Cigar Aficionado Feature

As cigar enthusiasts, we appreciate cigar smoke, but we recognize that others disagree. So we use air-purifying appliances that filter the air, but may savage the decor of a room. Instead of cracking open a window or installing a ceiling fan, we suggest a more elegant solution: Rabbit Air's MinusA2 Air Purifier Artists Series.

Rabbit Air has married clean air with art. The MinusA2 unit ($550), slightly larger than a regulation chess board at about 21 inches square, can purify up to 815 square feet of space and can even be hung on the wall with the help of mounting kit, sold separately. To encourage this, Rabbit Air has created the Artists Series panels that feature the well-known Tree of Life by Gustav Klimt and The Great Wave by Katsushika Hokusai.

The MinusA2 is neither a clunky smoke eater nor puny fan, but a quiet, energy-efficient machine that sucks in smoke and transform it into negative ions, particles that are said to help alleviate depression. relieve stress and boost a person's energy.

This process begins when you push the power button on the remote and send the company's patented Brushless Direct Current Motor (BLDC) into action. The motor operates under five different speeds, silent to turbo, and the absence of brushes means MinusA2 runs between 25 and 50 decibels, the equivalents of a library whisper and a normal conversation.

The smoke will then travel through five different filters, including one customized for cigars that is made of activated charcoal, a texture proven to trap and eliminate smoke and cigar odors before they are then emitted as negative ionic air. The machine's filters need replacing every one to two years, depending on usage.

Ease of use, namely the MinusA2's Auto Mode, is what really sets this machine apart from other purifiers. When in Auto Mode, a sensor automatically adjust the motor's speed according to how much smoke is in the room. An air-quality light indicator on the front of the machine matched by a more visible Mood Light, shows blue if the air is clear and changes to red when heavy amounts of smoke are detected.

The panels add a bit of style to this already sleek machine, and that's something that not even the uninitiated can argue.

Visit RabbitaAir.com

-- Andrew Nagy