A cigar’s shape and size — its vitola — changes the smoke as much as the tobacco does. Size is given as ring gauge × length: ring gauge is the diameter in 64ths of an inch, length is in inches. So a “50 × 5” is 50/64″ thick and 5″ long.
The common shapes, to scale
Petit Corona
42 RG × 4.5″ · ~30 min
Robusto
50 RG × 5″ · ~45–60 min
Corona
42 RG × 5.5″ · ~1 hr
Toro
52 RG × 6″ · ~1–1.5 hr
Gordo / Double Toro
60 RG × 6″ · ~1.5 hr
Churchill
48 RG × 7″ · ~1.5 hr
Lancero
38 RG × 7.5″ · ~1 hr
The comparisons everyone asks about
Robusto vs. Toro vs. Gordo (Double Toro)
Same idea, more of it. A Robusto (50 × 5) gives you full flavor in about an hour — the most popular size for good reason. A Toro (52 × 6) is a bit longer and cooler, with more room for the flavor to evolve through the thirds. A Gordo (60 × 6) is fat: more filler, so it burns the coolest and smoothest of the three and lasts longest — but a bigger ring means the wrapper is a smaller share of the smoke.
Churchill vs. Lancero
Both are long (~7″); the difference is thickness. A Churchill (~48 × 7) is stately and even — a long, relaxed, classic smoke. A Lancero (~38 × 7.5) is long and thin, so the wrapper makes up a much bigger share of what you taste. Aficionados love lanceros for exactly that: they’re elegant, focused, and wrapper-forward — but they burn a touch hotter and demand a slower pace.
Would you like a torpedo?
Most cigars are parejos — straight-sided, with a rounded cap. A figurado is any shaped cigar: the torpedo and belicoso taper to a pointed head, a perfecto tapers at both ends, a pyramid widens from head to foot.