Another South Beach Sucker

[JNB1]

Hi folks. So I decided to try these e cigs and drop my pack a day habit. I'm not much of a web shopper so when I read a favorable review on South Beach I went ahead and ordered a Deluxe starter kit from them and a few additional cartomizers. I'm happy to say that I've only had one cigarette since starting the e-thing last week and my wife (a two pack a day smoker) has only had a couple a day as well. She NEVER planed on giving up her smokes so this was a pleasant surprise to say the least! She says she actually likes these a lot more than regular smokes and wants to check out other flavors.

I sure wish I had seen this forum first instead of going to the first google link! South Beach is a joke, which I see is old news here.

So here's my problem. I'm not going to reorder from them, but need some help. I know from reading a little here that these batteries fit almost nothing available. I'd like to go to something else but honestly want something that doesn't have to be refilled and still "feels" like a regular cig. I won't go to the hassle of refilling and I know for sure my wife won't. She'll just go back to her Marlboros. I'd rather order the too expensive junk from SB than see that.

Without getting too technical, can you folks help me out here? I'm just learning the lingo...so be gentle please.

Thank you!

 

[brandontrjn]

It sounds like you want "compatibility" and an analog type e cig. I recommend vapeshot.com for that. Their stuff is set up to be as close to analogs as possible and they use a 510 style thread that is compatible with many other brands.

But, before you order something please tell us what you didn't like about the SB Smoke you ordered. If for instance it's battery life then you really have no option but to get a larger (at least cigar sized) model.

You should consider refilling, it's easy and much cheaper than buying cartos all the time.

 

[spicyed]

Refilling is not hard, and you will be throwing away perfectly good equipment if you don't want to refill.

SBS is a ripoff, one that I also fell victim to months ago. If you really do not want to refill, and you really want to stick with a cig style battery I'd recommend something like Electronic Cigarette by Halo G6. Their prefilled cartomizers are $9.99 for 5 instead of the $30 that SBS charges (which also hold less liquid).

 

[JNB1]

Here is my review that I left all over the net.

I ordered my Deluxe kit from South Beach on the 3rd of this month. After ten days of not being able to use the tracking number I called them. I was told that the cartridges I chose were back ordered. It would have been nice if they had sent a simple email to let me know that! So 14-days after I ordered the kit I receive it and neither one of the batteries work. I send them an email and they tell me to tap and blow on them. That doesn’t work either. One battery shows charged but doesn’t work and the other won’t charge at all. So today I call them and they immediately ask if I am part of their HDP program. Then I am told that a supervisor will get back to me within TWO business days. No “we’re sorry for the inconvenience”…nothing! So far…my experience with South Beach has been terrible! Can I rate them with a “0″?

 

[brandontrjn]

SBS is a ripoff, one that I also fell victim to months ago. If you really do not want to refill, and you really want to stick with a cig style battery I'd recommend something like Electronic Cigarette by Halo G6. Their prefilled cartomizers are $9.99 for 5 instead of the $30 that SBS charges (which also hold less liquid).

I believe Halo uses KR808 style threads that may not address the compatibility issue mentioned above.

Alot of people are happy with Halo though. Part of the cost of their kit includes the blank cartos that OP may not have use for. I got the vapeshot kit for the same price (with discount code) and it came with the charge case too (PCC) too.

The vapeshot flavors are limited though, but you would be able to order cartos from an number of vendors that are compatible.

 

[spicyed]

I believe Halo uses KR808 style threads that may not address the compatibility issue mentioned above.

Alot of people are happy with Halo though. Part of the cost of their kit includes the blank cartos that OP may not have use for. I got the vapeshot kit for the same price (with discount code) and it came with the charge case too (PCC) too.

The vapeshot flavors are limited though, but you would be able to order cartos from an number of vendors that are compatible.

I didn't mean for compatibility, I meant as a replacement. Personally I did not get the "Deluxe" South beach model so I do not know the threading. The "premium" one I got is a 510 and works with 510 cartos, but it is still bad.

 

[JNB1]

Keep in mind that I'm new to this so I'm not sure how long the batteries should last and that the wife and I have been sharing the kit (one regular and one larger battery). The battery life has been ok for me with one quick charge during the day, the wife has to charge twice.

 

[brandontrjn]

I ordered my Deluxe kit from South Beach on the 3rd of this month. After ten days of not being able to use the tracking number I called them. I was told that the cartridges I chose were back ordered. It would have been nice if they had sent a simple email to let me know that! So 14-days after I ordered the kit I receive it and neither one of the batteries work. I send them an email and they tell me to tap and blow on them. That doesn’t work either. One battery shows charged but doesn’t work and the other won’t charge at all. So today I call them and they immediately ask if I am part of their HDP program. Then I am told that a supervisor will get back to me within TWO business days. No “we’re sorry for the inconvenience”…nothing! So far…my experience with South Beach has been terrible! Can I rate them with a “0″?

