Some time ago, I invested in a Redford Lite cigar cabinet through Your Elegant Bar. However, I soon realised that I needed additional storage! Therefore, I recently purchased a Prestige Imports Remington to accompany it.
In this article, you will discover the Prestige Imports Remington Lite cigar cabinet as I review it according to the following considerations:
- Why Buy A Remington Cigar Cabinet?
- Prestige Imports Remington Cigar Cabinet Price
- Remington Cigar Cabinet Benefits
- Remington Cigar Cabinet Drawbacks
- Final Thoughts
You can use the links above to jump ahead or scroll down to learn more.
Overview
- Brand: Prestige Imports
- Model: Remington
- Storage Capacity: Up To 2,000 Cigars
- Dimensions: 25″ (63.5 cm) W x 24″ (61 cm) D x 72″ (183 cm) H
- Temperature Range: 41 – 71°F (5 – 22°C)
- Built-In Humidity Control: Optional
- Humidity Range: 56% – 78%
- Body Material: Black Oak & Cedar Lining
- Front Material: Tempered Tinted Glass
- Additional Features: De-Mist & Condensation Control, Auxillary Fan
- Pricing: From $3,040 [Buy Now]
The Remington is a large and sophisticated cabinet for serious cigar collectors. It can stock up to 2,000 cigars and buyers can choose between lavish cherry and espresso finishes. Otherwise, the more affordable Lite version provides users with the exact same functions but with a more modern design.
Watch The Video Review
Why Buy A Remington Cigar Cabinet?
As I mentioned in the introduction, I purchased and installed the smaller Redford Lite cabinet. Therefore, if you want to learn about the reasons why I decided to invest in electronic cabinets in the first place, I suggest that you read that instead.
Alternatively, our guide to cigar cabinets will provide you with a general overview of their benefits and drawbacks.
Although the Redford Lite is already quite large with its 1,250-cigar storage capacity, I soon realised that it still didn’t offer enough space! That being said, it provided to be ideal for my collection of Cuban cigars.
Therefore, I decided to invest in a second cabinet. However, rather than opt for the same size, I chose a larger one given my larger range of New World cigars. Indeed, I – like many other cigar enthusiasts – prefer to store my Cuban “Old World” and “New World” cigars separately.
By storing them in different cabinets, they can each have an independent environment. While this may help prevent their aromas from marrying, the real reason is that Cuban cigars tend to fare better in a lower Relative Humidity than cigars from other countries like Nicaraguan and Honduras.
Generally speaking, Cuban cigars and some Dominican puros will prefer the drier climate, which reduces your chances of plugged cigars and mould. As a result, I could then calibrate my Redford Lite cigar cabinet with 65% RH Boveda packs while having ample space in the new Remington with 69% RH ones.
Delivery & Installation
Like the Redford Lite, the Remington arrives on a wooden pallet and is securely encased in MDF boards. Before you can even bring it into the house, you’ll need both patience and a screwdriver to remove the packaging.
If you think that the Redford Lite seems large, it is simply dwarfed by the Remington! Standing at 72 inches, it is precisely 6-feet tall whereas the Redford was just under 4’5″.
Although still shorter than me, it would tower over Charles-Philippe by exactly 10 centimetres (don’t judge him for complicating the scale, he’s European).
Consequently, if he was to try and bring it into the house, he would likely have struggled and required some help. Meanwhile, I was able to do it myself but I certainly needed a dolly to move it.
What I’m saying is that if you’re a little shorter and not in your prime, I highly recommend that somebody helps you to bring it into the house and install it.
Once it was finally unpacked and quickly tested it, I got started with seasoning. The process is similar to that of seasoning a wooden humidor but on a much larger scale.
According to Rob at Boveda, one 320g 84% RH Boveda pack is required on each shelf to properly season it. Although the packs add a $140 investment given that there are seven shelves, the comprehensive seasoning they provide are worth the additional cost.
These will be left inside for two weeks before adding any cigars. Despite the strong and very pleasant aroma of cedar inside, I just needed to be a little more patient!
Prestige Imports Remington Cigar Cabinet Price
Needless to say, such a large and elaborate cigar cabinet as this one will demand a fair investment. The Remington Lite cigar cabinet has an RRP of $3,040, while the full version costs $3,300.
Whether you feel the additional cost of $260 just for a wooden exterior and crowning is worthwhile is entirely up to you. As I mentioned before, I purchased the Lite version from Your Elegant Bar as I prefer its more contemporary style and because Your Elegant Bar offers free shipping. Honestly, I don’t even want to guess how much it costs to ship something of this size, so I’m glad they took care of it.
Remington Cigar Cabinet Benefits
Once again, I decided to forego any in-built humidity control and instead opted for Boveda packs to store the cigars. Although it results in an additional cost of the packs, the Remington’s excellent seal meant that they don’t require changing too often.
Similarly, Boveda is among the only humidifiers on the market that provides true two-way humidification. Therefore, it will absorb any excess moisture rather than just continuously release it.
An issue that many cigar collectors face when using a cigar cabinet is that it’s easy to over-humidify them and potentially damage your collection. This is never the case with Boveda and you can learn more about how the packs work with our full brand guide.
