This is written for new people by a new person who got tons of help from this great community in planning a first order. Most of the information here is largely irrelevant for vets.
My orders came in this week and I wanted to share what I ordered. So this will be a lot of information to digest (especially for new people), but I want to give you all the information I can, so you can learn, and see if this is right for you. Overall what you have is a battery device and a topper that holds nicotine juice. There are no carcinogens like in real smokes, no tar, no ash, no burnt clothes, no smelling like an ashtray, and no bad breath.
Now first let me say this is just what I decided on. There are many great products out there and everyone has different needs. This is just what I started with.
Also a big shout out to Bill from Dark City Vapors. The guy was great answering e-mails day after day with my never ending questions.
Kgo Starter Kit = $43.99
Link: http://www.darkcityvapor.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=51
Discount: When you checkout type the code ECFDCV. If you decide to order juice from this place and make your order over $65 you get free shipping. I placed my order on Monday evening and got it Thursday morning.
Video Review (this is from a different vendor, but its the same thing): A PBusardo Review - KGO Kit - Hoosier E Cig Supply - YouTube
My Comments:
- Came with 2 batteries, 1 charger, and 5 cartomizers.
- The cartomizers it comes with are kinda cheap and don't really produce good flavor. You taste the fiber inside and its not really that great. I only tried one flavor in these. I would recommend you just keep them as emergency backups, like if your waiting for an order to ship and have nothing else to keep you off real smokes.
- After my research I find this kit is a very good buy for the price. Basically what your after in a starter kit is the batteries and these should last over a day. I charged it when I received it on Thursday and have been using it for most of the day on Friday and into Saturday morning and it still performs.
Juice= $2.50 (5ml Bottle) or $5.00 (sample pack of x3 5ml Bottles)
Link: http://www.darkcityvapor.com/shop/index.php?route=product/category&path=70
Discount: Again if you lump this in with your starter kit your good to go.
My Comments:
- They have all sorts of flavors. Menthol, Mint, Fruit, Berry, Tobacco, ect.
- I got: Black Mountian, Turkish Hills, Irish Cream, French Vanilla Cappuccino, Sweet Strawberry, Peanut Butter Chocolate, and Blueberry Ripple.
- Now originally I thought I wanted something that would mimic my Marlboro Reds. However, I soon came to find that I liked the non-tobacco flavors more.
- So far my favorite that I would recommend the most is the Blueberry Ripple.
- Now you can specify what kind of PG/VG Mix you want. All this means is the type of base the liquid is. PG is thinner base and VG is a thicker base. Both of these are common food additives approved by the FDA. Some people (rare) have allergies to PG. So far I do not appear to have any. If you do find any irritation, you should try a pure 100% VG base.
- I chose 70/30 - PG/VG mix on all my juice and it seems to work well.
- As far as Nicotine Strengths. I got a wide range from 18mg to 24mg.
- I find the 18mg is sufficient. It gives me a rather large buzz. I would probably recommend you go no higher than 20mg.
Vision Stardust = $5.95 ea. (A Kind of Cartomizer, holds juice)
Link: GotVapes VISION eGo Stardust ™ 1.6ml TC Carto 2.1-2.4 ohm CLEAR [gv-visionstardust-2.2] - $5.95 : GotVapes.com, E-cigarette Supplies - Atomizers Cartomizers Mods Juice and more
Discount: When you register on the site to make your order check the box for the e-mail newsletter and you get a discount.
Video: *On The site NOW* GV EGO VISION STARDUST, Easy Fill, Solid Sealed Unit 1.4ml - YouTube
My Comments:
- I just got these in the mail this morning. I would recommend you pay extra for the faster shipping so you can get everything all at once. There standard shipping got it here 2 days after my starter kit arrived.
- These were super easy to fill, just unscrew the cap, tilt the unit, and drip in the juice.
- Push in the cap, screw it tight, and then blow though the mouth piece into a paper towel. If a tiny bit of juice comes out the bottom, just clean it up with a Q-tip or paper towel.
- Screw it onto the battery and puff away.
- These things have great vapor and flavor.
