Surely this isn't just me. It seems like I have bought every kind of carto, atty, tank there is to buy. And none of them work without some type of issue either it be leaking, cracking, dull flavor, no vapor, burnt taste, etc etc. I see all of these new products that keep coming out and its still the same maybe slightly modified but not enough to really change anything. This includes batteries as well. I have spent tons of money on this and I feel somehow this may be done intentional since this is a new market and vapers are going to buy the products. I understand there are things that work for people that don't work for others. But any of you actually happy with what devices you have? And honestly is there something you have had that you didn't have to fiddle with or mod? I understand there is going to be a level of maintenance but I just think its getting ridiculous.
Tired of wasting money
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Have you tried a drip shield yet? They are a godsend IMO.
ETA: I am very happy with my Empire mod. It hasn't leaked or faulted yet. It's a very reliable piece of equipment, which is hard to come by with anything these days.
ETA: I am very happy with my Empire mod. It hasn't leaked or faulted yet. It's a very reliable piece of equipment, which is hard to come by with anything these days.
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No I havnt tried a drip shield, I like dripping but don't like carrying a juice bottle around 24/7 lol
Perhaps a bottom-feeder would be a good thing to look in to. All the benefits of dripping but without the mess, and the bottle is in the box, just squeeze and fire. I've been looking in to getting one myself, but am still researching to find a design I like 
Im still very new and havent tried much hardware... Started out on 808's from Halo and currently what Im using that works excellent is a Volt x2 (900mah) with 808D1 cartos (2.8ohm) and performance wise its great. I know many seasoned users out there will snicker a bit, but its hard to imagine it getting much better than this.
I know these cartos dont yeild the best flavor. But I can easily grab a few and stuff 'em in my pocket with the x2 and not worry about leaking or breaking etc. The TH is right where I want it as well.
I picked up an ego style kit recently and its great in every area except the TH is a bit weaker. So the X2 and Carto is still my #1.
I know these cartos dont yeild the best flavor. But I can easily grab a few and stuff 'em in my pocket with the x2 and not worry about leaking or breaking etc. The TH is right where I want it as well.
I picked up an ego style kit recently and its great in every area except the TH is a bit weaker. So the X2 and Carto is still my #1.
I'm actually very happy with my VOLT and my VOLT cartos, never had a problem, burnt one or two when I first started but other than that never had a problem, two batteries get me through the day, and a couple of cartos and I'm good, never had to do any fiddling or modding, any that i do is just for fun and for the learning experience, but thats just me
ive only had puresmoker devices, but each generation has been better than the last.
at first i hated the mechanical buttons they tried. they kept carbonizing and had to be cleaned all the time. problem solved with the prodigy v3. instead of a titanium ring, they use a brass screw (you can buy anywhere) and replace it if it tarnishes too much beyond cleanability.
up until the last generation he had wells in the top caps of all his devices which would trap leaks if you over dripped. now that he has gone to cartos/tanks mostly, dripping is no longer the primary means.
steve machines and engineers the mods himself before releasing to the public, and have had no issues with his products beyond annoyances that were fixed in later generations of his product. he has even sent free kits to upgrade his current products in the past to a new method if it improved quality. cant say enough good things about his products. i have always been satisfied with my purchases and thankfully have never been remorseful.
my name is AJ, i am a long time vaper, lifetime puresmoker customer. thank you.
***APPLAUSE***
seriously though. what have you bought in the past? im curious. all devices have their.....quirks, but i cant say ive seen a fail unless it was one of those cheap stick battery devices that feel like sucking a dairy queen blizzard through a coffee straw.
at first i hated the mechanical buttons they tried. they kept carbonizing and had to be cleaned all the time. problem solved with the prodigy v3. instead of a titanium ring, they use a brass screw (you can buy anywhere) and replace it if it tarnishes too much beyond cleanability.
up until the last generation he had wells in the top caps of all his devices which would trap leaks if you over dripped. now that he has gone to cartos/tanks mostly, dripping is no longer the primary means.
steve machines and engineers the mods himself before releasing to the public, and have had no issues with his products beyond annoyances that were fixed in later generations of his product. he has even sent free kits to upgrade his current products in the past to a new method if it improved quality. cant say enough good things about his products. i have always been satisfied with my purchases and thankfully have never been remorseful.
my name is AJ, i am a long time vaper, lifetime puresmoker customer. thank you.
***APPLAUSE***
seriously though. what have you bought in the past? im curious. all devices have their.....quirks, but i cant say ive seen a fail unless it was one of those cheap stick battery devices that feel like sucking a dairy queen blizzard through a coffee straw.
This is what I'm using:
Innokin Lea 800
It's so trouble free it's not even funny. I drip with it primarily, but the tank cartridge/mouthpiece things work very well if you're going out with it, and they don't leak. Easy to fill, no tools required. The batts are 650 mah, and they can last me anywhere from 5-8 hours depending on how crazy I get with the vaping. You can vape while they charge, too, if you don't mind being tied down for a while.
If you want the option to use cartos as well as atties and you've got lots of differently threaded stuff you want to continue to use, I also have the Lea Kross, and it too, is awesome and trouble free. I actually bought this one first, because I didn't want to waste all the stuff I had bought for my stupid dying 808s- it comes with adapters for differently threaded accessories, so if you want to drip with a different atty, you're still good. I actually really like the atties designed for the Lea for dripping, but caveat; I'm pretty new to this whole thing.
I've tried a few other people's stuff, bigger, badder, stronger, smarter, etc, but once I found what I liked, I stuck here.
Granted, I'm buying myself an itaste for my birthday next month anyway.
Innokin Lea 800
It's so trouble free it's not even funny. I drip with it primarily, but the tank cartridge/mouthpiece things work very well if you're going out with it, and they don't leak. Easy to fill, no tools required. The batts are 650 mah, and they can last me anywhere from 5-8 hours depending on how crazy I get with the vaping. You can vape while they charge, too, if you don't mind being tied down for a while.
If you want the option to use cartos as well as atties and you've got lots of differently threaded stuff you want to continue to use, I also have the Lea Kross, and it too, is awesome and trouble free. I actually bought this one first, because I didn't want to waste all the stuff I had bought for my stupid dying 808s- it comes with adapters for differently threaded accessories, so if you want to drip with a different atty, you're still good. I actually really like the atties designed for the Lea for dripping, but caveat; I'm pretty new to this whole thing.
I've tried a few other people's stuff, bigger, badder, stronger, smarter, etc, but once I found what I liked, I stuck here.
Granted, I'm buying myself an itaste for my birthday next month anyway.
I've been handed some veteran vapers' mods before, slapped my drip tip on, took a drag and my cheeks met in the middle of my mouth, seemingly breaking any teeth that got in the way and turning my tongue into a sideways pancake. My god, man! How do you use this? I swear, some people must have jaws of STEEL and high tolerance for error combined with low initial expectations. When I come across a carto or atty that gets anywhere near that point, I'm cleaning it. If that doesn't work, then it's time to meet Mr. Hammer.
I started with a Volt 808 kit, added a Silver Bullet, added a box mod and an acrylic tube mod from Mad Vapes, then two Volt X2s and clearos, and finally one of the new lavatube devices.
I find myself using the two Volt X2s and clearos 90% of the time. They're convenient, have decent battery life, and give me a clean taste with lots of vapor. I am done trying new devices until something really new comes along.
I find myself using the two Volt X2s and clearos 90% of the time. They're convenient, have decent battery life, and give me a clean taste with lots of vapor. I am done trying new devices until something really new comes along.
Zoey,
I'm sorry to hear of your issues... I only have a few 510 threaded devices and have been happy using boge sr cartos on them... I've burnt a few and clogged a few, but for the price, I certainly can't complain! I did crack a clearomizer and bought another one, but I've been afraid to use it! I was able to find lots of different juices that I really like and traded the ones I didn't care for. Yes, I really do want to try a nice mod, but so far the budget hasn't allowed for it. I sure hope you find some thing that works for you. Prior to this, I used to roll my own and fiddling with my cartos is a lot more fun AND tasty!
I'm sorry to hear of your issues... I only have a few 510 threaded devices and have been happy using boge sr cartos on them... I've burnt a few and clogged a few, but for the price, I certainly can't complain! I did crack a clearomizer and bought another one, but I've been afraid to use it! I was able to find lots of different juices that I really like and traded the ones I didn't care for. Yes, I really do want to try a nice mod, but so far the budget hasn't allowed for it. I sure hope you find some thing that works for you. Prior to this, I used to roll my own and fiddling with my cartos is a lot more fun AND tasty!
Same here... X2 650 mah with Boge 2.0 cartos. It will stay that way until things advance a more. Probably not the best, but it is reliable. And for a guy who's wanting to stay from cigarettes, reliable is exactly what I need. Most of my money goes towards my DIY juice supplies now.
All of this reminds me of the computer craze in the 80-90's. Buy something expensive that is already obsolete.
I mean... These things have become completely modular now. Варианты Ñборки мода ― SvoÑ‘Mesto And, we can only expect this to get better over the next year or two.
*Credit* Sailorman, in the New Members Forum, posted that site the other day. Make sure to set it to english if you want to be able to read the site.
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Most people are surely going to understand your frustration. I hope you do find something that fits your needs and isn't as much of a hassle. And, I see you've been at this a while (your ECF join date says 2010, so I'll guess you've seen a lot of "new and improved" vaping items come and go). That really is sort of the nature of it. It can be almost disheartening separating the wheat from the chaff of vaping stuff.
There are a lot of high quality items that don't require too much fiddling. You've gotten some good recommendations, and I'm not going to add to those with any specific devices I might prefer.
The advice i can offer is this:
1) Research every item before you buy. A good place to start is the reviews section here on ECF Reviews are not always reliable, but they are a good place to start.
2) Once you've identified an item you want to try and have checked out the early reviews - wait. Give it three or so weeks. Then, go back to those review threads or whatever videos you might have seen on youtube or anywhere else you found the information - Read current comments then and look for fresher reviews. Much of the time, you'll find that some portion of the opinions are beginning to sour. Sometimes they don't. You can make much better decisions with the extra information gained by waiting a little while and letting others guinea pig.
3) Just like tires, siding, jeans, household appliances, furniture, automobiles, or what-have-you, sometimes a little extra money means the difference between something that is just serviceable and something that lasts. It isn't always true, but e-cig equipment is much like other goods are in that very often, if you want quality workmanship and good customer service, it comes at a premium.
4) I raise a few hackles with my signature now and then, but I wouldn't have it at the end of every single post I make if I didn't have some faith in what I'm saying. There is a lot of excellent vaping gear made in places other than China. In fact, the last couple of years, American, European, and even Former Soviet Republic e-cig equipment makers have been setting the bar - and they've been setting it high. There are not just mod makers, but atomizer designers/manufacturers, juice manufacturers, etc etc etc. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to avoid vaping products that come from China, and I'm not saying avoid them. I am saying that if a similar item is made elsewhere or even designed elsewhere, it's probably worth having a serious look at before making your choice - even if it is more expensive.
5) I saved this for last even though it should be first. I saved it because it is the most important thing of all. - It's best to become familiar with the many features different devices offer. It's important to know what sort of device fits not just your vaping needs, but also your lifestyle. The devil is always in the details. From your post, I can see there are some things you don't want (don't want to fiddle or mod for sure
), but it isn't really obvious what it is you *do* want. Once you narrow it down, ask as many questions as you can possibly think of about any item you might be considering. That's what I really like about ECF. I can ask just about anything and those who have experience with what I'm asking about are always happy to answer... sometimes people with no experience with what I'm asking about will answer too (nothing wrong with that - often repeating what's already been written somewhere or they saw in a video review - 99.99% of the time it's useful information), and just depending on what I want to know, I've sort of got a mental list of the knowledgeable I hope will answer and I appreciate the answers I get no matter who from.And to answer the questions I quoted: Yes, and yes. I have a variety of things that I not only like, but am completely satisfied with. All of the equipment I currently have in use requires very little of my attention and very little of my time to provide me with what I want from my vaping.
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I've been vaping about a year and 5 months. I started on Ego T's. I had to make sure the atomizers stayed clean and didn't gunk up. Before the ego C's came out it was a job. With the advent of the C's cleaning atomizers became easier, if one died you pitched it for a lot less money than you pitched a T atomizer. I never even thought of going back to smoking because of the work to keep things clean, or the cost of replacement. I was saving a lot of money and my life.
Now I'm vaping much bigger stuff, Provaris, carto tanks, SB's and Helix. When I am making juice I use drip atties and shields to taste test my juice.
When a carto gunks up I pitch it. Happens once a week or so maybe less often in tanks. My equipment requires no fiddling or modding at all.
I am still saving money. I decided what I wanted and looked for it. I'm a happy happy vaper
Now I'm vaping much bigger stuff, Provaris, carto tanks, SB's and Helix. When I am making juice I use drip atties and shields to taste test my juice.
When a carto gunks up I pitch it. Happens once a week or so maybe less often in tanks. My equipment requires no fiddling or modding at all.
I am still saving money. I decided what I wanted and looked for it. I'm a happy happy vaper
Zoey,
I totally understand and am still on the search. Right now I am using visions and an ego. No issue so far but that could also change. I have found from being on here that I am a fairly unpicky vaper! I mean I I'd blus for almost 4 months! I try to stick with what I have instead of looking for the latest and greatest if I am happy at the moment. I think the biggest key is to make sure I don't get knockoffs of anything!
I totally understand and am still on the search. Right now I am using visions and an ego. No issue so far but that could also change. I have found from being on here that I am a fairly unpicky vaper! I mean I I'd blus for almost 4 months! I try to stick with what I have instead of looking for the latest and greatest if I am happy at the moment. I think the biggest key is to make sure I don't get knockoffs of anything!
My kgo has kept me happy as a starter. I have read a lot and KISS seems to apply. First tank is coming, and I learned to think of the cartos as a consumable (or, faster consumed than I thought).
The only thing not killing my wallet is not buying things until I think I understand them. For me, that's been the key.
The only thing not killing my wallet is not buying things until I think I understand them. For me, that's been the key.
Here’s what I’ve gathered in over a year of vaping.
Cig style devices: Battery life is terrible, but performance is excellent in a small package.
eGo style devices: Probably one of the best PV designs to ever hit the vaping world.
Tube Mods: Good idea, excellent battery life and performance, but they can be very big and pricey for what it actually is.
Box Mods: Again, very nice idea, and probably one of my most preferred mods.
Variable Volt Devices: Absolutely great. But, again, size seems to be an issue. Another thing with VV devices is if you don’t have atleast a vague understanding of electronics, you may not understand why certain attys / cartos don’t work the same as an unregulated 3.7v mod.
Top Feeders: Good idea in theory. This is one device I’ve never tried because it doesn’t appeal to me.
Bottom Feeders: After a year of vaping, I came into possession of a REO mini. This has to be the least finicky device I’ve ever owned. I bought it used as a large package of various other items for $135. I will be honest, it does have it’s own set of problems just like any other PV, but for something that holds it’s own juice (without a tank) and is built solid as a brick and will literally last forever (being mechanical), it was well worth the money, and I’ve never experienced anything like it on any other PV.
Cartos: Probably the easiest to use juice delivery method. Downfall is, it takes time to fill each one and they don’t last as long as you’d like (then again nothing does lol)
Attys: I was never an atty person. Period. Until I tried a 306 Cisco Spec @1.8 ohms. Holy crap. Most attys burn easily, leak juice and are just a pain in the rear unless you treat them like greek gods. But, who has the time for that?
Tanks: Really close to what everyone is looking for, but again, have issues of their own. They will leak at some point when you least expect it to. And they just add size and make your mods top heavy which just begs for it to fall over.
Clearos…. Well, they’re nice as long as you aren’t an extreme chain vaper. I am, so no go.
Just like the OP mentioned. Everything has issues, there is not ONE PV setup that is without a flaw. I’ve tried just about every “type” of PV and for me, bottom feeders require the least amount of work. The only person who can decide what’s right is you.
Cig style devices: Battery life is terrible, but performance is excellent in a small package.
eGo style devices: Probably one of the best PV designs to ever hit the vaping world.
Tube Mods: Good idea, excellent battery life and performance, but they can be very big and pricey for what it actually is.
Box Mods: Again, very nice idea, and probably one of my most preferred mods.
Variable Volt Devices: Absolutely great. But, again, size seems to be an issue. Another thing with VV devices is if you don’t have atleast a vague understanding of electronics, you may not understand why certain attys / cartos don’t work the same as an unregulated 3.7v mod.
Top Feeders: Good idea in theory. This is one device I’ve never tried because it doesn’t appeal to me.
Bottom Feeders: After a year of vaping, I came into possession of a REO mini. This has to be the least finicky device I’ve ever owned. I bought it used as a large package of various other items for $135. I will be honest, it does have it’s own set of problems just like any other PV, but for something that holds it’s own juice (without a tank) and is built solid as a brick and will literally last forever (being mechanical), it was well worth the money, and I’ve never experienced anything like it on any other PV.
Cartos: Probably the easiest to use juice delivery method. Downfall is, it takes time to fill each one and they don’t last as long as you’d like (then again nothing does lol)
Attys: I was never an atty person. Period. Until I tried a 306 Cisco Spec @1.8 ohms. Holy crap. Most attys burn easily, leak juice and are just a pain in the rear unless you treat them like greek gods. But, who has the time for that?
Tanks: Really close to what everyone is looking for, but again, have issues of their own. They will leak at some point when you least expect it to. And they just add size and make your mods top heavy which just begs for it to fall over.
Clearos…. Well, they’re nice as long as you aren’t an extreme chain vaper. I am, so no go.
Just like the OP mentioned. Everything has issues, there is not ONE PV setup that is without a flaw. I’ve tried just about every “type” of PV and for me, bottom feeders require the least amount of work. The only person who can decide what’s right is you.
I went through the same problem spending money on things that didn't work for me. I've been vaping for about 3 months and have spent about 700 to 800 on stuff Ive trashed. I have found that carto's used with tanks is what works for me best. Don't give up sooner or later you'll find something that works for you
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