NewAir NCH500SSB0

Concerning the storage and aging portion of the premium cigar hobby, two of the most prominent names are Boveda and NewAir. The former is the go-to solution for the majority of enthusiasts when looking to provide consistent RH to their humidor setups, offering convenient humidification packs that can simply be tossed into most environments and trusted to maintain their respective RH targets. The latter has risen to become arguably the best-known brand in the electric wineador category, providing all-in-one units that range from 250 to 1,500-count capacities (generally scoring quite well in our reviews over the years).

With the introduction of the NewAir NCH500SSB0, the two companies have provided something of an unusual collaboration, with NewAir handling the nuts and bolts of the product, while Boveda takes over in terms of humidification. Essentially, NewAir gains a more affordable humidor offering, shipping the units without a built-in system for humidification. Not only does this make for an easier barrier to entry for the price-conscious hobbyist, but it potentially frees up added space, allowing for more cigars to be stored without increasing the size of the overall unit.

Rated at a 500-cigar capacity, the NewAir x Boveda humidor sits just between NewAir’s high and low-capacity humidors. The Boveda portion comes into the equation with custom-made cedar containers, sized perfectly to house Boveda’s large humidor-style packs. These cedar containers slide neatly from slots on the bottom of each shelf (three in total), allowing the Boveda packs to be tucked up and away from the cigars resting below.

NewAir x Boveda 500 Count Electric Cigar Humidor Breakdown

Key Features

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Unboxing

Compared to other humidors in the wineador class, the NCH500SSB0 is as straightforward as it gets. The unit is packaged similarly to other NewAir units, including a good amount of styrofoam and cardboard that keeps it well protected in delivery. Where other standup humidors may include parts (such as door handles) to be assembled, there is almost no setup required here—simply plug it in and set your desired temperature (a range between 54–72°F).

Appearance

NewAir essentially offers two designs that cover their humidor portfolio: all black (with exterior door handle) or black body with stainless door (and recessed door handle). The NewAir x Boveda 500 humidor has the latter design, including a near-full interior visibility (the top three inches are blocked by a black strip that surrounds the touch-panel display) through the glass-panel door. It’s a classy look, being smaller than NewAir’s blacked-out humidors yet the biggest of the stainless designs.

Humidification Setup

This is the biggest differentiator between this unit and all others from NewAir. Where there is typically a water reservoir sitting behind the shelves, the NCH500SSB0 is designed to be used with Boveda’s large humidor-style packs. What this means is that three of the six shelves/drawers have a hollow compartment attached to their underside; these compartments slide in/out of each shelf, and are perfectly sized to fit a Boveda pack. Of course, the standard-sized Boveda packs will fit in this compartment as well, but it’s not as snug of a fit (though you could reasonably fit two standard packs in each compartment for a better fit).

Display Panel

The display panel is located on the outside of the humidor, featuring a simplified assortment of options when compared to NewAir’s larger units. With digital-touch controls, it has a clean look, being responsive and easy to access.

Options

• Temperature: hold the settings button for three seconds and select between 54–72°F (cooling only).
• Light control: tap to toggle between off and on (there is no auto setting). Hold for three seconds to switch between F and C.
• Up arrow
• Down arrow

Cigar Storage

This humidor is primarily geared for storing individual cigars, having shallow shelf heights that cause boxes and bundles to hit the Boveda compartments above. That being said, if you want to store as many cigars as possible, bundle configurations seemed to hold the most cigars in our tests.

Single Shelf

• All cigars: ~30 cigars (filled to shelf edge) or ~50 cigars (using the included wood dowels)
• All 10-count bundles: 50 cigars (single layer) or 70 cigars (stacking bundles)
• All boxes: ~20 cigars (~2 boxes)

Upper Drawer

• All cigars: ~80 cigars
• All 10-count bundles: 70 cigars
• All boxes: 10–20 cigars

Bottom Drawer

• All cigars: ~90 cigars
• All 10-count bundles: 70 cigars
• All boxes: N/A

Entire Humidor

• All cigars: ~290—370 cigars
• All bundles: ~340–390 cigars
• All Boxes: ~100 cigars

Average “Real-World” Results

• ~290–390 cigars

Shelves / Build

As with all other NewAir humidors we’ve tested, these shelves are among the best quality you will find. There is plenty of high-quality cedar from top to bottom, contributing to a nice aroma to aid in the storing/aging of cigars. There are no unnecessary embellishments (as too many manufacturers are tempted to do) in the shape of the shelves and drawer fronts, contributing to the overall clean appearance of the humidor.

One of the more unique aspects of the humidor are the holes that are drilled throughout each of the four shelves. These allow for added customization, where the included wood dowels can be fitted into the holes (28 per shelf). While this can be used to separate cigars within each shelf, we found it most useful to simply form a border around each shelf, allowing cigars to be stacked (making for a higher overall capacity). Unfortunately, the fit of these dowels is very tight, making for quite the chore to install or remove (be careful on the midsection of each slat, which can bend to the point of snapping from the force required to squeeze the dowels into these slots).

