Travel and Vaping Cruise ship passengers & ecigs!

[Timedog]

I smoked ultra lights so I started at 18mg. I vape more then I smoked so I was getting quite a nic buzz at 18mg. Now a year latter my high test is 12mg, but mainly vape even lower then that, usually 6-9mg.
I get most of my juice from tasty vapor along with a matching doubler which is 0nic you can adjust the nic. amount without lowering the flavor
The doublers are the best deal in juice 4 oz for $15.

 

[Satharra]

Hey all,

I stumbled on a post on CC which led me to do some investigation on vaping! After doing some reading and research on this board, I went ahead yesterday and ordered a starter kit from V4L. Hopefully, this will be an adventure in leaving analogs behind for good!

In that vein, I was wondering if some of you could share your experiences/success stories on stepping down the nicotine levels. I know each person's needs and habits will be different, but it would be helpful to me to hear what progressions have worked for others.

TIA

Bill

Well, unlike Jackie, I haven't completely stopped smoking yet. Today, may be the day, but if not that's ok too. My husband still smokes analogs (cigarettes) and I still like the smell of cigarettes so I've gotten myself to one a day. I may still break down and have an analog today but that's ok with me too.

I started out at 18 mg and did get some of the pre-filled cartos. I had some with tobacco and some with pineapple. I ended up tolerating both (not liking but tolerating) and found that I still liked the tobacco flavor, particularly after meals, and the pineapple as more of a softer all day vape. When a strong urge came, I could at least keep it under control with the tobacco flavor. At the same time that I ordered the KR808 (from VaporJunction), I also ordered some sampler juice packs from VaporEtc. I definitely liked those flavors better than the pre-filled stuff.

After I figured out some flavors, I ordered some larger bottles of juice in 24 mg potency. This way I can mix and match. I keep some 18 mg carts loaded for my chain vaping and then switch into the 24mg when I get a hard craving. That's worked well for me. I went from a PAD to 3-4 analogs with this method. Yesterday I was down to 1 analog and today I haven't yet really felt the need. We'll see if that holds.

I will say this, I've been vaping A LOT more than I ever smoked. Since it doesn't leave a smell, I don't feel badly about doing it in the house. (My dogs are my gauge and they don't mind the vapor at all whereas they'll avoid you like the plague if you're smoking a cigarette.) There are times when I know I've been vaping too much and I'll put it down for an hour or two. But it definitely takes a bit more time for the nicotine from the vapor to get in my system in comparison to analogs. Often I'll have to vape 5 or more times to feel the hit from the nicotine whereas it's instant off a cigarette.

Once I get down to zero analogs for a week or two, I'll probably start reducing where I can vape - like not doing it in the house. From there I'll reduce the nicotine amounts in the juice. I see it as being a very gradual process so that I don't experience massive amounts of anxiety and/or drive my husband crazy. I've quit in the past (only to restart) and I'm modeling my method on the patch which helped me once before. If I start having issues weaning off the nicotine, I'll either take it slower or just not bother.

Suffice it to say, I hope the plan works. Right now I'm not the poster child for stepping down the nicotine levels. Honestly, nicotine, to me, is the least of our worries. Getting off the analogs is the big step and nicotine has fewer nasty healthy effects.

 

[stashbldr]

I have a newbie question. Are most carts interchangeable among brands? I have an exhale02 and it would be nice to know which if other manufacturer's carts will fit it. Thnx.

Eternity, I just spent the past 30 mins doing some research for you. There is a website for your ecig, it is xhaleo2.com where you can buy more pre-filled cartridges, however, you can refill them yourself. There is a guy on youtube who has 2 videos there about the xhale 02, one of his videos shows how to "hack" the xhale cartirdges. It appears, from his videos, that your ecig does not use a cartomizer, but instead has a separate atomizer and then a cartridge, so that would mean that no, you cannot use any of the cartomizers that some of us are using .. not the KR808 ones, nor the 510 ones.

If you would watch his video you will see that since the cartridges for your kit are expensive, he suggests you just buy a Joye 510, or you can get the KR808D-1 like some of us have done (the cartomizers for the 510 and the KR808 are not interchangeable but both are readily available and both are easy to refill). If you get one of those kits then you can use cartomizers (which are a combination of an atomizer and cartridge in one, rather than 2 separate pieces).

If you dont want to buy a new kit then you can see his other video (he calls it "hack") about how to clean out your current xhale02 cartridge, get rid of the juice taste that is in it and from then on your can just put your own liquid in it, which you can buy from any of the suppliers that we are buying from.

His name on youtube is mulishafmxxx and you can go there and see his 2 videos and that way you'll see how your xhale02 works and learn from his video how to refill your cartridges .. or you may decide to buy a different kit instead.

Jackie

 

[tekmnky]

I smoked ultra lights so I started at 18mg. I vape more then I smoked so I was getting quite a nic buzz at 18mg. Now a year latter my high test is 12mg, but mainly vape even lower then that, usually 6-9mg.
I get most of my juice from tasty vapor along with a matching doubler which is 0nic you can adjust the nic. amount without lowering the flavor
The doublers are the best deal in juice 4 oz for $15.

Thanks for the info on the doubler idea, Timedog! I will check out tasty vapor!

Well, unlike Jackie, I haven't completely stopped smoking yet. Today, may be the day, but if not that's ok too. My husband still smokes analogs (cigarettes) and I still like the smell of cigarettes so I've gotten myself to one a day. I may still break down and have an analog today but that's ok with me too.

Thanks for the reply, Satharra! I, too, may not go totally e-cig at first. I'm thinking I may need to do an analog/e-cig mix for awhile. I'm hoping that I can get off the analogs in the near future, but if I'm doing an occassional analog along with my vaping, it's still a lot better than a pack a day of tar and carbon monoxide! Only when I've started to vape will I truly know how it's going to work out. I try not to let my expectations exceed reality!


Jackie, thanks for the encouragement! I'm willing to work with it. We'll see how it progresses. I'm doing a DCL 3-nt cruise mid-September and would LIKE to leave the analogs onshore when I go. And if I can reduce the nicotine over time (a year or years), I'll be that much happier!

Thanks again, all,

Bill

 

[stashbldr]

I, too, may not go totally e-cig at first. I'm thinking I may need to do an analog/e-cig mix for awhile.

I'm doing a DCL 3-nt cruise mid-September and would LIKE to leave the analogs onshore when I go. Bill

I think the main reason it worked so well for me right from the first vape was that I could feel the tremendous throat hit, the heat from the vapor, etc and then when I exhaled and there was vapor that looked at smoke, well I just felt like I had taken a drag of a real cig. And since my first drag was at 36mg and was a great tobacco flavor (it was the American Blend from Nicotine Nirvana .. who does have the best tobacco flavor of all the suppliers) then I was in heaven right then and there.

I had no plans to stop smoking at all, I had purchased the kit on a whim, thinking it would be just another thing that I would have "tried" to stop smoking .. something else I could tell my friends and relatives that I had "tried but didnt work". So I was shocked to find that after just 3 vapes, I put my open pack of marlboro's away and have never even wanted them again.

Willpower is not my forte, I have zero willpower about anything. No person or doctor could ever convince me to stop smoking, nor did I ever want to quit smoking. So it's not like I said "ok this ecig is going to arrive and then I'm going to do the brave thing and stop smoking" .. hahaha, it was the reverse .. I did not want to quit nor did I think in anyway that an ecig was going to replace my dearly beloved marlboro's. I still have 10 cartons of them in my guest room closet that I dont even know what to do with but I do know I'm loving my vaping and I have such fun changing my flavors every few hours. Right now I'm vaping root beer, this morning it was hazelnut mocha coffee, tonight it's going to be chocolate .. fun-fun times, love it.

 

[carkosh]

Yes, Stash, I agree, (I have no willpower either therefore quitting smoking the usual ways has been unsuccessful); however, I really want these analogs to go away; I'm sick of them!! I should get my sample flavors from vaporsect tomorrow (or maybe Tues), practice with the self-filling & narrow some flavors down to a few that I really enjoy...and I know I will. If I'm still smoking a few analogs at this time so be it. I'm fast running out of the free carts which I got with the kit because I'm vaping much more than smoking but should have enough left for tomorrow. I'm taking this one day at a time altho I'm pretty encouraged! DH is having a little more problem with turning to his vape instead of an analog but hopefully he'll soon find that vaping is the way to go.

Carol

 

[Eternityroad]

It appears, from his videos, that your ecig does not use a cartomizer, but instead has a separate atomizer and then a cartridge, so that would mean that no, you cannot use any of the cartomizers that some of us are using .. not the KR808 ones, nor the 510 ones.

Thanx for doing this footwork. Because this is my first starter kit I thought all ecigs operated on the same principle. So what you are saying is that most other brands have atomizer and cart together? Weird. Mine seems so simple. Anyway the starter kit did come with a white filler cart with holes in the end like I have seen used in the videos at this site. You are saying then, that I would have to fill these yet another different way? I may just wait until I have vaped through what I have and opt for another brand or maybe take a stab at refilling my own.

Thanx again for the info.

Eternity

 

[stashbldr]

Thanx for doing this footwork. Because this is my first starter kit I thought all ecigs operated on the same principle. So what you are saying is that most other brands have atomizer and cart together? Weird. Mine seems so simple. Anyway the starter kit did come with a white filler cart with holes in the end like I have seen used in the videos at this site. You are saying then, that I would have to fill these yet another different way? I may just wait until I have vaped through what I have and opt for another brand or maybe take a stab at refilling my own. Thanx again for the info. Eternity

There are many kinds of ecigs .. and many of those do have a 3 part system where the battery is one part, the atomizer is another part and the cartridge is the 3rd part. I have an ecig that has the 3 parts, mine is an eGo and there are many other brands with 3 parts. That is how yours is. And yes, you can just add liquid to your cartridge part yourself.

However then there are the 2 part ecigs .. where the battery is one part and a combo of the atomizer and cartridge are the 2nd part, combined as one .. called a cartomizer (carto for short). The KR808D-1 that some of us have is a 2 part ecig, so that is why we use the cartomizers.

I like my KR808 so well that I stopped using my eGo completely. Yes the eGo has more power but I get enough power with my KR808. Mostly I love the convenience of being able to use the cartomizers that the KR808 has, they are simple to refill and I can get 1ml of juice in mine, which lasts me a long time. The other thing I like about the KR808 is it is the same width as a cigarette and looks just like a real cig, whereas my eGo is twice as "fat" and looks like a short cigar. I can use the eGo at home but quite frankly dont want to use it out in public because I dont think it's very nice looking. But that's just my own personal opinion.

I watched the youtube videos that I referred you to, the guy takes his cartridge apart but you dont have to do that .. he did it just because he wanted to completely get rid of the juice flavor that was in the pre-filled cart. You could just add liquid, like he does in the video after he has put his cart back together, if you dont mind that some of the old flavor will linger inside the cart flavoring for a while .. eventually it would work itself out into the other flavor you put in there yourself.

You could just order a sampler pack of liquid, add it to one of your empty cartridges and see what you think, especially if you like your ecig then you should try to keep it going, but I hope you wont spend all the $ they want for more pre-filled carts, your carts can be refilled. After a while you will need to clean your atomizer but the guy shows how to do that in his video too.

 

[Eternityroad]

but I hope you wont spend all the $ they want for more pre-filled carts, your carts can be refilled.

Thanks again. We are getting the xHale02 in the 7-11 I manage next month. Because of the deals cut with 7-11 corporate we will be selling the items for less than the online price. The online price for refill is 20.00 and we will be selling them for 10$. The starter kits will be going for 15.00 in our stores

What would you say the preference is for vapers, two piece or three piece? Do the two piece ones require you to push a button. I definitely do not want the push button. Actually I like what I have now. Next step is filling my own.


Ken

 

[stashbldr]

Thanks again. We are getting the xHale02 in the 7-11 I manage next month. Because of the deals cut with 7-11 corporate we will be selling the items for less than the online price. The online price for refill is 20.00 and we will be selling them for 10$. The starter kits will be going for 15.00 in our stores.

What would you say the preference is for vapers, two piece or three piece? Do the two piece ones require you to push a button. I definitely do not want the push button. Actually I like what I have now. Next step is filling my own. Ken

Ohhhh you work at the same store that's going to be carrying the xhale02, well then there you go. There is a DIY store right there in Las Vegas, the website is diyflavorshack.com and they are very popular on ECF. Dont know if they have an actual store but their phone # and email address is on their website. Their specialty is making liquids and they carry DIY ingredients & supplies, plus they also make liquids, and they have a few kits too.

 

[Satharra]

All righty, I'm back with my review of FreedomSmokeUSA juices. So far I've really only given the Hawaiian Tropical a good try but that is some exceptionally good stuff. For all those fruit vapor loving folks, you really should give this a try.

I think it smells and tastes a lot like Hi-C back when Hi-C used to be so darned good. If you grew up drinking that stuff, you'll love this juice. On a few subsequent vapes, I've noticed a lot of orange too. It's just a really great juice. Fabulous vapor, good TH, and fantastic flavor. I just don't think you can go wrong.

Now, if I could just put it down to adequately sample the others....

 

[carkosh]

Got my samples today; having fun tasting, trying not to OD lol. I love 4 so ordered larger sizes of those (not 18mg tho, which the samples are, am finding that I'm getting too much TH...never thought I'd have a problem there). So I ordered 11 or 12 mg & also 0mg for the times I just want to vape & don't need the nic. Thanks to those of you who advised me to go self filling, not prefilled. These flavors are unbelievably better!!!

Now, if I can just get off the analogs altogether; I still find myself having a few daily. However, that's about 3/4 of a pack that I'm not smoking!! Hopefully when I get these 4 flavors I can get these few analogs out of my life!!!

Carol

 

[stashbldr]

Hi Carol .. fun-fun isnt it? If it's the throat hit part that you dont like you can order your liquids with mostly VG instead of mostly PG. The samples you got were probably mostly PG. The PG is what gives throat hit, the VG gives very little throat hit but gives more vapor. If you order zero nicotine and then find yourself still wanting an analog that may be because you wont be getting any nicotine in your liquid. If that's the case you might want to think about ordering 12-18 mg of nicotine in your liquids but NOT the PG based .. instead order the VG based and that will reduce the throat hit a lot but still give you some nicotine so you wont be needing analogs to supply the nicotine.

Jackie
(FreQuentKruser on CC .. stashbldr on ECF)

 

[Afubar]

The only thing I am scared about is getting my ecig confiscated at airport security. Do ecigs set off metal detectors?

For all those worried about airport security and e-cigs. Don't, Worry that is. I flew this past March via Delta to Munich, Germany by way of Amsterdam. I also use a Chuck, not some small regular 510 battery setup. I placed my Chuck right into the little basket for pocket stuff, once I got to Amsterdam, had the Security guys look at it strangely, I explained what it was then he let me demo it. They were fascinated. Sailed right on thru. Stealth vaped on the plane all over the Portland, OR airport, on thru Amsterdam and then on to Munich. when I traveled on to Egypt, same thing, some interest at the security screening, once I showed what it was,, big smiles. Stealth vaped on plane all the way to and back. Stride forth boldly, stealth vape, don't flaunt it. Even on Delta, where in their little magazine says they aren't allowed, as long as you are discreet, no problems. I have also discreetly vaped in the emergency room while waiting for x-rays, the doctor's office, the county court house, WalMart, and so forth and so on.

 

[Satharra]

Got my samples today; having fun tasting, trying not to OD lol. I love 4 so ordered larger sizes of those (not 18mg tho, which the samples are, am finding that I'm getting too much TH...never thought I'd have a problem there). So I ordered 11 or 12 mg & also 0mg for the times I just want to vape & don't need the nic. Thanks to those of you who advised me to go self filling, not prefilled. These flavors are unbelievably better!!!

Now, if I can just get off the analogs altogether; I still find myself having a few daily. However, that's about 3/4 of a pack that I'm not smoking!! Hopefully when I get these 4 flavors I can get these few analogs out of my life!!!

Carol

Glad you loved the liquids. I've been flitting between about 10 of them as I figure out which flavors I like best for which time of day. I definitely have some preferences for evening vs morning vapes.

You'll get off the analogs in time. I'm happy to say I'm on day 2 of no analogs. I just kept pushing the time that I'd have an analog back further a bit each day. When I felt a craving hit, I'd vape rather than smoke. Then I'd wait 10-15 minutes to see if the craving subsided a bit since it does take a bit longer for the nic to hit your system when you're vaping. I started out at 4-6 a day and, over a week or so, progressed down to 1 and now none.

 

[Satharra]

For all those worried about airport security and e-cigs. Don't, Worry that is. I flew this past March via Delta to Munich, Germany by way of Amsterdam. I also use a Chuck, not some small regular 510 battery setup. I placed my Chuck right into the little basket for pocket stuff, once I got to Amsterdam, had the Security guys look at it strangely, I explained what it was then he let me demo it. They were fascinated. Sailed right on thru. Stealth vaped on the plane all over the Portland, OR airport, on thru Amsterdam and then on to Munich. when I traveled on to Egypt, same thing, some interest at the security screening, once I showed what it was,, big smiles. Stealth vaped on plane all the way to and back. Stride forth boldly, stealth vape, don't flaunt it. Even on Delta, where in their little magazine says they aren't allowed, as long as you are discreet, no problems. I have also discreetly vaped in the emergency room while waiting for x-rays, the doctor's office, the county court house, WalMart, and so forth and so on.

I'm not as worried about the device as much as the juice. I already carry a full bag of liquids anytime I travel so I'm trying to figure out just what I'm going to need to lose in order to get my juices in that baggy. I've got a week-long trip coming up and I intend to carry on again so we'll see how it all works out. Short of loading up 15-20 cartos for the trip (and praying I don't run out of full cartos), I'm not sure how else to get everything aboard.

 

[carkosh]

Thanks, Stash & Satharra, for the info on VG vs PG. Unfortunately I couldn't wait to order the 4 flavors that I like & they've already been shipped...too bad vaporect is so fast shipping their orders. No biggie; will remember from now on how to order.

Btw, the only reason I ordered the 0mg nic is because I read on another thread about someone loving to vape so much that she was afraid of OD'ing. Someone suggested getting the 0 nic for the times that she didn't need the actual nic. Sounded like good advice so I ordered some just in case.

Carol

 

[stashbldr]

I'm not as worried about the device as much as the juice. I already carry a full bag of liquids anytime I travel so I'm trying to figure out just what I'm going to need to lose in order to get my juices in that baggy. I've got a week-long trip coming up and I intend to carry on again so we'll see how it all works out. Short of loading up 15-20 cartos for the trip (and praying I don't run out of full cartos), I'm not sure how else to get everything aboard.

Satharra .. woohoo congratulations on being analog free!!! Great feeling isnt it?

We're leaving for Copenhagen next weekend and will be gone for 2 weeks. We have to a layover in Frankfurt next weekend and then on our return we have a layover at Heathrow. Heathrow's immigration/security people can be stinkers, they even tried to stop me taking my knitting needles thru a few months ago LOL, so whenever we go in or out of London I always plan an extra hour for their security check just because they sometimes like to go thru every single item a person has.

I'm going to carry on ALL of my hardware, along with the instruction manuals for both my KR808 and my eGo (in case I get the brand new TSA agent who doesnt have a clue In my carry-on tote, in a qt size baggie, will be one 15ml size bottle of liquid plus 5 pre-filled cartos (for stealth vaping on the plane, in airports etc). In my husbands carry on he'll also have one 15ml size bottle of juice, plus at least 5 pre-filled cartos in his quart size baggie. That still leaves a lot of room in each of our quart size bags .. a 15ml bottle plus 5 pre-filled cartos hardly takes up any room in the baggie.

Also in both his carry on and in mine, we'll each have lots of blank cartos too but those empty cartos dont have to be in the quart liquid baggie.

In my checked luggage will be a few more bottles of liquids, with the labels removed cuz I dont want any labels on something that is in my checked luggage, just in case some over zealous luggage handler decides he'd like some free vaping juice LOL.

 

[stashbldr]

Btw, the only reason I ordered the 0mg nic is because I read on another thread about someone loving to vape so much that she was afraid of OD'ing. Carol

I am a constant vaper .. I vaped 36mg liquid for the first 3 weeks, vaped over 3-4ml a day .. didnt OD, in fact just loved it. Only side effect I had was ........ LOL, good maybe I lost 1-2 lbs LOL.

I'm personally not concerned about a "few" people who have a "fear" of ODing. Having a fear of it happening is different to me than if they had actually done it. I guess there may be a person out there who has "OD'd" on nic, maybe they exist and I've just never heard about them .. but so far all I ever read are posts from people who are afraid of ODing, but havent.

 

[Satharra]

Thanks, Stash & Satharra, for the info on VG vs PG. Unfortunately I couldn't wait to order the 4 flavors that I like & they've already been shipped...too bad vaporect is so fast shipping their orders. No biggie; will remember from now on how to order.

Btw, the only reason I ordered the 0mg nic is because I read on another thread about someone loving to vape so much that she was afraid of OD'ing. Someone suggested getting the 0 nic for the times that she didn't need the actual nic. Sounded like good advice so I ordered some just in case.

Carol

I've been testing out the various percentages of VG/PG and think I may have found my happy place. I've tried pure VG and just don't get enough TH. It feels like I'm vaping air but it does produce nice vapor.

The Hawaiian Tropical was a 50/50 mix and that seems to work really well for me. I think I might see if I can take the next order down to 40/60 VG/PG just to see if I can tell any subtle nuances. Right now I'm going through that nothing has any flavor moment though. Will go wiff some coffee beans, break out the listerine once again (better tell my husband to buy stock in that stuff), and chug the water while I wait for that to improve.

Just FYI, you may want to expect some no flavor days and keep some strong flavors (I have peppermint and apple cinnamon) on hand. Those are the only two flavors that are getting through this afternoon/evening. It seems no flavor days are pretty normal and just an issue with taste buds and such growing back.