I am still fairly new to vaping. While I may not have the time logged a lot of members here have, due to my background, I do know a lot about electronics, physics, computer science, etc.
My point here is to warn newbs about cheap batteries. If you are new and are thinking about buying an ego style battery, let me tell you unequivocally to NEVER do it. Ego style batteries are cheap Chinese garbage. I will say it again, cheap Chinese garbage manufactured by workers working under slave labor conditions. The goal of these Chinese companies is to churn out as many units as possible with ZERO quality control. If the battery doesn't work, it's no sweat because they know it becomes the U.S. vendor's problem. And most of the time, the U.S. vendor will not give you a refund for something DOA because the Chinese do not warranty them. These guys can't even produce manuals with proper English grammar (because they are too cheap to hire English translators), so do you really think they are going to have much communication with U.S. vendors? Nah, the Chinese are laughing all the way to the bank at our stupidity and our reliance on their shoddy "craftsmanship."
I would estimate it costs the Chinese about $1 to produce your average 600 mah ego battery. By the time they make their way to the consumer here in the U.S. (or other countries) we are paying 15-20 bucks. If you buy from a B&M, you will pay about $15 right now. On the internet you will probably find them a few bucks cheaper. Still it's a huge markup.
The biggest offender of cheap, crap products is SMOK. I bought 2 Smok Ego "Emax" batteries from my local B&M store. These are the 1300 mah VV/VW batteries that you may have seen. I spent $35 a piece (yes, way too much). Neither of them really work. The box says that you are supposed to get a "30% low battery warning." It states that the LED will flash red. Neither of my two batteries ever do that -- they just die unexpectedly. While one of my batteries will last me about 12 hours on 8 watts (which sounds about right for 1300 mah), the other one lasts me about 2 hours before it totally dies.
So I took this battery back to my local B&M and told them it dies after a couple hours (at most). They told me they will have to "test" it. They didn't take my word for it because they are basically on the hook for it since the Chinese won't warranty them. (They didn't tell me this, but I know that's what it is. Otherwise, they would just give me a new one and send the old one back). So, basically, these vendors are taking all of the risk if something doesn't work. This ends up screwing the consumer like me because the vendors are out whatever they paid for the battery plus a new replacement. So, basically, if this local B&M doesn't either refund me or give me a replacement, I will never buy from them again and make sure all the smokers I know never buy from them either.
So, my advice to newbies? Go out right now and buy a Provari or a ZEN or a Futura or another high-quality U.S. made device. Yes, they are expensive. Yes, a full kit will cost you at least $200-$300. Yes, it will hurt the budget for a while. But it is definitely WORTH it. I have spent probably $200 just on EGO batteries in the short few months I have been vaping. What do I have to show for it? Nothing. Most of them no longer work. I have two in the other room right now that are dead as a door nail after light usage over a couple of months. On the other hand, a Provari will last you (easily) 5-10 years and give you a much, much better vape.
So, for all of you veterans who tell newbs to "start with an Ego" I will have to firmly disagree. Ego's are garbage and should be completely bypassed for real equipment from day one. There is nothing "complicated" about VV/VW. Any new user can figure it out after 5 minutes of usage. Yes, sub-ohm can be dangerous and I understand why people do not encourage newbs to rebuild, but rebuilding is a different animal from VV/VW. Newbs should be encouraged to spend a couple hundred bucks up front and get the best from day one. Get good equipment and be done with it (at least for a few years).
I will never buy a Chinese battery again. I will buy U.S. mods and batteries that are made in Korea or Japan. Take my advice and save yourself a LOT of headaches. Trust me on this, newbs.
My point here is to warn newbs about cheap batteries. If you are new and are thinking about buying an ego style battery, let me tell you unequivocally to NEVER do it. Ego style batteries are cheap Chinese garbage. I will say it again, cheap Chinese garbage manufactured by workers working under slave labor conditions. The goal of these Chinese companies is to churn out as many units as possible with ZERO quality control. If the battery doesn't work, it's no sweat because they know it becomes the U.S. vendor's problem. And most of the time, the U.S. vendor will not give you a refund for something DOA because the Chinese do not warranty them. These guys can't even produce manuals with proper English grammar (because they are too cheap to hire English translators), so do you really think they are going to have much communication with U.S. vendors? Nah, the Chinese are laughing all the way to the bank at our stupidity and our reliance on their shoddy "craftsmanship."
I would estimate it costs the Chinese about $1 to produce your average 600 mah ego battery. By the time they make their way to the consumer here in the U.S. (or other countries) we are paying 15-20 bucks. If you buy from a B&M, you will pay about $15 right now. On the internet you will probably find them a few bucks cheaper. Still it's a huge markup.
The biggest offender of cheap, crap products is SMOK. I bought 2 Smok Ego "Emax" batteries from my local B&M store. These are the 1300 mah VV/VW batteries that you may have seen. I spent $35 a piece (yes, way too much). Neither of them really work. The box says that you are supposed to get a "30% low battery warning." It states that the LED will flash red. Neither of my two batteries ever do that -- they just die unexpectedly. While one of my batteries will last me about 12 hours on 8 watts (which sounds about right for 1300 mah), the other one lasts me about 2 hours before it totally dies.
So I took this battery back to my local B&M and told them it dies after a couple hours (at most). They told me they will have to "test" it. They didn't take my word for it because they are basically on the hook for it since the Chinese won't warranty them. (They didn't tell me this, but I know that's what it is. Otherwise, they would just give me a new one and send the old one back). So, basically, these vendors are taking all of the risk if something doesn't work. This ends up screwing the consumer like me because the vendors are out whatever they paid for the battery plus a new replacement. So, basically, if this local B&M doesn't either refund me or give me a replacement, I will never buy from them again and make sure all the smokers I know never buy from them either.
So, my advice to newbies? Go out right now and buy a Provari or a ZEN or a Futura or another high-quality U.S. made device. Yes, they are expensive. Yes, a full kit will cost you at least $200-$300. Yes, it will hurt the budget for a while. But it is definitely WORTH it. I have spent probably $200 just on EGO batteries in the short few months I have been vaping. What do I have to show for it? Nothing. Most of them no longer work. I have two in the other room right now that are dead as a door nail after light usage over a couple of months. On the other hand, a Provari will last you (easily) 5-10 years and give you a much, much better vape.
So, for all of you veterans who tell newbs to "start with an Ego" I will have to firmly disagree. Ego's are garbage and should be completely bypassed for real equipment from day one. There is nothing "complicated" about VV/VW. Any new user can figure it out after 5 minutes of usage. Yes, sub-ohm can be dangerous and I understand why people do not encourage newbs to rebuild, but rebuilding is a different animal from VV/VW. Newbs should be encouraged to spend a couple hundred bucks up front and get the best from day one. Get good equipment and be done with it (at least for a few years).
I will never buy a Chinese battery again. I will buy U.S. mods and batteries that are made in Korea or Japan. Take my advice and save yourself a LOT of headaches. Trust me on this, newbs.
