Insert clever headline here...

[mkbilbo]

Newbie here. Two pack a day smoker for too many years who saw one of the Blu disposables at the Walgreens and thought, oh what the heck?

Took a little getting used to but found myself rather enjoying the funny little widget. But still didn't take it seriously. Not until it hit me that evening that I hadn't touched the open pack of regular cigs since about 11:30 in the morning. I actually checked the receipt. It was 8:30 or so in the evening and I basically just forgot to light up. I wasn't trying to avoid regular (analog?) cigs. I thought I was just playing with an interesting new toy.

I was pretty stunned. Bought a "starter pack" the next day. Yeah, having found this forum, I probably should have stuck to disposables and done more research but so far, I'm rather liking Blu even with the iffy batteries. And without really trying, went from two packs a day to the pack I opened Sunday is still half full Tuesday morning.

It's a promising start at least...

 

[Omnipanzer]

Blu is a fine beginner kit but those cartridges get expensive. There are many different routes you can go that will save you a lot of money. Whenever I try something new I just use it until I break even on how many packs of cigarettes it saved me and then I consider myself even and ready to try something new. PV's can easily be the road to salvation at least they are for me and I've smoked through every other option out there e.g. patches gum etc. welcome to the community and if you decide to put down the cigs we're here for you.

 

[Beccca]

Welcome....vaping is the only way I could stop smoking...its a miracle....stay with it and youll be a non smoker too!

 

[MorpheusPA]

Your Blu is probably returnable if you want to go with something else. Save your receipt.

That having been said, there's nothing wrong with the Blu and a great deal that's right. Most of us start with a cig-alike (but many won't admit they ever had anything but a full-sized mod). Many of us move on to something else when the battery life gets too annoying.

What we move to varies. My go-tos are a Volt X2 and a Vision Spinner, so not exactly expensive options. They work for me. Others have other goals and other vapes and that's great.

 

[Bpatton]

Congratulations and welcome Too bad you didn't come here 1st, the guru's could have set you on a much cheaper path. I too was a victim of of the Blu style purchase but it is definitely where most people get their start. So good luck and with some research here you will hopefully find what works best for you!

Here is what got me to quit
https://www.envycig.com/electronic-cigarettes/product/ego_premium_kit/s/starter-packs/

Since this setup I have moved on to better things but you gotta start somewhere.

 

[cocacola31173]

My usual set up now is a Vision Spinner and a Vamo for home use. I use Kanger t3's and carto tanks and regular ole cartomizers at work. But I still use my V2 cig a like from time to time...when I get that really stressed out feeling or especially after a big meal. Just keep it filled with some good 555. Works like a charm. I just wish they were cheaper.
s

 

[Kopfstimmen]

Congratulations and welcome! There are many less expensive alternatives of course, but whatever gets you started is fine in my book.

 

[Bpatton]

Newbie here. Two pack a day smoker for too many years who saw one of the Blu disposables at the Walgreens and thought, oh what the heck?

Took a little getting used to but found myself rather enjoying the funny little widget. But still didn't take it seriously. Not until it hit me that evening that I hadn't touched the open pack of regular cigs since about 11:30 in the morning. I actually checked the receipt. It was 8:30 or so in the evening and I basically just forgot to light up. I wasn't trying to avoid regular (analog?) cigs. I thought I was just playing with an interesting new toy.

I was pretty stunned. Bought a "starter pack" the next day. Yeah, having found this forum, I probably should have stuck to disposables and done more research but so far, I'm rather liking Blu even with the iffy batteries. And without really trying, went from two packs a day to the pack I opened Sunday is still half full Tuesday morning.

It's a promising start at least...

How much did your starter kit cost? Just curious the tobacco shop near my house was selling them for $69.99 a few months ago

 

[JoAnnW]

Newbie here. Two pack a day smoker for too many years who saw one of the Blu disposables at the Walgreens and thought, oh what the heck?

Took a little getting used to but found myself rather enjoying the funny little widget. But still didn't take it seriously. Not until it hit me that evening that I hadn't touched the open pack of regular cigs since about 11:30 in the morning. I actually checked the receipt. It was 8:30 or so in the evening and I basically just forgot to light up. I wasn't trying to avoid regular (analog?) cigs. I thought I was just playing with an interesting new toy.

I was pretty stunned. Bought a "starter pack" the next day. Yeah, having found this forum, I probably should have stuck to disposables and done more research but so far, I'm rather liking Blu even with the iffy batteries. And without really trying, went from two packs a day to the pack I opened Sunday is still half full Tuesday morning.

It's a promising start at least...

Welcome Mkbilbo and congratulations for taking this step. Before you know it, your pack of cigarettes will be sitting somewhere getting stale once you really take the plunge into vaping.

I smoked for over 36 years and stopped immediately with the Smokeless Image Volt starter kit. They range from the basic kit to a pro starter kit which contains a portable charging case. Smokeless Image is a great company to start vaping with and their equipment and customer service is #1 in my opinion.

Smokeless Image | The Best Electronic Cigarette


After a couple of months of using the basic equipment, I added a variety of equipment and liquids from different vendors.

Here's wishing you much success on this new journey

 

[EvanWC]

Welcome mkbilbo! Keep up the good work.

 

[Nocujo]

Good to have you with us mkbilbo...congrats on making a wise choice ( to quit cigarettes ). I had to have my analog crutches nearby at first as I suspect many noobs do/did.
Enjoy the journey to your ultimate vape

 

[Tombotronic]

Welcome. It has now been only 17 days for me, but not a single tobacco cigarette and I don't miss it. My first set up was actually an ego style knockoff with a stardust clearomizer that came with it. (I knew nothing of what it was when I got it just that it seemed to work amazingly well) I got it from a smoke shop and paid about 3 times what it was worth when compared to what I could have gotten had I known better. But you know what? That overpriced ego knockoff is priceless to me because it was the thing that has ended my 2 1/2 + pack a day smoking habit. When it dies I will have it framed. It means that much to me to have been able to quit.

 

[vsummer1]

WELCOME to ECF!

I started the same way as you did, and thought it was great to "forget" a cigarette after being such a dedicated smoker for so long. As someone else stated, I think you can return the kit within 30 days? I used mine for longer than that, and still smoked a few cigarettes a day but was so happy to have cut down. I guess I just needed "more", and this forum helped me find what I needed.

Good luck on your journey!

 

[mkbilbo]

How much did your starter kit cost? Just curious the tobacco shop near my house was selling them for $69.99 a few months ago

The Walgreens here it was $59.99 which is about what it costs me to get a carton of cigs there (heh, a pharmacy being the cheapest on cigs in my area, irony much? ).

It's just the basic, plain one. Not the newer "premium" or 100 whatever. Now that I found this site, I see I probably would have been better to just do disposables while researching the better options but this little kit's working decent enough. Okay as a, heh, "starter" kit.

 

[vsummer1]

The Walgreens here it was $59.99 which is about what it costs me to get a carton of cigs there (heh, a pharmacy being the cheapest on cigs in my area, irony much? ).

It's just the basic, plain one. Not the newer "premium" or 100 whatever. Now that I found this site, I see I probably would have been better to just do disposables while researching the better options but this little kit's working decent enough. Okay as a, heh, "starter" kit.

If it is working, that is the most important thing. If you decide that you would prefer a less expensive system, as I finally did, remember -- if you don't return it, you can always pay it forward to someone else interested in quitting. As you said, it was the same cost as a carton

BTW, if you find a juice you like, those carts ARE refillable if you don't vape them until they burn. That is how I found ECF, I was looking for a less expensive way to get the juice, stumbled on a video on youtube on how to refill them, and that led me here. And smoking cigarettes became history.