- You can clean them by taking the top off, emptying any juice, and then rinsing them under the sink. Flick them out and let them dry for a bit.
- Average lifespan of these things can be up to and over a Month from what I am reading.
Overall Thoughts
So I find the biggest challenge will be finding the kinds of juices I would like. The flavors I got from Dark City Vapor seem "ok". It was convenient to order from them since I got the starter kit there. So I had something to start with. Once I get into them a little more with the Stardust toppers I may find I like them better. I tested them with a regular 306 atomizer I got from Dark City Vapor. All you do is just drip a couple drops and vape it to check it out. I didn't clean out the atomizer between flavors, I just blew it out into a paper towel. So that may have effected my tastes.
The first flavor I loaded into the Stardust was Blueberry and it was pretty good. So I may find the other flavors are better when I load them in the Stardust as well.
Overall I find this is working for me. The buzz is great enough that I don't want a real smoke and I actually only had 3 real smokes during the day at work on Friday and I normally would have been at half a pack by then. I used the cheap cartomizer that came with the kit and although the taste was not ideal, it did the job. This morning having the Stardusts I don't even want to have a real smoke, the vape tastes that good.
Cost Analysis
I came up with the following:
- Total cost to start so far = $84.00 (this includes shipping)
- One Pack per day Real Smokes = $5.50 (roughly)
- Total weekly cost of Real Smokes = $40.00 (roughly)
So in aprox. 2 weeks of not buying real smokes the initial purchase will have paid for itself.
I figure if I use 2ml of juice per day (still testing this) that's roughly half a bottle of 5ml costing $2.50. So roughly $10.00 per week in juice. This price can vary depending on where you order juice from.
The batteries should last for over a year and you get 2. So that's 2 years of life for a little over $40.00.
The toppers that hold juice, the Stardusts should last for a month. Even in a worse case scenario 2 weeks from what I read. So figure $10.00 a month roughly.
The Bottom Line
I am turning a $40 a week habit into a $50 a MONTH habit. Plus I am getting my health back.
I would call this a win.
If you have any questions feel free to reply.
My orders came in this week and I wanted to share what I ordered. So this will be a lot of information to digest (especially for new people), but I want to give you all the information I can, so you can learn, and see if this is right for you. Overall what you have is a battery device and a topper that holds nicotine juice. There are no carcinogens like in real smokes, no tar, no ash, no burnt clothes, no smelling like an ashtray, and no bad breath.
Now first let me say this is just what I decided on. There are many great products out there and everyone has different needs. This is just what I started with.
Also a big shout out to Bill from Dark City Vapors. The guy was great answering e-mails day after day with my never ending questions.
Kgo Starter Kit = $43.99
Link: http://www.darkcityvapor.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=51
Discount: When you checkout type the code ECFDCV. If you decide to order juice from this place and make your order over $65 you get free shipping. I placed my order on Monday evening and got it Thursday morning.
Video Review (this is from a different vendor, but its the same thing): A PBusardo Review - KGO Kit - Hoosier E Cig Supply - YouTube
My Comments:
- Came with 2 batteries, 1 charger, and 5 cartomizers.
- The cartomizers it comes with are kinda cheap and don't really produce good flavor. You taste the fiber inside and its not really that great. I only tried one flavor in these. I would recommend you just keep them as emergency backups, like if your waiting for an order to ship and have nothing else to keep you off real smokes.
- After my research I find this kit is a very good buy for the price. Basically what your after in a starter kit is the batteries and these should last over a day. I charged it when I received it on Thursday and have been using it for most of the day on Friday and into Saturday morning and it still performs.
Juice= $2.50 (5ml Bottle) or $5.00 (sample pack of x3 5ml Bottles)
Link: http://www.darkcityvapor.com/shop/index.php?route=product/category&path=70
Discount: Again if you lump this in with your starter kit your good to go.
My Comments:
- They have all sorts of flavors. Menthol, Mint, Fruit, Berry, Tobacco, ect.
