Inkbird Digital Hygrometer Thermometer - Indoor Temperature Humidity Monitor with °F/°C Display for Cigar Humidor, Reptile Terrarium, Greenhouse, Guitar Room & Home Basement - ITH10 Model

A few months ago my family and I moved into a new home, next to a wonderful neighbor who is, to say the least, a cigar enthusiast. I dabbled in cigars over the years and enjoy smoking quality cigars, from time to time. My wife is from Nicaragua. When we visit, it’s the perfect opportunity to get fine cigars at a reasonable price (declared, of course). With the cigar purchases, I needed a humidor. I bought a cheap one years ago. However, the attempt to setup and maintain the humidor, repeated over a period of years, failed miserably. I was young, inexperienced, impatient, neglectful, and severely ill-informed about, well, really anything having to do with humidors and cigar maintenance -- as evidenced by a host of dried out cigars, and, finally (the reason why I discarded the humidor a gave up), molded cigars.My new neighbor and I recently struck up a conversation (over a nice Ashton Classic) and fine single-malt. He asked me what type of humidor I had (assuming -- since I enjoyed the cigar with him, commenting on the subtle notes at each third, the even burn and stable foot, the leaf and the filler -- that I had one). I asked him why. He said, from one friend who enjoys cigars to another, he wanted to give me some of his favorite cigars to enjoy any time I wanted. A fine present from a good man, I told him my story. He put his glass down, went dead-pan affect, pointed his cigar at me and said, “No self-respecting man who enjoys cigars can go through life without their own humidor, even a small, 25-50-cigar humidor... to start.” I told him my experience with my former humidor (ill-seasoned, and ill-maintained), which made use of the included cheap (and I mean cheap) analog hygrometer. He said, very straightforwardly I might add, “Well, it’s not a problem. You just didn’t know what the [h-e-double-hockey sticks] you were doing.” He showed me his 150-cigar, glass-top humidor and the setup he uses, telling me what I did wrong, how to move forward, and what I needed… a main component being a properly-seasoned humidor, a proper means of hydration, and, of course, a digital hygrometer/thermometer. I told him I looked into a new setup a little bit ago and that a good setup is too expensive. He said, “No, a great setup is expensive. But, you don’t need a great setup. You need a good one, to start. Good humidors and hygrometers can be inexpensive, depending on where you look. Start small. Then, if it works out, go big.” He made some recommendations. Based on what he told me, I started looking at brick and mortar and online cigar shops and tobacco shops. After a lot of research, I ended up on Amazon, ultimately deciding on the Quality Importers Desktop Humidor, Capri-Glasstop humidor (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002TOK352/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_3) (which passed the dollar bill test and worked very well so far) and the Inkbird Digital Thermometer & Hygrometer, both which I showed to my buddy who said, “Yep, they’ll do... to start.” After roughly four months of use, here’s my experience with the inkbird.Pros: For my purposes, I needed only a few functions, which the inkbird performs well. It’s a digital hygrometer/thermometer with a low-profile (that doesn’t obscure the view of my cigars). It has an on/off switch to save power, should you need it. LCDs have a low-power consumption to begin with. Assuming the included battery is a good one, power drain should be a non-issue for some time. Allowing you easily to replace the battery via a slide-out tray, the hygrometer attaches to your humidor using two, included velcro squares. The device is light, and the squares more than adequate for adhesion. Please see General Comments; however, for me, most important was the fact that the RH and temps were dead on.Cons: Noted earlier, the inkbird uses an LCD display (think old-school, 80’s digital watches -- if you were alive and old enough to remember such a watch back then -- and there you go). While looking at the display straight on, it’s great. Looking at the display through the glass top of a humidor causes some problems, due to the viewing angle. If you don’t have a glass-top humidor, this will be a non-issue for you. However, I purchased a glass-top so I could check on my cigars without disturbing the environment in the box. The viewing-angle limitations of the inkbird makes keeping the lid closed next to impossible. However, I have an analog hygrometer on my humidor, calibrated, and used to spotcheck the RH from a distance. All of which I confirm using the inkbird after opening the box, on occasion, to allow it to breathe (and allowing me to take in that oh-so-wonderful aroma). Another con is, unlike most analog hygrometers, I can find no way to adjust the RH or temp values (+/-) on the inkbird. While the device I received was spot on, a means of adjusting the RH value up or down would be nice, in case the hygrometer’s measurements are off out of the box.General Comments: The inkbird measures temperature in either Centigrade vs. Fahrenheit. This is a nice feature, but matters little to me, as I’m interested only in Fahrenheit. Instructions note the hygrometer can be off (+/-) 5% humidity. One of the first tasks I set upon after unboxing the inkbird was to run the salt test on both the humidor’s included analog hygrometer and the inkbird. After allowing the environment in the baggie to stabilize overnight (look up “hygrometer salt test” to discover what I mean if you don’t know already), the included analog hygrometer was was off by 3%, while the inkbird was dead on at 75% RH. After reading the reviews on this page, not everyone got the same results (i.e., their inkbird was off… but was still within the +/- 5% promised). Make sure you run the salt test to find out your hygrometer’s true RH reading. Temps seemed to match the readout on my in-house thermostat.Recommended Purchase?: After having used the inkbird hygrometer/thermometer for a few months now (longer than I was ever to keep a box of cigars before), I can say, without reservation, that I can recommend it as a four-star purchase. My cigars and I credit this hygrometer with keeping them perfectly balanced and ready to go at a moment’s notice. Should a need arise to change my review, I’ll do so ASAP. Until then, regards.