The cellophane wrapper, on or off? Seems to be one of the first questions asked by those new to cigar smoking. I have found that many of the more experienced cigar smokers prefer to take it off, but this may have more to do with tradition than anything else. Proponents on both sides of the debate make good points, but in the end it seems to be a simple matter of preference. Some say that the wrapper doesn't breath very well, i.e. transmit moisture, and that leaving it on will hinder the aging process, while others point out that cellophane has numerous microscopic holes that allow the transmission of water vapour and flavour blending.
With the above in mind, I decided to perform a little experiment and thought that maybe a few fellow hobbyist on this site might be interested, so I humbly submit the following:
I wanted to test how well cellophane transmitted water vapour. First, I completely wrapped my hygrometer in cellophane, one layer thick. I then placed it in an atmosphere with a low RH content. For this, I put the wrapped hygrometer in a sealed container with a small container containing sulpheric acid, 90% pure from a bottle of professional plumber's drain cleaner. Sulpheric acid is extremely hygroscopic, meaning that it will absorb moisture from the atmosphere. In fact, if you were to half-fill a small glass with sulpheric acid and leave it exposed to humid air, in a day or so it will have absorbed so much moisture that the liquid would overflow the glass. It's basically like a super-powered dessicant pack.
My hygrometer read 68 RH at the start of the experiment and after 12 hours it didn't seemed to have moved. Without the cellophane wrapping the RH begins dropping almost immediately upon sealing it in the container and soon plummets. I then placed the wrapped hygrometer in a high-humidity environment, a small bathroom filled with steam. Again I could see no change in the reading. Next, I placed two small pieces of tissue paper dampened with water into the container with the sulpheric acid, one in cellophane and one bare. The bare paper was soon dry, but the one in cellophane didn't seem to loose any moisture.
From my experiment, I couldn't see much of a water transference through the cellophane. Am I saying that my experiment was conclusive? Of course not. Perhaps moisture is getting through the cellophane, just on a slower basis. Obviously, such an experiment would have to be repeated under various conditions before anything can be proven emphatically, but it does suggest to me that cellophane might not "breath" as well as I had once thought. Perhaps allowing the experiment to continue for several days or weeks would show a slow transference of moisture.
Based on what I have found so far, however, I believe that I will begin storing my cigars without their cellophane wrappers, at least for cigars that I am interested in aging.
It is not my intent to start an argument or step on anybody's toes with this post, I just thought that other's may find it interesting as well.
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I figure if it had any real downside cigar makers probably wouldn't use so much of it.
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if it's on i leave it on
if it's not i don't
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Well, I don't think that it harms anything, either. I've heard from various distributors that manufacturers use it more for protection in transit than anything else.
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This is probably the most asked question in the cigar world. Do a search and you will find multiple threads on the subject. There is no right or wrong answer, leave it on, take it off, it doesn't matter.
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"This is probably the most asked question in the cigar world. Do a search and you will find multiple threads on the subject. There is no right or wrong answer, leave it on, take it off, it doesn't matter."


Well, I wasn't really asking a question, I knew it was a popular subject (I had already done a search as well), that's why I thought I'd post what I posted.
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Quite the opposite. It will age slower but less air exchange is widely considered the best way to age cigars and the cello is another barrier preventing air flow, imo.

Many people even wrap boxes in saran wrap then close them in a ziplock for long term aging.
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I was merely quoting what I have heard from others. I agree with you though on the air flow. It might age slower but would probably be a superior cigar in the end.
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If you agree, why did you state this? I'm :-)


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I agree with you about the air flow and slower aging.

God, I'm sorry I even posted it! I thought that perhaps someone else might have found it interesting, but I guess I was wrong! If I could delete the damn post, I would.
Thousand pardons.:-):-):-):-)
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Take it easy. I am truly confused. On one hand you say you agree that less air flow is better then on the other hand you say you will start aging your cigars without the cello that lessens air flow.
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Off or on, it gets used.


On, it protects my stogies.

Off, it works great to press trichomes into solid matter. (yes, 215 compliant).
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Don't be sorry. And don't get your undies in a bunch.
People DO find it interesting. That is why they're responding. There are a lot of intelligent and serious cigar smokers here. You can expect people to engage you and challenge your perspectives in a positive way. Don't expect folks to nod is passive agreement.
:-)
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Interesting experiment. I thought that cigar cellophane was made from wood fibers, making it porous enough for air & moisture to permeate. Unless the "breathing" process was occurring, just on a slower basis than what you observed.
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Very interesting experiment, would be interested to see somebody recreate the experiment in a longer term condition. Thanks for the post!
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Cool idea.

Is there such a thing as a difference in the mixture of saran wrap/cellophane? I wonder if that could affect the experiment in any way. Either way - really cool idea. :-)
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Yes! I remember getting strange looks from my wife a few years ago when I started doing this with boxes. "Ummm honey, why are you wasting our saran wrap on your cigars?" Lol.
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I'm pretty sure cigar cellophane is not the same product as saran wrap. If the hygrometer was wrapped in saran wrap (plastic/PVC,) then I would expect the exact results that he got.

I assumed that he wrapped the hygrometer in cigar cellophane, but maybe not.
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Very interesting.
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When it comes to the cello, I have one rule & one rule only. Iit stays on till I smoke it... :-)
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