Customer Reviews

Quality Importers Desktop Humidor, Capri-Glasstop

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

After reading reviews for this and other humidors from the same manufacturer, I expected to receive a good looking box with a malfunctioning hygrometer and a great deal of fine tuning required to achieve the desired humidity. However, after following very simple directions for calibrating the hygrometer (put it in a zip lock bag with a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of water for a few hours), the device read exactly at the level expected.

The newly manufactured humidor was a little dryer than ideal (50% humidity) upon arrival, so I followed the manufacturer's suggestion and placed a shot glass of water in the box, allowing it to season overnight. The humidity rose to the desired (70%) humidity level and has stayed there with periodic charging (a few minute soaking ever week or two) of the element that came with the box. Within a couple of weeks, once dried out cigars that I had stored badly were restored to their original moisture content. The scent of the reconstituted cigars and the humidor's cedar liner are immediate evident when opening the box. There is no need for any of the other gels, beads or other advertised moisture balancing devices to make this product work exactly as advertised.

The glass top and exterior hygromerter both add interest and functionality to the humidor and are worth the few extra dollars over the more stripped down product versions. If you have a few dozen cigars, this is a very elegant and cost-efficient way to store them.

I will start by saying that yes, this is an attractive box to store your smokes in. The glass top is a nice touch. It feels heavy and the lid closes tight with some good weight to it as well. I dont mind having this on display in my living room. Seems to hold about 40 cigars or so. Maybe you could squeeze in 50 if they were a bit smaller gauge. Now there is really only one negative for me. Its a pretty big negative which is why my rating went from a 5 to a 3 star.

The Hygrometer does NOT come attached to the humidor. It comes in a separate little box along with the humidifier. Sounds like no biggie, right? Well I really cant believe noone else has said this, but the Hygrometer doesnt fit properly in the hole in the from of the humdor. It comes with a Magnet for the back of it, but if you try to use the magnet to hold it in place, A- it will not read correctly, B- It does not seal tight or proper. It just kinda hangs there waiting to get bumped so you have to adjust it again. It came with a rubber ring around the base which made it so I could not even push it in the hole in from of the humidor. afer I removed the rubber ring it was simply too loose. wiggling around and not sealed proper, with a cheap magnet holding it in place.

My solution was to Super Glue the hygrometer to the humidor. Now it is in place and not moving around. I think I set it well enough to keep the humidity in pretty good. So now that it is GLUED in place it is totally just for looks. It reads at just over 50% humidity no matter what I do. Bah, whatever. I have a humidity stick in there so i know the cigars are fine, but the hygrometer is usless and a pain in the arse. Really just dissapointing that it did not come already attached to the damn humidor. I would not buy another one. Ill make sure to research better in the future. But it serves its purpose now, and looks attractive enough.

Hope this helps.

The Capri Glass Top Humidor, is one very nice humidor for not a lot of money. It is actually far better than I imagined at this price point.

The finish is about the same as Bombay Company furniture; that means very nice clean smooth finish over heavy stain on clear wood. Nobody would ever mistake this for a fine furniture finish, but it looks nice all the same. The top has a glass insert that is very heavy. So when you lift the lid, this thing feels very expensive and solid (remember guys love heavy and hydraulic things). The lid seals very tightly so there is virtually no cedar odor outside the humidor. The interior is finished with nice smooth knot free cedar. There is one movable divider.

Included with the humidor, a nice dial hygrometer with brass ring, a humidifier disk, a brass name plate for engraving, and an instruction sheet. Pretty darn simple, exactly what you would expect.

The instructions are excellent and crystal clear. Add one of these, DryMistat HumidiTube Cigar Tube Humidifier, Single Tube, and controlling humidity is almost bullet proof.

For the person with a nice small collection of cigars, or the occaisonal smoker, this is just about the perfect humidor. The humidor is about the total size of three wooden cigar boxes. It is discreet, well made, and a nice size.

After reading all 37 prior reviews of this product, here is what it boiled down to for me as this is my first humidor (Capri-Glasstop). I wanted a cheaper, starter humidor that can hold my stash (11 as of right now, cigars). This has/will do that perfectly. I wanted to wait about a week before I wrote a review so I do have some experience with it. When I got it, it was nicely packed, no damage and the hygrometer came pre-installed, mine fit perfectly without any problem of that rubber seal. Although I did have to take it off to calibrate it with the infamous salt test (as you do with any hygrometer), mine was off by about 10% and I fixed it with a flat-head screwdriver. I put it back in and it looks and works perfectly. As far as the humidor itself, it has good materials, the hinges work well, the box has a nice seal. The only problem is that tempered glass sticker that another reviewer mentioned, it's under the lid and somewhat difficult to take off, but I did so and then used some goo-be-gone to remove the adhesive residue. The humidor doesn't look cheap at all, just remove the QC stickers and the made in china stickers and you'll be left with a very nice looking and functioning humidor. The humidifier seems to be working, I put distilled water in it and no issues with it so far. I had to season the box for about 3-4 days, I did wipe it down lightly with distilled water with no problems, so I think you can do that with this particular humidor. I plan to get another form of humidification such as the beads or a tube, I don't think that the included humidifier will be able to hold the RH for very long without recharges, and I also plan to get a digital hygrometer because they are rumored to be more accurate. The humidifier comes with a magnet so that you can take it out and replace it easily, I originally soaked the whole thing in distilled water before I realized that. Next time, I would consider a humidor that is a little smaller (this is a true desktop humidor) and that doesn't have a glass top, it's pretty, but fingerprint and sunlight prone. The wood divider works well and has a very nice fit. If you're having problems seasoning, let me assure you that it does take a few days, I used the wipe down method and a shot glass of water and the humidifier, the box is very dry (as if should be) when it comes to you in the mail. This humidor deserves 5 stars without a doubt and I only paid $34 for it, what a steal!

