general cigar question for all...
 

So I was reading on CI the other day that some people believe it is in bad taste to leave the band on a cigar when you are in company. CI stated a few reasons for this, but the one that stuck out to me was that you wouldn't want to offend those you were smoking with if you were smoking a finer quality product.

So that leads me to ask, do you leave your band on when smoking or take it off? In addition, why?

Does anyone else feel like I just asked a test question? :D

Re: general cigar question for all...
 

"essays are due no later than November 23rd at 5 pm standard time. Please double space, use new times roman 12 point and regular college margins. Points will be deducted for unacceptable citation and referencing or use of an unknown referencing style, in addition no essays over 1500 words will be considered."


hehehehe


for real though, if this is true 'good form', ill have to start doing it..cuz, well, i havent been.....

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I leave them on. Not to be a snob, I'm just lazy. Plus, I don't want to damage the wrapper.

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I leave them on until the burn reaches the band!

At herfs I'm always asking what people are smoking! I don't care if it's better than what I have (which it usually is)! I am curious about what people think about what they are smoking!

If someone feels bad about what I'm smoking... I'll give them one of mine!:ss

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I seem to remember hearing about this before. Personally, I think (what I bolded from your post) is ridiculous. If people are offended by the quality of the cigar I'm smoking, tough noogies.
:2

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Eh, I don't have a ton of experience with this because I haven't really herfed with experienced smokers. On Saturday night, I was, but we were all smoking the same, CAO LX2's, so there really was no point in removing the band, so we didn't even breach the topic nor did we remove.

That being said, I've heard that removing the band is the best form of etiquette because you don't want to 'brag' about the kind of cigar you're smoking if it is a better quality cigar.

I've heard that you should remove the band from the start. If it sticks, smoke a bit until the glue softens up and you can effortlessly remove it without damaging the wrapper. If you can't, well, you're stuck with the band on your cigar, which I, personally don't mind. I like to see what others are smoking.

If you're just hanging with friends though, I'd forget it and keep the sucker on.

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After messing up a few wrappers trying to take the band off prior to lighting, I always leave them on now. I wait until the burn gets close to the band and that seems to loosen up the glue. My smoking buddies are usually smoking my cigars so I don't give etiquette much consideration.

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I gotta agree with Skywalker here. I also learn about new smokes when I see a buddy of mine light up a stogie I havent seen/smoked yet. Its a good conversation starter with other cigar smokers too!

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I also leave the band on until the fire reaches it! Apparently removing the band is especially done in Europe- but I ain't in Europe!

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Ditto... I don't remove them cuz I tend to mess up the wrapper! And I don't really care what people think of my smokes regardless of if my band is more expensive or theirs is...

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I keep it on until it's close to getting burned. There is no reason to take it off before that. It can cause damage to the cigar if taken off. I don't know anyone who would be offended by someone smoking a better cigar than they have. That's like saying you should have a coozy on your beer so as not to brag about what beer you're drinking...ridiculous.

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That's all a bunch of huey!! Who cares if someone else is smoking something that cost more expensive than what your smoking. I don't know about you guys, but the guys I smoke with aren't exactly the sensitive type. Smoke what you wanna, and peel the label if you wanna.

I feel better now, thanks.:D

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Im right there as well. If just the band on my cigar offends them, they need thicker skin or better cigars.

Leave 'em on!
 

I always leave mine on.

Personally, I like when others leave theirs on because seeing the label gives me the opportunity to learn about cigars that I haven't smoked before.

I discovered two of my favorite cigars, the CX2 and the Def Sea, this way.

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I couldn't agree more. If you are herfing with people who get offended if you are smoking a superior of inferior cigar, then you are herfing with the wrong people. I love to know what others smoke and get their opinion.

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Either way is fine with me. If they are loose I take em off, other than that I wait till i've smoked em down to the band. Not sure what glue the use on CCs, but they seem like the hardest ones to get off without tearing the wrapper.

~Vitis

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:tpd: I don't take them off till I get the stick down close to the band due to the fact that the heat will loosen the glue used. If I tried to take the band off before I smoke, I will ruin the wrapper.

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When I pull up to a herf, I immediately throw a sheet over my car, so as not to offend anyone who might be driving a hunkajunk.

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It takes a whole lot more to offend me than a cigar.

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:tpd: I slightly damaged the wrapper of a Taboo Costa Rican Maduro Monday night taking the band off. Luckily it was only a slight tear and it still smoked wonderfully.

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I too leave it on. Most times I wait until I am pretty close to the band to remove it just to be safe as the band being warm is not always guaranteed to not tear the wrapper. In the rare cases I get a band that is loose I usually remove it right away just because 9 out of 10 times it just ends up being annoying sliding up and down the stick.(Hmmm that sounded bad didn't it?) More often than not I smoke alone so no need to worry about offending anyone and when I smoke with others more often than not everyone is smoking what they like anyhow and wouldn't be offended anyway.

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:r:r:r

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I've never seen anyone looked down on for smoking a "finer quality product", however, I have seen persons looked down upon for smoking a LESS quality product.

Personaly I remove them if they are easy to remove and keep them on if they're not.

:cb

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Well said.

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I leave it on until I am able to get it to slide off easily. When I first started smoking I damaged a few wrappers trying to pry the band off after I just lit the cigar and I don't want to go through that again.

Re: general cigar question for all...
 

