3 months no Tobacco, all BLU

[crbrown]

And my comments were not directed to the OP but to other posts within the thread.

All of 9 posts and pushing the infamous Blu with a one sentence post in the new members sub-fourm. And a mini-battery 510 is off the charts? How could so many of us be so wrong about what constitutes a good PV for the majority?

In looking at this thread from start to finish, I believe this post was directed at the OP. It also seams to be the first of the many negative post that that continues to bash the OP's own preference of pv.

I think sometimes it's easy to forget that what works for one does not work for all. We all need different things to avoid the analogs. Personally for me I had to (and still do) have the feel of a smoke in my hand much more then vapor amount or TH.

PS: I was a 3PAD smoker

 

[ambition]

As I stated earlier, if Blu or SomeEverywhere were honest and stated explicitly that their models were for light social smokers and might be ineffective for the typical pack a day smoker, I would be less critical. Also, as I stated, if they offered a "step-up" option such as a Kgo for longer term, pack a day smokers, I probably wouldn't be critical at all.

But about a year ago I wrote an email to Blu's company President, Mr Healey (if I am remembering correctly) about why they didn't didn't offer an additional model that worked better for pack a day smokers. He replied that the Blu is "the best" model on the market for all smokers and all other models are inferior knock-offs of his product. He stated how great their sales were as evidence that their product was superior assuming I was too stupid to figure out that sales has everything to do with marketing and nothing to do with product performance.

He just confirmed what sailorman and I already know, that Blu is only about making money and not about improving their product or offering better alternatives. These are not the type of people I want advocating for vaping to the general public. Do you see Blu or the trade association they control fighting for vaper rights like CASAA does? No.

And as I stated earlier and in line with sailorman's experience, for everyone Blu, Njoy, SomeEverywhere user who comes here to ECF looking for a better alternative, there are easily 100 who just go back to smoking and view vaping as just one more scam.

I do understand that for some new people, form factor is an issue. I recommend the Volt, which is definitely better than the Blu. if the person just can't get past the "looks" issue. But I do not see the Kgo/eGo category that much bigger that it would turn off many people if they could try them side by side and realize the difference in performance.

For anyone who has used a Blu alongside another device, nobody will dispute that there are far better ecigs out there.

I admire your efforts to contact Blu and suggest expanding their product line but what gets me is (bearing their obvious passion for their own product in mind) what made you think that they would listen to some faceless dude, graciously accept his suggestions as something worth investigating, and in doing so concede that their product isn't great?
Kudos for trying but it was always going to be a waste of electrons.

And yeah, the kgo is big enough to put many people off. Many people actually need to get frustrated with their mini model before they can make the leap to a larger model.
For some, that jump is just far too much to take in one go.

 

[sailorman]

In looking at this thread from start to finish, I believe this post was directed at the OP. It also seams to be the first of the many negative post that that continues to bash the OP's own preference of pv.

Perhaps instead of "looking" at this thread, you should read it. Then, you might realize that no one ever directed anything at, or criticized, the O.P. You can believe what you want. Show us one post that "bashes" the OP's preference. I challenge you. We are not even so much bashing the product Blu as their marketing tactics. I, for one, explicitly stated that it is not the worst ecig out there. Again, try reading this time instead of "looking".

I think sometimes it's easy to forget that what works for one does not work for all. We all need different things to avoid the analogs. Personally for me I had to (and still do) have the feel of a smoke in my hand much more then vapor amount or TH.

Well now. You're catching on. Maybe someone should tell that to Blu. But, that would cut into their gross sales and they'll have none of it, as evidenced by wv2win's conversation with them.

PS: I was a 3PAD smoker

Congrats. So was I. For 35 years. And, had I not found ECF BEFORE my 1st ecig purchase, I likely would have bought Blu or one of the radio scams. Then I would probably still be smoking because I'm confident that no one would have informed me of a better alternative.

 

[sailorman]

......
I admire your efforts to contact Blu and suggest expanding their product line but what gets me is (bearing their obvious passion for their own product in mind) what made you think that they would listen to some faceless dude, graciously accept his suggestions as something worth investigating, and in doing so concede that their product isn't great?
Kudos for trying but it was always going to be a waste of electrons......

And herein lies the crux of the matter. Blu is well aware that their product is usually not suitable for any but the lightest smokers. Of course they won't take any suggestion from some "faceless dude". They are out to maximize their gross revenue and if that means preaching to the world that they are the be-all and end-all of e-cigs, then they are more than happy to take up that role. In fact, that's exactly what they do. And that's why I object to them. That's what makes them damaging to the reputation of the whole industry.

 

[sailorman]

BTW, wv2win, Thanks for reminding me. It was SmokeAnywhere and Njoy, the Chinese, who took up the gauntlet in defending e-cigs from regulations to treat them as medical devices. Blu was nowhere to be seen. I don't even think they filed a "friend of the court" brief, as some other domestic and Chinese companies had done. Blu simply hunkered down and tried to make more hay as the sun shone.

 

[wv2win]

In looking at this thread from start to finish, I believe this post was directed at the OP. It also seams to be the first of the many negative post that that continues to bash the OP's own preference of pv.

I think sometimes it's easy to forget that what works for one does not work for all. We all need different things to avoid the analogs. Personally for me I had to (and still do) have the feel of a smoke in my hand much more then vapor amount or TH.

PS: I was a 3PAD smoker

You are right about my one post. And since I have been reading posts on here for three years, I have seen hundreds of threads started from people with a couple of posts touting their mini-model PV. In all most all cases, we find out that they are just a "shill" pushing the product because it gets them freebies from the company. They are not here like most of us to help others, they are just here to help themselves. Time will tell, but if we don't see the OP back here on a semi regular basis asking questions, trying different cartos, etc, we will know what his intention was.

 

[Greg.D]

Welcome and congratulations! I quit with Blu too and love them for that but after finding the ECF realized what I was missing...

Since bought an eGo-C kit for home use and a Halo G6 for carrying around and 'stealth' vaping. Couldn't be happier.

 

[ambition]

And herein lies the crux of the matter. Blu is well aware that their product is usually not suitable for any but the lightest smokers. Of course they won't take any suggestion from some "faceless dude". They are out to maximize their gross revenue and if that means preaching to the world that they are the be-all and end-all of e-cigs, then they are more than happy to take up that role. In fact, that's exactly what they do. And that's why I object to them. That's what makes them damaging to the reputation of the whole industry.

While we are free to object to their marketing tactics, the "damage" their marketing tactics cause is perhaps being overstated in this case.

The vast majority of people are sufficiently skeptical or have healthy bullsh.. meters. This wouldn't be the first time in history that a supplier or manufacturer talked up their product.

It was Blu's marketing that switched me onto ecigs, but no, I didn't buy their product but opted for a different unit. But I credit Blu for opening my mind to ecigs. That's all.

 

[wv2win]

For anyone who has used a Blu alongside another device, nobody will dispute that there are far better ecigs out there.

I admire your efforts to contact Blu and suggest expanding their product line but what gets me is (bearing their obvious passion for their own product in mind) what made you think that they would listen to some faceless dude, graciously accept his suggestions as something worth investigating, and in doing so concede that their product isn't great?
Kudos for trying but it was always going to be a waste of electrons.

And yeah, the kgo is big enough to put many people off. Many people actually need to get frustrated with their mini model before they can make the leap to a larger model.
For some, that jump is just far too much to take in one go.

I guess it must have been closer to two year ago when I was still somewhat new and not as jaded, lol. I've seen the guy on internet video since then and I know used car saleman I would trust before I would believe a word out of his mouth.

 

[sailorman]

crbrown: I apologize for having forgotten about the one post that hinted the OP might be a shill. That was the last post however that came anywhere close to criticizing him, so your accusation that he was being bashed is a bit exaggerated, to put it mildly.

 

[sailorman]

I guess it must have been closer to two year ago when I was still somewhat new and not as jaded, lol. I've seen the guy on internet video since then and I know used car saleman I would trust before I would believe a word out of his mouth.

I wish I could believe, like some here, that even a significant minority of Blu buyers ultimately end up here instead of giving up on e-cigs altogether. It's too bad that Blu doesn't reference this site's address somewhere in their literature. Then, I could believe that they steer people toward a solution to their smoking addiction. As it is, I just don't buy it. Their volume is too high, their product too ineffective for the majority of people, and the numbers of people here are far too low in comparison to the number of units Blu sells.

 

[flbutterfly1]

I feel that Blu does make it clear about which nic level you should choose I think they offer ideas in their FAQ's section but not sure. However they do label their strengths as full flavor, light and ultra light. To me that would suggest that they are offering an answer to " what nic level is right for me". I would have quoted but it didnt work out so well.

 

[ambition]

I wish I could believe, like some here, that even a significant minority of Blu buyers ultimately end up here instead of giving up on e-cigs altogether. It's too bad that Blu doesn't reference this site's address somewhere in their literature. Then, I could believe that they steer people toward a solution to their smoking addiction. As it is, I just don't buy it. Their volume is too high, their product too ineffective for the majority of people, and the numbers of people here are far too low in comparison to the number of units Blu sells.

C'mon mate. It's just not as bad as you're making it out to be.

People aren't making purchasing decisions in a bubble. Almost every first time buyer on Blu's website is aware that there are other brands out there. They are typically referred to Blu's site by affiliates and dodgy review sites which also list other vendors like smokestick, v2, green smoke, south beach smoke and others of similar ilk.

Bottom line is that people are aware that they have choice, and you don't have to sign up to ecf to browse its contents so we can't use member count to ascertain "damage"

It's really not worth popping a vein in your forehead over.

 

[sailorman]

I'm popping no veins.
"others of similar ilk". Hmmm... yeah. Too bad. More ripoffs, proprietary junk and overpriced products.

Anyway, my biggest gripe is that people try to defend Blus over-priced junk by pretending that Blu is some sort of gateway into the world of vaping for some significant percentage of people. I assert that it turns more people off to vaping than otherwise. Their sales volume is huge and dwarf, for example, the Joytech kits. Yet, more people here report having been introduced to vaping via the Joyetech than the Blu. Those who try Blu first are far more likely to give up on vaping and I have seen that time and time again, firsthand while hanging out at a large ecig booth at a huge flea market. I never heard one person say "I tried a Joytech and I think ecigs are a scam". I've heard plenty of people say that about Blus, the kiosks and the "free trials".

 

[elwcom]

I agree about what works for one doesn't for another. The big battery mods looks awesome, I only ventured as high as an ego and really wasn't keen on the feel, weight or the manual button.
As much as its about the nic/TH/vapor for me it's also about the feel and motion. I settled with a 901-T over a month ago from a 510-t (sometime carto setup) and I love it, for me it's just right. Nice TH and vapor in the perfect size. I use a pcc and carry it like its analogs. It works for me fine.

What I will say is; I love how the folk here are eager to help and advise people into making a good setup choice. Thanks guys, I couldn't have made it this far without spending the time reading up here.

PV's and the ECF community have potentially saved my life.

 

[Zer0Kewl]

I'm popping no veins.
"others of similar ilk". Hmmm... yeah. Too bad. More ripoffs, proprietary junk and overpriced products.

Anyway, my biggest gripe is that people try to defend Blus over-priced junk by pretending that Blu is some sort of gateway into the world of vaping for some significant percentage of people. I assert that it turns more people off to vaping than otherwise. Their sales volume is huge and dwarf, for example, the Joytech kits. Yet, more people here report having been introduced to vaping via the Joyetech than the Blu. Those who try Blu first are far more likely to give up on vaping and I have seen that time and time again, firsthand while hanging out at a large ecig booth at a huge flea market. I never heard one person say "I tried a Joytech and I think ecigs are a scam". I've heard plenty of people say that about Blus, the kiosks and the "free trials".

or maybe people stick with blu's

or they think about upgrading, come here and either make a thread like this or read one and get the impressoin that it is just elitists who will demean them because they aren't cool enough for the PV's that the cool kids use.


Not everyone wants to walk around with something in their mouth that looks like it came out of their wife's bedside cabinet.

I see plenty of people smoking the mini ecigs like Blu and people coming here and acting like anyone who likes it is an idiot will turn people off of vaping just as fast.


I can honestly say I have felt 50 times more ripped off by volcano than I did by blu.

I bought 2 5 packs of pre-filled carts from volcano and a starter kit.

The battery pack with the starter kit was DOA, so was the replacement they sent me.

In the two 5 packs of carts there were 3 carts that had something wrong with the threading/connector in that they were too small.

One of the ones that wasn't was leaking and killed both of the batteries from the starter kit.

On the flip side, the blu kit worked flawlessly from the get go as did every cartomizer I bought from them.

I ended up upgrading to an ego and giving my blu kit to a friend who hasn't smoked in a month thanks to it.

 

[sailorman]

Who said anyone was an idiot? Companies don't spend millions to sucker in idiots. Idiots come cheap.
I see virtually no one here criticizing the people who come here and admit (usually lament) having started with Blu.
Who said Blu was the only overpriced company out there? Who said volcano was any good?
Do any of the good cig-lookalikes out there resemble something in a woman's nightstand?
If so, I pity her. She needs to upgrade.

I simply have no respect for any company that attempts to make the majority of their profit on "consumables" or by trapping someone via proprietary connectors or thread patterns or auto-billing schemes. That's the old Gillette marketing scheme. Give them the razor free and they'll be captives to your over-priced blades. Not that Blu is free, so they are aware that most people dump them pretty soon.

 

[Zer0Kewl]

Who said anyone was an idiot? Companies don't spend millions to sucker in idiots. Idiots come cheap.
I see virtually no one here criticizing the people who come here and admit (usually lament) having started with Blu.
Who said Blu was the only overpriced company out there? Who said volcano was any good?
Do any of the good cig-lookalikes out there resemble something in a woman's nightstand?
If so, I pity her. She needs to upgrade.

I simply have no respect for any company that attempts to make the majority of their profit on "consumables" or by trapping someone via proprietary connectors or thread patterns or auto-billing schemes. That's the old Gillette marketing scheme. Give them the razor free and they'll be captives to your over-priced blades. Not that Blu is free, so they are aware that most people dump them pretty soon.

Do you have the statistics to back that up or are you basing it on the people you see posting here..

Maybe there are 10x the number of people that come here looking for an alternative that are perfectly happy with blu and don't go back to smoking.

Maybe there aren't.

It just seems like every thread I see where someone mentions they quit smoking using blu there are several people that feel the need to crap on blu and point out how inferior they are without being asked.

 

[deach]

LOL This thread has gotten so far out of hand, I had to laugh. I'll grant you this, the blu should be cheaper. That I can agree on. Is it junk, no I don't think so. It is what it is. Obviously some in this very thread like them, use them, and have learned their limitations and how to over come them. I agree they should offer perhaps a bigger product than their 100 kits. I'm almost certain the microtek (??) that TW sells is about the same as the blu without the nifty go off if someone is near PCC. (they have their own type).

I really think everyone is on the same side here, we want vaping to succeed and not be regulated to the point we loose the right to do it. I really think everyone wants to help the newbies. Some enter this with absolute resolve and make whatever they get work. Some really don't want to quit smoking but for whatever the reason "try". Others perhaps have a little more budget and can choose the upgrade path, or start with something bigger.

To start with something totally alien from what one is trying to quit is silly. Obviously everyone that's commented here has tried the latest stuff from blu (2 piece) and their recent larger hole batteries. (not longer life but vape better). These have only been available since the premium starter kit and honestly don't come with the ones you purchase at Walgreens.

Yes, a 90 MAH battery is a 90 MAH battery and I don't care if blu, volcano or microtek vends it, it's still a little battery. For the record I don't recall ever getting 30 plus minutes from a cigarette. I'd smoke one, then have to get out another one, light it, and so forth. When using the Blu, I do the same. I get it out of the pack and vape, when done it goes in the pack. When battery #1 goes dead (or even before) I'll swap from the one in the charging port. It's no more complicated than getting out an analog and lighting it.

As far as the vapor, if they need more plume than the blu carto's provide (at least classic tobacco and vanilla) I don't know what to tell them. As one who LOVES lots of vapor, even I am satisfied with the vapor the over the counter cartos bring. Yes I do refill them. keeps the cost of the product down. You can even get blank joye 306 or Volcano cartos if you need the same size in diameter and use those.

One of the problems with anyone trying to use the proprietary stuff only is the cost. I've read (and personally been told that v2's red are amazing tasting) as soon as I see my buddy using the V2 I'll try one. Many people have used V2 which is nothing more than a overpriced 808d1 battery. ALL (that I've ever found) 808's are more than 90 MAH. It's easy to knock something when it's not what you expected wanted.....

Now then....I wanna say this. Blu lies obviously about the battery life and the carto life. (come on a pack of ciggs??) That's not gonna happen unless you only took one or two puffs off a cig put it out then lit another next time. I'm told the premium carto's are better (obviously they're bigger) but even those do not equal a pack for the average smoker.

Everyone here posts valid points and some of us get a little passionate about our equipment and what works for us. NO one likes to be told something they bought can't work, or usually doesn't work when it is in fact working. We're all on the same side here, I know every now and then I have to remind myself of that fact.....you too??

Regards,
Deach

 

[ambition]

@sailorman

"Similar ilk" referred to large, mass marketing outfits selling branded packages. Nothing more than that, but make of it what you will.

What you're forgetting is that even the perfect vape machine isn't enough to quit analogs without the real desire to quit being present. With that real desire in place, even Blu will do the job just fine.

Blu and the other large vendors I mention are undeniably a gateway to vaping. Ecf, our approved vendors, casaa etc do a great job but just don't have the reach or visibility to get ecigs into people's mouths as effectively as the big guys and at some point we have to accept that they do this very well.

They could do more to become better "ecig world citizens" but they don't have to mate. Their duty is to look after themselves and their stakeholders.

The day they introduce a kgo or boxmod version to their lineup is the day Microsoft admits that they could be a little quicker with their security updates.