...and here's me

[idleyote]

Salutations everyone!

So, a little background information. I am the notorious 'occasional smoker'. I light up maybe once or twice a week, for one of two specific reasons. The first reason is recreation, I like my kreteks (which have just been banned, apparently, le sigh) and love the flavor.

The other reason is a self-treatment motivation. I suffer from rather painful panic attacks, and I've noticed that a kretek or two calms the nerves and lets me ride through them. It's not a cure, and it may be entirely psychosomatic, but the nicotine hit seems to keep me sane and level during the worst parts of the night.

That said, I like to entertain friends, and none of my friends are smokers. I don't want them to feel uncomfortable in my home, so I don't want smokey smells lingering on my furniture. Also, I of course don't want even a hint of risking cancer if I can avoid it. So imagine my happiness when I discovered the possibility of the e-cigarette (through an advertisement for a goofy looking little thing called Blu).

My first impulse was to rush out and buy a Blu starter pack right away, to see if this thing would save me from all my troubles! Then I remembered that I'm inherently suspicious of slick packaging and sexy advertising, and these advertisements practically screamed "Macbook style cigarette."

So, I'm here to ask a very specific couple of questions (proviso - I am not asking for and acknowledge that this forum is unable to provide medical advice. I seek only anecdotal and research information).

Given that I;

a - am a total beginner to ecigarettes.
b - generally need to smoke one Djarum Black or two Djarum Cherry kreteks/cloves when I have an 'episode'
c - prefer a sweet/tobacco combination in my flavors

What products would you fine and estimable folk recommend I look into for getting started with e cigarettes? I do not mind if it is automatic or manual, I do prefer the discrete look of a 'cigarette' aesthetic, and I'm definitely interested in learning to hand-refill instead of shelling out extra for the privilege of having them do it for me.

Regards and many thanks,

William Cain, RHP

[Elapid]

The more it looks like an analog the less likely it is to be a good E-cig. I use a 801 with a Prodigy but I don't care about the size of the E-cig. My wife uses the 510 as it is about the size of an 100 cigarette and hits real nice. The best thing to do is read on the forum with your criteria in mind. Lots of good unbiased information on this board.

[Moonflame]

The which one to buy question can be answered in so many ways. I started off with a 901 and really liked it. I tried a friend's 510 and liked it better, so when I invested in a battery mod I went with 510 atomizers and have been extremely happy with them. The vapor is a little warmer and heftier. Both have manual and automatic batteries available. I started with an automatic and found I like manuals better. I don't have to worry about juice leaking into the battery and ruining it. They are both about the thickness of the cigs I used to smoke and are comfortable to hold and use. You can find kits for around $40. I'd try to find one that has 2 atomizers and 2 batteries and then pick up an extra battery.

For juice, I think the best way to go is to find one of the suppliers that sell sampler packs and pick a bunch that appeal to you. That way you can try them before you buy large amounts of something that you end up not liking.

Hope some of this helps. Good luck and welcome to the forum.

[idleyote]

Thank you both for the advice.

What is a battery mod, if I may ask? I have been looking through the forums, but I literally just made this decision today, so I'm a little slow on the reading up. Additionally, what are some good suppliers to look for a 510 from?

[Jim Davis]

The information in the Sticky threads are priceless.

The 510 is the current rage on the Forums now. Easy draw, and good throat hit. I have a 510 among others, and it's a good little unit.

If you're interested in the "Mods", they are larger, heavy duty units. Some are using higher voltages to give added hit. Some folks swear by them.

I'm not a mod person myself, but if you want to research them, check on;
Prodigy
SD
GG
Zi Moshi

There are a few others that I can't think of right now, but I'm positive that others will complete my partial list.

Good Luck on your research.
Cheers;
jd

[idleyote]

Looking like the 510 is pretty close to what I'm looking for in a starter package, then.

Excellent!

[tdstrike]

I'm not your father, mother, or anybody of importance in your life, but my suggestion is to NOT get started down this road if you're only an occasional nicotine user, stop before you're addicted, chew nic gum, chew straws, anything but getting started on a habit that most here will tell you they wish they never started. Learn to deal with your occasional anxiety WITHOUT the use of nicotine.

[idleyote]

I don't seem to have explained the panic attacks very clearly.

I -smoke- occasionally. The attacks are almost daily. I simply use the cigarettes to deal with the worst of them. I want some flexibility in doing so that is less dangerous than smoking itself. I do appreciate your advice, but I respectfully will decline to take it. Thank you however, for taking the time to share your opinion and your concerns, far too few people are willing to be a gentle voice of dissent, and I appreciate the effort.

[TooMuckinFuch]

I just went through the same questions you had among others! My first e-cig is a 510 and it's in the mail at the moment.


Coming from an overwhelmed rookie, I say videos are worth a thousand posts. I forget the name of the guy I need to give a lot of credit to, but he did a 510 vs 901 comparison with manual and auto batteries. YouTube has a lot of good info as well, and a lot of that info is from these guys here... who probably have responses to our questions ready to copy-&-paste every time a new potential PV user pops up! =)

Keep searching and asking questions, they'll help you tons!

[TooMuckinFuch]

I can't post URLs yet, but Cuda3333 is the guy who I owe thanks to, so ty cuda.

Search Youtube for "510 vs 901"

His video is "Joye-510 VS DSE-901" with a part 1 and 2.