I use both the beads and Hydra/Cigar Oasis. The oasis is the best for a non-hassle humidity solution. I have seen problems with the Cigar Oasis and mine has been working great but he fan is loud. The Hydra I have does the same great job as the Cigar Oasis but the fan is much quieter. I also have the large Hydra for my 500ct. and it works like a dream.

I stopped using the green foam inside all my active humidifiers and put beads in my smaller hydra and cigar oasis and use gel inside the large hydra. I noticed the foam stops soaking up water after some usage.

The ideal setup IMHO is a cigar oasis or hydra with beads. The beads don't hold water like the foam/gel does but it does a great job at regulating RH. The Cigar Oasis/Hydra does a great job of putting out humidity and you can set it to whatever RH you want.