Stinky Cigar Car Ashtray Review
Filed under: Ash Management · Accessories · Smell in the Car · Work Travel · Traveling with Cigars
Verdict: The Stinky Cigar Car Ashtray is a Wouldn't Buy at about $38 street... it's built like a tank and seals tight, but the lid outweighs a base that's narrower than a soda can, so it tips over anywhere that isn't a snug cupholder. I'm keeping mine. I wouldn't buy it again, and I can't recommend it, because the one thing I bought it for is the one thing it can't do.
- Brand
- Stinky Cigar
- Product
- Car Ashtray (stainless steel)
- Street price
- $38
The Setup
- What it is: a polished stainless steel cup that drops into a cupholder, with a hinged lid and two stainless wings on the lid that hold the cigar. Close the lid and it seals the ash and the smell in.
- Street price: about $38 online. The list price is $41.99, and Cigars International has had it on sale for $29.99.
- What I paid: $37.99 on Amazon in July 2026. My own money, nobody sent me this.
- In service: a few months. I bought it for our anniversary trip so I could smoke on the beach, and I've used it a few dozen times since then, including several business trips.
In Use
I don't smoke in my car. I bought this so I could smoke on the beach without ashing on the beach, and have something I could close up and carry back with me. For that, it works. On business trips it's the same idea: I ash in it, then close the lid so it doesn't tip over. Closing the lid puts the cigar out, and nothing gets out once it's shut.
The build is excellent. It's very solid and very sturdy. I left it out in the rain by accident, and it didn't rust at all.
The hinge holds the lid wherever you put it. Set the lid at any angle and it stays there.
The cigar wings have perfect tension. They hold the cigar in place, but not so tight that they squish it, even once the cigar gets warm and soft.
It seals really well. There's no rubber gasket or anything like that, and no smoke gets out when you close it.
What Sinks It
The build isn't the problem. The design is.
The lid is too heavy for the base. I can't weigh the two pieces separately without breaking it, which I'm not going to do, but the top weighs as much as or more than the rest of the ashtray. You can't open the lid all the way without it tipping over.
It's narrower than a soda can. I have a couple of beach chairs with cupholders, and that's where I planned on putting it. It leans over, and it leans super far over. On the beach I had to stick it in the sand and build a little wedge for it to make sure it wouldn't tip, because that top is so much heavier.
It's not great in my truck either. My truck's cupholder has those rubber fingers that grip a can, and even there it tips and leans at an angle. It's not going to fall out of the cupholder in my truck, but it doesn't sit straight.
On a tailgate, out in the yard or in the field, I can't set it down at all. Even without a cigar in it, it just tips over. For these photos I had to lean it against my other ashtray to keep it standing.
Bottom Line
It's a great idea, and Stinky built it phenomenally well. The quality, the hinge, the wings and the seal are all right. I'd definitely buy more Stinky products based on how this one is made. But the cup needs to be wider and heavier, probably both. It already has some decent heft to it, so maybe that's why they didn't. If they made this same ashtray with a wider base, so the lid didn't tip it over when it's open all the way and holding a cigar, I would upgrade and buy that one for traveling, for pulling over to enjoy a cigar, for the beach, or for a tailgate out in the field.
Maybe I'm just not their buyer, and maybe I bought it for something it's not made for. That's fine. But even in my truck, it's not wide enough to hold itself in place, and the weight of that lid just wants to pull it over.
Would I buy it again? No. Wouldn't Buy. I won't get rid of it, but I can't recommend buying it because of that flaw. It works well enough on trips if I ash in it and close the lid, but for what I wanted to do with it, it doesn't work.
Best for: someone who smokes in the car and has a narrow cupholder that can hold it upright. If that's you, this might work well. It's not for beach chairs, tailgates, or any flat surface.
Gear gets the same one-question treatment as the cigars... would I spend my own money on this again? This one's a no, until Stinky puts it on a wider, heavier base.
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