anybody else notice the tight draw on CAO's?

[Shotgunjimmy]

smoked a brazilia gol! last night, and have smoked a few mx2's recently. on almost all of them, the draw was pretty tight. so tight, that i had to really pull on them just to get any smoke out. im just curious if anybody else has noticed this and what you do about it.

thanks
james

[Rolando]

No and I have a box of those. Even in the winter when I bump my humidity to 67-68 I have never noted a tight draw.

[epyon26]

sometimes

[bobarian]

Sounds like a humifification problem. Are these smokes from your humi or fresh fromt he B&M or truck? Try dry boxing your next one for a day or more in an empty box with no humidification. If from your humi and you are storing above 65-67% I would suggest you get some 65% beads from HeartfeltIndustries.com or cigarmony.com

[lightning9191]

What is your humidity at James? If too high, it can lead to draw problems. I seemed to have more tight draws over numerous manufacturers at 70%. I've made the change to 65% and things have improved.

[csbrewfisher]

Yes, I had an MX2 that was impossible to draw. When I contacted CAO about this, they were very concerned and even replied with a couple sticks. It's a top-notch company with very good products and superb customer service.

I've decided the bad stick was an anomoly, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy again.

[duckmanco]

CAO also draw tests their stuff from what I remember, so it very well could be a humidity issue. Try what some of the other BOTL's suggested, 65% is a very magic number for most smokes, and for some 60-63% is even better. Contact them anyway to see if they will sort it out, worst thing that will happen is they say no.

[DonnieW]

Originally Posted by duckmanco

CAO also draw tests their stuff from what I remember, so it very well could be a humidity issue. Try what some of the other BOTL's suggested, 65% is a very magic number for most smokes, and for some 60-63% is even better. Contact them anyway to see if they will sort it out, worst thing that will happen is they say no.

I saw them testing the cigars on their seed to soul DVD. Somehow I don't think they could possibly test them all, given the sheer amount of stick they produce, but you never know. That said, I haven't had a bad draw from a CAO stick yet.

[sikk50]

I find that most CAO's actualy have a very loose draw, but that just could be the humidity the b&m keeps them at

[BigAl_SC]

50% of what I have is CAO and I agree with the above posts. The only tight draw I can remember is a Boss that I pulled directly out of the large humi (68-70). Usually I keep a couple of each in a small 50 at 62-65% and they smoke fine........

[Snake Hips]

I just smoked a CAO Cameroon and found the draw much looser than I like. I was like a straw. But I've always found my CAOs a little loose...

[pro2625]

Never really had a draw problem with CAO but more of a taste problem

[Texan in Mexico]

I am going to have to agree with Bobarian AGAIN! This is twice in one day.

As I have progressed a little I have found that I had more burn issues, plugging, etc when I smoked cigars at the famous 70 / 70.

By dropping the humidity down to the 63 - 65 range I would say I have eliminated the majority of these problems.

Just my 2 cents...

[squeeze left]

For me CAO draw has been all over the map. As another said, I have had Cameroons be very loose, and I don't buy the Brazilias any more because the draw was usually so tight I'd throw them out. Criollos and Black have generally been fine. I store my smokes at 66% and prefer a looser draw, the looser the better.

If top25 is listening (when back up?), I would love to see a 6th rating for tightness of draw from 1 (super tight) to 10 (way too loose) not factored into the rating but just for info.

[Shotgunjimmy]

right now, my humidity is about 68-70. im in the process of lowering it, to see if that helps. all of the CAO's ive smoked, have been from the BM, and have rested for at least a day or two. right now, im smoking a CAO Gold figuardo. has actually a bit of a loose draw. bought on the same day as the Gol! with only one day difference in my humi. ill probably get some more brazilia's from the b and m, and do some testing with dry boxing/lower RH. thanks for the comments guys!

james