I smoked for 45 years and had my last cigarette on 14 July 2013. It is now 12 months on and it has been an interesting ride.
I was introduced to e-cigarettes by some friends at a christmas party in 2012. I was intrigued and went out and bought a couple of ego batteries and CE4 (?) clearos. Wasn't long until the cigarette craving took over and the egos were consigned to the desk drawer. Six months later my brand - Dunhill Fine Cut - was climbing the price scale and I sat down and worked out how much my wife and I were spending. It came to over $900 per month between us. I thought (insert crow call here).
So I dragged out the e-cigs and started over. Bought some new flavoured juice and worked out how I could get nicotine locally, since it cannot be sold in Oz.
Since then I have tried just about everything out there. And I have settled on what is right for me.
Firstly, atomisers. I have tried clearos, cartos and RBAs. I found that I really suck at rebuilding coils, but when they worked, the taste was still pretty ordinary. Cartos were the same. Tried cheap and expensive carto tanks - Liquinator is grossly overpriced and still falls apart and leaks. So that led me back to clearomisers. Yes, they all leak. But I have found the taste is generally better and truer with clearos. Was a fan of Kangers for a while but now stick pretty much exclusively to ASpire BCDs. Still have to maintain them but overall, an easier and better vape.
Now mods. Favourite has to be the Provari, but I also get good service from VV/VW mods such as Innokin i-taste SVD and Vamos. Tried a range of mech mods (clones) and whilst I like them, I have no patience for bottom button mods having to lock and unlock them every time I put them down. Have a Nemesis, panzer and caravella clone and all are easy to use, giving good hits, fire from the bottom. So they are all now in the drawer. Also have a Hades. Beast of a thing, but the bottom button spring is really stiff and all too hard.
I still use a few ego batteries (like the vision spinners) for carrying around at work. The mods + tank get too heavy, as I have several flavours on the go at any one time, and are great for relaxing at home.
DIY - Imported Nicotine from the states and order concentrates locally. I cut the imported nicotine with PG/VG to an easy mixing strength. Initially I enjoyed anything that sounded good. But after a while each flavour started to taste bad. Not sure why this is. Loved coffee, now it tastes like ..... Blueberry crumble is now sickening. Have moved from sweets to fruits to tobaccos, which are now my focus. Most mixes include a sweetener or cream. Vanilla and custard also are good for mellowing tobacco flavours.
Given my tastes seem to change dramatically and many flavours I now do not like, I wonder what is in store for me in the future. I am a little concerned that my preference is for tobacco flavour with nicotine. Seems I am heading back to what a real cigarette would give. But I am slowly lowering the nicotine content - comfortable at 5-8 mg/100ml. Used to make up juices at 80%PG but now at 40%PG60%VG.
So, things are always changing and vaping has become somewhat of a hobby. Have spent a fortune trying everything out but still over 6K in front. I know I will never go back to smoking and neither will my wife.
I confess to having cravings every now and then and I guess that is to be expected, especially if you continue the activities that were associated with smoking - coffee, beer etc.
But, 12 months on ..... we're pretty happy.
I was introduced to e-cigarettes by some friends at a christmas party in 2012. I was intrigued and went out and bought a couple of ego batteries and CE4 (?) clearos. Wasn't long until the cigarette craving took over and the egos were consigned to the desk drawer. Six months later my brand - Dunhill Fine Cut - was climbing the price scale and I sat down and worked out how much my wife and I were spending. It came to over $900 per month between us. I thought (insert crow call here).
So I dragged out the e-cigs and started over. Bought some new flavoured juice and worked out how I could get nicotine locally, since it cannot be sold in Oz.
Since then I have tried just about everything out there. And I have settled on what is right for me.
Firstly, atomisers. I have tried clearos, cartos and RBAs. I found that I really suck at rebuilding coils, but when they worked, the taste was still pretty ordinary. Cartos were the same. Tried cheap and expensive carto tanks - Liquinator is grossly overpriced and still falls apart and leaks. So that led me back to clearomisers. Yes, they all leak. But I have found the taste is generally better and truer with clearos. Was a fan of Kangers for a while but now stick pretty much exclusively to ASpire BCDs. Still have to maintain them but overall, an easier and better vape.
Now mods. Favourite has to be the Provari, but I also get good service from VV/VW mods such as Innokin i-taste SVD and Vamos. Tried a range of mech mods (clones) and whilst I like them, I have no patience for bottom button mods having to lock and unlock them every time I put them down. Have a Nemesis, panzer and caravella clone and all are easy to use, giving good hits, fire from the bottom. So they are all now in the drawer. Also have a Hades. Beast of a thing, but the bottom button spring is really stiff and all too hard.
I still use a few ego batteries (like the vision spinners) for carrying around at work. The mods + tank get too heavy, as I have several flavours on the go at any one time, and are great for relaxing at home.
DIY - Imported Nicotine from the states and order concentrates locally. I cut the imported nicotine with PG/VG to an easy mixing strength. Initially I enjoyed anything that sounded good. But after a while each flavour started to taste bad. Not sure why this is. Loved coffee, now it tastes like ..... Blueberry crumble is now sickening. Have moved from sweets to fruits to tobaccos, which are now my focus. Most mixes include a sweetener or cream. Vanilla and custard also are good for mellowing tobacco flavours.
Given my tastes seem to change dramatically and many flavours I now do not like, I wonder what is in store for me in the future. I am a little concerned that my preference is for tobacco flavour with nicotine. Seems I am heading back to what a real cigarette would give. But I am slowly lowering the nicotine content - comfortable at 5-8 mg/100ml. Used to make up juices at 80%PG but now at 40%PG60%VG.
So, things are always changing and vaping has become somewhat of a hobby. Have spent a fortune trying everything out but still over 6K in front. I know I will never go back to smoking and neither will my wife.
I confess to having cravings every now and then and I guess that is to be expected, especially if you continue the activities that were associated with smoking - coffee, beer etc.
But, 12 months on ..... we're pretty happy.
haha congratulations on your one year!
