New to vaping, newer to blogging. Writing this more as an account for myself than anything else.
I'd seen the ads, seen them in stores, and was kind of curious. Like most smokers, I pretty much dismissed them out of had as a gimmick. At this point, all I'd seen were the cig-alikes.
Then a guy I was working with at the time got one. I don't know what brand it was, but it was a rechargeable. He explained to me how he could recharge the battery via USB and that the 'consumable' part (carto) was actually the piece that looked like the filter. All said and done, he was spending more than on analogs, so again, I dismissed the idea.
I was able to quit smoking with the nicotine patches, and all was going well until stress from a job change that looked like it was going to fall through after I'd left the previous position had me sitting up most of the night drinking and smoking with a buddy. It was off to the races again after that. quickly back up to 1-2 packs of Marlboro Lights and/or Swisher Sweet Cigarillos and/or Djarum Blacks a day.
Quickly tiring of the expense and the smell, I contemplated another attempt at quitting. Not relishing the technicolor dreams/nightmares associated with the patches, I started thinking about e-cigs.
About that time, I saw a tank/battery system for the first time. While working for a couple of weeks at the St. Louis office there was a guy vaping one at the smoking area one day. I asked all the usual questions and he gave me the lowdown and a card for a St. Louis vape shop. I was intrigued by all the different flavors he described, but couldn't imagine them being as satisfying as the 'dirty ashtray' flavor I'd become accustomed to over the previous decades (boy was that a lousy assumption - more later). The card was promptly lost somewhere in the clutter of my laptop case.
Driving back from the Indianapolis MotoGP race a couple of weeks later, I took the plunge and bought one of the disposables at a truck stop. Believing what was printed on the package about it being equal to 2 packs of smokes, I toyed with it a bit for the rest of the drive, but didn't try it until a couple of days after getting home. It was, uh, OK. It took a while to get used to the difference in the nicotine delivery, but it worked.
Over the next couple of days, I finished out the pack of smokes that I had, and tried a few more disposables (Njoy, Blu, and a couple others) while researching rechargeable cig-alikes. Frankly, I was not only put off a bit by the initial price, but also the idea of using the cartridges up then throwing them away seemed just wasteful.
A little more research led me to decide on some sort of battery/clearo system. Big thanks to the folks on ECF for having so may frank and open discussions and being so welcoming and helpful to noobs!
I made the decision to go to a local vape shop (Nashville Vapor, to be exact) the next Saturday to see what the eGo starter kits looked like in person, and maybe sample a few juices. So, plan in place, Blu and Njoy in hand, the wife and I headed out that Friday evening for dinner with some friends. Running a little bit early, what do you think we passed a couple of blocks from the restaurant - yep, a vape shop.
Next up - The First Step Up...
I'd seen the ads, seen them in stores, and was kind of curious. Like most smokers, I pretty much dismissed them out of had as a gimmick. At this point, all I'd seen were the cig-alikes.
Then a guy I was working with at the time got one. I don't know what brand it was, but it was a rechargeable. He explained to me how he could recharge the battery via USB and that the 'consumable' part (carto) was actually the piece that looked like the filter. All said and done, he was spending more than on analogs, so again, I dismissed the idea.
I was able to quit smoking with the nicotine patches, and all was going well until stress from a job change that looked like it was going to fall through after I'd left the previous position had me sitting up most of the night drinking and smoking with a buddy. It was off to the races again after that. quickly back up to 1-2 packs of Marlboro Lights and/or Swisher Sweet Cigarillos and/or Djarum Blacks a day.
Quickly tiring of the expense and the smell, I contemplated another attempt at quitting. Not relishing the technicolor dreams/nightmares associated with the patches, I started thinking about e-cigs.
About that time, I saw a tank/battery system for the first time. While working for a couple of weeks at the St. Louis office there was a guy vaping one at the smoking area one day. I asked all the usual questions and he gave me the lowdown and a card for a St. Louis vape shop. I was intrigued by all the different flavors he described, but couldn't imagine them being as satisfying as the 'dirty ashtray' flavor I'd become accustomed to over the previous decades (boy was that a lousy assumption - more later). The card was promptly lost somewhere in the clutter of my laptop case.
Driving back from the Indianapolis MotoGP race a couple of weeks later, I took the plunge and bought one of the disposables at a truck stop. Believing what was printed on the package about it being equal to 2 packs of smokes, I toyed with it a bit for the rest of the drive, but didn't try it until a couple of days after getting home. It was, uh, OK. It took a while to get used to the difference in the nicotine delivery, but it worked.
Over the next couple of days, I finished out the pack of smokes that I had, and tried a few more disposables (Njoy, Blu, and a couple others) while researching rechargeable cig-alikes. Frankly, I was not only put off a bit by the initial price, but also the idea of using the cartridges up then throwing them away seemed just wasteful.
A little more research led me to decide on some sort of battery/clearo system. Big thanks to the folks on ECF for having so may frank and open discussions and being so welcoming and helpful to noobs!
I made the decision to go to a local vape shop (Nashville Vapor, to be exact) the next Saturday to see what the eGo starter kits looked like in person, and maybe sample a few juices. So, plan in place, Blu and Njoy in hand, the wife and I headed out that Friday evening for dinner with some friends. Running a little bit early, what do you think we passed a couple of blocks from the restaurant - yep, a vape shop.
Next up - The First Step Up...