I bought the capri-elegant glass top humidor from Quality Importers for $35.31 after taxes and shipping. Let me say upfront that I consider this a great buy and well worth the money. I was tempted to give the product 5 stars since the price of the humidor more than makes up for the issues I had with the humidor.

This humidor will do a great job keeping your cigars moist and perfect. Your cigar collection's happiness has little to do with the humidor and more to do with the operator of the humidor. For a humidor to be effective it needs to seal tightly enough to create a "mini-climate" tailored to your cigar and this humidor seals nicely (tighter than many humidors I have seen, but not too tight). You will have to "season" the humidor (as the manufacturer recommends and as all websites will tell you), as the wood inside the humidor upon arrival at your house is extremely dry and will absorb moisture in the air until it is no longer drier that the climate it is currently in. Seasoning a humidor is a way to quickly "undryify" the wood inside your humidor. Its more important to season this particular humidor because it is lined with dried Spanish cedar which is drier than other linings you might find in a humidor.

Please read this document below, as it mirrors my opinions about humidors.

Cigar Humidor Myths Exposed:

[...]

The Good

1. Looks nice at a distance.

2. Larger than I expected.

3. Quality hinge work.

4. Seems to be well assembled (except for the one small issue I had with the sticker on the glass).

The Bad

1. Included brass hygrometer is a pain to get to work. This was the biggest hassle of the product. (a) The needle of the hygrometer was resting against the dial of the hygrometer (which was making it so that the needle couldn't move freely), so I had to pry the back off of the hygrometer and bend the needle so that it floated above the dial. (b) The screw available to calibrate the hygrometer is almost useless. I had to pry off the back of the hygrometer (which isn't and easy task) and hold the needle while I turned the screw, as just turning the screw simply turned the needle and accomplished nothing. (c) The hygrometer comes with a silicon ring/seal which fits around the hygrometer and is used to create a compression seal into the hole drilled into the front of the humidor. This works well, except that the silicon ring/seal was too thick and I had to use a knife to shave it a bit so that the I could push the hygrometer flush into the hole on the front of humidor. Before I shaved bits of silicon off, I could only push the hygrometer in 95% of the way, causing it to stick out a bit.

2. The people that assembled the humidor left a sticker on the glass that said "Tempered Glass". The sticker was partially underneath the wood that encased the glass and was a bit difficult to remove. They should have removed the sticker before installing the glass, or put the sticker in a place that is easier to remove.

3. The finish on the outside of the humidor is not terribly high quality. I am going to use my own furniture wax (I may apply a coat of poly) on the humidor to compensate for that, but, it would be nice if they had applied a few more coats of sealant at the factory.

I bought one for myself to try it out. I bought it from amazon and it was WONDERFUL. Took a little bit of calibration, but that is necessary with any analog hydrometer (see salt test). I also had to season it, but again, necessary with any humidor. I decided to buy 6 more because I thought it would be a great gift for my groomsmen at my wedding. When I purchased them again from amazon, it was sold through a 3rd party, ShopAddict (Bee Glamorous LLC). You should write that down. They sold me 6 pieces of crap. They were low quality wood, a hydrometer that was half the size, no instruction manual, a crappy humidifier, no engraving plate, and on top of everything it is slightly smaller. Just because they slapped a sticker that had the humidors company's name (Quality Imports) on the box, they thought they could get away with it.

Amazon said they would give me a refund, but could not exchange the item. They said I could buy it from them, but the overall price was $57.06 more for 6 of them, due to the price increasing. I'm still trying to figure out why I cannot receive the item I purchased in the description? Doesn't it make sense that one of these companies should be responsible?

So overall, if you buy this, make sure you DO NOT purchase from ShopAddict (Bee Glamorous LLC)!!!!

This is my first humidor. Bought this with 1x Drymistat Humidifier Tube; 1x Quality Importers HygroSet II Round Digital Hygrometer for Humidors; and 1x Quality Importers HygroSet II Round Digital Hygrometer for Humidors. Full deal for ~$57 shipped.