Unfortunately this is a symptom of a poorly run company. I work in the mail order business (we make medical garments) and customer service is the #1 thing mail order companies need because they aren't "right there" to help you. Personally I blow a gasket when our orders ship late due to production delays etc and few of my colleagues understand why.

I understand your pain!

 

[brandontrjn]

Keep in mind that I'm new to this so I'm not sure how long the batteries should last and that the wife and I have been sharing the kit (one regular and one larger battery). The battery life has been ok for me with one quick charge during the day, the wife has to charge twice.

OK. That's about average for "lite vapers". The 510 style slim batteries I recommended will last slightly less due to the thread being female for the battery (a little smaller battery), but that shouldn't be an issue for you. (theoretically a 510 style thread (this basically means the cartomizer has a male thread) allows more juice to be stored in the carto). You give up a little battery life to have a longer lasting carto.

 

[Kay1959]

Don't feel so bad, I fell for the Blu the same way. It didn't take me long to realize I needed something else..something with a better battery. As much as I hate to say this, it would do you well to get something with a manual battery. The South Beach and the Blu (and others)..while they look and feel like a real cigarette, have what is called an automatic battery. With this I could not even sit down and enjoy one cup of coffee without having to get up and change the battery. Now, knowing this would your wife like that type of ecig or would she get frustrated and go back to smoking the real cig? I have gone to the eGo. It's not that much bigger, about the size and diameter of a Sharpie...but one battery lasts me about 3 days. Comparing 3 days to about one every 30 minutes, you get my drift! The manual batteries also have a little button that you have to press down on every time you want to inhale....this took me all of 5 seconds to get used to. Plus the eGo is what they call a standard 510 thread, so there are lots of things out there that are compatable, in case you want to upgrade later on. Hope this helps!

 

[brandontrjn]

I didn't mean for compatibility, I meant as a replacement. Personally I did not get the "Deluxe" South beach model so I do not know the threading. The "premium" one I got is a 510 and works with 510 cartos, but it is still bad.

I thought SB Smoke was all KR808 D2 threading?

 

[JNB1]

OK. That's about average for "lite vapers". The 510 style slim batteries I recommended will last slightly less due to the thread being female for the battery (a little smaller battery), but that shouldn't be an issue for you. (theoretically a 510 style thread (this basically means the cartomizer has a male thread) allows more juice to be stored in the carto). You give up a little battery life to have a longer lasting carto.

Ah, that's the 510 thread difference then. I wouldn't mind investing in additional batteries.

I will be out for most of the day but look forward to checking back in to see more comments, so keep 'em coming. Thank you all!

 

[brandontrjn]

With this I could not even sit down and enjoy one cup of coffee without having to get up and change the battery. Now, knowing this would your wife like that type of ecig or would she get frustrated and go back to smoking the real cig? I have gone to the eGo. It's not that much bigger, about the size and diameter of a Sharpie...but one battery lasts me about 3 days. Comparing 3 days to about one every 30 minutes, you get my drift! The manual batteries also have a little button that you have to press down on every time you want to inhale....this took me all of 5 seconds to get used to. Plus the eGo is what they call a standard 510 thread, so there are lots of things out there that are compatable, in case you want to upgrade later on. Hope this helps!

This is a great recommendation for you if you want a larger battery. This may work for you personally but not your wife based on your original post.

Also, the eGo would be a good battery for "around the house" vaping as it would last longer but may not be as portable on-the-go.

 

[brandontrjn]

Ah, that's the 510 thread difference then. I wouldn't mind investing in additional batteries.

I will be out for most of the day but look forward to checking back in to see more comments, so keep 'em coming. Thank you all!

Threading:


510: Female on battery, male on cartomizer (generally the most common thread type and most compatible). This generally allows you to switch cartos between small batteries and larger batteries from different brands.

KR808 D1: Male thread on battery female on cartomizer (this is somewhat standard for slim styles) commonly referred to as KR808

KR808 D2: (rare and different from KR808 D1) Male thread on battery female on cartomizer (this is what some brands use to make their stuff nearly proprietary so you can't order from other companies)

 

[JNB1]

Threading:


510: Female on battery, male on cartomizer (generally the most common thread type and most compatible). This generally allows you to switch cartos between small batteries and larger batteries from different brands.

KR808 D1: Male thread on battery female on cartomizer (this is somewhat standard for slim styles) commonly referred to as KR808

KR808 D2: (rare and different from KR808 D1) Male thread on battery female on cartomizer (this is what some brands use to make their stuff nearly proprietary so you can't order from other companies)

A perfect explanation of the different threading. Thank you.

