How dry is too dry?

Tobacco that is too dry could burn too fast and hot. You might want to rehydrate it with Boveda humidity control pouches. From what I have seen on this forum, some people prefer the 55% pouches. In my ignorance, I purchased 72% humidity Boveda pouches on Amazon. They actually seem to have worked just fine for rehydrating Schwab's Merish blend.

Tobacco can definitely get too dry - it will burn faster and hotter, and probably change the flavor somewhat. But the precise limit depends on the blend and on your smoking style. I prefer most tobaccos dryer than they come in the tin, but not bone dry. Latakia-based blends in particular I find to be better with a little more moisture.
I've never done anything fancy to rehydrate tobaccos, but then I've never tried to resuscitate decades-old tins either. I just run some water over my fingers, flick some drops into the tin, close it back up, and leave it for a few days. Seems to work well enough. But I may just be a barbarian.

It's all a matter of personal taste. The optimum moisture level will vary from blend to blend. I seem to favor dry to the touch but still pliable for most blends.

It's all a matter of personal taste. The optimum moisture level will vary from blend to blend. I seem to favor dry to the touch but still pliable for most blends.

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My preference as well billy. There are some tins, like the Personal Reserve McClelland blends that I pop open, rub out the top 5th of the tin and put it back in, put the lid back on and then come back to it in 3-4 months. Its usually good enough at that point to let it sit for 20 min and then smoke it. Others, like Klondike Gold and Wessex Brown Va Flake are good right out of the tin.

I prefer my tobacco to be on the drier side, although I recall that I threw away my first pouch of Edgeworth Ready-Rubbed immediately after opening it because the tobacco was so dry that I thought its seal had been compromised. I subsequently learned that little-to-no humectant was used in its manufacture, and regretted my ignorance.
Apparently the rationale was that the leaf would be moistened somewhat as it was consumed, for water is a natural byproduct of combustion. The latter is a fact to be kept in mind when rehydrating tobaccos that are too dry for your personal taste.

I have more complaints with too-moist than too-dry tobacco, although I smoke mostly non-aromatic.

Even if a tobacco is old, even aged, I'd try a bowl in a small-bowled pipe, and if it tastes good and doesn't

go up in a puff of smoke, it may not need much or any hydration. I would always try it first. Tobaccos like

Five Brothers and Semois come dry and smoke that way. To hydrate them is sacrilege.

Good information has been given so far.
Generally speaking - Yes, tobacco can become too dry. Usually people decide tobacco is too dry when it:
1. Crumbles or becomes powder-like.

2. When you squish it, it doesn't pop back into shape. I call this "recoiling".
As the gentlemen above me have stated, it's personal preference as to how dry someone likes their stuff. Moisture level does impact taste and burn rate. If it's smoking fine for you, then leave it be. Hope that helps.

If the tobacco is to dry, cover the bowl with your hand and blow a couple breaths into it before lighting. Moisture in your breath does the rest.

Hi there guys,
Over here in South Africa there is two particular tobacco,s that comes dry. The first tobacco, I am not sure if I would call it a blend, more like something poisonous from hell, called Boxer, witch comes in a plastic baggy, which is not even airtight. The stuff is totally dry to the touch. The other super noxious South African blend is what they call Magaliesburg, which comes in a cloth bag. It is rare as hell, but I will not put it in a pipe even if you pay me.
I usually jar any aromatic I purchase with a Hydro stone. (for those who do not know these, a little clay tablet which you soak in water to keep your tobacco hydrated). I remove the tobacco I want to smoke, let it sit for 10 to 20 minutes and fill my pipe. This is usually sufficient for controlling moisture levels.
Good non-aromatic tobacco is hard to come by in south Africa, thus I do not have much experience.

I have an open tin of Nightcap that is bone dry but it seems to smoke better than when I opened it.

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That's the key statement. It smokes better. Don't change a thing.
I like my tobacco dry. I think it smokes better that way as well.
A dry tin you are smoking up is okay.

I've been wondering the same thing. From my limited experience, it seems to vary a lot from tobacco to tobacco. I got a bag of Mississippi River that seemed too moist, so I left some for a couple of days in an open ramekin dish in a closed cupboard and it dried nicely enough to were it was much better, but still playable. I left the lid off but the paper seal in place for a day on a tin of Dunhill Standard Mixture and it dried to where it smokes much better. However, I recently opened a tin of SG Squadron Leader, which seemed very moist to me in the just opened tin. I left a bit of it out in a cupboard in an open ramekin dish, and the next day it was paper dry---seemed weird how quickly and extremely it dried out. The next time I smoked it moist from the tin with no drying and it smoked and burned just fine. Not sure if it's the type of blend or the type of tobacco, but it seems like trial and error between these different tobaccos.

"Not sure if it's the type of blend or the type of tobacco, but it seems like trial and error between these different tobaccos. "
It's neither. It is dependent upon the amount of humectant that is added. Some tobaccos are smothered in it, others have very little.

It is a matter of personal taste. For me, if it turns into powder when squeezing it, a tobacco is too dry.

Dry tobacco will smoke great whereas moist tobacco will bite your tongue and burn hot in your bowl.

I really prefer some blends to be crunchy to the pinch, especially some latakia blends and most Virginias. Some I like right out of the tin. Nightcap, I only smoke it so rarely that I prefer it in any form, since it tends to dry out anyways before I can finish it.

It's all personal preference. For new smokers it tends to be good to set out some general "rules" or suggestions for all aspects of the pipe. But, with experience you can decide when you want to break these "rules" or suggestions to get more flavor or just to better your experience. Try it in all forms and compare. However, if you are a one pipe a day guy this may just be a year long daunting task, ha ha, since you'll take forever to get through a tin.
For me when I smoke a very dry blends, I almost don't draw or puff on the pipe at all. I just let it smolder into my mouth on its own in a good, open pipe. This is just my preferred clenching style. How you want your tobacco should just compliment you style. I find that moisture adds to the tongue discomforts and sometimes detracts from the flavor, most of the time.
Can it get too dry? Yes. Loosing water content is one thing, but when you've lost essential oils in the tobacco, it definitely kills the flavors and even the nicotine :::shivers::: Don't waste precious nicotine!!! Ha ha!
There are no real hard fast rules to anything about the pipe. There are lots of antiquated suggestions that have become like rules and even mythologies. But, for the most part, no one is going to cancel your pipe card or punish you for breaking them. Hell, breaking rules is what makes this thing fun :: YMMV

Happy smokes!!

I smoke Vapers exclusively, except for ODF, and prefer my tobacco crunchy. That seems to work best for my smoking style. A lot of it has to do with personal preference and how you smoke it.