I don't even go here

[luapnosbig]

Hey guys,

I've decided to use a vape to help in my quest of giving up smoking cigarettes. I've been researching as much as possible, but without any background knowledge, I don't know if what I'm reading is solid advice or clever marketing. If anyone could enlighten me on a few things, I'd be incredibly grateful:

I'm in Australia where we can't buy nicotine juices so I'd like to make a purchase of the whole shabam from America or somewhere else that sells. I guess I would need one of the starter packs with two vapes and charger etc. (myself and ma). Does anyone recommend anything in particular for this? I'm happy to buy quality but nothing too over the top expensive.

Secondly, I'm a 10-15 a day smoker who enjoys the hit in a cigarette (not menthol). Mum is probably around the 20-25 mark. In terms of flavour, I have no preference (or idea) of what is on the market. Could someone please suggest a type of juice to look for in particular (nicotine mg and PG/VG ratio), and if possible a website where I could buy the refills and pack together?

There are probably things that I am missing so please excuse my lack of knowledge.

Thanks a lot.
Paul

 

[Hitmetwice]

Check here for answers...
Australia - New Zealand Forum

For gear I'd say 2 isticks(20,30 or 40 watts) for battery.
And for the tanks 2 Nautilus minis.
Cheers.

 

[djsvapour]

Welcome Paul.
The situation in Australia is grim.
Be aware of the legalities in your country and also there are a number of US and UK companies just chomping at the bit to take your money. Please don't use these greedy franchise operations. They have no place in the vaping world ripping off Australians.

Look into the Aussie Vapers forum. Nicotine liquids are not entirely banned, although some states have gone totally overboard and killed vaping completely.
It's dreadful. I sympathise.

 

[sofarsogood]

Hey guys,

I've decided to use a vape to help in my quest of giving up smoking cigarettes. I've been researching as much as possible, but without any background knowledge, I don't know if what I'm reading is solid advice or clever marketing. If anyone could enlighten me on a few things, I'd be incredibly grateful:

I'm in Australia where we can't buy nicotine juices so I'd like to make a purchase of the whole shabam from America or somewhere else that sells. I guess I would need one of the starter packs with two vapes and charger etc. (myself and ma). Does anyone recommend anything in particular for this? I'm happy to buy quality but nothing too over the top expensive.

Secondly, I'm a 10-15 a day smoker who enjoys the hit in a cigarette (not menthol). Mum is probably around the 20-25 mark. In terms of flavour, I have no preference (or idea) of what is on the market. Could someone please suggest a type of juice to look for in particular (nicotine mg and PG/VG ratio), and if possible a website where I could buy the refills and pack together?

There are probably things that I am missing so please excuse my lack of knowledge.

Thanks a lot.
Paul

There is a learning curve with vaping. Under normal circumstances you might start with pre mixed liquids and simple low powered devices. After some months you might make the tranistion to devices with replacable batteries, atomizers that can be rebuilt, and mixing e liquid at home. If you learn to do those things vaping can be free for practical purposes, well under $100 a year, after an initial investment of several hundred dollars. Governments should not be interfering with this but they are and the only plausible explanation is to protect tobacco taxes. Vaping has the potential to wipe out smoking. World wide sales are about a trillion dollars a year.

Experienced vapers in the US are stocking up in anticipation of FDA regulations that will ban most everything we use from the market in less than 2 years. Shortly I will have enough of the vape specific products I need for 10 years and, if supplies last better than planned, perhaps 20 years, and all for about $650 US. Smoking for 10-20 years would have cost me $30-60,000. Most of that money would have gone for taxes and it's governments and their tax supported chronies who are whining the loudest.

New vapers need time to figure out if vaping is going to work for them (that was just a few days for me), and what devices are going to work for them (which shouldn't take as long as I needed because the market is more mature than when I started).

If you are stocking on blind faith the key thing is nicotine concentrate. A 1 liter bottle of 100mg nic costs $50 from myfreedomsmokes.com. I smoked 25 cigs a day. That bottle will make all the e liquid I need for 4 years. It might last a half pack a day smoker twice that long.

 

[Gramdogg]

probably 12mg and 18mg 50/50 just and a couple EVOD's each $5 on ebay. What I always recommend to try it... 2 isticks and nautilus like $100. EVOD coils are $6.50 for 5 here, nautilus coils are almost $20. Try to order the SOCC replacement coils, they are cotton not silica... much better.

