Advice for a noob. Brand name or "Roll your own".

[WATYF]

Hi. Just found this place. I'll try to be brief (but probably won't ).

I'm an occasional social smoker. I've never had a regular habit. It's just something I mostly do with friends. I'm looking to move away from cigarettes entirely but I can't find anything that can replace the experience of having a cigarette. I tried cigars, pipe, etc but none of them are as easy and relaxing as just lighting up a cigarette.

So now, here I am looking into e-cigs. From what I can find, I have two main options available to me:

1) Get a brand name e-cig setup.
2) Go through what appears to be a very involved process of "choosing my own adventure" and building my own e-cig from multiple different components from several different manufacturers.

Of the brand names I've looked at so far, the ones that looked most promising to me were V2 and PEC. I'm leaning towards PEC because they have a clove flavor (my favorite smoke was always Djarum clove cigarettes, until the stupid gubment banned them). But V2's have gotten good reviews and they have a very cheap starter kit.

Both brand names have cheap starter kits (around 30-50 bucks) which is what I'm looking for, and a decent variety of flavors.

So, now that I've spelled all that out... here are my questions.


Is there a clear advantage to going with either a brand name or a "roll your own" setup?

If I get a brand name, can I get other flavors from other manufacturers to use with the brand name e-cig?

Is there a "roll your own" setup somewhere that's simple and cheap like the "starter kits" that are offered by the brand names, or is it simply more expensive and difficult to build your own?


Basically, my emphasis is on a simple, cheap experience that's like smoking a cigarette (and frankly, I'd like something that looks like a cigarette too). Battery life and features and all that jazz isn't a huge issue because I'm not going to be using it every day (or all day). I just want something that's as trouble free and easy as a cigarette without all those nasty health side-effects.

WATYF

 

[dragonbone]

Hi and welcome to the ECF! I'm sure someone will be along to answer your questions shortly.

 

[sailorman]

If your e-cig uses refillable cartridges (cartomizers), or uses a standardized thread pattern, you can use juice from any supplier.

If you want something simple and that looks like a cigarette, it's best just to get a kit. Kits contain everything you need to start and are generally priced lower than what you'll be able to get individual components for. The do it yourself works better for assembling a big battery e-cig, and then only if you already have batteries, charger, etc.

I would not recommend V2. They aren't particularly cheap either. You must understand that the closer an e-cig looks to a cigarette, the worse it will perform. There are only a handful of cigarette style e-cigs that most veterans here would recommend as being the best of an otherwise very poor performing class of e-cigs.

The top choice is undoubtedly the Volt, from smokelessImage.com The identical Bloog Maxx Fusion , the Halo G6 and the Smoov would round out the top 4.

The volt uses the 808 thread pattern and offers blank cartomizers as well as bottles of juice, so you arent restricted to pre-filled cartridges or only the juice they sell. Their prices on cartridges is reasonable, there is no gimmicky "lifetime warranty" that forces you to buy supplies from them. Their customer service it top notch and people recommend the Volt because it's good, not because they're getting a commission for referrals.

You may have just missed a memorial day coupon code, but they do run discounts frequently and they have a good selection of accessories as well. The juice they use is very good, but you are free to use whatever you like.

I generally do not recommend a mini-cig type of e-cig, but if someone is set on one, the Volt is my top recommendation.

 

[bnrkwest]

Welcome! If you want a cig look alike in a slim style I suggest either Volt by Smokless Image or HG6 by Halo ecigs. They are really good quality slim styles. I think the Bloog os also recommended. I ahve tried and use both Volt and G6's, they are the best slim ones I have found. As for clove you can check around for ejuice suppliers that carry clove. I find Bella Valente by Halo juice to taste very clove like, it is a cigar tobacco type juice. Have fun shopping! bnrk

 

[sailorman]

Also, there is a clove flavor eJuice called "Kretek", that is right up your alley if you used to smoke Djarums. I believe it is made by ECBlends, but someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[WATYF]

Thanks for pointing me to the Volt. They have really cheap starter kits. I will look into those and the other recommendations.

And I can't believe there's a brand called "Smoov". My friends and I all smoke Marlboro Smooths which we affectionately call "Smooves", so I might get that kind just for the name alone.

I did have one more question. Are the "cartomizers" that come with these e-cigs reusable or disposable or...??? Do I have to keep buying new cartomizers all the time?

WATYF

 

[WATYF]

Also, there is a clove flavor eJuice called "Kretek", that is right up your alley if you used to smoke Djarums. I believe it is made by ECBlends, but someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

Yeah, I already found a website which sells an e-juice that's flavored like the Djarum Blacks, so I'll probably be trying that first. At this point, I just need to figure out what kind of e-cig to get.

WATYF

 

[steven36]

bloog v4l volt smoov blu all good

 

[Stormlark]

I did have one more question. Are the "cartomizers" that come with these e-cigs reusable or disposable or...??? Do I have to keep buying new cartomizers all the time?

WATYF

They're reusable to a point. Not sure exactly how long they last as I haven't run any of mine down just yet. One thing about cartomizers is that it's not a great idea to refill one using a different juice from what was previously in it. I've tried it. I boiled a full cartridge multiple times hoping it would get rid of the liquid so I could use another flavor but I ended up with a mix of the two.

 

[sailorman]

bloog v4l volt smoov blu all good

Blu? Are you serious? Blu is one of the worst e-cigs out there. V4l is marginal. Neither of them should even be mentioned in the same breath as the Volt, Bloog or Smoov

 

[sailorman]

....
I did have one more question. Are the "cartomizers" that come with these e-cigs reusable or disposable or...??? Do I have to keep buying new cartomizers all the time?

