Cigalikes are garbage

[MrDripper]

Any veteran vaper will tell you this truth.
We have all probably tried them at first. I know I did. I can tell you a universal and undeniable truth about them.
They are garbage.
They are nothing more than a most introductory lesson into vaping. I know of no vaper in my circle of friends that started with a cigalike and continue to use them. They have many flaws and 1 in particular comes to mind.
In the cartomizer, the unit that holds the 'liquid', no one has any idea what is in there. Sure, the package might tell you but how do you know? These cigalikes were the only product used in a study in 2008 to determine what was in the liquid. The results were disturbing but not surprising. They found formaldehyde, cyanide and other toxic chemicals usually found in cigarette smoke. So, yes, they really are cigalikes. But at the same time, painted the entire industry with a broad brush so now everyone thinks that vaping is just as deadly, if not more so, than smoking analog cigarettes which is nothing but one gigantic lie. Any vaper will tell you that.
Why were these chemicals found in a vaporizer? Because most cigalikes are, and have been, produced by Big tobacco. They don't want to lose customers or money. They want every former smoker to be just as addicted to their cigalikes as they were to their cigarettes. There are several videos on YouTube of interviews with BT representatives that say this very thing.
Don't buy the garbage because it's cheap. Go to your local vape shop and talk to someone who was in your shoes.

 

[Jugband]

Great post! Very well said. I hope it helps all new vapors considering these worthless things. When I was new to vapeing I dropped hundreds on start up kits with V2. If it wasn't for this forum and YouTube I would most likely be smoking, after giving up on cigalikes.

 

[Grimwald]

You know, I started with cig-sized and cartos about 3 years ago (Volts from Smokeless Image). I filled my own cartos, so I could use many different flavors. I don't think they were garbage at all. That is what helped me quit smoking, so I have a soft spot for those little Volts. In addition, I believe I needed to have something that felt like a cigarette. I'm not saying that I would go back to them today, but I do have my original slick silver Volt mounted on the wall labeled with my quit date.

 

[beckdg]

To think some members are looking forward to big tobacco taking over the industry and only producing cigalikes when the regs hit.

Tapatyped

 

[stevegmu]

I like a good cigalike every now and then. NJOY kings are fantastic. The new BLU Plus tanks are nice, as well...

 

[edyle]

Cigalikes are expensive.

The reason I moved from cigalikes to ego batts was cost.

So to me they were not garbage at all; if they didn't work for me, I would not have been able to justify upgrading.

 

[Robert Cromwell]

Me filling cartos on 808 cigalikes was what got me off of cigs. I just do not understand the Cigalike ANTZ.....
Cigalikes still sell more than tank systems.

 

[Robert Cromwell]

Cigalikes are expensive.

The reason I moved from cigalikes to ego batts was cost.

So to me they were not garbage at all; if they didn't work for me, I would not have been able to justify upgrading.

yep I could get an evod for the cost of 5 empty cartos and a 650 ma ego battery cost less than a 180 ma 808 battery.

 

[Oberon75]

I often wonder if the Big Tobacco cigalike is only there to discourage people from making the switch. I know the first time I tried one, it took me a whole year and a half to try vaping again because I knew nothing of the other products out there.

Sent from my HTC One M8 Harman/Kardon edition

 

[Firestorm]

My first PV was a cigalike, but it wasn't one found in a gas station with a cartomizer with a proprietary connection - it was a V2 kit with 808 threading. Yes, the pre-filled cartomizers tasted like garbage, but I was able to buy blank cartomizers that I could fill and refill with popular liquids that I can still use today. I have definitely upgraded my gear since them, primarily to achieve greater battery and juice capacity and to use rebuildables in order to become self-sufficient and save money, but I wouldn't call my V2 kit garbage as I do find it satisfying. It was an unregulated battery similar to the mechanical mods that I use today that start at 4.2v. The low resistance blank cartomizers that I would buy were 1.5ohms which isn't too far off from the 1.2ohm coils that I currently build.

 

[issy]

My vapor couture kit introduced me into the world of vaping...even if it was expensive and didn't work as well for me as quitting with an ego+tank, I'm still grateful for it. Plus, it had a rhinestone on the end that lit up Kinda wish I hadn't given it away...

OP, I do see what you are saying about the studies and what-not being rigged. Who knows what BT is putting into theirs to skew the study results. Some valid points there.

 

[Wolfenstark]

Yes , yes they are.

 

[Robert Cromwell]

Anyone tried the esmart 510 BCC clearomizer? A cigalike tank that works pretty good.

 

[skoony]

i started with V2's. i still have 808 carto's and batteries in my arsenal.
MB Ice Menthol with 2 or 3 flavor drops at 100% PG will give you one heck of a
invisible throat hit. there my stealthiest set up.
regards
mike

 

[beckdg]

Me filling cartos on 808 cigalikes was what got me off of cigs. I just do not understand the Cigalike ANTZ.....
Cigalikes still sell more than tank systems.

1 ANTZ; Anti nicotine and tobacco zealots

ANTIs; people who are against something (assume current subject matter)

2 AGAIN... check your sales figures facts

Someone posted market share statistics some months back that suggests your assumption is no longer true and cigalike market share is dropping swiftly, drastically and at a rapidly increasing pace.

Tapatyped

 

[Rule62]

I think I still have an unopened box of V2 Classic menthol cartomizers in a drawer somewhere. Wonder if they're still any good, after 4+ years.

 

[Robert Cromwell]

1 ANTZ; Anti nicotine and tobacco zealots

ANTIs; people who are against something (assume current subject matter)

2 AGAIN... check your sales figures facts

Someone posted market share statistics some months back that suggests your assumption is no longer true and cigalike market share is dropping swiftly, drastically and at a rapidly increasing pace.

Tapatyped

JK on the ANTZ could not resist. And the last I saw did say that the non cigalike portion is growing fast but cigalikes still were the majority of the market. We are not just talking about the USA here.

 

[Thrasher]

I think I still have an unopened box of V2 Classic menthol cartomizers in a drawer somewhere. Wonder if they're still any good, after 4+ years.

Mmm mmm tasty lol

They may not work as well as advanced gear but using an 808 and thinking, hmm I can see this working if it was a bit better. And I wouldn't be smoke free 4+ years without it

Now that mark 10 and 21st century garbage yea, trash.

 

[Rule62]

Mmm mmm tasty lol
View attachment 462515

They may not work as well as advanced gear but using an 808 and thinking, hmm I can see this working if it was a bit better. And I wouldn't be smoke free 4+ years without it

Now that mark 10 and 21st century garbage yea, trash.

Yeah, I would hardly call cig alikes 'garbage'. They've gotten a lot of ex smokers started down the path, including me. At first, I needed something that worked and looked sort of like a cigarette. The V2 auto batteries fit that bill, for me. Knowing what I know now, I may have started at a slightly higher level, like maybe with an ego and clearomizers. But I didn't have that knowledge on day one.

 

[Robert Cromwell]

If I got in a bind and needed a fix I would buy a disposable in a heartbeat vs buying a pack of cigs.