Crazy how much has changed in 6 years

[Frese]

Thanks to you and all the other experienced people for helping us newbies out. Appreciate your time and advice!

I share your thoughts. Thanks folks!

 

[EvilZoe]

Oy, in keeping with this topic, I was just reading on another thread about "old" devices such as the Sigelei 100 watt mod and I was thinking about how short a time ago that those were NEW.

 

[fenderstrat]

my journey is short and sweet.Thanksgiving of 2014 I went to a local shop and got an ego twist clone and a miniprotank2.Used that for about 2 weeks till I jumped in my car on way to work took a puff and flashing lights....damn dead batt.So at this time the MVP2(11W)was actually still new and considered to have crazy long battery life so I got one.used the MVP for a few months and was ready to buy myself something new.waited for the mvp 3 was about to hit "buy" and saw the mvp 3 pro then the dissruptor came out...I actually said "man if I buy something its gonna be outdated before it gets shipped to me" so I waited.used the mvp and ego all summer.Then TC came along and it seemed interesting so an Istick 40W was like 35 bucks shipped so I got that and a subtank to use ni coils.Liked TC so this THANKSGIVING for my 1 year no smoking and as an early christmas present I got an IPV3Li my MVP gets used at work cause my work is seriously dirty and my istick is for travel and here we are Jan of 2016 and whats next...I've always been a gadget gear person I'm a musician and into rc helis,so cool gear just facinates me...whats comming is more blutooth,touchscreen and most likely voice command

 

[Plumes.91]

12w is as high as i go, usually, paired w/12mg or 18mg juice. i also use Hangseng, although i prefer BWB Backo and i dont have many gennys, just an Aga-T and a plastic hyper SRT tank for use with silica from Gotvapes god knows how long ago hahaha. (remember those?) Otherwise, I use rdas and now, RBTs... the clouds i get from 12w are already too big even my RDAs are meant for tootlepoofing, all i use is the smok RDA (the tiny one with the built in drip tip?) Ive never bored out a hole & I hate adjusting higher than the minimum hole on any adjustable rda and tanks haha. i feel like we're old folks complaining about the new generations, but, it's true... The whole scene has evolved in such a ridiculous fashion... why do you need more than 40w? why?? lol.

i wasnt even around when sigelei 100w box mods came out... before i left, the evic v1 had just released, and 12w was high! haha.

 

[tj99959]

Early on I figured that I had better learn how to build my own stuff if I wanted to continue to vape. (the FDA & all that stuff) Only took me abut 5 minutes to figure out how to make a damn good atomizer from a coax cable connector. Made several mods using OKR regulators. DIY liquids were easy. So my CYA plan was in place in 2011.
Since then I just buy 'stuff' when I feel like it, and now I have way more 'stuff' than I'll ever use.

The funny pat is that the vape that I enjoy has never changed. I've tried the sub ohm, high wattage, even temp. control, but I always end up adjusting/modifying them to vape just like I always have.

 

[motordude]

I have only been vaping since March last year and I just sit back and watch the whole industry pass me by.
Still using the same type of gear I started with with small additions here and there.
I can't even imagine what you long time vapers have seen.
I just vape to not smoke, I found my niche and am happy!

 

[Hyperspace]

I remember the days when everyone was vaping on DSE 801 cigalikes and pulling out the polyester out of the cartridge and replacing it with foam to hold more juice. Then came the 510 cigalike and everyone moved to those. Then came the 3.7 volt screwdriver mod and some people moved to those. Then came along 5 and 6 volt mods and that became all the rage. They used 510 3.2ohm atomizers on them. I can't get over how much vaping has changed since then. I don't really get the cloud chasing crowd. I don't see the point in going through batteries and juice like crazy just to blow clouds. The other crowd that sub ohm at low watts I don't get either. Like at 8 to 20 watts. I thought the rule of thumb was the lower in ohms you run the higher in watts you run. Seems like if you want to only run at 8 to 20 watts you should run higher ohm builds not lower.

 

[Douggro]

One thing that does make me curious though. Here any type of retail is handled by younger people. I gather for most of ya all retail is handled by older people and only vape shops hire younger people?? That seems odd to me.

There are two B&M's within 10 minutes of me. One is run by a husband/wife team (50-ish) with their son chipping in and one other employee; the other is staffed by people in the 25-45 bracket. In neither of them are the people into tattoos, piercings or other 'hipster' ka-ka.

OT: I haven't been around vaping long enough to have the history of building my own mech mod or the dawn of the Spinners and EGo's. But since I started vaping, the advances I've seen are still coming at a fairly good clip.

 

[StaceyB]

One of the things I like about vaping is the diversity. Young, old, tattoos, piercings (or not), hair in every color
(even gray ). ohms, subhoms, coil builders...the list goes on and on. But it's still something that people have in common....

 

[YoursTruli]

I was just thinking. I started vaping back in 2009. Six years ago. Times were different then. lol

I first heard of e-cigs at a bachlor party in late 2007 or early 2008 I think. Hard to remember because I wasn't paying much attention. A friend of mine had ordered a pen style e-cig from a vendor in China and was showing us all out in the garage where we were all smoking. I just remember the blue LED tip and thinking that was cool. But I was really skeptical of it and remember saying to him "are you sure that's safe? You're inhaling something that comes from China where they still put lead in their paints and stuff."
Basically I passed judgement and went on with my life still smoking.
Then in 2009 one of my bosses at work and I were talking and she said she was thinking about getting one of these e-cigs and I kind of repeated what I said to my friend a year or so back. As I was walking back to my desk I realized that I shouldn't pass judgement of this thing so early without really knowing anything about it. So I started researching it and that's when I found ECF.

I'm not here all the time. I tend to take breaks from the vaping world and check back in on it every six months to a year. I'm still vaping, I'm just happy with what I have and busy doing other things in my life. So it's kind of like people you don't see very often, you notice bigger changes in them than the people who see them every day. That's my perspective on the vaping world. In and out. Seeing large changes (or phases as I call them) every time I come back.

Back in 2009 I bought my first e-cig from a local smoke shop. Even though I had done a little research on ECF I got excited and wanted to quit smoking that day and switch to e-cigs. So I skipped all the advice and went to the smoke shop.
The smoke shop only had one kind and I don't even remember the name of it. Some crappy little cig-a-like in a green and white cardboard cigarette looking pack that held the battery, acted as a charger and held the atomizer and cartridge. Complete junk and tasted aweful. Used it for one day before ordering some Vapor4Life stuff (generically known as the KR808D-1). Much better and the cartomizer concept was very cool. Realized there were generic versions and started buying those and blank carts with liquid from other vendors like Johnson Creek and Tasty Vapor.

I was happy and left for a while. Then lapsed and went back to smoking for about a year and ended up with bad bronchitis so I decided it was time to quit again. Decided my 808 stuff was a little worse for wear and my girlfriend had just bought a 510, so I figured moving to 510 connection was probably a good choice. Seemed to be the most popular connection type. At this point eGos were the new thing and all the rage. Picked up a Riva (eGo clone) and some 510 cartos and also discoverd the LR306 atomizer. Loved it.

Happy and left for a bit. Came back a while later deciding it was finally time to get my first mod. Green Silver Bullet. Looked silly as hell with that little LR306 on top of it but was great to vape. Experimented with different batteries. Left and came back. Not long. This time carto tanks were taking off so I got into that and those mega cartos as well. Pretty happy so I left for a while.

Came back and variable voltage eGos were a new thing. Picked up one of those just to try it. Loved it. Rotated between that and my Silver Bullet. Also started making my own liquid around this time. 2011ish. Left again.

Come back a while later and mech mods with rebuildable atomizers and subohm vaping is the hot new thing. All those shiny metal tube mods with boats etched on the side made of brass and stainless steal. Cool, but some were pricey. Picked up a magneto mech mod and a cheap IGO-L RDA and some RBA I barely used. Also picked up a Protank at this time and left cartos for good. Turns out I didn't care much for building my own coils and only did it a handful of times, although I did it for both the RDA and the Protank coils. Ended up liking the Protank with store bought coils more than the RDA and stuck with that on my mech mod.

Note: Actually really liked this phase of the vaping world. Very beautiful steam punk or high end looking mods. If they sold mods at jewery stores these are the kind I would expect to see. Just plain classy.

Left again and ran into a guy at a bar with was vaping a regulated tube mod and he told me variable wattage is the hot new thing right now. Figured I'd give it a try. Bought a cheap SID tube mod at a local vape shop and was happy paired with my protank. Picked up another one last Christmas when I also got my girlfriend one. Been vaping that since a week ago. Each lasted about a year and when that started acting up I decided it was time to check into something new.

Come back and all the classy looking mods have given way to the kids with their sleeve tattoos and graphic tees rocking high wattage box mods with temperture control and liquids with crazy names and graphics that look like something off an album from the 70's. Maybe I've got a little chip off my shoulder because I walk into a vape shop these days and these are the kind of people behind the counter now. Which is fine it they didn't have huge egos (not the e-cig type) and act like they've been vaping forever and treat me like I'm just a complete noob. Of course I don't go in acting like I've been around either, but in so many ways it is all new again and I've got a little catching up to do. But I'm sure I was making my own juice years before they even picked up their first e-cig. Sorry, end rant about that.

But what the heck, figured I'd try the new stuff. But on the cheap as always because these trends change so quick. So I picked up an Evic VTC Mini kit and a couple new 20 amp batteries. Just tried it today. Whoa! Talk about hot vapor! Not sure about this. Granted some people thought I was crazy years ago when I was stacking RCR123As in my Silver Bullet with a 1.6ohm LR306 and getting about 22 watts. But today 22 watts is nothing.

People are building some wild artsy looking coils with various different metals and batteries are coming with higher and higher continous amperage. Heck even looking into the new members forum here where everyone used to recommend 808s and then eGos, people are now starting off with some better gear than I have. What happened to all the people who have barely even heard of an e-cig or how it works? I can only assume it's because vape stores are everywhere now and every smoke shop is carrying almost as much vape stuff. Compare that to how it was when I walked into one six years ago looking to see if they had even heard of e-cigs.

Amazing how much has changed over the years and the different phases the vaping world has gone through. I probably missed a lot of stuff along the way I'm sure. In fact I'm thinking about picking up a couple of those classy tube mech mods just in case they become illegal or something in the future. Being that they're unregulated. I also think I'm going to try RDAs again. Considering a Velocity clone. Seems like it's easier to build on.

I just think it's really cool to see how fast everything has evolved and changed in such a short period of time. From cheap Chinese cigarette looking devices with barely a whisp of vapor to these cloud making boxes with oled screens and all this customization. It changes so fast it's almost impossible to keep up with unless you live it every day as a main hobby. I've got too many other interests and things going on in my life to make it that. So it's always fascinating to come back every 6-12 months and see all the changes. Makes me wonder where the vape world will be at a year from now. What crazy new thing will everyone be into then?

How about you? Are you like me and have been vaping for years but only check in every so often? What are your thoughts on how this world has changed?
I'm really interested to know if some of you veteran vapers just kind of settled at some point and gave up on progressing further, and if so at what point it became good enough for you? Then again if you did, I don't know if you'd be reading this or just out living your life.

My vaping journey has been a lot like yours My first experience with vaping was in 2011 on a cheap disposable that I bought on a whim at a local carryout. I felt like this could work for me to stop smoking so by the end of the day I was on the net searching for a better, longer lasting option after picking up a few more of those disposables to hold me over until it arrived. The first site I ran across Vapor4Life I purchased KR808D-1 cig-alike kits extra batts, cartos and juice and stayed with them and also V9 for a year or so.

As my cig-alike batteries started dying out one by one I found myself back on the net searching around and ran across the volcano ecig site where I purchased a few infernos, at the time their version of the ego T, and discovered their forum. The first carto tanks and clearos were beginning to emerge and volcano decided to phase out their egoT type infernos.

I did acquire the authentic joyetech egoT kits, egos with crude clearos, ego twist somewhere along the way and my first mod, a green silver bullet paired with the latest carto tanks (2.0-3.0 ohm cartos) even made my own syringe carto tanks LOL followed by the king of mods a provari and Cisco attys, during this time I also discovered ECF, another smaller ecig forum and how to diy my own eliquid, Reos and Vmod mech squonkers, Cherry Vape Drip Tips and somewhere in there ViVi novas.

Mech mods and RTA/RDAs became all the rage and I jumped on that wagon building my own coils, although I never did the whole sub ohm thing then or now, (most did not back then) heck anything below like 1.8 - 1.5 ohms was considered crazy at first! Chinese Clones were just beginning to hit the open market but I definitely got my fair share of those beautiful high end tube style mech mods from all over the world as well as the locally usa crafted copper, rough stacks, Super T Manufacturing plus HOH Zen hybrids and an iHybrid mod or two! A plethora of stainless steel drip tips in all shapes and sizes, genny tanks with steel mesh wicks, a short experiment with ceramic wicks, yards and yards of silica, AGA RTAs and A7/Phoenix RBAs, Then the first Innokin MVPs hit the market, very cool, like holding a brick, but, very cool

Happy with my gear, diy eliquid and a change in life circumstances, I just kinda bowed out of the whole forum ecig culture crowd thing for about 2 years or so although I never stopped vaping.

When I came back to ECF in 2015 I seriously did not recognise vaping anymore. Somehow it became a sport versus just a way to quit smoking... with low mg nic/high VG eliquids, crazy high watts and super low ohms, ginormous box mods and clouds of vapor to match! The whole culture of vaping had changed. It had change so drastically (to me) in those two+ years that honestly if I were to just discover vaping today I am pretty sure I would not try it and would probably still be smoking.

Vape shops too were popping up all around where I live and the first time I went to one it was like a bad cheech and chong movie when I opened the door to the shop with thick waves of vapor clouds pouring out to greet me. Inside was not much better, well unless you like being ignored, but, in all fairness maybe they could not see me through the massive vapor clouds floating around in there and there was a definite vaping/generation gap between (the 50something) tootler me and the (20something) super sub ohmers 10 or so at the vapor bar. After a few snickers lofting through the haze my way I purchased a bottle of 70pg/30vg 6mg eliquid (more snickers a few whooooahs and a "I am sure" from me) in the flavor the person who had sent me to this shop had recommended and made a my retreat. Flavor... that was an understatement it was so overwhelming in flavor I swore I was vaping straight flavor concentrate! LOL I learned later they make eliquids now with super strong flavor so the high VG sub ohm users can actually taste something.

Vaping has changed a lot over the past 5-6 years, some good some not so good, but, another thing I found when I returned to ECF were vapers just like myself that vape just to quit smoking and still vape in the style I do and that was really good.

 

[coolerat]

My vaping journey has been a lot like yours My first experience with vaping was in 2011 on a cheap disposable that I bought on a whim at a local carryout. I felt like this could work for me to stop smoking so by the end of the day I was on the net searching for a better, longer lasting option after picking up a few more of those disposables to hold me over until it arrived. The first site I ran across Vapor4Life I purchased KR808D-1 cig-alike kits extra batts, cartos and juice and stayed with them and also V9 for a year or so.

As my cig-alike batteries started dying out one by one I found myself back on the net searching around and ran across the volcano ecig site where I purchased a few infernos, at the time their version of the ego T, and discovered their forum. The first carto tanks and clearos were beginning to emerge and volcano decided to phase out their egoT type infernos.

I did acquire the authentic joyetech egoT kits, egos with crude clearos, ego twist somewhere along the way and my first mod, a green silver bullet paired with the latest carto tanks (2.0-3.0 ohm cartos) even made my own syringe carto tanks LOL followed by the king of mods a provari and Cisco attys, during this time I also discovered ECF, another smaller ecig forum and how to diy my own eliquid, Reos and Vmod mech squonkers, Cherry Vape Drip Tips and somewhere in there ViVi novas.

Mech mods and RTA/RDAs became all the rage and I jumped on that wagon building my own coils, although I never did the whole sub ohm thing then or now, (most did not back then) heck anything below like 1.8 - 1.5 ohms was considered crazy at first! Chinese Clones were just beginning to hit the open market but I definitely got my fair share of those beautiful high end tube style mech mods from all over the world as well as the locally usa crafted copper, rough stacks, Super T Manufacturing plus HOH Zen hybrids and an iHybrid mod or two! A plethora of stainless steel drip tips in all shapes and sizes, genny tanks with steel mesh wicks, a short experiment with ceramic wicks, yards and yards of silica, AGA RTAs and A7/Phoenix RBAs, Then the first Innokin MVPs hit the market, very cool, like holding a brick, but, very cool

Happy with my gear, diy eliquid and a change in life circumstances, I just kinda bowed out of the whole forum ecig culture crowd thing for about 2 years or so although I never stopped vaping.

When I came back to ECF in 2015 I seriously did not recognise vaping anymore. Somehow it became a sport versus just a way to quit smoking... with low mg nic/high VG eliquids, crazy high watts and super low ohms, ginormous box mods and clouds of vapor to match! The whole culture of vaping had changed. It had change so drastically (to me) in those two+ years that honestly if I were to just discover vaping today I am pretty sure I would not try it and would probably still be smoking.

Vape shops too were popping up all around where I live and the first time I went to one it was like a bad cheech and chong movie when I opened the door to the shop with thick waves of vapor clouds pouring out to greet me. Inside was not much better, well unless you like being ignored, but, in all fairness maybe they could not see me through the massive vapor clouds floating around in there and there was a definite vaping/generation gap between (the 50something) tootler me and the (20something) super sub ohmers 10 or so at the vapor bar. After a few snickers lofting through the haze my way I purchased a bottle of 70pg/30vg 6mg eliquid (more snickers a few whooooahs and a "I am sure" from me) in the flavor the person who had sent me to this shop had recommended and made a my retreat. Flavor... that was an understatement it was so overwhelming in flavor I swore I was vaping straight flavor concentrate! LOL I learned later they make eliquids now with super strong flavor so the high VG sub ohm users can actually taste something.

Vaping has changed a lot over the past 5-6 years, some good some not so good, but, another thing I found when I returned to ECF were vapers just like myself that vape just to quit smoking and still vape in the style I do and that was really good.

I'm your age.

I don't know how long you smoked but I started as a preteen.

I don't know how much you smoked but I was 2-4 packs a day.

Why is your way "trying to quit smoking" and my way something different??

It strikes me we both quit smoking by vaping and I like my way and am happy your way worked for you. Why do you look down on people who do things differently??

Why does the one vape shop you went to represent every vape shop?? Around here we have shops for one eyed lesbian vegans and everything else under the sun.

Have you ever tried being nice to someone who isn't just like you?? Life is full of surprises. Sometimes people with tatoos are nice. Not all young people are lazy. I see alot here people storm a vape shop with the intent to teach. Try going in to learn. Even if you don't feel like you need to. People like to talk about what they have. If you listen to them they will listen to you. I can talk to people all day about gennys and squokers and keep using what I use. And they listen to me about my 5000w box and we all learn something and have fun.

 

[YoursTruli]

I'm your age.

I don't know how long you smoked but I started as a preteen.

I don't know how much you smoked but I was 2-4 packs a day.

Why is your way "trying to quit smoking" and my way something different??

It strikes me we both quit smoking by vaping and I like my way and am happy your way worked for you. Why do you look down on people who do things differently??

Why does the one vape shop you went to represent every vape shop?? Around here we have shops for one eyed lesbian vegans and everything else under the sun.

Have you ever tried being nice to someone who isn't just like you?? Life is full of surprises. Sometimes people with tatoos are nice. Not all young people are lazy. I see alot here people storm a vape shop with the intent to teach. Try going in to learn. Even if you don't feel like you need to. People like to talk about what they have. If you listen to them they will listen to you. I can talk to people all day about gennys and squokers and keep using what I use. And they listen to me about my 5000w box and we all learn something and have fun.

Hhrmmm I am not sure how telling about my vaping experience over the years since I started vaping 5 years ago and stating the fact vaping has changed drastically in the last 5-6 years per the topic here by the OP equates to:

"Why is your way "trying to quit smoking" and my way something different??

It strikes me we both quit smoking by vaping and I like my way and am happy your way worked for you. Why do you look down on people who do things differently??"

OR how my telling of my experience in my first vape shop equates to:

"Why does the one vape shop you went to represent every vape shop?? Around here we have shops for one eyed lesbian vegans and everything else under the sun.

Have you ever tried being nice to someone who isn't just like you?? Life is full of surprises. Sometimes people with tatoos are nice. Not all young people are lazy. I see alot here people storm a vape shop with the intent to teach. Try going in to learn. Even if you don't feel like you need to. People like to talk about what they have. If you listen to them they will listen to you. I can talk to people all day about gennys and squokers and keep using what I use. And they listen to me about my 5000w box and we all learn something and have fun."

I don't understand where you are coming from, why you are jumping on me and interjecting your own personal bias into what I have said versus what I actually said... which btw was on topic, unlike your post.

 

[YoursTruli]

FYI @coolerat not that I said anything about people with tattoos, because I didn't, my son and his wife both covered in tattoos (my son's a little less conspicuous due to his career), gauged ears, numerous piercings and very successful in their chosen careers.

you know nothing about me but feel free to make it up as you go...

 

[Hyperspace]

The industry has changed so much but one thing remains the same is the 510 connector. I don't know why the industry hasn't moved on to a more robust connector like Provape has. Using a tiny connector on big tanks just seems like a bad design.

 

[englishmick]

I started with cigalikes around 09 or 10. The only source I knew about was a mall kiosk. Then the kiosk closed and I found some different cigalikes online. I used them on and off for years. I smoked a pack a day. With the cigalikes my consumption varied between 20 down to 4 or 5 on a really good day.

The reason it took me so long to move up was I had no idea there was anything else out there. Eventually in the summer of 14 someone told my wife about these things called Evods that were better than the cigalikes. I went to pick one up for her and grabbed one myself. After that I started looking around the internet and discovered the world.

I assume today vaping is more widely known so nobody would wander round in a state of ignorance as long as I did. Or maybe nobody ever did apart from me

Anyway, that's one thing that changed. Vaping has hit the big time. At least for one brief glorious moment before the big guys noticed us and swatted us down.

 

[coilburner]

I just remember the first time I started vaping in 2009, I have started vaping multiple times since then, the Joyetech ego-t was the latest and greatest.

 

[r77r7r]

I think one of the best improvements in my time was affordable VV via the Twist from Joye. And everything Imeo has brought us. BVC's ended a few years of very crappy clearos.
I think it was only until the last year that a newcomer could get an inexpensive quality set up right off.

 

[Rocketpunk]

I'm the exact opposite now. I've only been vaping for three years, and I've seen a lot change, too. Some for the good, some for the bad. I used vaping as a way to quit smoking -- when all of these young hipsters and barely legal kids started vaping, I took a bit of umbrage. I mean, why vape if you were never a smoker. It made no sense to me... (well, it kinda did... I know that most young hipster vapers who never smoked but vape never smoked cigarettes...) It took a while for me to come around. They're still mildly annoying to me, but the "cloud chasers" did do a lot to help move the industry forward.

In the first year and a half, all I did was research vaping stuff. Gear, eliquids, reviews. My girlfriend made fun of me because it was what broke me from playing WoW every single night. Fast forward to today, I work in a vape shop, and I almost NEVER watch or read about vape stuff unless it's the rare occasion I check out ECF. I know it's kind of bad as an employee, but honestly, after talking "vape" for nine hours a day, five days a week, the last thing I want to do when I come home is deal with more vape stuff. I'm always getting IMs on Facebook from friends asking for help... and I do help them, as best I can... But sometimes I just want to be left alone.

