Today we will do a review of the electric cooler humidor 25 L branded by Manitan and compare it to its closest competitor: the Needone 23 L.
In the last years, more and more electric humidors are getting, and this can not but make us happy: it means that the demand for cigars industry is growing, the quality of humidors is increasing, the market has something to offer and cigar aficionados can only be happy that price tag is getting lower and lower due to competition (although it is a pity that Chinese make many humidors, but China is not like China!)
Specification
- Electronic temperature control (cooling, not heating). Range 54℉- 63℉
- Capacity: 150 cigars
- Tempered glass
- Analog hygrometer
- 360°circulating cold air system
- 2 cedar wood shelves
- 1 cedar wood drawer
- Acrylic water box
- Small cutter
- Item Dimensions 19.5 x 10.2 x 18.7 inches (LxWxH)
Appearance
The appearance reminds me a lot of a humidor that came out a couple of years ago, namely the Audew humidor and the new version is the Needone. Same glass, the same number of shelves, same analog hygrometer. In terms of design, it was not the manufacturer’s intention to surprise or make a “this is my dream humidor” effect, but it looks nice and compact. The door does not creak, and closes tightly, the sealing rings along the door are in place, so there will be no problems with leakage of moisture and temperature. The backlight is there and turns on the display with a separate button.
Temperature control
Just cooling and no heating. The internal cabinet temperature is affected by the set temperature and ambient temperature. It is using Adopting Semiconductor Refrigeration Technology (Peltier Effect), like the Needone humidor. This humidor is best used in the summer, but if you want to store your cigars in the wintertime indoors these humidors are also suitable if the ambient temperature is 75-78 ℉ – keep this in mind. The temperature of the humidor is even, there are no complaints here.
Smell
What pleased me is that there is no chemical smell of plastic, as there is no Needone! You know that pleasant smell of new appliances when you haven’t even ripped off the film yet, and you can smell the novelty in your house: Manitan gives that feeling of childlike joy. Seriously, what have we come to, we are already glad that high-quality plastic is used, while I said in the beginning that the humidors must be of higher and higher quality. Needone has a real problem with plastic and it suffers from batch to batch, and to get the smell out you need to season a cigar cooler humidor properly. Thank you Manitan, that’s great!
Noise
Quiet, almost silent humidor, you can talk quietly next to it and you hardly notice it. No questions asked here.
Drawers and Shelves
Made of cedar wood, is well assembled, and does not fall apart like some examples. Very easy to pull out for processing inside the humidor, the wood is very well processed. Sufficient space in the drawer for a humidifier box or Boveda packs.
Capacity
I am sure you can get 150 Petit Corona cigars in this drawer. The capacity figures in the humidor descriptions keep jumping around. As a matter of fact, after years of practice, I will tell you one thing for sure: If they write about 100, 200, or 1000 cigars that can fit in the humidor, they are talking about the size of the cigar is about 6 to 7 inches in length, with ring gauges of about 40. Consequently, if your cigars are longer and thicker they will fit 20-30% less than the stated figure (its trite Double Corona will lie askew and space will be decreased). And vice versa: to store the same cigarillos the space will be 20-30% more.
Hygrometer
Here you can see the analog hygrometer, and it is sad because the analog version is worse, it displays inaccurate humidity and that’s why many people swear by humidors, because they don’t keep the right humidity, but it’s only the analog hygrometer that’s guilty. The verdict: keep the analog one as a design element and choose the digital one. Needone already has digital hygrometers for the same price. So it would be better if Manitan would remove the gift round cigar cutter and replace it with a digital hygrometer. And the cigar cutter here is not a V-cut type, so it’s only a gift for complete beginners.
Humidity
As I said in the beginning the door is tight, there is no exhaust air and there is constant ventilation with the fan. Since there is no heating element, the humidity control is regulated by humidifier boxes or Boveda packs (the last option is simpler and more preferable). I was amused by the comment from a user on Amazon that the Manitan humidor doesn’t hold the humidity he wants, even though he added both 10 packs of Boveda Packs and a container of distilled water. No, no, guys, you have to use one thing or the other, so we have a proper guide for such basic issues.
Manitan 25 L vs. Needone 23 L
Now let me show you a comparison chart of the two electric humidors. At the time of this review (08/07/2022) they have the same price and what can you get for that money?
[table id=27 responsive=flip responsive_breakpoint=phone /]The Needone wins in almost every way. So all other things being equal, I would take the Neeone. But it has problems with the smell of plastic, but with a proper first adjustment, this smell will go away and will not cause problems with storing cigars. If there will be a discount on Manitan, you can and should take this model, because I don’t have any complaints about it, except for the analog hygrometer.
Verdict
Manitan 25 L cigar cooler humidor is a basic model for beginners who are not demanding to store cigars and just starting their way aficionados. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake if you take this model: I assure you that you will be delighted, but for serious collections, you will need a completely different professional model.
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