In terms of the sliding mechanism, these shelves/drawers pale in comparison to the higher-grade NewAirs, lacking the ball bearing slides that we’ve become so found of. With this humidor, it’s a simplistic approach, relying on slots that are routed into the walls of the humidor; the cedar shelves extend outward on each side, resting on these slots as they slide in/out. There’s also the added benefit of space that’s afforded by the Boveda system, meaning the lowermost drawer can take up the full width of the humidor (as these humidors typically shorten the lower drawer to make room for the water reservoir).

Temperature / Humidity

This aspect is going to be fairly specific to each hobbyist’s own setup. If you’re in the market for this humidor, you’re likely familiar with the Boveda humidity system already. Where units that heat and cool can handle a wide range of storage conditions, a cooling-only humidor such as this should really be confined to areas that don’t get below roughly 60°F, as the advertised humidity levels of Boveda packs won’t live up to their claims in lower temperatures. In our specific situation, where the room is heated only portions of the time, we were never able to get RH levels close enough to be acceptable for cigar storage.

Winter

Spring

Conclusions: this unit needs to be kept in a stable environment. For most, this is going to be similar to your coolidor or hacked wine cooler. If you’re switching from the coolidor approach, you gain the ability to cool; however, the insulating capabilities of the cooler are probably more stable. For those coming from the hacked wine cooler, this will be about the same, with the only difference being a better build quality.

Purchase Recommendation

My first impression of such a collaboration was that it was a no-brainer; fan favorite + fan favorite = fan favorite, right? My second thought was, “Who does this truly appeal to?” Sure, it sounds great, and it’s cheaper than NewAir’s 1,500 and 840-count humidors, but at $700, it’s still on the pricey side for most everyday hobbyists. If you’re truly looking for a cost-effective option, wouldn’t you be more inclined to build a coolidor or wineador? The former option is easy and affordable, totaling around $200 to $250 for your cooler and cedar—not to mention more than double the volume. The latter will get you close to the same results as the humidor in question, costing $100 to $400 (depending on how good of a deal you can score for the wine fridge and wood). The downside here is that you need to be a somewhat handy, and there’s little chance your shelves/drawers will compete with the polished look from NewAir. But is the guy/gal that’s looking for a more affordable solution realistically going to shell out $700 for a device that can’t heat or control humidity? I’m not convinced. Maybe it’s just me, but if I’m going to go so far as to spend a whopping $700, I’ll simply push the needle a few more ticks and spring for the $1,400 version that gives me the full solution. Or maybe NewAir knows this and are using this device to push hobbyists towards their pricier options (touché).

• This humidor’s cost per cigar storage is $1.79. The 1,500-count humidor costs $3.85 per cigar storage space. The 840-count humidor is $4.39 per cigar storage space.
• We could never get RH levels up into the 60s, despite adding humidity beads into the equation after the Boveda packs weren’t getting the job done. This is primarily due, I believe, to the space where the humidor was kept, and I don’t see any reason why this wouldn’t perform as expected for most hobbyists.
• I’ll also note that we only had one of the large-sized Boveda packs that are geared for humidors such as this. We used the standard-sized large packs on the other two shelves, stacking two packs per shelf.
• NewAir touts “no seasoning needed” on these humidors, but I have to disagree. Boveda, beads, or other, I think any humidor with wood should be seasoned. No, I don’t mean you should wipe the shelves down with water, but I’d recommend adding a dish or two of distilled water onto the shelves to get some humidity into the wood. This will allow the Boveda packs to interact with the cigars themselves, rather than wasting RH on the wood.
• The lighting on this unit is sub-par in comparison to the 1,500 and 840-count versions. Those humidors have multiple LEDs that run down the sides of the humidor, doing a decent job of lighting the full humidor, and look nice simply leaving turned on. This humidor reverts back to the blue light at the top of the unit, providing an off-putting hue that only affects the top shelf.
• Interestingly, this humidor doesn’t come with a lock and key set. As far back as I can remember, every humidor has oddly touted the inclusion of a lock and key, as if it’s some sort of lifesaver or bonus that the manufacturer is offering to save you theoretical future money by preventing your precious stash from being stolen… NewAir may have realized that no one has ever used this feature, and has gone without it on this humidor.
• The wood dowels used for shelf customization is kind of unique and fresh, but I’d kind of rather some standard walls on the shelves. For starters, dividers are rarely beneficial to begin with—I’d rather store more cigars than have them categorized. More importantly, you can only stack cigars on this humidor’s shelves if you use the pegs around the edges, but this still leaves gaps between the pegs where cigars can fall out. And then there’s the actual implementation, which, in my opinion, NewAir didn’t pull off. Either the holes are too small or the pegs too big, making it unnecessarily hard to get the pegs in or out.

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