ETA: There is a brick and mortar store in Austin that you can visit and taste various juices, as well as buy equipment. They will be a bit more than online vendors, but also can be an invaluable resource to get you started so you can escape all the confusion on what to buy. I sent my DIL to it as she lives there, and she was thrilled! She bought the eGo kit there, and now I can guide her to the online stores where she can replace things as necessary. She still buys her juice there, they have one she adores.

 

[patkin]

You really haven't lost anything. You'll probably use it for out-and-about vaping in the future after getting a better/less expensive setup. I never tried Blu nor Volt as my intro to vaping was taking a draw of my son's ecig. So when I started, I went straight to a Joytech ego passthrough. Love them and have four now plus two non-passthrough 650mah egos. If you go that route, make sure the description says ego C 2 (upgrade) or T2 (upgrade) so you know when your battery drops below 50% plus other features. I'm looking around for something similar to what you have for when I leave the house.

 

[mkbilbo]

WELCOME to ECF!

I started the same way as you did, and thought it was great to "forget" a cigarette after being such a dedicated smoker for so long. As someone else stated, I think you can return the kit within 30 days? I used mine for longer than that, and still smoked a few cigarettes a day but was so happy to have cut down. I guess I just needed "more", and this forum helped me find what I needed.

Good luck on your journey!

That part about just up and forgetting for several hours, that startled me big time. If anybody had told me that was going to happen, I would have laughed in their face.

But it did.

And I'm not all that inclined to return the kit. It's working decently enough. I can see why there are complaints. The batteries really don't last well at all for one thing. But I'm inclined to stick with what's working while trying to absorb all the info around here. Which is a lot. I don't understand a tenth of what people are talking about yet.

 

[Stoneface]

Hey mkbilbo and welcome. This blog is great for a "beginner" kit recommendation:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...06-4-good-starters-setup-beginning-vapor.html
I started with something very similar to this, and it is great. There are tons of suppliers out there, and you can go here to look for the ECF approved list:
Forum Suppliers - Sortable List
Good Luck!

 

[vsummer1]

That part about just up and forgetting for several hours, that startled me big time. If anybody had told me that was going to happen, I would have laughed in their face.

But it did.

And I'm not all that inclined to return the kit. It's working decently enough. I can see why there are complaints. The batteries really don't last well at all for one thing. But I'm inclined to stick with what's working while trying to absorb all the info around here. Which is a lot. I don't understand a tenth of what people are talking about yet.

I sent my DIL some juice since I make my own now, and she sent me her favorite. I have the bottle, the name of the store in Austin is "All About Vapor" 510-671-vape is the phone number.

If you go there, they can show you all the different things, you can hold them in your hands, allow you to try new juice, and also meet others who are vaping. I live in California, so have never been, but she loves it there. There is no address on the bottle, but I hope I gave you enough informaiton that you can find it. Having a real store dedicated to these things is such a luxury, I don't have one where I live.

 

[The Ocelot]

Hi mkbilbo! Congratulations on accidentally quitting smoking!! That is what happened to me too - blew me away!

Sure it's pricey, but the Blu got your attention and made you realize these crazy e-cig thingys might actually work - so Yeah Blu! "Cig-a-likes" often come in handy too - I have a cheap rechargeable I take with me when I go out sometimes. (If you got a PCC charging box with your kit, I'm envious; I'd like to charge mine on the fly.)

A useful thing about the Blu is that is has a 510 thread connection, so you can put other little devices on it, like the Vision Nano. The Nano is a small clearomizer the same diameter of a cig-a-like: VISION Nano Clearomizer Bottom Coil 1ml 1.8ohm - SMOKEY [gv-VisionNanoBottomCoil1.8-SMOKE] - $3.95 : GotVapes.com, E-cigarette Supplies - Atomizers Cartomizers Mods Juice and more

And when you get more advanced gear, you can combine it with your Blu stuff and take silly pictures:

Green Smart Living battery VVV tank:

Green Smart Living carto on a mod: