For Auld Lang Syne - Mebbe

[Falconeer]

Well and all, back in the Dark Ages when I could still clean my teeth with one hand and worried about dandruff and losing my hair - like about when I joined ECF coming, up for ten years ago, when the latest greatest thing was an iStick and a Nautilus Mini with real pyrex glass, instead of plastic, which melted the moment it saw the wrong kind of E Liquid, I wondered where vaping and vape gear might end up.

Time went by, and out came squonkers made in garages by enthusiasts which cost a bomb, sub ohm and cloud chasing atties and mods, TPD restrictions, pod mods and finally disposable vapes filled with nic salts.

And where’s Ould G , alias Falconeer, from his pipe smoking days going back to 1974, when he took up the pipe to get of off smoking cigarettes and then switched to vaping nearly 10 years ago to get off tobacco and who beyond his expectations finds, He Himsel, The Man ( sorry I couldn’t resist dropping back to Lanarkshire Scots, as spoken in a county that I loved and where I’d be addressed as “Big Yin”) just about where he came in..

The short answer is basically and indeed- “Where I came in,” Though my iSticks, like the Old Soldiers, are are fading away - I’m now down to 4 out of seven though every one of my Nautilus Minis, including the very first oneI ever bought, are still going strong and coils for it/them are still readily available

Yes over the years, while I have written rave reviews about some of the latest greatest thingies, I’m more or less back where I started.

There is/are a couple of other things which now feature in my armoury - at least one of which I wrote off when it was being praised to the skies at the time - vis Innokin’s Zenith which I thought lacked flavour and was too airy at the start, and the Zlide which originally seemed to me to be second to the Zenith but which I now prefer. The juice is, what it has always been, 16 strength Menthol Chill which I have several gallons in stock.

As my onboard battery devices have died, I have replaced them now with rechargeable battery mods - largely with Innokin devices. Which I hope will see me out, but they are still set and locked at 8 watts, running 1.6 Ohm coils and steaming 16 strength juice.

Yes I’ve done the roll your own coils and wick it yourself Brunhilde thing, ( and it is a truly beautiful and great RTA ) but time marches on - eyes aren’t as sharp as they were and hands aren’t as steady as they were ( every watchmaker I knew, as a collector of fine pieces, has given up and retired for the same reason)

Meanwhile I have squirreled away at least 10 years supply of Z and Nautilus Mini Coils, again so that should see me out

It’s probably just me, coming out of Left Field as usual, but it’d be interesting to hear where any other members are at.

 

[DavidOck]

The short answer is basically and indeed- “Where I came in,”

Uh, ditto?

Although I did move away from non-replaceable battery mods early on

Took me about a year of vaping before I figured it was working for me, and that's when I got my first real "mod", an original Innokin SVD. Still works even with a "soft" fire button. (No audible click, but works fine.)

Got into the Kayfun line about a year later, and built a large stash of those (and spare parts!) as time went on, as the initial FDA scare loomed, as as they went out of favor and dropped to fire sale prices.

Some years later I tumbled to the Skyline (clone), KF style build deck but added juice flow control, beefed up air flow control and top fill. So those are what I've been using for years, now. Tried a few other toppers, but, well, nope.

Still using 10 year old mods, although I did add a few Innokin Coolfire Z80s over the last few years. Cloupor Minis, Pressa 75 TCs, Joyetech eVic Primo Minis, Pico 75s and a few others still work just like new, although they don't look new any more! And a mess of tube mods that mostly gather dust - the boxes are just more comfy to hold.

Juice... diy for years now, large variety of flavors, and a few "regulars." All around 18 mg/ml. Run 1.5 ohm coils at 8.5 watts. Just like 12 years ago

 

[Falconeer]

Aye - that's why I drop out of this forum from time to time -I just feel I have nothing much I can add or say.

When I joined, we were all of us desperate to get off of smoking with folk posting even several times day about how they were doing or weren't and basically this was a support and encouragement group - but times change and things move on.

 

[DavidOck]

Yeah, seems like it's all throw-away pods these days.

Don't like much of anything not reusable... unless it's wicks

 

[englishmick]

When I started vaping I kept a diary on the computer. I would make a dozen entries a day and spend hours on ECF. It was part of my quitting therapy. Occasionally I read the diary but there's been nothing new to write in it for years.

So I could tell you the exact date I got my first KFL and the long process of learning how to make wicks and coils for it. Like others I got loads of them when they were on the way out and going cheap. They are still my main vape. 1.2 ohm coils at 12W. I recently learned how to drill out the pins to 5/64". I did get a couple of BB's a few years ago and I was more adventurous with mods than I was with tanks. Tanks never die but mods do.

I still experiment from time to time with juice recipes.

And I have enough nic to last longer than I will. I wrote a short document describing how to dispose of it and taped it to the side of the mini freezer so my descendants won't poison themselves.

I do wonder what I would be doing if I quit smoking 6 months ago. Probably pods.

 

[Falconeer]

Yes I think disposables and pods are really the new cigarettes for the same reason cigarettes took over from pipes - simple to use straight off,

Those of us still using older kit are like pipe smokers were and I think sadly we are a declining tribe - at least numbers wise just now. That may change as what are laughingly called Governments ban disposables.

 

[DavidOck]

Yes I think disposables and pods are really the new cigarettes for the same reason cigarettes took over from pipes - simple to use straight off,

Those of us still using older kit are like pipe smokers were and I think sadly we are a declining tribe - at least numbers wise just now. That may change as what are laughingly called Governments ban disposables.

Yep, just open the "pack" and vape. And litter later. Big waste of lithium, and plastic... but that's the "appeal."

 

[somdcomputerguy]

Although I did move away from non-replaceable battery mods early on.

I have an Evolve DNA 60 that has an 18650 soldered into it. It was gifted to me a several few years ago, and I use it quite regularly. It's like a Timex..

When I started vaping I kept a diary on the computer.

After I switched I wrote a simple static webpage that consisted of a graphic and one or two text lines that stated my quit/switch date. It's not static anymore, and has a lot more than 1 graphic and 1 line of text..

 

[DavidOck]

I have an Evolve DNA 60 that has an 18650 soldered into it. It was gifted to me a several few years ago, and I use it quite regularly. It's like a Timex..

After I switched I wrote a simple static webpage that consisted of a graphic and one or two text lines that stated my quit/switch date. It's not static anymore, and has a lot more than 1 graphic and 1 line of text..

At least, for some of us, that would qualify as a replaceable battery mod (One DOES need to know what they are doing with a soldering iron and batteries!!)