Back again, albeit two days later than planned. This is due to the fact that Ive spent hours over the last few nights further researching my prospective purchase, aided by the additional back up of some wonderful help and advice from members in this thread, as well as replies in another thread that I have running in the UK E-Smokers Forum - The directions to which I thank Wireguy for . . . Cheers!
Further thanks go to DC2 of course. Thank you for your views & opinions and the link to your "Buying and Using an Electronic Cigarette: A Primer" post, which was immensely helpful, balanced and well written. Following my extensive reading-up since I was last here, and DC2's viewpoints in the aforementioned post, I concur that I now probably don't actually want something to replicate an analogue smoking look and experience as I originally thought I did.
One more nod to PlanetScribbles BTW for his Titan 'prompt', and for reiterating what a lot of other Forumees have said in various threads in relation to the Gammuci - This product has now been removed from my personal radar, I just get the feeling that it's not 'the one' for me but, as DC2 and others have said, that doesn't mean it may not be exactly 'the one' for other people.
So then, where am I in my pontificating do I hear you ask? Well, Ive actually spent a considerable amount of time comparing the products available at TECC, i.e. The Screwdriver and the Titan range [510 Titan, Mega 510 and the new Tornado]. Ideally I'd like to buy them all and then enjoy comparing them at my leisure, because I'm sure that they're all very fine E-NIs, but hey - it would seem that I'm about as good at choosing lottery numbers as I am at choosing an E-NI . . . so that wistful thought is a non-starter unfortunately.
Ref. The Screwdriver E-NI MK II Kit - £69.99: I like this model for it's solid 'macho' look first of all, but I can't establish whether it has a manual battery or not, 'though my hunch from watching the promo' video [on a PC without speakers] is that the answer is "not", and I'm thinking that manual is the way Id want to go having read what others have said on this matter. Manual or not though, the Screwdriver does have a 900 mAh battery which, as far as I understand it, is a plus side in comparison to the 180 mAh of the 510 Titan, the 280 mAh of the Mega 510 Titan and the 650 mAh of the Tornado - I have no idea whether you can just upgrade any device to a more powerful battery or not, but I'm guessing that they're all designed to be used at their specified / supplied mAh ratings and that it's probably best not to mess about with such things. Ive tried to read up a little bit on Mods & Modding, but it seems to be a little bit of a grey area to me, especially as a Newbie. So, is it an acceptable rule of thumb to say that a bigger mAh rated battery is more likely to help in giving a better throat hit, or does it simply mean that youll get longer battery life . . . Or a bit of both perhaps? Getting a good throat hit IS one of the important factors that Im looking for in any device that I purchase. I do of course appreciate that whatever you put in the cartridge will obviously be a contributory factor in determining the type of hit you experience too.
Ref. 510 Titan (original) Kit - £44.49: This is a model that Im strongly drawn towards, my only concern being its low rated 180 mAh battery - if that should be a concern of course, ref. my observations above. The pros being that its a manual battery device, and it also has a good entry level price for someone whos just venturing into the Vaping world for the first time.
Ref. Mega 510 Titan Kit - £69.99: This one seems to be quite a good deal purchase wise - 3 No. 280 mAh batteries, 3 No. Atomizers, 10 No. refillable cartridges, 1 x 10ml 18 mg E-Liquid and a 5 x battery charger [although it doesn't look to be a particularly compact charger in comparison to the single hole plug-in types that are supplied with most of the other E-NIs].
Ref. TECC Tornado E-NI Kit - £49.99: I REALLY like the look of this particular model, it falls into a category somewhere between 'effeminate' and, the previously mentioned [loosely I should add], 'macho' . . . I guess "stylish" is the word I'm looking for, and it also has a 650 mAh battery.
However, this one comes supplied with 10 Atomized cartridges [as does the standard 510 Titan], rather than the 'Refillable cartridges supplied with the Screwdriver and the Mega Titan. I'm still a little unsure [remember, I am a Newbie after all] if these Atomized cartridges can be refilled or, if not, whether I can just purchase refillable ones and use them without having to modify the E-NI in any way, or perhaps Atomized and Refillable are actually one and the same thing? - I may just be being a little 'thick' on this point of course, but I'm confident someone will put me right . . . one way or another! The Tornado also comes with an "Atomizer Cone"(?), and at this particular point in time I have absolutely NO idea what that is or whether it's worth having. The Tornado Kit also comes in at a good valued £49.99 as opposed to £69.99 for both The Screwdriver & Mega 510 Titan Kits - The 510 Titan Kit coming in at £44.99, but with the low rated 180 mAh battery.
Summary: If I assume that The Screwdriver is an automatic battery device, I think Id have to place it at the bottom of my WishList, despite the attraction of its 900 mAh battery. Therefore I think Im now tossing up between the 510 Titan and the Tornado. I realise that there are still a wealth of other devices from other manufacturers out there that I could consider, but for now Im going to choose from one of the above . . . or Ill still be faffing about making a decision well in to 2011! So, if anyone is able to pick any bones out of my above ramblings, and can shed a clarifying shaft of light on the subjects of battery mAh ratings and Atomized Vs Refillable cartridges etc, then any final input would be much appreciated, and if anyones thinking Oh for goodness sake, just buy one and get on with it! . . . Sorry bout that, but I am almost there now - and I do appreciate the help of everyone whos taken the time and trouble to reply to my posts, and the vast amount of information thats been available to me from everyone whos contributed to the many different areas right across this Forum. I had no idea that there was such a large community of Vapers, its been a very enlightening and eye-opening journey so far . . . one which I hope to continue and maybe invite others to join me in.
Cheers for now yall!
