A Brief History of time.....long post be warned

Vapeaddikt;10778839 said:

I
Preface

"All things change, but some things remain the same"

I was a pack to a pack and a half smoker for over 25 years. Nicotine and caffiene have always been vises of mine. The Nature of my personality which has helped me in life has equally been my nemesis at the same time. Balance is key but for some a tough thing to do.

I decided to pick up an e-cig for the first time back in late 2010. I'd tried to quit smoking several times in the past with the longest successful stent at over 4 years do to a past relationship. Love can cure all even if only temporarily. Needless to say life always throws a curveball. When I was a kid I figured, get an education, grow up, get a job, keep learning, eventually be the boss, then one day own your own job. The reality which defines the (what I know am only beginning to understand) wise vs the young is all the education in the world is useless when you've never played a game in your life. Anyone can be an armchair quarterback not anyone can be the quarterback.

So life happens as it does. Things go good while others not so good. My coping mechanism was nicotine, alcohol, and caffiene.

All it took was one day out at a bar working on drinking the problems away through self-stupification. From there it's the classic, hey bartender grab me a pack of smokes back there and add it on my tab and some matches and the rest is history. Right back on the smoking chain.

I eventually gave up on the notion of quitting cig's till I started hearing more and more about e-cig's in 2010.

II
Transition/learning curve

"a cheetah doesn't change it's spots"

In anything we all have predictable patterns. Typically it's very easy to see within others. The challenge is objective self analysis which most fight to see and by the time most do they are set in their ways.

I've always been a all or nothing personality. I knew by now quitting smoking would not be in my cards most likely seeing as both my mothers as well as my fathers side of the family were all smokers. I picked up my first cig at 13 out of a pack of my dads cig's and had people buying cartons for me by 15. I always told myself I could quit but really I couldn't.

Being honest with myself I understood the only way to effectively quit would be to find an acceptable replacement which would not simply replace it but be better than it in every way. It's the way I knew I would trick my brain into acceptance with minimal resistance.

So I go to a local Vape shop to have those supposedly in the "know" to learn me on the way to Vape bliss. Needless to say I was not sold. Not because the product they had wasn't any good but because the guy helping me was full of it. Even if I knew nothing about it. Like I said, instinctively we are all social animals so for most sensing B.S. is fairly easy.

I picked up an ego with some cartos because they were cheap and would at least give me a taste. It wasnt bad, but then again I couldn't make an informed assessment of it at this time because I didn't know what "good" was.

This ended up being a convenience fill in measure for when I couldn't smoke. It was an easy indoor cig. It didn't satisfy like a real cig so I did both. 3 months later I was hearing this hype about VV vaping. I was like "ok" so what but seeing as I could pick up an ego-twist for $20 I figured what the heck and got one. It was better, still just a (what I see know) fill in. 6 more months go bye I'm vaping less and smoking 90+ percent of the time. Eventually I hear about a supposed revolutionary eVic VV/VW device so I get one....if it's that good I'll quit smoking I tell myself. I pick up a kanger pro tank with it also.

This is definitely an improvement. I still don't know jack about what VV/VW really means yet alone a RBA/RDA but in the mean time this thing rocks. 2 weeks go bye and the pro tank starts acting up. I buy more replacement heads, some last 2 days others last 3 weeks. The draws airy, and not all that but at least it doesn't leak or break like the others plastic cartos I was using before it. I was back smoking for a few months. Nothing had impressed me enough to get off of them completely. I'd quit but kept cheating so really I hadn't quit but really just cut down supplementing nic from my e-cig.

All the while I'd been lurking ECF for a while I'd promised myself never to join an online forum again after mod'ing and running a few back in the early 2000's. The online drama just got to be too much and what started off as "fun" turned into a job so I left the forums. I ended up joining on here in may but never actually made a real post till around August. I actually only planned to simply get the 5 post minimum and leave it at that.

III
Realization/awareness

So I replaced my night reading with online reading on the forums gaining more and more knowledge and watching more and more videos on youtube to see what I needed to do to get the vape that would blow me away. Get me off of analogs 100% of the time and actually be an acceptable replacement taste, vape quality, and throat hit wise.

I started purchasing mechs got a Pro-Vari and some RBA/RDA's silica wick and kanthal wire.

I built my first (looking back on it now) crude wrap around silica loaded the 18650 into the tube and fired it and "wow". This was definitely better. While the pro vari was expensive and made in america. It to me at least was a better eVic. It wouldn't do it for me at least. I sold it. The Mech's RDA's/RBA's were doing great. I got into dripping and found heaven. Got a Gennie and loved it! They all had one problem.

Portability for real world I work most of the time adults. They would leak or the dripping while your driving, working, ect....just was not practical. I did the best I could with it none-the-less doing what I could but it sucked.

I had resolved my issues w/ vape/taste/Throat hit qualty to get me free of analogs but still not there.....


IV
Realizations

At the end of the day while we all live in a "technological" information based age. All a e-cig does is complete a circuit, heat resistance wire and vaporize e-juice. Technology, VV/VW ect to me were mostly just marketing hype. I studied Ω's law I looked at how difference Ω's would effect wattage and voltage then realized all I needed to do was find a good quality mech with a good quality RBA/RDA that I could build my own coil's on to my preferred Ω and thus effect my vape.

Problem was I needed something that would give me drip quality vaping without having to drip. I needed something that would hold the juice and work well without being too big that I could keep in my pocket throughout the day. I needed a practical all day every day mod. Why couldn't I find one?

I kept looking tinkering with my Mech's I had and stumbled across a thread on micro-coils in the rebuildable's sub forum on ECF. I noticed Drifter and many others on there with great looking micro's and also started to notice so many of them using this one particular mod a REO. What the hell I thought. What makes a basic most likely CNC machine milled block of aluminum with a pretty basic looking 2 post bottom feeder atomizer so great?

I came to the REO sub forum for my first time. First thing I noticed was the # of total threads. WOW! I also noticed the amount of people active in the sub forum, then I noticed the owner of the company producing these mods active. I marinated on the thought a bit, kept reading then shut the laptop and went back to life as usual. A week later I posted my first post in the sub forum deciding to take a $200 gamble on this REO. I justified it initially because it was a bottom feeder the size appeared practical for every day use and seemed to fit the bill for what I was missing from all my other mods. If it didn't work as well as all of the hype around it I'd simply flip it in the classifieds.

This is a borderline cult-like following and make me suspicious of the hype even more but none the less I didn't understand yet. I ordered it and waited. As I waited I got more involved in the forums and started getting sold on it even before the REO arrived.

The day it finally did arrive I made it a point to get my Chi with Nimbus RDA to do a side by side comparison. The Chi has no safety mechanism built in. It has minimal voltage drop and it hit like a truck. The Nimbus is an outstanding RDA with great flavor. I forced myself to be as objective about it as possible. I did a basic micro setup squonked for the first time and took a hit.

Initially it tasted funny so I took a few more hits. I hit the Chi and god it tasted good. I went back and took a few more hits off of the REO. After about 5-6 good hits all of a sudden it hit me like a mack truck. WOW!

I took the REO with me and have not touched the other mechs since.

Going back to the original quote:
"all things change while some remain the same"

There is no substitute for quality and simplicity of design. If something works it works.
Through effective marketing most of us have been brainwashed into believing technology is the answer to everything. The only technology I see that helped here was the technology of the manufacturing process of the device along w/ the technology of the internet and the forum.

Big clouds may look good on youtube but here's the thing.

I've drilled out and done huge clouds.
What they don't tell you is most of the clouds produced are due to increased airflow from a huge air hole or air holes which in effect also mute the flavor. All that really matters is that you have a device that works for you and vapes and tastes great for you. Mech's, RBA's/RDA's freed me 100% from analogs, REO's simply answered the shortcomings the others had.

Perhaps I'll look into a DNA20D but for now the REO's a absolute no fuss bullet proof all day every day answer to my needs.

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