:yeahthat: I've just never seen a need for the brown paper bag. When i go into jars it feels dry to the touch, but after 24 hours the moisture in the middle of the buds will be evenly distributed, so the buds will feel a little wet to the touch. That is the purpose of the burping(removing the lid for a while), to allow that "new" moisture to disperse.
It seems to me that depending on how dense your buds are will correlate to how much weight you lose. If the buds are light and airy, like the lower "popcorn" type buds, you will probably lose a significant amount of weight in the drying process. But, the denser buds do not seem to lose as much weight. It seems the tighter buds lose about 70% of there weight to water. But, by the time you are ready for the jars, most of the weight that will be lost, is already gone.
I like a minimum of a 30-45 day cure. The longer you allow it to cure, the more potent it seems to become. I had posted a thread on the science behind curing,(not my research, info I found on the net) and an explanation as to why it seems to become more potent. Some people disagree with that statement, but in my opinion, curing does increase potency. Even if it does not increase potency, no one can debate that it enhances flavor. Man oh man, a jar full of buds sure does smell pungent when you first open it!