I appreciate the passion and eagerness of people who are really, really, REALLY into vaping, but when they come into the shop and start referencing the latest and the greatest whatever, or start gushing about clapton whatever -- I mentally check out. I'm there for you as a CSA, but I just couldn't care less about what a twisted Clapton fused quad coil blah whatever looks like. I'm happy that my younger co-workers know more about the really deep, hardcore rebuildable jargon than I do. Whenever someone comes in and starts talking like Data from Star Trek, I glance at my co-workers and they know to step in and take over the conversation. Where I really soar is when new people looking to quit smoking come in off the streets. I'd MUCH rather spend an hour going over a starter kit with a new person than spend an hour talking about coil porn or how awesome a box mod is. Don't get me wrong, I love the tech, but at the end of the day, for me -- this was and always has been about quitting smoking and switching to a healthier alternative.

I felt horrible for doing it, but one day, after a rough shift, I went into my local gas station, and a guy recognized me from my work. "Hey, man! I know you! You work at the vape store! My thing keeps leaking and won't hold a charge! Can you fix it for me?"

I had to take a deep breath and regretfully tell him I was off work and going home and I could help him later if he stopped by. I don't know if he ever came in or not, but I still feel bad. But damn.

I was just thinking. I started vaping back in 2009. Six years ago. Times were different then. lol

I first heard of e-cigs at a bachlor party in late 2007 or early 2008 I think. Hard to remember because I wasn't paying much attention. A friend of mine had ordered a pen style e-cig from a vendor in China and was showing us all out in the garage where we were all smoking. I just remember the blue LED tip and thinking that was cool. But I was really skeptical of it and remember saying to him "are you sure that's safe? You're inhaling something that comes from China where they still put lead in their paints and stuff."
Basically I passed judgement and went on with my life still smoking.
Then in 2009 one of my bosses at work and I were talking and she said she was thinking about getting one of these e-cigs and I kind of repeated what I said to my friend a year or so back. As I was walking back to my desk I realized that I shouldn't pass judgement of this thing so early without really knowing anything about it. So I started researching it and that's when I found ECF.

I'm not here all the time. I tend to take breaks from the vaping world and check back in on it every six months to a year. I'm still vaping, I'm just happy with what I have and busy doing other things in my life. So it's kind of like people you don't see very often, you notice bigger changes in them than the people who see them every day. That's my perspective on the vaping world. In and out. Seeing large changes (or phases as I call them) every time I come back.

Back in 2009 I bought my first e-cig from a local smoke shop. Even though I had done a little research on ECF I got excited and wanted to quit smoking that day and switch to e-cigs. So I skipped all the advice and went to the smoke shop.
The smoke shop only had one kind and I don't even remember the name of it. Some crappy little cig-a-like in a green and white cardboard cigarette looking pack that held the battery, acted as a charger and held the atomizer and cartridge. Complete junk and tasted aweful. Used it for one day before ordering some Vapor4Life stuff (generically known as the KR808D-1). Much better and the cartomizer concept was very cool. Realized there were generic versions and started buying those and blank carts with liquid from other vendors like Johnson Creek and Tasty Vapor.

I was happy and left for a while. Then lapsed and went back to smoking for about a year and ended up with bad bronchitis so I decided it was time to quit again. Decided my 808 stuff was a little worse for wear and my girlfriend had just bought a 510, so I figured moving to 510 connection was probably a good choice. Seemed to be the most popular connection type. At this point eGos were the new thing and all the rage. Picked up a Riva (eGo clone) and some 510 cartos and also discoverd the LR306 atomizer. Loved it.

Happy and left for a bit. Came back a while later deciding it was finally time to get my first mod. Green Silver Bullet. Looked silly as hell with that little LR306 on top of it but was great to vape. Experimented with different batteries. Left and came back. Not long. This time carto tanks were taking off so I got into that and those mega cartos as well. Pretty happy so I left for a while.

Came back and variable voltage eGos were a new thing. Picked up one of those just to try it. Loved it. Rotated between that and my Silver Bullet. Also started making my own liquid around this time. 2011ish. Left again.

Come back a while later and mech mods with rebuildable atomizers and subohm vaping is the hot new thing. All those shiny metal tube mods with boats etched on the side made of brass and stainless steal. Cool, but some were pricey. Picked up a magneto mech mod and a cheap IGO-L RDA and some RBA I barely used. Also picked up a Protank at this time and left cartos for good. Turns out I didn't care much for building my own coils and only did it a handful of times, although I did it for both the RDA and the Protank coils. Ended up liking the Protank with store bought coils more than the RDA and stuck with that on my mech mod.

Note: Actually really liked this phase of the vaping world. Very beautiful steam punk or high end looking mods. If they sold mods at jewery stores these are the kind I would expect to see. Just plain classy.

Left again and ran into a guy at a bar with was vaping a regulated tube mod and he told me variable wattage is the hot new thing right now. Figured I'd give it a try. Bought a cheap SID tube mod at a local vape shop and was happy paired with my protank. Picked up another one last Christmas when I also got my girlfriend one. Been vaping that since a week ago. Each lasted about a year and when that started acting up I decided it was time to check into something new.

Come back and all the classy looking mods have given way to the kids with their sleeve tattoos and graphic tees rocking high wattage box mods with temperture control and liquids with crazy names and graphics that look like something off an album from the 70's. Maybe I've got a little chip off my shoulder because I walk into a vape shop these days and these are the kind of people behind the counter now. Which is fine it they didn't have huge egos (not the e-cig type) and act like they've been vaping forever and treat me like I'm just a complete noob. Of course I don't go in acting like I've been around either, but in so many ways it is all new again and I've got a little catching up to do. But I'm sure I was making my own juice years before they even picked up their first e-cig. Sorry, end rant about that.

But what the heck, figured I'd try the new stuff. But on the cheap as always because these trends change so quick. So I picked up an Evic VTC Mini kit and a couple new 20 amp batteries. Just tried it today. Whoa! Talk about hot vapor! Not sure about this. Granted some people thought I was crazy years ago when I was stacking RCR123As in my Silver Bullet with a 1.6ohm LR306 and getting about 22 watts. But today 22 watts is nothing.

People are building some wild artsy looking coils with various different metals and batteries are coming with higher and higher continous amperage. Heck even looking into the new members forum here where everyone used to recommend 808s and then eGos, people are now starting off with some better gear than I have. What happened to all the people who have barely even heard of an e-cig or how it works? I can only assume it's because vape stores are everywhere now and every smoke shop is carrying almost as much vape stuff. Compare that to how it was when I walked into one six years ago looking to see if they had even heard of e-cigs.

Amazing how much has changed over the years and the different phases the vaping world has gone through. I probably missed a lot of stuff along the way I'm sure. In fact I'm thinking about picking up a couple of those classy tube mech mods just in case they become illegal or something in the future. Being that they're unregulated. I also think I'm going to try RDAs again. Considering a Velocity clone. Seems like it's easier to build on.

I just think it's really cool to see how fast everything has evolved and changed in such a short period of time. From cheap Chinese cigarette looking devices with barely a whisp of vapor to these cloud making boxes with oled screens and all this customization. It changes so fast it's almost impossible to keep up with unless you live it every day as a main hobby. I've got too many other interests and things going on in my life to make it that. So it's always fascinating to come back every 6-12 months and see all the changes. Makes me wonder where the vape world will be at a year from now. What crazy new thing will everyone be into then?

How about you? Are you like me and have been vaping for years but only check in every so often? What are your thoughts on how this world has changed?
I'm really interested to know if some of you veteran vapers just kind of settled at some point and gave up on progressing further, and if so at what point it became good enough for you? Then again if you did, I don't know if you'd be reading this or just out living your life.

 

[Rocketpunk]

FYI @coolerat not that I said anything about people with tattoos, because I didn't, my son and his wife both covered in tattoos (my son's a little less conspicuous due to his career), gauged ears, numerous piercings and very successful in their chosen careers.

you know nothing about me but feel free to make it up as you go...

I always liked what Brian Setzer said (paraphase): "As long as you can wear a suit in front of a judge and he can't see anything [tattoos], you're OK." To me, the coolest tattoos were the ones you couldn't see but occasionally were allowed to find.

 

[DaveP]

Tattoos are pretty much forever. If you decide that one needs to come off, removing it is more expensive than it was when you got it.

I'd rather spend the money on vape gear, but that's just me. Tattoo or high end VV mod? No contest