VapeShot looks to be the most convenient since it comes with the charge pack in the starter kit and I'm a contractor on-the-go. I like basic stuff and I really don't care about all the other flavors and such. My wife likes the battery pack idea as well. Since their products are 510 it looks like she could experiment down the line with other flavors?

 

[allen227]

There are also adapters widely available to make the 510 batteries compatible with the 808 cartos and 808 batteries compatible with 510 cartos. We have got two slim 510 and two kr808d-1 slim batteries and the 808's get the most use. Mostly due to the fact that are XL models so they last 2 times as long between charges. We decided against the personal charging case and bought our equipment by the peice instead of a kit so we could have more options to choose from as far as batteries. I did a ton of research before I settled on v4l, they have arguably some of the best customer service out there and there shipping is extremely fast I have received all my shipments in 2 or 3 days, I'm in NC. They are also always running some kind of promotions so you should get a discount most of the time, just register an accounts and give them a call to place your order and they will give you whatever promo is going on. They have some great batteries, the diamond series manuals are really good and you can get extra longs that have up to 420 milliamp hours compared to south beaches, probably 120 milliamp hours. Which means the battery should last you much longer between charges. However they are longer but they do also have short batteries if that's what you want. Also they have a great selectoin of prefilled cartos if that's what you want to stick with, find something you like and pick up a bottle of that flavor juice as the prefilled cartos can be easily refilled or topped off. We just love there wow cartos and juices as they vapes warmer, more flavor and lots of vapor. The flavor always seems better after we fill them with juice so give it a try, and if its too much work than just toss the cartos when they dry up. There are tons of you tube videos on filling cartos. Get a couple of delrin drip tips, not the metal ones and not for dripping but for comfort as the cartomizers can get warm with the wow cartos. The diamond seires batteries will allow you to use some lower resistance cartos (1.9 to 2 ohm note 510 cartos with a 808 to 510 adapter work great on mine) down the road if you get into it and decide to experiment with different things, but all that will be to much to explain for now. Like I said adapters are widely available so you will not be restricted to just 808 stuff. Here's a link to where I got my stuff,
Vapor4Life
like I said there customer service is top notch, we had one of there single logo batteries malfunction and they are replaceing it with no hassle at all, they even let me upgrade to a diamond series no extra charge. V4l has impressed me and I thank the people on this forum for steering me to them. Dormouse gave me some excellent advise, thanks dormouse!

 

[allen227]

As a side note I would suggest the manual batteries as well. I know you said you nor your wife want to use juices but once you give it a try like me who was dead set against refilling ended up trying it, within the first two weeks, and now only order empty cartomizers. I'm pretty sure I know what your thinking but it really does taste better and your cartos will also last longer. Anyway, if you ever do add your own liquid and I'm pretty sure at some point you will, it will end up getting through to the battery and the juice would kill an automatic battery as the battery is not sealed. The manual battery is sealed so juice leaking to it will only be a bit messy but wound not harm the battery. One more side note on v4l's batteries, they have a nice long 10 to 13 second cut off. Meaning you will me able to take a 10 second draw before the automatic cut off kicks in, where as most other companies are more like 6 seconds. Ultimately meaning more vapor.
Also you may want to pick up an extra battery or two since there are two of you, but one would suffice. Just in case something goes terribly wrong and one of your batteries stops working for whatever reason. This way you will always have a back up ready to go if something ever happens. You don't really want to be stuck with only one working battery on hand and having to wait for it to charge. It could be one of there cheapest batteries you keep for emergencies, costing less than a days combined cost of analogs at around 15 bucks its a good investment.

 

[brandontrjn]

As a side note I would suggest the manual batteries as well.

I have always used auto batteries. I carry my stuff in my pocket alot and the manual button would get pushed all the time accidentally.

Anyway, if you ever do add your own liquid and I'm pretty sure at some point you will, it will end up getting through to the battery and the juice would kill an automatic battery as the battery is not sealed.

I refill my cartos all the time. The only way to kill an auto is by overfilling and letting the juice leak into the battery. My oldest auto is 8 months and still going! It's easy to tell if juice is going to leak out as it does so within 3 to 5 minutes of overfilling your carto. Simply wiping it with a paper towel and blowing through it removes excess juice. I've never ruined an auto battery with juice even when I was a noob at refilling.

 

[brandontrjn]

A perfect explanation of the different threading. Thank you.

VapeShot looks to be the most convenient since it comes with the charge pack in the starter kit and I'm a contractor on-the-go. I like basic stuff and I really don't care about all the other flavors and such. My wife likes the battery pack idea as well. Since their products are 510 it looks like she could experiment down the line with other flavors?

Yes. She can experiment with flavors down the road from alot of different places. The adapter mentioned above is also an option (turns your 2 piece unit into a 3 piece though )

 

[delorge]

my husband and i like the volt kits from smokeless image