However, I did use the auxiliary fan. While it’s arguably not necessary as Boveda’s reverse-osmosis release effectively reduces any dry of humid air pockets, I thought that I’d make the most of this feature.
I also placed three Boveda Butlers in the cabinet to monitor the environment throughout the cabinet. I used this to compare it with the Remington’s display and was pleased to find that both were consistent.
Remington Size & Features
Nevertheless, if you prefer to use the electronic humidifier, it’s well-made and offers functions like a de-mister that prevents condensation on the glass door.
Otherwise, the Remington is a wonderfully spacious cabinet with intuitive LED lighting so you can clearly see the interior. The lighting can stay on when it’s closed, which adds an attractive feature in the room.
The cabinet also comes with wooden dividers so you can organise your cigars. If you have a sprawling collection or you like to class them by terroir, they’re pretty handy. However, I tend to use the original boxes for storing my cigars.
In terms of physical real estate and floor space, the Remington takes up the same amount as the Redford. After all, the dimensions are about the same except for the height. If you basically have enough space in a room for what’s essentially a narrow fridge, then it’s not as cumbersome as you’d expect.
That being said, I noticed that according to the specifications above, the Remington is an inch narrower and 2 inches shallower than the Redford. I was quite surprised to see this detail.
Although it might be only slightly narrower, you can see in the photos that it doesn’t seem to have any less depth. Therefore, the specs may either be old or apply only to the non-lite versions.
Redford Cigar Cabinet Drawbacks
Like the Redford, the Remington does have a few quirks. Firstly, its main sensor for both the humidity and temperature levels can be found in a corner.
Therefore, make sure that you don’t cover it by accident. Additionally, I believe that such a large cabinet would benefit from additional sensors size there is such a large volume to cover.
It’s entirely plausible that the cabinet is perfectly calibrated near the sensor whereas another distant area may be too dry or humid. It’s for this reason that I placed the Boveda butlers in order to check the overall performance of the cabinet.
Furthermore, at the risk of stating the obvious, the Remington is extraordinarily heavy. While it’s already challenging to install, it can be very cumbersome if you ever move house or redecorate the room. Nevertheless, it’s not exactly made to be portable.
Manufacturing Gripes
I realise that I’ve referred to it a number of times already, but if you’ve read my Redford review, you will realise that I had some issues regarding the door and the button panel.
In the case of the Remington, I only have a single gripe but it is a somewhat important one. I soon noticed that I couldn’t properly lock the door with the supplied keys. Upon inspection, I realised that the door brackets were bent out of shape.
When I reached out to Ben from Your Elegant Bar, he was very sympathetic and provided me with Prestige Imports’ contact details. However, its service was quite disappointing.
Prestige Imports eventually agreed to send out replacement parts. Yet, I was not offered any help in the actual repair. Fortunately, Ben from Your Elegant Bar was kind enough to offer to pay for a tradesman despite it not technically being his responsibility.
Fortunately, I’m quite handy with a little DIY and I declined his help. That being said, these 15-minute jobs often end up taking the best part of an afternoon!
Therefore, if you do have any issues with your cabinet, the manufacturer may not be overly helpful. As it involves a particularly premium cabinet, it’s somewhat disheartening.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Remington cabinet offers excellent storage for serious cigars collectors. Indeed, it’s no surprise that it’s so popular. The chances are that your local tobacconist uses one or several for displaying cigars.
I’d argue that at full price, its quirks can be frustrating. However, I had already mentioned that it’s much cheaper through Your Elegant Bar. In fact, it’s listed there at the same price as the smaller Redford!
If bought at this lower cost, the Remington’s shortcomings can be easily forgiven and it offers exceptional value for money. While there may be superior options out there, they will likely be exponentially more expensive.
"Professional-grade storage that's made with serious cigar collectors in mind, the Remington may have a few quirks but few others compare in both value and quality."
Further Reading
If you enjoyed reading this cigar review, feel fry to check out more related content:
I too have a Remington and was not happy with the built in humidification system. I too am wanting to switch over to the Boveda packs and was wondering what you decided to go with. I know they have a great seal so one would assume to use a 69% RH. However, since the unit is a compressor unit for climate and thus pulls humidity out of the air, should a 72% RH pack be used to compensate for this? I have searched for a while on this topic and so far you are the only one I have come across that is doing this too.
Hi there,
You can switch off its humidity control and work purely off the Boveda packs. In fact, we’d recommend this because the two humidifiers could end up competing with one another. You can, however, still use the cabinet’s auxiliary fan to help distribute moisture throughout it. I would recommend 69% RH packs in that case.
All the best,
CP
I apologize, my earlier question was not clear. I do not wish to use the built in humidification system and want to switch over to Boveda packs only. I do plan on using the fan for circulation as you suggested though. My main question was even though they have a good seal and hold steady humidity when turned off, would you still use a 69% RH when the unit is on? Since the unit is temperature controlled (I live in Texas so this is a must) and humidity controlled using a refrigerated compressor that removes humidity, would you still recommend a 69% RH or would you bump up to 72% RH to make up for the loss after the compressor was on for a cycle? Thanks for the response.
Oh, of course! I see what you mean. Paul, who reviewed the humidor and continues to use it this way, hasn’t had any issues on his end and he uses 69% RH packs. Admittedly, he is in Florida so the external humidity is much too high rather than too low.