Cigar Tip: Camping with Cigars
25 Jul 2012
Last Wednesday I posted the below picture on our Facebook page, saying I was camping on the beach. My wife and I drove from Chicago to visit friends in DC, attend a wedding, and camp by ourselves on Assateague Island, a barrier island off the coast of Maryland.
Now I’m not typically what you’d call “outdoorsy.†The camping part of the trip was my wife’s idea. I decided to comply with her request because (1) she always gets her way in the end anyhow and (2) it was high time we got some use out of all the camping gear we received as wedding gifts two years ago. So for three nights we camped in the sand a few hundred feet from the Atlantic Ocean. By and large, it was a lot of fun. It was also a lot of work.
Naturally, I brought along a few cigars to enhance my experience. And while I’m no expert when it comes to camping by any means, I did learn a few things about how best to enjoy premium tobacco when you’re out in the elements. Below are a few tips I’ve compiled.
Bring extra butane. It can be windy out there, especially if you’re camping on a beach. So I brought along a torch, a backup torch, and extra butane. These tools also came in handy for building great fires. (I know some of you die-hard campers will say using a butane torch takes all the fun out of building a campfire, but I guess that depends on your definition of “fun.†I just want to get that fire going.)
Don’t bother with an ashtray. Camping requires you to pack, haul, and set up a ton of gear. So why bother with an ashtray if it’s completely unnecessary? Your fire pit—whether a fire is burning or not—is a fine place to ash or discard a finished cigar. And if you need a place to rest a cigar while you’re smoking it, just improvise based on your surroundings. I typically rested my cigar across the top of the beer can I was drinking. I drank a fair amount of beer.
Keep your stash cool. My wife and I experienced triple-digit temperatures during the day, and that’s no good for cigars. So I kept my stash of smokes in a carefully sealed Ziploc bag, with a humidification pillow, and stored it atop the ice inside our cooler. The bag never had direct contact with ice and never got too cold since I’d rotate the bag between inside the cooler and somewhere else in the shade. This worked pretty well.
Pack short cigars and long cigars. Sometimes I’d want a short cigar, like when I was foraging for kindling before dinner. Other times I’d want a long cigar, like when I was gazing up at the stars at night. I was pleased I brought along an assortment of variously sized smokes to accommodate my different cigar needs. I suggest you do the same.
I’m sure many of you out there are much more experienced when it comes to camping. If you have some tips of your own related to cigars and camping, please feel free to share them in the comments for the benefit of us all.
photo credit: Stogie Guys
Patrick Ashby
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Patrick Semmens
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George Edmonson
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I've camped at Assateague Island, as well, and I agree — a couple cigars and adult beverages are an amazing way to spend time there! But those wild horses can be a pain if they wander into your campsite!
Beautiful area to camp and relax…especially with cigars and proper beverages. I camp and travel a good bit, about 150 days out of the year. Keeping my cigars fresh and proper for smoking is a priority to me. I have used many different type of humidification systems and or techniques. From the beads to the water pillows…etc. The challenge with the beads and the pillows is that they are only one way, meaning they only put out humidity and they continue to do so until it runs out and drys up.
I have been burnt by these two type of systems and have dried out several premium cigars during a long trip that I damn near lost a stash of Opus. My recommendation is to use the product that Boveda Inc puts out for the Fuente's. It's a really cool ass humidor bag with their two way technology and last up to 6 months! I'm telling, ya, these things work and they not only maintains the humidity in the bag it works two waysI Happy Herfin!
I envy you. You get to smoke your cigar and drink your brews on the beach. Here in California, both are verboten, thanks to the liberals. Both are confined to your campsite, and strolling down to your buddy's campsite with your stogie and brew in hand will net you a healthy fine. Perhaps it's finally time, after 52 years, to leave the Golden State and enjoy life.
Patrick A
I travel a lot from Alaska to Colorado to the farm, hunting trips and the list goes on. I found with a plastic bag and a water pillow that is only good for a few days. I prefer to use the humid packets. It is a little more expensive but when I am out for a week or 2 in the back country it does a much better job of keeping the cigars.
Why bother going camping if you'd still want pizza delivered or directions to the nearest fast food joint?
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Butane torches are great for a number of things, as you've described. I regularly use them for starting fires, lighting cigars and cooking, among other things.
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Other times I’d want a long cigar, like when I was gazing up at the stars at night. I was pleased I brought along an assortment of variously sized smokes to accommodate my different cigar needs. I suggest you do the same.
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