Your accessory evolution

[herman]

I am curious how fellow cigar hobbyists/addicts have evolved over time.
For me, I put the carriage before the horse and bought a box of cigars before I even knew anything about storage.
I realized after 2 weeks my cigars weren't tasting quite the same so went out and bought a small 20 count humidor.
I kept this for a few months then purchased a 15 count herfador. I was pretty happy with this set up for a little while
then found myself with more sticks than room and just couldn't bear the idea of using a tupperware. I then ordered a couple
cheap 50 counts but got tired of maintaining leaky humidity so got rid of one, improved the other, then ended up with a
tupperware anyway. Plan to get a high quality 50 or 100 count eventually. Seems I'm pretty happy between 50-100 sticks so I guess
I'm a lightweight.

As far as other accessories I was using a cutter and soft flame for a good year or more, then switched to torch and punch, but still use my cutter for belicosos. I just have a couple cheap torch lighters I picked up at a smoke shop and one of them is solid. In fact I thought I lost it once, panicked, went online to replace it, but it turns out the name "Pocket Rocket" linked to an erotic adult store. Luckily I had just misplaced it.

For humidification I started off with sponges and Boveda packs, but recently switched to Xikar beads along with larger florist sponges held in a travel soap dish that I dremeled vents into. I like to run my humidity a little high, and together these seem to battle the leak better. I also use beads in my herfador now.

So, the current state of things, I'm still modest and practice moderation to budget for my other vices.

I'm curious how others started off and evolved over time though. Did anyone accidentally get into the hobby with an impulsive box purchase like myself? Did you carefully plan with a large upfront investment? How fast did you progress? Did you ever downsize? I know many own and have built some beautiful wineadors and walk-ins which I always enjoy browsing through.

What about other accessories? What lessons did you learn along the way?

So far my lessons have been:
- Humidor ct isn't in robustos.
- Cheap humidors are a gamble and probably not worth the headache.
- The more cigars you have, the easier it is to maintain humidity.
- The smaller pucks that come with humidors are often not adequate in the long run.
- Torch lighters require care, but soft flames are just annoying to use outside.
- Experiment with different cuts and punches. I rarely use just one for every cigar.