WATYF

The Volt and Bloog use Kanger horizontal coil cartomizers. They are the same cartomizers that are available on other websites for use in other types of e-cigs. So, they aren't proprietary. If you find Kangers with an 808 thread somewhere else, you can use them. They are refillable but disposable. If you keep them topped off and wet, they should last you a couple weeks. But you don't want to mix flavors in them. You can clean them, but it's not really worth it. You will buy them all the time, but once you get settled into your favorite flavors and learn how not to burn them, not all that often.

Matter of fact, you can use any cartomizer with an 808 thread on the Volt or Bloog. Just make sure the resistance is right. Should be approx 2.4-2.9 ohms.

 

[WATYF]

They're reusable to a point. Not sure exactly how long they last as I haven't run any of mine down just yet. One thing about cartomizers is that it's not a great idea to refill one using a different juice from what was previously in it. I've tried it. I boiled a full cartridge multiple times hoping it would get rid of the liquid so I could use another flavor but I ended up with a mix of the two.

Yeah, I was wondering if that would be an issue. I will probably end up just getting a few cartomizers and sticking to one flavor in each.

WATYF

 

[dirquist]

Sounds like you might also want to look into the pipe scene. There are many options here also. EpipeMods is my favorite option. Then the Jazz Carto pipe is a nice one. SunPipes and even the ego echo/kuwako which seems to use a ego style battery with a pipe bowl on the end. I like the pipes since they perform very well like a big battery vaporizer/ecig and still maintain a authentic look. Unfortunately the ones that replicate cigarettes perform pretty poor and are much more of a hassle to maintain, so poor in fact that I found them not worth while for anything really. So I left the cig lookalikes behind in favor of several ePipeMods and a Provari mini.

 

[WATYF]

OK. It looks like the Volt/G6/Smoov/Bloog are all made by the same mfg. Is that the case? Are there really any differences between them other than accessories and customer service and what not?

WATYF

 

[sailorman]

I'm not sure the G6 is made by the same mfg. The definitely don't get their juice from the same place as Volt. It's not nearly as good. The Bloog is generally more expensive than the Volt. I'm not sure about the Smoov's juice. I know the Volt has larger battery options as well. Probably not a huge difference between the four other than price, service and accessories. Excepting Halo's juice which is generally not as well thought of as the others.

 

[sailorman]

Yeah, I was wondering if that would be an issue. I will probably end up just getting a few cartomizers and sticking to one flavor in each.

WATYF

Cartos last about a week or two. If all I used was carto's, I wouldn't be caught dead with less than 10 in stock.

 

[JC Okie]

bloog v4l volt smoov blu all good

I would NEVER recommend a Blu to anyone.......period.

 

[WATYF]

Cartos last about a week or two. If all I used was carto's, I wouldn't be caught dead with less than 10 in stock.

What do you mean by "last"? Do you mean the e-juice in them only stays "good" for a week or two before needing a refill, or do you mean that I'll have to throw them out and get another one in a week or two?

Is there a more "permanent" option other than cartos? Or are cartos the only thing you can use with the "slim" e-cigs?

WATYF

 

[Mroutlaw]

OK. It looks like the Volt/G6/Smoov/Bloog are all made by the same mfg. Is that the case? Are there really any differences between them other than accessories and customer service and what not?

WATYF

Watyf,

Go with the volt. I have tried a couple of different types, and the volt is hands down the best. First of all, they have the best prices. Second, their customer service is second to none.

A couple of things about the volt, I have several batteries and the x2 with clearomizers, basically,everything they sell. Their standard batteries last a long time for a mini, on average I get about 3 hours of vaping on 1, which if you check around is unheard of. When you are ready to step up to a larger battery like the ego or kgo, you can get their x2 which last up to 15 hours of vaping and it works with all of their cartomizers. Their cartomizers last a long time and don't have a tendency to burn like some of the others, I believe it is because of their position of the atomizer. In addition, they don't cost as much as other companies. They are disposable, but can be refilled several times. I have refilled all of mine at lease 15 times and they are still working well.

I saw you mentioned v2 and v4l. If you check, their prices are a lot more than SI.

I suggest the pro starter kit. That will give you 2 batteries, a pcc, a USB charger and a pack of cartomizers. If you liked Marlboro smooth, you will love their ice menthols. You can buy blank cartomizers to use other companies juice, but if you are using their juice, buy a pack of cartomizers with the same flavor as well. This way you get 5 free ml. They also have a promotion called faces of volt. If you take a picture of yourself using your volt, they will give you a free battery, bottle of juice or pack of cartomizers.

Their shipping is super fast. Every order I have made was at my door within 3 days with standard shipping. For example, I just made an order on Friday night at 10pm. I already received it today.

Lastly, you can use the promo code sivolt50 for 15% off.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. As you go through the forum, you will see that if you want a mini, all of the veterans will suggest the volt


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Jason McRoy]

Blu? Are you serious? Blu is one of the worst e-cigs out there. V4l is marginal. Neither of them should even be mentioned in the same breath as the Volt, Bloog or Smoov

LOL- I HAVE to concur! As a previous Blu user I must pipe in on that one. I think their promotion methods introduce a good number of people. Honestly their disposable isn't too bad but I would never get one of their starter kits... Oh wait, I did once. Yeah, stick with the Volt or Bloog, just sayin'...

-Jason