 

[bigdancehawk]

Hey guys,

I've decided to use a vape to help in my quest of giving up smoking cigarettes. I've been researching as much as possible, but without any background knowledge, I don't know if what I'm reading is solid advice or clever marketing. If anyone could enlighten me on a few things, I'd be incredibly grateful:

I'm in Australia where we can't buy nicotine juices so I'd like to make a purchase of the whole shabam from America or somewhere else that sells. I guess I would need one of the starter packs with two vapes and charger etc. (myself and ma). Does anyone recommend anything in particular for this? I'm happy to buy quality but nothing too over the top expensive.

Secondly, I'm a 10-15 a day smoker who enjoys the hit in a cigarette (not menthol). Mum is probably around the 20-25 mark. In terms of flavour, I have no preference (or idea) of what is on the market. Could someone please suggest a type of juice to look for in particular (nicotine mg and PG/VG ratio), and if possible a website where I could buy the refills and pack together?

There are probably things that I am missing so please excuse my lack of knowledge.

Thanks a lot.
Paul

Welcome to ECF! You've come to the right place.

Vaper going on 5 years here. With the help of e-cigs I was able to quit a 45 year pack-a-day smoking habit. The process was surprisingly easy and I have no cravings or desires to smoke a cigarette ever again.

I don't understand why everything is so expensive in Oz. Anyway, the 30 or 40 watt iSticks are very popular for a reason and should work for you. You will see all such devices referred to as "mods." I was successful starting out with much more primitive devices. I have two of them and they're just fine. Also, I use and recommend the iStick Pico. It has the advantage of replaceable, rechargeable batteries. (If the battery isn't replaceable, once it goes bad, and it will, there is no fixing the mod; you just have to throw it away.)

The Aspire Nautilus Mini is a good atomizer suggestion. So is the Kangertech Aerotank Mini. I don't know if they'll ship to Australia, but Authentic Nautilus organic cotton coils are $9.95 (US) for five of 'em. HERE You can sometimes find them on sale at a number of other sites. For example MyFreedomSmokes.com runs periodic 2 for the price of 1 sales on coils. You must prime them thoroughly. (Saturate them with juice before vaping). Otherwise you will experience the nasty taste of burning cotton.

I suggest you start out with a 60/40 or 50/50 PG/VG ratio and 18 mg nicotine. 18 mg with that percentage of PG should give you a good throat hit. Good luck, please keep us posted and don't hesitate to ask questions.

 

[Baditude]

Good Starter Setups for a Beginner Vaper

• Typical starter setups recommended for a new vaper.

Proper Terminology: Is it a carto, a tank, or what? A Guide to Juice Delivery Devices

• A picture dictionary for beginners with descriptions of clearomizers, nano's, drip atomizers, bottom feeding mods, cartomizers, cartotanks, and RBA's (rebuildable atomizers). Includes video demos/reviews of all devices.

Advancing Up the Vaping Ladder

• From cigalike batteries, to eGo's, to mods. Another picture dictionary of terminology and form factors for beginning vapers.

 

[Gramdogg]

The iCare by ELeaf looks like a great tiny beginners mod too. Not even buttons to push. Cheap and made to be a gift for smokers hence the name iCare.

 

[Gramdogg]

To summarise what everyone said it's basically how much you want to spend to try it. 2 each $5-$20 range Ego, EVOD kits, iCare. 2 each $40 range iSticks and a nautilus, 1 each $50+ a Mod like Pico or Evic VTC mini with a 18650 battery. You'll probably want 2+ batteries and a $20 charger with mods though unless you get something with an internal battery like iPower etc. Pro with ego's you'll spend less to try it. Con if you want sub ohm later you'll need a mod, same goes for iSticks unless you get 30w or 40w but at that price you may as well spend the extra $ to get the iPower or Pico/VTC mini IMO. Pro with iPower, iSticks you don't need $40 for batteries and a charger. Con when it's dead you need to buy a new one not just a new battery.

 

[Chemical Bromance]

Hey guys,

I've decided to use a vape to help in my quest of giving up smoking cigarettes. I've been researching as much as possible, but without any background knowledge, I don't know if what I'm reading is solid advice or clever marketing. If anyone could enlighten me on a few things, I'd be incredibly grateful:

I'm in Australia where we can't buy nicotine juices so I'd like to make a purchase of the whole shabam from America or somewhere else that sells. I guess I would need one of the starter packs with two vapes and charger etc. (myself and ma). Does anyone recommend anything in particular for this? I'm happy to buy quality but nothing too over the top expensive.

