I was at the Cayman Cigars Event at West Coast Cigars in San Jose in early July. While I was enjoying the fantastic Cayman Broadside, Kyle, one of the shop’s owners, approached me, holding onto a large, black cigar storage bag. He was accompanied by a man, whom I assumed was another patron.
“Hey, you gotta check this out,” he said, and he handed me the bag.
“Whoa! This is cool!” I remarked.
Then Kyle turned to the man and said, “This guy writes about cigars and the industry. You should get to know him. This is Lance.”
We shook hands, and Lance gave me a quick run-through of his new Bagidor, which he explained was a portable cigar humidor system.
My first thought was, okay, this is a nice, thick bag. But as I inspected it, I saw that it could hold lots of cigars. I immediately got the two zip bags of cigars I purchased, removed the cigars, and transferred them into the Bagidor.
They hardly made a dent in the space.
Lance said it will comfortably store forty cigars. It has a pleated bottom that expands the space. Nice. Plus, it comes with a 69% two-way humidity pack, and you can load it with cigars, and not have to dig for a pack.
I’ve got two and currently use them as intake humidors. I first used one to store a new box of LGC Intención sticks. After more than a month in the bag, my cigars are still fresh. I replaced the included 69% humi-pack with a 65% Boveda as that’s my preference and I popped in a Spanish cedar block. The Boveda is still intact. No crunchiness at all, and the cedar still smells fresh, so the bag is definitely doing its job.
I’m using the second one as an intake humidor for the fivers and singles that have recently arrived. But I’m playing a round of golf tomorrow, and I’m going to use it as my cigar caddy to see how well it works. What I like is that I can bring more sticks than my regular five-stick caddy. That has been an issue because I share sticks with my playing partners. Last time we went out, we all wanted more cigars after the round and I didn’t have any left (I smoked two during the round). Now I can bring a bunch!
Here’s what Lance mentions on his Amazon product page:
BAGIDOR is a new, convenient cigar storage system designed to make cigar care simple and effortless from the start. Use it for a few cigars, your everyday rotation, or up to 40 cigars for dependable daily or long-term storage. Lightweight and space-efficient, BAGIDOR fits easily on a shelf or in a cabinet or drawer. Slip it into a travel bag or take it along in your car, golf cart, RV, boat, or wherever the day takes you. It provides reliable cigar protection on the move without unnecessary bulk.
Lance and I had a recent conversation, and he mentioned one use that I hadn’t thought of: it’s a perfect storage container for newbies to the hobby. When I first started in the early ’90s, I stored all my sticks in Ziploc bags – in the freezer! I had no clue about proper humidification and storage. In hindsight, had the Bagidor been available back then, I would’ve used it to store my sticks.
But the coolest thing about it is the locking zipper!
The included humidity pack is a great addition, but the locking zipper is what sold me. The problem with zipper bags is that a little rough handling can sometimes break them. The zipper on the Bagidor is metal. The bag will tear before that thing breaks.
The Bagidor makes sense the moment you use it. It isn’t a novelty pouch or a dressed-up zip bag. It’s a thick, expandable portable humidor.
Here are its key features from the included literature:
- Includes a 67g 69% rH Integra Boost pack.
- Heavy-duty multi-layer, high-barrier construction
- Food-grade, non-reactive interior
- Heavy-duty, resealable zipper that locks!
- One environment for storage and travel
Okay, I know what you’re thinking: It’s just a bag. I thought the same thing at first glance. And you might think that you could just use a regular zip-top bag to do the same job. I suppose you could. But the material this is made of is much tougher than that of a normal zip-top bag. And once the zipper on the Bagidor is locked, the bag is completely sealed. I don’t know about you, but with a normal zip-top, I’m not always confident it’s 100% sealed.
The Bagidor retails at $21.99 on Amazon. But Lance provided me with a 10% discount code STOGIE10 that brings the price down to $19.79.
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