...and here's me

[idleyote]

Salutations everyone!

So, a little background information. I am the notorious 'occasional smoker'. I light up maybe once or twice a week, for one of two specific reasons. The first reason is recreation, I like my kreteks (which have just been banned, apparently, le sigh) and love the flavor.

The other reason is a self-treatment motivation. I suffer from rather painful panic attacks, and I've noticed that a kretek or two calms the nerves and lets me ride through them. It's not a cure, and it may be entirely psychosomatic, but the nicotine hit seems to keep me sane and level during the worst parts of the night.

That said, I like to entertain friends, and none of my friends are smokers. I don't want them to feel uncomfortable in my home, so I don't want smokey smells lingering on my furniture. Also, I of course don't want even a hint of risking cancer if I can avoid it. So imagine my happiness when I discovered the possibility of the e-cigarette (through an advertisement for a goofy looking little thing called Blu).

My first impulse was to rush out and buy a Blu starter pack right away, to see if this thing would save me from all my troubles! Then I remembered that I'm inherently suspicious of slick packaging and sexy advertising, and these advertisements practically screamed "Macbook style cigarette."

So, I'm here to ask a very specific couple of questions (proviso - I am not asking for and acknowledge that this forum is unable to provide medical advice. I seek only anecdotal and research information).

Given that I;

a - am a total beginner to ecigarettes.
b - generally need to smoke one Djarum Black or two Djarum Cherry kreteks/cloves when I have an 'episode'
c - prefer a sweet/tobacco combination in my flavors

What products would you fine and estimable folk recommend I look into for getting started with e cigarettes? I do not mind if it is automatic or manual, I do prefer the discrete look of a 'cigarette' aesthetic, and I'm definitely interested in learning to hand-refill instead of shelling out extra for the privilege of having them do it for me.

Regards and many thanks,

William Cain, RHP

 

[Elapid]

The more it looks like an analog the less likely it is to be a good E-cig. I use a 801 with a Prodigy but I don't care about the size of the E-cig. My wife uses the 510 as it is about the size of an 100 cigarette and hits real nice. The best thing to do is read on the forum with your criteria in mind. Lots of good unbiased information on this board.

 

[Moonflame]

The which one to buy question can be answered in so many ways. I started off with a 901 and really liked it. I tried a friend's 510 and liked it better, so when I invested in a battery mod I went with 510 atomizers and have been extremely happy with them. The vapor is a little warmer and heftier. Both have manual and automatic batteries available. I started with an automatic and found I like manuals better. I don't have to worry about juice leaking into the battery and ruining it. They are both about the thickness of the cigs I used to smoke and are comfortable to hold and use. You can find kits for around $40. I'd try to find one that has 2 atomizers and 2 batteries and then pick up an extra battery.

For juice, I think the best way to go is to find one of the suppliers that sell sampler packs and pick a bunch that appeal to you. That way you can try them before you buy large amounts of something that you end up not liking.

Hope some of this helps. Good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

[idleyote]

Thank you both for the advice.

What is a battery mod, if I may ask? I have been looking through the forums, but I literally just made this decision today, so I'm a little slow on the reading up. Additionally, what are some good suppliers to look for a 510 from?

 

[Jim Davis]

The information in the Sticky threads are priceless.

The 510 is the current rage on the Forums now. Easy draw, and good throat hit. I have a 510 among others, and it's a good little unit.

If you're interested in the "Mods", they are larger, heavy duty units. Some are using higher voltages to give added hit. Some folks swear by them.

I'm not a mod person myself, but if you want to research them, check on;
Prodigy
SD
GG
Zi Moshi

There are a few others that I can't think of right now, but I'm positive that others will complete my partial list.

Good Luck on your research.
Cheers;
jd

 

[idleyote]

Looking like the 510 is pretty close to what I'm looking for in a starter package, then.

Excellent!

 

[tdstrike]

I'm not your father, mother, or anybody of importance in your life, but my suggestion is to NOT get started down this road if you're only an occasional nicotine user, stop before you're addicted, chew nic gum, chew straws, anything but getting started on a habit that most here will tell you they wish they never started. Learn to deal with your occasional anxiety WITHOUT the use of nicotine.

 

[idleyote]

I don't seem to have explained the panic attacks very clearly.

I -smoke- occasionally. The attacks are almost daily. I simply use the cigarettes to deal with the worst of them. I want some flexibility in doing so that is less dangerous than smoking itself. I do appreciate your advice, but I respectfully will decline to take it. Thank you however, for taking the time to share your opinion and your concerns, far too few people are willing to be a gentle voice of dissent, and I appreciate the effort.

 

[TooMuckinFuch]

I just went through the same questions you had among others! My first e-cig is a 510 and it's in the mail at the moment.


