the feel of a cigar

[Hillbilly Steaks]

Guys, ever since I got turned onto the Viper Beads, I haven't really been keeping track of the humidity levels in my Humidor or My cooler'dor. I just made sure that I have the right amount of beads and that they stay moist with Distilled Water. In my humidor though, I've noticed that some of the sticks seem to be a bit dry. None of them are cracking or unraveling, etc... but when you pick the stick up and squeeze around the cap, some will split just a little bit. Last night I pulled out one of my Cohiba Siglo VI that have been in there for a while, and it seemed to smoke really nice.

What do you look for in the "feel" of a cigar to make sure its ok. Is a little cracking of the cap when pressed upon ok???

Thanks
E

 

[The Black Cloud]

The battery in my hygro died a long time ago and I never replaced it. To be honest, my cigars seem to smoke fine. I don't have any beads, just hit the humidifier with some solution every now and then. The cigars do have a little crispyness to them but always seem to smoke fine. Not too quickly, not too slowly. However, every so often I'll get a cigar that tunnels in and extinguishes itself. To my knowledge, that's an indication that the cigar is too wet, correct? In other words the wrapper is more wet than the filler.

I'm sure someone will say that I'm not following proper humidor maintenance, but everything seems to be fine here. No mold, no bugs.

Crap, now that I say that, all hell's bound to break loose.

 

[AngryFishH]

I can hear the beetles in your humi now...

crunch

crunch

crunch

All kidding aside. If you cigars smoke well and you are enjoying them, then whatever your are doing is perfect IMHO. I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[atuck]

I would say that any "cracking" would be signs of a dry cigar . Maybe you could use an Oust fan in your coolerdor to circulate the air. They work pretty good.

When I emptied my cabinet humidor I did notice that the box at the very bottom in the back was a bit dry. I don't seem to have any problems anymore .