So, ... what does everyone think? Do tubes offer any real protection for cigars, or are they just so much pretty packaging? Do they signal that the enclosed stick is premium? What do you do with yours, put them tubes and all into the humi. or what?
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it's just diff packaging...I do leave the cigars in the tubes as they usually have a cedar lining which in my head makes me believe that it makes them cigars taste better.
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They do offer protection, and some bling too. I just throw mine, in the tubos, into the humi.

With Habanos, they don't automatically signal a premium...several value cigars, like the Upmann Corona Major, come in tubos. I don't really have much experience with NC tubos, though I know some premium lines like Davidoff use them extensively.
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If you can't smoke it, then its waste IMO. Pretty ornate boxes (boxes at all really), fancy phallic tubos, etc..... all significantly add to the cost of the cigar you are buying.
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Back in the 90's a lot of rumors floated around about tubos just being a way to hide flaws, off colors, patch jobs...etc. I don't know if any of these were true or not (although I could see it being easier to sell off color smokes in the same box this way) but I really havn't run across any more issues with sticks in tubos than those without. I always kind of liked them in my younger days if I was out and about town and happend to grab a few sticks on the fly to throw in my pocket. This of course was before I became a regular cigar smoker and carried a cigar case for my everyday choices.
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Cigars in tubes age wonderfully.
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I like tubos, and often times keep my leftover tubes specifically to carry cigars around in. If I go to the course, I'll toss a couple in my bag and I know there won't be any issues with them when I need one.

I tend to smoke a lot when I'm on the road, traveling somewhere, etc and tubos come in handy.

And lastly, they make a great way to gift a cigar to a fellow BOTL who might not have a humidification system ready for when they want to smoke it. :-):-)
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They do offer some protection, but not as much as you would think. I've had some RyJ tubos get ruined by getting smashed in a suitcase. Maybe I was naive in thinking they'd be safe.
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Love tubos! There are a few NCs I have smoked that come in tube and non. I seem to prefer the tube ones. Love the woodsy smell they come with. Also a huge plus on the motorcycle, toss them in the vest or saddlebags with no worries.
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Be warned - most tubos (except the ones hermetically sealed with a non-permeable solid) are not going to hold the humidity much longer than cellophane. I don't trust the average tubo (aluminum tube, cork buffer, aluminum screw on cap) any longer than a week to hold a cigar in smokable condition, whereas a plastic baggie will hold most cigars in smokable condition for that long as well. If you are giving cigars to someone without a humidor, your best bet is not to get tubos, but get whatever you think they will enjoy and put it in a humidor bag. This is the only way to ensure that the cigars will be enjoyable for a long period of time.

I can see a case made for the tubos sealed with cork being better, but still a few months out of the humidor and most likely (depending on your climate) that cigar is going to be crunchy.

:-)
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So do you store them in your humi, tube and all, or do you take them out of the tube and store them naked?
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You can do it either way. Personally, I take the sticks out of all tubos and cellophane if I am going to be resting them for a long time. A couple of months or cigars that I will be handing out I tend to leave in cello or tubes if they come like that, just for protection. You certainly can put tubos in a humi, they do fine in there, but for me (since I don't buy anything by the box that is in tubos) they take up too much extra space in my singles trays and aren't worth it. Plus, you can make a cool display with extra tubos, as is adorning my window sill at the moment :-)
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I'm not sure how long they plan on keeping it but I doubt it's going to months on end.

For what it's worth, I gifted a handful of Upmann Coronas Major to my buddy who smoked 1 or 2 the same night and threw the rest on the counter of his bar.

The next time we were playing cards at his house (probably 2 1/2 weeks later), I grabbed one to spark it up and it wasn't dry at all. It was actually pleasantly smokeable. I know they're not hermetically sealed but ffs, they do hold up well enough to be giftable.
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This is easy. Put a cigar in your jeans without cello or tubo. Then put a cigar in a tubo in your other pocket. Walk around and see if your pocket is full of loose tobacco flakes at the end of the day.
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They are definitely travel friendly if you do not have a travel humidor. I tend to store mine in the tube in the humidor.
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