Secondly, I'm a 10-15 a day smoker who enjoys the hit in a cigarette (not menthol). Mum is probably around the 20-25 mark. In terms of flavour, I have no preference (or idea) of what is on the market. Could someone please suggest a type of juice to look for in particular (nicotine mg and PG/VG ratio), and if possible a website where I could buy the refills and pack together?

There are probably things that I am missing so please excuse my lack of knowledge.

Thanks a lot.
Paul

Hey Paul, welcome.
I'm from a little island in Asia but I hit Melbourne/Sydney a fair bit for work and biz, almost every other month. Which city/state are you from?
Anything to stop the cigs is a good step. The others are right, hit the Oz & NZ section to find out more info. I'm happy to share what I know about the Oz scene:
Vape gear is a tad pricey in the shops but the general consensus is to buy online. There are quite a few Oz-based online vape shops. Generally in Oz, you can't get nic juices either online (local) or in the shops. BUT there's been some recent lobbying and I think one or two local companies are able to ship juice with nic in it. BUT if your state allows you to vape, you're allowed to purchase juices with nic from overseas for personal consumption.
If your state allows vaping (I think it's banned in WA), I'd recommend you get some good advice here about a starter kit, then find a local online vape business and order from them. Drop them an email and ask if they'll have all the kit you'll need.
Pick a couple of bottles of juice at the same time in flavours you think you might like. It's pretty much a crapshoot for a beginner so don't go overboard. For example I thought I'd love chocolate flavoured juices since I love chocs, but it turns out that I don't fancy choc flavoured juice. Don't go overboard (like me) and just get one or two to start; I got carried away and ordered 8 bottles when I was in Melbourne and frankly regret more than half those purchases.
Then, if there's a vape store in your area, pop over and have a chat, prepare to spend just enough to buy one or maybe two bottles of juice. This will get you facetime with someone (hopefully friendly) in a vape shop. If you haven't got a vape shop close to you, you're back to relying on this forum and what you can find online. I only have experience in Melbourne and I've found the people to be friendly.
If you're ordering online, you can get a bunch of reviews here, or (what I did) Google for award-winning ejuices. There's something called the Vape Summit and they judge a list of juices in different categories: dessert, pastries, fruits, etc. That should give you a baseline for picking something that could be yummy.
Now remember I said, that you can't, for the most part, get any juice with nic in Oz? Yeah, you're .... out of luck there. BUT I've got a number of zero nic juices from Oz and they're not bad and I use them when I'm chain vaping since I don't want to get too much nic in my system too quickly and feel .....
The above should be enough to keep you occupied for the next week or two and get you started.
Happy vaping!!

 

[Chemical Bromance]

To summarise what everyone said it's basically how much you want to spend to try it. 2 each $5-$20 range Ego, EVOD kits, iCare. 2 each $40 range iSticks and a nautilus, 1 each $50+ a Mod like Pico or Evic VTC mini with a 18650 battery. You'll probably want 2+ batteries and a $20 charger with mods though unless you get something with an internal battery like iPower etc. Pro with ego's you'll spend less to try it. Con if you want sub ohm later you'll need a mod, same goes for iSticks unless you get 30w or 40w but at that price you may as well spend the extra $ to get the iPower or Pico/VTC mini. IMO

Prices in Oz are a little bit higher, even local online. It's worse in the shops BUT do support them with some business, so budget some dosh for a couple of juices when you visit. Gives you a place to make your home base so you can get advice and hang and so forth.

 

[Gramdogg]

Yeah my prices are local Canadian shops, iCare $10-$15 was online, little more then USA and way more then online or ebay for obvious reasons. That's your best bet, see whats available their in your price range and ask us here before you buy. No offence but shops always seem to try to sell newbs old stock junk a full price that they can't sell... I was suggested a MVP 2 like 6 months ago at full retail lol. I wouldn't even buy it today at 50% off.

 

[BrotherBob]

Welcome and glad you joined.
Might like to read:
Beginner | Guide To Vaping
ECigarette Academy: Essential Need to Know for New Vapers
One Stop Reference Shop For New and Experienced Vapers
Learn About Vaping Here - Everything Ecigs - From Beginner To Advanced
Ch. 4 E Cig Battery Basics: Cig-a-Likes, Egos, and Mods – Vapex
(10) Advancing Up the Vaping Ladder with Egos and Mods | E-Cigarette Forum
(1) Proper Terminology - Is it a carto, a tank, or what? A Guide to Juice Attachments. | E-Cigarette Forum
(4) Good Starter Setups for a Beginning Vapor | E-Cigarette Forum
Could check a fellow countryman.
Welcome