- I got: Black Mountian, Turkish Hills, Irish Cream, French Vanilla Cappuccino, Sweet Strawberry, Peanut Butter Chocolate, and Blueberry Ripple.
- Now originally I thought I wanted something that would mimic my Marlboro Reds. However, I soon came to find that I liked the non-tobacco flavors more.
- So far my favorite that I would recommend the most is the Blueberry Ripple.
- Now you can specify what kind of PG/VG Mix you want. All this means is the type of base the liquid is. PG is thinner base and VG is a thicker base. Both of these are common food additives approved by the FDA. Some people (rare) have allergies to PG. So far I do not appear to have any. If you do find any irritation, you should try a pure 100% VG base.
- I chose 70/30 - PG/VG mix on all my juice and it seems to work well.
- As far as Nicotine Strengths. I got a wide range from 18mg to 24mg.
- I find the 18mg is sufficient. It gives me a rather large buzz. I would probably recommend you go no higher than 20mg.
Vision Stardust = $5.95 ea. (A Kind of Cartomizer, holds juice)
Link: GotVapes VISION eGo Stardust ™ 1.6ml TC Carto 2.1-2.4 ohm CLEAR [gv-visionstardust-2.2] - $5.95 : GotVapes.com, E-cigarette Supplies - Atomizers Cartomizers Mods Juice and more
Discount: When you register on the site to make your order check the box for the e-mail newsletter and you get a discount.
Video: *On The site NOW* GV EGO VISION STARDUST, Easy Fill, Solid Sealed Unit 1.4ml - YouTube
My Comments:
- I just got these in the mail this morning. I would recommend you pay extra for the faster shipping so you can get everything all at once. There standard shipping got it here 2 days after my starter kit arrived.
- These were super easy to fill, just unscrew the cap, tilt the unit, and drip in the juice.
- Push in the cap, screw it tight, and then blow though the mouth piece into a paper towel. If a tiny bit of juice comes out the bottom, just clean it up with a Q-tip or paper towel.
- Screw it onto the battery and puff away.
- These things have great vapor and flavor.
- You can clean them by taking the top off, emptying any juice, and then rinsing them under the sink. Flick them out and let them dry for a bit.
- Average lifespan of these things can be up to and over a Month from what I am reading.
Overall Thoughts
So I find the biggest challenge will be finding the kinds of juices I would like. The flavors I got from Dark City Vapor seem "ok". It was convenient to order from them since I got the starter kit there. So I had something to start with. Once I get into them a little more with the Stardust toppers I may find I like them better. I tested them with a regular 306 atomizer I got from Dark City Vapor. All you do is just drip a couple drops and vape it to check it out. I didn't clean out the atomizer between flavors, I just blew it out into a paper towel. So that may have effected my tastes.
The first flavor I loaded into the Stardust was Blueberry and it was pretty good. So I may find the other flavors are better when I load them in the Stardust as well.
Overall I find this is working for me. The buzz is great enough that I don't want a real smoke and I actually only had 3 real smokes during the day at work on Friday and I normally would have been at half a pack by then. I used the cheap cartomizer that came with the kit and although the taste was not ideal, it did the job. This morning having the Stardusts I don't even want to have a real smoke, the vape tastes that good.
Cost Analysis
I came up with the following:
- Total cost to start so far = $84.00 (this includes shipping)
- One Pack per day Real Smokes = $5.50 (roughly)
- Total weekly cost of Real Smokes = $40.00 (roughly)
So in aprox. 2 weeks of not buying real smokes the initial purchase will have paid for itself.
I figure if I use 2ml of juice per day (still testing this) that's roughly half a bottle of 5ml costing $2.50. So roughly $10.00 per week in juice. This price can vary depending on where you order juice from.
The batteries should last for over a year and you get 2. So that's 2 years of life for a little over $40.00.
The toppers that hold juice, the Stardusts should last for a month. Even in a worse case scenario 2 weeks from what I read. So figure $10.00 a month roughly.
The Bottom Line
I am turning a $40 a week habit into a $50 a MONTH habit. Plus I am getting my health back.
I would call this a win.
If you have any questions feel free to reply.
Last edited:
