Cigar Weekly

10-08-2002, 07:00 PM

My experience is that you don't need them. Get good humidification and spend the money on cigars instead of hygrometers.

My experiences have been mixed with a bunch of them. Digitals much better than analogs.

Western Caliber - Good enough for the money. There is some variance from batch to batch and you do get some that are out of range, but over all, they fall within tolerances.

Control Company digital pen - Extremely accurate a year ago. Each batch got successively worse to the point where 37 of 50 from the last batch were WAY out of spec. I've had several hundred fall within about 4% which is where they should. I've also had slightly less than 100 out of spec and a dozen that were more than 30% off. Worth the premium price a year ago, not worth even bothering at this point unless they get their act together on quality control.

Csonka Digital - all over the map and definitely not worth the premium price. I've had a group that had very little variance at about 50%, but diverged severely at 70%.

No brand digital with alarm from FGT Enterprises - Pretty good hygrometer with alarms for both temp and humidity that also gives basic trending over time. Variance has been right on target with the 4% accuracy, but haven't really handled enough of them to be able to tell if it is just a good batch that will go south over time on quality control or if they will do the job needed.

Little Havana digital - tiny, compact, size of a Chateau Fuente. Good enough for the purpose intended, but not lab grade. States an accuracy of 1.5%, but has some deviation from that while the majority fall within the variance expected. Same as the one above, too early to tell if it is just a good several batches or if they will continue over time.

Western Caliber II - a bit large, but not too bad. States accuracy of 1%. I've seen a 3% variance from high to low which is pretty good, but a slight bit off from the stated accuracy. A few show a bit of variance, but not much. Like the two above, a newcomer that may or may not hold over time and is a bit early to tell, but so far is not bad.

BUT, it's about how your cigars feel, taste, and smoke and not about the number on a gauge.

10-08-2002, 07:00 PM	#2
mhotek Guest Posts: n/a	My experience is that you don't need them. Get good humidification and spend the money on cigars instead of hygrometers. My experiences have been mixed with a bunch of them. Digitals much better than analogs. Western Caliber - Good enough for the money. There is some variance from batch to batch and you do get some that are out of range, but over all, they fall within tolerances. Control Company digital pen - Extremely accurate a year ago. Each batch got successively worse to the point where 37 of 50 from the last batch were WAY out of spec. I've had several hundred fall within about 4% which is where they should. I've also had slightly less than 100 out of spec and a dozen that were more than 30% off. Worth the premium price a year ago, not worth even bothering at this point unless they get their act together on quality control. Csonka Digital - all over the map and definitely not worth the premium price. I've had a group that had very little variance at about 50%, but diverged severely at 70%. No brand digital with alarm from FGT Enterprises - Pretty good hygrometer with alarms for both temp and humidity that also gives basic trending over time. Variance has been right on target with the 4% accuracy, but haven't really handled enough of them to be able to tell if it is just a good batch that will go south over time on quality control or if they will do the job needed. Little Havana digital - tiny, compact, size of a Chateau Fuente. Good enough for the purpose intended, but not lab grade. States an accuracy of 1.5%, but has some deviation from that while the majority fall within the variance expected. Same as the one above, too early to tell if it is just a good several batches or if they will continue over time. Western Caliber II - a bit large, but not too bad. States accuracy of 1%. I've seen a 3% variance from high to low which is pretty good, but a slight bit off from the stated accuracy. A few show a bit of variance, but not much. Like the two above, a newcomer that may or may not hold over time and is a bit early to tell, but so far is not bad. BUT, it's about how your cigars feel, taste, and smoke and not about the number on a gauge.