I've seen several references to this, for example:
http://www.cigartrends.com/etiquette.php
Zino Davidoff's guide to cigar etiquette
It's somewhat contradicted here:
http://www.cigarsinternational.com/html/cig101_1boo.asp
I found this one to be interesing...
http://www.essortment.com/lifestyle/...ngeti_snfb.htm
Rule Six
I take them off before lighting or shortly there after, if they are easily removed. But I don't care if others leave them on or not.

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Now that is funny!

I leave mine on.

When I first started I did take them off all the time, because I read somewhere that you "should". I found though I liked leaving them on, and it is my smoke gosh darnit!

Re: general cigar question for all...
 

I like looking at what other people are smoking... not cause i'm jealous, I'm just curious! If I'm smoking with friends and folks from this forum, I wouldnt ever consider taking the band off (and possibly damaging the wrapper).

exception however would be if i was in a cigar bar or other such place and was surrounded by folks I didnt know. then I would consider taking the band off, depending on what I was smoking.

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I haven't had the opp to Herf but once, because I am at the end of the earth. I usually smole alone or in my wifes company, and she don't care. But for the record I usually leave it on till the burn gets close. :tu

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I usually leave mine on until I smoke down near the band...then it comes off.

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Well this topic definitely got a lot more response than I anticipated. I guess I should have started out by saying that I take mine off. Not because I'm a snob, or feel like I'm smoking cheap sticks. I have never herfed with anyone, other than buddies and I generally provide the cigars so that definitely isn't my motivation cause they are usually smoking something similar to what I am. I guess it's just a habit. I generally leave them on long enough for the glue to heat up, making it easier to pull off.

Reading the responses, it seems that most leave on. Good stuff. I like the idea of leaving on to find new smokes and a conversation piece.

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I remove the cello and the band before putting cigars away in my Humi!

Yikes!!!:eek: Now I don't know what I'm smoking either!!!:D J/K

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I wonder who it was that ever asked the question about leaving the bands on or taking it off? Did it offend him that some guy was waving his cigar around telling others about what a great cigar he was smoking and to look at the band on his cigar? Did it offend others around him where you could hear the ooohs and ahhhhs? I think it is silly because the same people who might be offended are probably the same people who drive around in cars that they want others to see them in. How many of us will take the emblems off of our vehicles so that we might not offend others? What about our watches or polo shirts? I personally like to see what another person might be smoking as the aroma may be something that I really like?

For those who are offended by the site of a cigar band on a cigar I say turn away and for those who like to keep their bands on their cigars what's the harm except at some point you will have to remove it anyway because you'll want to smoke the rest of the cigar.

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So should a gentleman not wear a Rolex, designer clothes, and drive a German sports car, so as not to offend?

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I pretty much agree with this, I'll smoke anything from a flor de oliva to a padron 80th and I wont take off either band just cause one is a more expensive smoke.

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Deja vu??

It is my understanding that the bands were originally placed to avoid getting one's gloves dirty.

I do not wear gloves when I smoke and am normally very private so I take them off before lighting.

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I remove if they come easily, if they dont I wait awhile. I am a band saver. I smoke what I like at that moment, could be a high end or a low end, to me it does not matter. I will leave it to others to guess what I am smoking, When I am in public it may just make someone feel better that they can afford a cigar with a band (reverse thinking) and I cant. Most people I see smokeing cigars are not "cigar smokers" its the cool thing to do at the time or just for a celebration.

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I seem to have touched a nerve with this post. Definitely not my intent. I certainly wasn't trying to imply folks were snobbish around here. My bad.

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Nah,,,not at all. The question has been around forever and everyone has their take on it. I do not smoke cigars to impress anyone nor do I leave the band on to impress anyone as well. I think we all have our own reasons and that is ok as long as we don't leave them on to "impress" others. I drive a BMW not to impress others but because the engineering on this car is amazing as it is 10 years old and well over 100K miles and I keep it looking brand new. The car has paid for itself and now I get the benefit of having a car that will deliver another 100K plus miles easily. If I want to impress anyone I will buy a G 5 Gulfstream and I don't see that happening in my lifetime.

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If it bugs me while I am smoking the cigar then it comes off, it if doesn't it stays on until the burn gets close to it.

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I always take the band off before lighting in the following ways ;
1) Slide the band off the head of the cigar, and if I can't
2) Take the band apart where it is glued together, and if that doesn't work
3) Rip the SOB off any way necessary

Neatly removed bands get placed in a cigar box, torn bands get pitched. I always take the bands off because, with my obsessive compulsive nature the band would always have to be facing a certain direction when in my hand and in my mouth so to solve the problem I eliminate it.

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Skeletor would be so proud!

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Now that is some serious obsessive complusive **** right there. :r

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I’m not worried about offending anyone (I like to think we're all bigger than that). If that were the case, we’d all have to take off our watches and wear the same thing to herfs. Oh, can’t forget about lighters and cutters. Those get checked in at the door too. :ss

Seriously, I’ll remove the band before I smoke a cigar if it comes off. It’s not because of etiquette or anything like that. It’s because I like to save them. :D If the band’s not cooperating with me, then it stays on until it becomes loose enough to take off.

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I leave the band on in hopes of offending some dumba$$ who could be offended that easy. :ss :hm

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I leave them on.

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Do you take the label off your beer? :chr

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Leave it on-This ain't England

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If the band is loose, I'll take it off. If it's not, then it generally stays. Once it heats up and loosens up, then it comes off.

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:tpd: