When I started vaping in November, I got a great deal of information and help from other posters here who wrote up their experiences with various e-cigarettes and vape related gear on anniversaries and milestones. I figured, now at 6 months myself, I can offer somebody just starting out the same! I started to write everything out as a story about my vaping experiences, but it quickly became quite long, so I decided it would be best to list out what I've used and my brief thought on each item in the order in which I got them. My first kit is no longer available as it was, but it's been upgraded for the same price I got it for. I'll start with the upgraded starter kit.
1) iVape's Ego Variable Volt Passthrough Express kit, found here - http://ivape.net/index.php/iVape-eGo-v2-Passthrough-Express-Kit-Black.html This kit was a great little starter kit, especially for $14.95. With more experience behind me now, I would recommend starting with a kit that contains two batteries, but if you are unsure on whether you will like vaping then just go for something like this. It isn't the best kit out there, but it comes packed with a ton of features for $14.95. As a result, I think it's a great starting point. Kit now comes with an Evod, instead of a generic plastic clearo that took evod coils, making it an even better value. Because the charging port is on the bottom to allow for the passthrough feature, you need to press the fire button 5 times to get to the next power setting. This can get bothersome, but I found it vital for vaping through stronger cigarette cravings.
2) iClear 16 - You can pretty much find this plastic clearo anywhere. I got mine at a local vape shop by my job. Great flavor and warm vapor, but a lot of user error related leaking. Things like a twisted o-ring. It was too much trouble to be worth it in my opinion, but others absolutely love it. While I enjoyed the warm vapor, my husband found it too warm and didn't take to it.
3) iTaste VV v3 Express Kit - Great device at a great price. You can often find it on sale somewhere online for around $25. I paid $35 before I knew better, but it was still worth the price. Had all the features I loved about my first set up (passthrough, variable volt) but with more buttons eliminating the need to press any of them a lot, a display screen that showed me which volt or watt setting I was on, and an ohm reader. This device taught me a lot on how ohm's law worked. Power output, and therefore vapor, is smooth and steady. This was able to fire coils at a much higher resistance then my first eGo style battery, providing better hits all around. So good in fact, that my husband stole it a few days after I got it and STILL has it. He has an additional one for back up as well.
4) Mini Protank II - I got this to go with the iTaste VV v3, and they look really nice together. This was the easiest clearo to maintain, and provided decent vapor and flavor. A little muted compared to my iClear 16's, but the ease of use made up for it. My husband is not a tinkerer like I am, so this became his exclusive clearo for a long time. They seem to lack the gurgling that larger, bottom coil clearos are prone to have. Coils are cheap and easy to find for the Protank II, but I hear the Mini Protank III is great and provides better flavor. Can't vouch for that myself though, as I haven't tried the III.
5) iTaste MVP 2 - Another great device at a great price. Innokin, the manufacturer of both the VV v3 and MVP 2 just makes great products. Does everything the VV v3 does, plus charges other devices as well. I have two of these. I purchased them when it was clear that I wasn't getting my VV v3 back from hubby.
6) iClear 30 - This came with one of my MVP's, and at the time I got it, was the largest clearo I owned. Good flavor and vapor, but for some reason I preferred the iClear 16's flavor. Less troublesome then the 16 in terms of leaking, but more of a pain to clean with all those strands of silica. I also hated the proprietary, rotating drip tip. I didn't use this one much.
7) iClear 16b - This came with my second MVP 2 as part of the Energy series. It matched the petal pattern of the MVP. Great clearo with great flavor and ease of use. The coils are a bit more expensive then Protank coils however, and they're harder to clean and dry burn since they do not come apart. If this tank came in glass, it would have seen more use in my house, by both my husband and myself.
8)iClear 30b - I purchased this because I like the 16b so much. Again, great flavor, vapor and ease of use, but had the same draw back as the 16 b. It was plastic. Also, the black stripes scratch off very easily. This came with the same drip tip as the 30 that I hated, but I was able to use other's with it which made up for it.
9) IBTanked Carto Tanks - These became my toppers of choice. Eventually, even my husband put away his Mini Protanks for them. They provided better flavor and vapor then any of my clearos. They were glass, and IBTanked will even do custom paint jobs. I have 5 of these in rotation now, each filled with a different liquid. The working part of a carto tank is the carto, and for those I prefer the single coil, flanged cartos right from IBTanked's website. I've tried Boge cartos as well, but found that those take longer to prime and burnt out faster. The smok cartos seem to last all the way through a 30 ml bottle of juice, making any cartotank holding them pretty much maintenance free aside from refilling the tank. With a cartotank tool, refilling is a cinch. There's a small learning curve for priming the cartos, but you get the hand of it fast. To me, these provide the best flavor you're going to get if you don't get into RDA's and RBA's. IBTanked has one of the better quality cartotanks out there for a reasonable price. You can find cheaper glass cartotanks, but the ones I've used let the cartos slide out too easily, which is a common issue with cartotanks and one that IBTanked generally avoids by using quality, tight fitting, orings.
10) Cirrus Vapes cartotanks. Great quality carto tanks, but pricier then IBTanked. You can, however, find some great sales on them. I believe Ultravape has them for almost 50% off and has had them on their site for several weeks now.
11) - Aspire BDC-ETS - Glass bottom dual coil clearo. Has the bottom dual coil taste I liked about the iClear 16b and 30b, but comes in glass. I use this occassionally still.
12) KR808D-1 - This is a common cigalike model. After using my MVP's for so long, I found that I had the desire to be a girl and carry something smaller and stealthier for some occassions. They're not as bad as many on the board would have you believe. In fact, when you first start vaping, I recommend getting a couple along with a larger, ego sized device just so you can have a more cigarette like form factor once in a while. The simplicity of just screwing on a carto and taking a drag would be mentally helpful. There are cigalike companies out there that overprice, over market and over hype these models and generally give them a bad name, but don't discount all companies that sell them. I have owned 808D-1's from Smokeless Image, Halo, Bloog, and Bedford Slims and occassionally enjoy them all. I love the different color options and designs out there. Bedford Slims even has a couple that were designed by local Brooklyn artists. I've also own the Vapor Couture starter kit, but I don't recommend that one. Pretty as it is, it doesn't seem to be compatible with anything and you'll be stuck in a proprietary system. Greensmoke and Eversmoke sell KR808D-2's. This system seems to be more expensive to maintain, less common and therefore is not something I'd recommend either.
13) HCigar's Kracken - This is my first rebuildable tank. A much larger learning curve then anything I've had before, but since I got it working nicely OMG flavor!!! I told myself I wouldn't be getting into rebuilding when I found ECF, but the Kracken just appealed to me for some reason. As I didn't know how good I'd be at building coils, I got a clone but I'm thinking of getting an original to pay homage to the original manufacturer, Viscious Ant. This has given me the best taste I've experienced to date.
14) My Prescious, aka Provari Mini - What can I add about this that hasn't been said before on this board? If you are ever in the market for buying an expensive device, it's hard to ignore the call of Provari. Although I really wanted a variable wattage device since I've been spoiled by my MVP's, I knew that if I bought something else I'd still always have Provari on my mind. The word of mouth reputation of Provari has ensured that. While it is no longer in stock over on Provape's website, I knew a local vendor had one in ice pink, so for my 6 month anniversary I ran out and grabbed it. It was the last pink one they had in stock! So glad I got it! It's something i can mark off my bucket list. "Try the Provari" = Done
Now that I have my precious and found my toppers of choice, I think I'm good for a long while. Along my journey, I've been PIFing items to various smoking family members (my sister is getting one of my MVP's) as well as dropped a few items over on ECF's own PIF Treasure Chest thread in an effort to help other find what works for them. So, regardless of whether I used something much or not, not a single item has been a waste in my book. Hope this thread is informative and helps someone else who is just starting out!
PS - Yes, even with a Provari, I still think the MVP 2 is a great buy. They were the step between ego's and pricier, good for the rest of your life devices that I needed, and I'm sure others will need as well.
1) iVape's Ego Variable Volt Passthrough Express kit, found here - http://ivape.net/index.php/iVape-eGo-v2-Passthrough-Express-Kit-Black.html This kit was a great little starter kit, especially for $14.95. With more experience behind me now, I would recommend starting with a kit that contains two batteries, but if you are unsure on whether you will like vaping then just go for something like this. It isn't the best kit out there, but it comes packed with a ton of features for $14.95. As a result, I think it's a great starting point. Kit now comes with an Evod, instead of a generic plastic clearo that took evod coils, making it an even better value. Because the charging port is on the bottom to allow for the passthrough feature, you need to press the fire button 5 times to get to the next power setting. This can get bothersome, but I found it vital for vaping through stronger cigarette cravings.
2) iClear 16 - You can pretty much find this plastic clearo anywhere. I got mine at a local vape shop by my job. Great flavor and warm vapor, but a lot of user error related leaking. Things like a twisted o-ring. It was too much trouble to be worth it in my opinion, but others absolutely love it. While I enjoyed the warm vapor, my husband found it too warm and didn't take to it.
3) iTaste VV v3 Express Kit - Great device at a great price. You can often find it on sale somewhere online for around $25. I paid $35 before I knew better, but it was still worth the price. Had all the features I loved about my first set up (passthrough, variable volt) but with more buttons eliminating the need to press any of them a lot, a display screen that showed me which volt or watt setting I was on, and an ohm reader. This device taught me a lot on how ohm's law worked. Power output, and therefore vapor, is smooth and steady. This was able to fire coils at a much higher resistance then my first eGo style battery, providing better hits all around. So good in fact, that my husband stole it a few days after I got it and STILL has it. He has an additional one for back up as well.
4) Mini Protank II - I got this to go with the iTaste VV v3, and they look really nice together. This was the easiest clearo to maintain, and provided decent vapor and flavor. A little muted compared to my iClear 16's, but the ease of use made up for it. My husband is not a tinkerer like I am, so this became his exclusive clearo for a long time. They seem to lack the gurgling that larger, bottom coil clearos are prone to have. Coils are cheap and easy to find for the Protank II, but I hear the Mini Protank III is great and provides better flavor. Can't vouch for that myself though, as I haven't tried the III.
5) iTaste MVP 2 - Another great device at a great price. Innokin, the manufacturer of both the VV v3 and MVP 2 just makes great products. Does everything the VV v3 does, plus charges other devices as well. I have two of these. I purchased them when it was clear that I wasn't getting my VV v3 back from hubby.
6) iClear 30 - This came with one of my MVP's, and at the time I got it, was the largest clearo I owned. Good flavor and vapor, but for some reason I preferred the iClear 16's flavor. Less troublesome then the 16 in terms of leaking, but more of a pain to clean with all those strands of silica. I also hated the proprietary, rotating drip tip. I didn't use this one much.
7) iClear 16b - This came with my second MVP 2 as part of the Energy series. It matched the petal pattern of the MVP. Great clearo with great flavor and ease of use. The coils are a bit more expensive then Protank coils however, and they're harder to clean and dry burn since they do not come apart. If this tank came in glass, it would have seen more use in my house, by both my husband and myself.
8)iClear 30b - I purchased this because I like the 16b so much. Again, great flavor, vapor and ease of use, but had the same draw back as the 16 b. It was plastic. Also, the black stripes scratch off very easily. This came with the same drip tip as the 30 that I hated, but I was able to use other's with it which made up for it.
9) IBTanked Carto Tanks - These became my toppers of choice. Eventually, even my husband put away his Mini Protanks for them. They provided better flavor and vapor then any of my clearos. They were glass, and IBTanked will even do custom paint jobs. I have 5 of these in rotation now, each filled with a different liquid. The working part of a carto tank is the carto, and for those I prefer the single coil, flanged cartos right from IBTanked's website. I've tried Boge cartos as well, but found that those take longer to prime and burnt out faster. The smok cartos seem to last all the way through a 30 ml bottle of juice, making any cartotank holding them pretty much maintenance free aside from refilling the tank. With a cartotank tool, refilling is a cinch. There's a small learning curve for priming the cartos, but you get the hand of it fast. To me, these provide the best flavor you're going to get if you don't get into RDA's and RBA's. IBTanked has one of the better quality cartotanks out there for a reasonable price. You can find cheaper glass cartotanks, but the ones I've used let the cartos slide out too easily, which is a common issue with cartotanks and one that IBTanked generally avoids by using quality, tight fitting, orings.
10) Cirrus Vapes cartotanks. Great quality carto tanks, but pricier then IBTanked. You can, however, find some great sales on them. I believe Ultravape has them for almost 50% off and has had them on their site for several weeks now.
11) - Aspire BDC-ETS - Glass bottom dual coil clearo. Has the bottom dual coil taste I liked about the iClear 16b and 30b, but comes in glass. I use this occassionally still.
12) KR808D-1 - This is a common cigalike model. After using my MVP's for so long, I found that I had the desire to be a girl and carry something smaller and stealthier for some occassions. They're not as bad as many on the board would have you believe. In fact, when you first start vaping, I recommend getting a couple along with a larger, ego sized device just so you can have a more cigarette like form factor once in a while. The simplicity of just screwing on a carto and taking a drag would be mentally helpful. There are cigalike companies out there that overprice, over market and over hype these models and generally give them a bad name, but don't discount all companies that sell them. I have owned 808D-1's from Smokeless Image, Halo, Bloog, and Bedford Slims and occassionally enjoy them all. I love the different color options and designs out there. Bedford Slims even has a couple that were designed by local Brooklyn artists. I've also own the Vapor Couture starter kit, but I don't recommend that one. Pretty as it is, it doesn't seem to be compatible with anything and you'll be stuck in a proprietary system. Greensmoke and Eversmoke sell KR808D-2's. This system seems to be more expensive to maintain, less common and therefore is not something I'd recommend either.
13) HCigar's Kracken - This is my first rebuildable tank. A much larger learning curve then anything I've had before, but since I got it working nicely OMG flavor!!! I told myself I wouldn't be getting into rebuilding when I found ECF, but the Kracken just appealed to me for some reason. As I didn't know how good I'd be at building coils, I got a clone but I'm thinking of getting an original to pay homage to the original manufacturer, Viscious Ant. This has given me the best taste I've experienced to date.
14) My Prescious, aka Provari Mini - What can I add about this that hasn't been said before on this board? If you are ever in the market for buying an expensive device, it's hard to ignore the call of Provari. Although I really wanted a variable wattage device since I've been spoiled by my MVP's, I knew that if I bought something else I'd still always have Provari on my mind. The word of mouth reputation of Provari has ensured that. While it is no longer in stock over on Provape's website, I knew a local vendor had one in ice pink, so for my 6 month anniversary I ran out and grabbed it. It was the last pink one they had in stock! So glad I got it! It's something i can mark off my bucket list. "Try the Provari" = Done
Now that I have my precious and found my toppers of choice, I think I'm good for a long while. Along my journey, I've been PIFing items to various smoking family members (my sister is getting one of my MVP's) as well as dropped a few items over on ECF's own PIF Treasure Chest thread in an effort to help other find what works for them. So, regardless of whether I used something much or not, not a single item has been a waste in my book. Hope this thread is informative and helps someone else who is just starting out!
PS - Yes, even with a Provari, I still think the MVP 2 is a great buy. They were the step between ego's and pricier, good for the rest of your life devices that I needed, and I'm sure others will need as well.
