When you see a product on Facebook or Instagram for the first time, the photos tend to make the product look amazing, a must have, something that you need to make your experience just a little better. Looking at the Ciccar, I was intrigued. It looked kind of cool. Thoughts of leather cases, wood that could patinaed, and a tool that I could possibly use to enhance my smoking experience all drew me in further. Then, the skepticism started creeping in. Would a high-end cigar tip make my cigar smoking experience better? Would the Ciccar be something I would actually use? Was the Ciccar just a one-time novelty that I would take a photo with it and be done, Would it actually hold up to daily smoking? Would it be worth the money? Obviously, I had a lot of questions. Knowing that I would share my full thoughts – great or awful – Ciccar provided us with a full kit and some add-ons. After more than 75 cigars, a full month of frequent use, stress testing and pushing the recommended limits, here is everything that I’d want to know before buying or not buying one.
First Impressions, Packaging, and Construction
If a first impression was legitimately everything, then I might have already been be sold upon opening the package sent by Ciccar. The basics arrived nicely organized in a little black leather box. I really like that everything you need to get started is all in one place. Included in the main kit is the wood Ciccar, a cleaning cloth, cleaning brush, leather case, silicone tips, and instruction card. The materials looked and felt like amazing quality and made out of top-notch materials. They also included a 3-pack of magnet rings and a light up stand. So, first impression? The looks are a big win. Now the real work begins. It may look good… but does it work?
Product Results
Quality
One thing I can say is that the Ciccar is a work horse. After all of the cigars that I smoked through it, there was no damage at all. No cracking, warping, or chipping. I was able to smoke a cigar well past the end if the Ciccar without it damaging the product.
Overheating?
The only time I ever felt the Ciccar get hot was when I smoked at cigar past the end of if it. The Ciccar would get a little warm but never too hot to hold. It never got hot enough to damage the silicone tip or the magnet band, and I tried. (more on that later)
Uses and Accessories
Once of the best uses that I found for the Ciccar was the ability to smoke a cracked cigar. One of the cigars that Ive had for a while had a cracked cap/head and wasn’t really able to be smoked. I put it in the Ciccar to see if it would help, and it smoked like there was nothing wrong with it. I also tried just about every cigar type I had. Everything from a lancero to a torpedo, to a soft boxpressed, and up to a 54 ring gauge. It worked great for all of them. That’s was a bonus.
The Ciccar has a few accessories that you can choose to purchase to enhance your experience. One of them being the stand. On their website you can purchase a standard stand or a light up stand. I was sent the light up stand. I used it a lot. The Ciccar just sits down inside the stand and holds your cigar perfectly. For me, if I was going to own and use the Ciccar, the stand is a must.
The other accessory that I liked even better was the silicone magnetic band. This band slides over your Ciccar and allows you to attach it to a metal surface that a normal magnet attaches to. I used this one a lot. I used it when grilling, working on our out building, and even attached it to my motorcycle while I was working on it. It was the accessory that came in the handiest while testing.
Flavors, Taste, and Smell
The one thing that I did notice is, that like a pipe, there is a slight breaking in period for the wood ciccar. It gets that natural pipe smell when you first state using it. A curing out period I would say. I But after a few cigars its not noticeable. To see if it would change the flavors of a cigar, I did smoke two of the same cigars a few times back to back. One with the Ciccar and one without. There wasn’t any real noticeable change. No taste of past cigars, charred wood, or staleness. I was impressed by that.
Final Thoughts
What can you say about the Ciccar other than it just works! After all of the testing and abuse it took, I never had a moment that it didn’t do what they said it would do. My only negative about the Ciccar is the price, but when you see the quality of the product and the packaging and how well it holds up, it makes up for it. Would I use it? Not every day. I still use it a few times a week when I know I’m smoking a great cigar and I want to take it as far as I can, when I’m working on the computer, or outside working. It just comes in handy. I can see me using it for a long time. Would I purchase it? After trying it out, yes I would. They have a Tigers Eye stone version that I’m really interested in getting. I think that version will be even better…. and it looks amazing. Overall I would say if you have the money to spend on an accessory that can come in handy, looks great, and functions well, this is a great buy.
Do you have a Ciccar? Would you buy one, or do you think it’s more of a novelty? Let me know in the comments!