Coming from an overwhelmed rookie, I say videos are worth a thousand posts. I forget the name of the guy I need to give a lot of credit to, but he did a 510 vs 901 comparison with manual and auto batteries. YouTube has a lot of good info as well, and a lot of that info is from these guys here... who probably have responses to our questions ready to copy-&-paste every time a new potential PV user pops up! =)

Keep searching and asking questions, they'll help you tons!

 

[TooMuckinFuch]

I can't post URLs yet, but Cuda3333 is the guy who I owe thanks to, so ty cuda.

Search Youtube for "510 vs 901"

His video is "Joye-510 VS DSE-901" with a part 1 and 2.

 

[idleyote]

Thank you kindly, TMF.

Keep me posted about your experience with the 501. I'm looking in that direction at the moment, but I've made no firm decisions yet. From a fellow beginner, best of fortune to you.

 

[Symmetric]

William, if you are considering a 2 piece at all, you should look at Vapor King (www.Vapor4life.com) it looks like a Wide 100 analog, if there is such a thing and the flavors and vapor output are insane. I know a lot of people swear by refilling, but I've noticed that the flavor of refills tends to be second-best, fresh carts are definately the way to go. Plus, with Cartomizers you get a fresh atty every time.

Just though I'd throw in my $.02

Welcome to the counter-counter-culture.

 

[Moonflame]

I use 2 of the battery mods not mentioned earlier, the Adaptever and the VP2 and I love them both. Battery mods take a larger investment of money up front, but you won't be replacing worn out batteries very often and when you do they are much cheaper. The charge lasts longer on them also. I don't suggest them for new users because it is a lot of money to spend on something until you find the unit that fits you. Once you find that fit a battery mod is a great investment. There are a number of different mods, so doing your research before you buy is a good thing.

As far as who to buy from, I usually go through the suppliers list and try to find who has a sale going or who has the best regular price. Then I check the thread for that supplier and see what people think of them. I've ordered from about 6 places and have had nothing but great service. I guess it's because the suppliers are mostly people who started using e-cigs themselves before they started selling them. All of the suppliers I've bought from really care about their customers being happy with their service and their products. I've ordered from The Smokeless Shop, Good Prophets, My Freedom Smokes, Electronic Ash, Totally Wicked, and Health Cabin. I got mods from adaptever.com and vaprlife.com.

Hope some of that wall of text is useful

 

[Sheryl]

Cig Not has the 510 kit for $35, free ship with a $59 order. Quick shipping, will call you back or PM within minutes usually. Highly recommend.

 

[PhoenixRising]

William, if you are considering a 2 piece at all, you should look at Vapor King (www.Vapor4life.com) it looks like a Wide 100 analog, if there is such a thing and the flavors and vapor output are insane. I know a lot of people swear by refilling, but I've noticed that the flavor of refills tends to be second-best, fresh carts are definately the way to go. Plus, with Cartomizers you get a fresh atty every time.

Just though I'd throw in my $.02

Welcome to the counter-counter-culture.

This is exactly what I was going to suggest as well. I have all the other types (except the souped up mods) and for me the vapor king just leaps and bounds beyond them for ease of use and simplicity. There is the least amount of learning curve and little to no start up. Having an attack, simply grab a clove cartomizer, twist it on to the battery, and inhale. No dripping, not burning primer of an atomizer, no constant battle to keep the carts full. Simply screw on and puff. Given your situation, I would definitely say this is the best choice and Steve over at Vapor4Life is a seriously awesome dude. Check out the sub-forum here for more information about the VK and V4L.

 

[idleyote]

Well, after a bit of research, it looks like I am probably going the Vapor King route. While I'm cautious about automatics after some additional reading, I like the 'on demand' nature of cartomizers given the reasons I'll be vaping.

Thank you all for your input and guidance, you've made my jump into this thing very easy (after all, I was almost ready to plunk down for a Blu starter kit).

 

[julianka]

I'm new too, I have an M402 and apparently my first was an M403 (it was advertised as "disposable" but it's not, and it seems completely compatible with with M402.) These do look like regular cigarettes, and the M Series doesn't seem to be "in" right now, but most people here who have them seem to love them (and I love mine!)

I'm also an occasional smoker - well, I WAS - and I admit, I vape now more than I ever smoked, but I insist on non-nicotine juice. I actually pretty much quit tobacco altogether a couple of years ago and switched to herbal cigarettes, but they still have the smell and the smoke and the ashes. Vaping is WAY better.

Keep in mind too that cartomizers are more expensive than, well than any other method of supplying yourself with something to vape. That first one I bought I thought was a cartomizer and that's why they call it disposable, but it actually isn't. It's a normal three part e-cig, and in fact an M Series.