If you like the eGo tanks...they're a very good system. If you don't...they're awful. Hmmm....not much help is it?
When I get a friend a starter kit this is what I do:
I get a single eGo or Riva style 510
USB Passthrough battery and cord.
This is a very nice battery for trying out things and deciding personal preferences on the more consumable parts of vaping. These have the charger built in, can be used while they are charging, AND you can pull them off the cord and they'll last most people several hours of constant vaping, or all day or more for light/moderate vaping.
To go with this I get them:
A drip tip.
Some juice samples.
One tank kit (atomizer with carts) to try.
A regular 510 atomizer with LUCID or SMART carts.
A pack of CE2 style cartomizers
A pack of regular poly-fill cartomizers.
This gives them a sample of many things to try out so they can find their true love and know better what to order in the future.
I'll shop around for a USB Passthrough starter kit that has some or all of the stuff mentioned above...then add the rest...comparing options till I find a deal I'm happy with.
This is a link to just one example but by all means shop around for a deal that suits you:
With something like this as the starting point, add a drip tip, tank atty and carts, some of each carto type, and that well covers a very wide range of options. All that combined will probably run ya between $60 and $80 after using coupons and stuff, shipping included.
I'd start with something like that...and add samplings of everything else till I hit my budget ceiling
Usually you can put together a nice sampling of all the major systems for the price of alot of the two battery 'kits' out there. Even if your friend decides he wants some 'smaller lighter' batteries, or 'larger more powerful' ones...that first eGo style PassThrough will be well used. It is a very solid 510 platform that some people do outgrow, but will get every penny's worth of service from them
Info on The Tank System
Some love them, some hate them. They have little tanks that are pretty easy to fill and very easy to change out. Many people like them because they can fill a hand full of these and carry them on the go. The best way to find out is to try one
There are lots of options really...from direct dripping, to carts and cartos, to fancy tank feeders and bottom feeding mods. It's all up to personal preference really as none of them are totally problem free, and all of them have various benifits.