Redford Lite 1,250-Cigar Climate Controlled Humidor Cabinet | Pre-Order

The Redford Lite is the point at which a cigar collection stops being managed by hand and starts being managed by a machine. It holds up to 1,250 cigars behind a tempered glass door in a black oak cabinet, runs its own heating and cooling, and humidifies from an internal reservoir under touchscreen control. It suits a home collector whose desktop humidors have run out of room, a small lounge that wants stock visible, and anyone tired of chasing humidity packs.

Who it suits

This cabinet makes sense somewhere between roughly 400 and 1,250 cigars. Below a couple of hundred sticks, a large desktop humidor does the same job without the cabinetry. Above 1,250, size up rather than run this one packed to its ceiling, because a full cabinet loads awkwardly and recovers humidity slowly after the door is opened. If you buy by the box, plan for the collection you will have in three years.

Climate control

The Redford Lite adjusts across 41°F to 71°F and 56% to 78% RH. Those are the outer limits of adjustment, not a recommendation. Most collectors settle near 65 to 70°F and 65 to 70% RH, which sits mid-range here with headroom on both sides — cooler and drier for long-term aging, warmer and wetter for cigars you intend to smoke soon.

The important distinction versus a passive humidor is that this unit both cools and heats. A passive humidor drifts with the room, and a room that reaches the high seventies in August is a room where tobacco beetle hatches. An actively controlled cabinet holds its setting through summer and, because it heats too, through a cold night. The specification states a built-in cooling and heating system without naming the technology, so we will not guess at compressor versus thermoelectric.

• Temperature: adjustable from 41°F to 71°F
• Humidity: adjustable from 56% to 78% RH
• Heating and cooling: built in, so the cabinet holds a setting rather than following the room
• Control: touchscreen digital panel
• Humidification: built-in system with a water reservoir and a fan, which moves humidified air around instead of letting it settle at the bottom of the cabinet
• De-mist: glass fogs when the cool interior meets warm humid room air, most noticeably in summer; the de-mist function clears the pane so a display cabinet stays a display cabinet
• Door: tempered glass with a tight seal, which is what makes the rest of it work

Capacity in the real world

Treat 1,250 as a laboratory number. It assumes loose single cigars, evenly sized, packed efficiently across all four sliding shelves and the removable tray. Very few collections look like that.

Store in boxes and the figure drops sharply — box walls, lids, cedar sheets and half-empty layers all consume volume that loose cigars would occupy. As a working rule, assume a box-stored cabinet holds closer to half its loose rating. Large ring gauge and long cabinet-selection sticks reduce it further, since fewer fit across the depth of a shelf. Day to day, the four sliding shelves matter more than the last hundred cigars of theoretical capacity: sliding one out lets you reach the back without unloading the front. The removable divider tray suits loose singles, and taking it out frees height for taller boxes. This is planning guidance, not a guaranteed count.

Build and finish

The Lite is finished in black oak — flat, modern, and considerably plainer than the moulded and panelled cabinets elsewhere in the Redford family. That plainness is deliberate and is most of what the word Lite refers to here. It measures 25 inches wide, 24 inches deep and 52 inches tall, so it fits a normal room without dominating it.

The door is tempered glass with a tight seal. That seal decides whether the climate system maintains conditions or fights a leak, so inspect it on arrival. White LED lighting runs inside for full display visibility; LED matters in a humidor because it produces very little heat, so lit shelves do not become warm shelves.

The interior is cedar lined. Cedar is the traditional humidor material because it holds moisture without warping, buffers the cabinet against swings when the door is opened, contributes to how cigars mature, and repels tobacco beetle. The specification says cedar lined without naming the species, so we will describe it as cedar rather than claiming Spanish cedar. No lock is listed in the specification for this model; if a lock is a requirement, confirm it before ordering.

Specifications

The specification supplied to us does not state a voltage, a weight, a lock or a compressor type. Take those from the manufacturer's documentation rather than from assumption. The cabinet is covered by Prestige Import Group's manufacturer warranty — see the warranty tab for the terms.

Setting it up

General best practice for a cedar-lined climate-controlled cabinet. The manufacturer's manual is the final authority.

• Season it first. New cedar is dry and will pull moisture out of the air — and out of your cigars — until it reaches equilibrium. Run the cabinet empty with the reservoir filled and give the interior several days to stabilise before any cigars go in. Skipping this is the most common reason a new cabinet appears not to hold humidity.
• Distilled water only. Fill the reservoir with distilled or reverse-osmosis water. Never tap water: dissolved minerals scale the system and mould finds a foothold in the residue.
• Placement. An interior wall, out of direct sunlight, away from radiators, heat vents and warm-running electronics. The cooling system has to reject heat somewhere, so leave clearance rather than boxing the cabinet into an alcove.
• Level footing. A cabinet that sits out of level puts the door out of square, and a glass door that does not seal evenly will undo the climate system. Check with a spirit level and adjust before loading.
• Power. No voltage figure appears in the specification we hold, so read the rating plate on the unit and plan the outlet accordingly. Give it its own dedicated outlet where you can, and avoid running it on an extension lead.
• Load gradually. Once the interior is stable, load in stages over several days rather than all at once, letting the humidity recover between batches.

Delivery

A cabinet of this size and weight ships crated by freight as an LTL shipment, not by parcel carrier. Kerbside delivery is standard for freight, meaning the driver brings it to the tail of the truck and the rest is yours to arrange, so have help lined up for the day.

Measure the route before it arrives: doorways and turns against the 25 inch width and 24 inch depth, headroom against the 52 inch height. Inspect the crate for damage before signing the delivery receipt, and note anything you find on the paperwork at the time.

Common questions

What is the difference between this and the Redford?

Less than the name implies. Both hold 1,250 cigars, share the same 41°F to 71°F and 56% to 78% ranges, the same four sliding shelves and removable tray, the same touchscreen, LED lighting and de-mist. The Redford is dark cherry with embossed wood side panels and crown moulding, and slightly larger at 26 by 26 by 52.75 inches. You are paying for cabinetry, not for storage or climate performance.

Can I store boxes in it?

Yes, and the sliding shelves make it practical. Just budget capacity accordingly — a box-filled cabinet holds substantially fewer cigars than the 1,250 loose rating, often around half. Removing the divider tray frees height for taller boxes.

How often does the reservoir need refilling?

No interval is stated in the specification, and any figure would be wrong for most people anyway — consumption depends on your humidity setting, how dry the room is and how often the door is opened. Check it weekly at first, then settle into whatever rhythm your conditions dictate.

Will it work in a garage or unheated space?

It copes better than a passive humidor, because it heats as well as cools. Even so, adjustment stops at 71°F, and a garage that reaches the nineties in summer or freezes in winter pushes the system beyond what it can correct. Conditioned interior space is the safe answer.

Does it need plumbing or a drain?

No. Humidification is fed from an internal reservoir that you fill by hand with distilled water. There is no water connection and no drain line in the specification.

Is the glass UV-protective?

The specification states a tempered glass door but says nothing about UV filtering, so we will not claim it. Either way, keep the cabinet out of direct sunlight — sun through glass is a heat problem as much as a light problem, and no coating fixes that.