Sorry for a bump this ancient thread...just my humble observations...
First of all, I will say that I am crazy about my cigars. I have been collecting cigars for quite a few years now and it is my belief that if you are going to invest all of the time and money that we do into our hobby it is worth preserving your investment.
For starters, most people have heard of the 70/70 rule. This rule states that cigars are perfectly kept at 70% humidity and 70 degrees F. While this is not incorrect, it is not my preference. I keep my cigars at 65/65. I do this for a variety of reasons.
-First the temperature
If your cigars get above 70 degrees F you will run the risk of beetles hatching in your cigars (use the search function to see my post about freezing cigars). To be on the safe side, run my humidors at 65 degrees to account for fluctuation in room temperature, sunlight, etc.
- Now for humidity
While cigars may age perfectly at 70% relative humidity (RH from here on) it is my experience that they do not smoke as well at that level. Also if you get a humidity spike you will run the risk of mold growing on your precious smokes. That being said, all of my humidors are kept at 65% RH so I do not run the risk for mold and so that I can pull any stick out of my humidor at any given time and smoke it without needing to dry box it for the night (dry boxing is the process of taking a cigar out of 70% RH and placing it into a dry cigar box or unseasoned humidor for a period of time to allow the stick to dry out just enough to reveal the true potential locked in the cigar/eliminate the risk of the cigar being over humidified and it smoking hot).
I love cooler humidors (Here is a link to the review, if you want to know more about them)
https://coolerexp.com/best-cigar-cooler-humidor-review/ They are beautiful pieces; they just never seem to work well for me. I have bought and sold countless numbers of desktop humidors and besides several custom humidors and Daniel Marshal’s desktop line I am largely unimpressed with them. It is my opinion that you will grow out of your desktop quickly and they are far too difficult to regulate. If you want my advice; make a coolidor. They are cheaper, more reliable, and it is easier to expand with a coolidor. That being said, I have several desktops that I love and every cigar smoker should have one good desktop to store their smokes in.