Quality of humidor was perfect, tight closing, no nicks/dents, glass was perfect, no stickers as others have mentioned. The built in analog hygrometer fits tightly due to a sticky rubber gasket. Analog works withing 5% of the digital. Looks great on kitchen counter. (See uploaded pictures)

While calibrating digital hygro, started seasoning. To season, gently wiped cedar with distilled water on damp paper towel. Added drymistat tube; and shot glass of distilled water. Achieved 72% in 36 hours. Left for 3 days, then added 6 cigars. Working well after 1 month now. Stays around 71%.

Originally, for the money, I found this humidor to be quite excellent. My model looked like the one pictured here, with the hygrometer already installed on the front as you see in the photo.

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I, too, read all the reviews here, as well as looked online about hygrometers, etc. I did not calibrate my hygrometer, as it didn't seem to want to come out easily, and I was afraid of disturbing the seal around it. So I let it be. I did wipe down the insides of the humidor with warm distilled water (paying attention to the hinges and lid) as well as put in a shotglass of warm distilled water overnight. I also filled the humidor element that came with it and placed that inside overnight as well. Within a few hours, the hygrometer jumped from 50 to 72. (You want this to be between 70 and 75 for keeping your cigars nice). Now - this new humidor is thirsty - you can't just do this once and expect it to work. After sitting overnight, it went down to about 68 or so. I wiped down the interior again, replaced the shotglass water, and put more distilled water in the humidifier element. I expect to do this for a few days before it will constantly stay over 70.

Again, I didn't calibrate my hygrometer - the other reviews or a google search will teach you about that. I may do it if I find my smokes aren't moist enough. I did not find any stickers on the glass or box that needed to be removed - the unit was clean. Mine also did come with the little gold-plate-sticker thing which does look very flimsy (I think it's too thin to stand up to an engravement.) but I don't plan on using it.

Overall, I am very happy with this humidor. The construction and look are excellent for the money.

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* Update: It's been a few days now, and I'm having trouble keeping a constant level of humidity in my humidor. When I wipe down the walls and refresh the humidor element, the humidity will rise between 70 and 75 but it will generally drop below 60 soon afterwards. I hope it's only that the wood is thirsty and that it's taking longer than expected to season the wood inside the humidor. I have a gel tube in there too but nothing seems to help. I will say this - don't expect to use this immediately. Be patient. It takes a long time to build up the correct constant humidity inside this thing.

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* UPDATE #2: This thing won't hold up. Even if the hygrometer is off, it's still WAY down. For several days after receiving it I would wipe down the inside with filtered water, re-fill the humidifier, and leave a tube of gel inside. The humidity would rise dramatically, then drop off. Well, now I can't get it to get past 70. My hygrometer usually hovers around 60 or 65 (or lower!) soon after "treating" it. I have a full humidifer, a full tube of gel, and TWO Shot glasses with salt and water and STILL it's MAYBE at 62 right now. I'm going to call this one a fail, as it simply won't hold in it's humidity. I'm going to do one final step and re-calibrate the hygrometer. If that doesn't solve the issue, then I'm dropping this to 1 star. The included instructions are ridiculous, as it says it should maintain constant humidity within a DAY of receiving it using nothing but the included humidifer. That's a lie. One more chance, then that's it....!

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* UPDATE #3: As I promised - I've dropped this thing to a single star. It gets a single star for looks, only. It simply doesn't maintain a constant level of humidity. I have to wipe the insides down every few days with filtered water just to keep it up within a barely reasonable level of humidity. I have successfully calibrated the hygrometer, and still, it dips below the ideal setting. Kind of sad. I'll have to buy a legit one someday.

Does not hold humidity at expected level and humidity guage does not work. Had to buy an additional humidity guage, gel and finally a humidity package to try and get 70%. It's a pretty box but you have to put more money into it to get it to work correctly and basically buy all the extras yourself.

I bought this humidor because it was pretty close to the total price of the cigars I had leftover from a party, and I figured I could save the cigars and the humidor would pretty much pay for itself. Straight out of the box, I was pleased. It's pretty and seemed sturdy.

I did the salt test to calibrate the hygrometer. It was considerably off. I tried a variety of different small screwdrivers to try to adjust it, but without success. The groove in the screw was so shallow as to be almost completely flat, and none of the assorted screwdrivers could get enough grip to adjust it. OK, whatever, I can do the math in my head.

So I went to put the hygrometer into the hole into the front of the humidor so I could seal everything up and start seasoning. Well, while pressing the hygrometer into place, I must have put a bit of pressure on the open lid or something, because the lid actually fell off. The screws holding the hinges in just kind of tore out of the cardboard/fiberboard core. It wasn't that much pressure, I assure you. So now I have wood putty in the old holes and am trying to repair this thing. The hygrometer is still not sitting flush in the hole and you can see the rubber ring around it, which is not attractive. With the lid off, I tried really pressing that thing in there, but it won't go all the way in.

It's honestly not worth the shipping cost to return it, so I will keep it, repair it, and it will probably serve its function well enough if I buy an after-market hygrometer. But I would definitely not buy this again.