Ceramic wick is not a new thing. Ceramic wicks have been around for some time and the breaking/shattering/crumbling of them has been there as well. I have no idea if it's ceramic for sure, but if it is, it's not some ground shattering innovation that hasn't been done before.
As to the BVC heads people have got to stop taking Rip's word blindly on every little thing. He's barely an expert on anything. Every time he has an issue with anything a quarter of ECF gets all up in arms and decides to boycott said item in word or spirit.
I disagree with this statement entirely. Rip, like other reviewers, is simply sharing HIS opinion with viewers. It's you who makes the decision to click play on his videos, and it's you who makes the decision whether or not to listen to his opinion. This is not because he's not an expert, because quite frankly, nobody is an expert in a field where technology is changing on the delivery of the vape as much as on the devices themselves. There are plenty of electronics experts and metalworking experts that may know all there is to know about building a device and what that does, but that's pretty much where it stops. The delivery of the vape has thus far been decided by "taste" and "feel", or in other words "opinions". Opinions are what's driving this industry at the moment. To fault rip for sharing his opinions or to fault others for listening to them is irresponsible.
Frankly it's a lack of personal ability to think critically. Folks want to be spoon feed opinions to make their own instead of forming unique opinions and ideas through logic and reason...
I think your argument that people don't use logic and reason is a bit flawed. In a perfect world, sure, everyone should try things for themselves and develop their own opinions, good or bad, but reality makes that, ironically, illogical. The problem standing between most people and forming their own opinions in an industry where new products are being brought to market daily, is money. Unless you have the money to purchase every new item you are interested in, then most people tend to rely on the opinions of others, such as rip, to help them with their decision. The one advantage to this is that he tries far more items than most of us, as he receives a lot of them for review, so if nothing else, at least opinions are based on experience with many other devices/delivery methods. His opinions now become far more informed, based on experience, not science, than the average vaper. This doesn't make them anything more than opinions, but it does make them more informed opinions.
I'm sure that even his closest followers seek more than one review of a product before making an ultimate decision, in fact, it's the reason the OP started this thread in the first place. He heard a concern (read=opinion), which happened to be from rip (irrelevant), and he came here seeking more opinions before making the decision to spend his money on them. Whether or not you like rip is, again, and opinion. Personally, I think he does a good job of making sure people understand that what he says are HIS opinions, and based on HIS experiences, and that your opinion may be different in the end. He makes that very clear in most of his videos, as do some of the other reputable reviewers, such as pbusardo, grimmgreen, etc.
People do not have to be "experts" to make and/or share an opinion with a product. Just as rip cannot say with any true science or certainty that his "concerns" are warranted or mean anything beyond being his own concern, you can't say people seek others opinions due to their own "lack of personal ability to think critically". They are both opinions, nothing more. The very fact that the OP is seeking information BEFORE purchasing shows his critical thinking ability and logic. At the end of the day, it's simply because most people don't have the disposable income to review every product for themselves.
Not trying to pick an argument here, but I think we all seek the opinions constantly. It's the very reason this forum exists and thrives, to be honest.
To the OP, sorry to hear your local shop is discontinuing cartos, they are the "Commodore 64" of the vaping world.
