Getting started

[rand4ll]

So the wife and I want to quit smoking this year. We are both about thirty and been smoking over ten years, probably about 10-15 cigarettes a day each. So looking for nicotine replacement therapies like gums, patches and lozenges my wife brought up these vapor cigarettes as she called them. I figure it a better way as we both enjoy the ritual around going outside and actually smoking. Personally I do tons of research before buying anything to ensure and do it right the first time and like many am completely overwhelmed with the amount of choices.

I looked up the analog lookalikes like blu and found lots of bad reviews and the general feeling they are just cheap and most people will step up to a mid size quickly anyways so rather than waste the money it seems the best place to just start. After reading tons of things for the past couple evenings and getting a bit educated on the matter as well as even more confused at times I have seen a general theme that the eGo kits are pretty popular and of good quality. My questions to you are if this selection is a good place to start or if I should look elsewhere. I know there are tons of posts like this but I hope I have done enough research that my choice is pretty much good to go.

The kits I found and am interested in is the ego-c. I found a good price in this kit here: http://ejuicemonkeys.com/kits-mods/...-black?zenid=8800e3b67fe98a7f83516f9f8629afcf

It seems to be about $20 cheaper than most other places so I'm hoping it is genuine and not some knockoff, am I correct that it is genuine? Is there a different vendor I should look at?

The plan is to buy two of these kits, one for each of us, and then a 5 juice sampler of two from the same supplier to get started and find some juices we may like and get some variety. Do they have good quality juices? Is there certain flavors I should go after or avoid? I figured we would start with some 24mg as well as some 18mg strengths, good/bad?

Please let me have your opinions and let me know if this is a good way to go or not. Thank you all for this great forum and wealth of information.

 

[Hunter400]

The eejuicemonkeys site states that it's an ego-c "style" kit. Also the picture doesn't have the joyetech logo on any of the equipment. It's probably not a genuine joyetech.

 

[Larzis]

Yup, they list the manufacturer Bauway. And appears they are out of stock. Ego C is a nice little kit and what we used here for awhile. Vision Spinner or Joyetech Twist kits are a step up and really nice IMO.

As far as where to go for genuine Joyetech, lots of places! Off the top of my head I know Cignot carries them as we bought from them several times. You can always check Joyetech site for list of vendors. I am sure others can chime in on some good sites.

Also, looks like there is a shop there in San Antonio, Ecig Texas. Never used them but looks like they carry Joyetech. Imagine you can get better prices shopping around, but one thing I liked about going into a shop when we started was trying out juice. Helped us narrow down what we liked.

Good Luck!

 

[rand4ll]

Yeah. I just looked closer and on the bottom of the page it says in small print that it was manufactured by Bauway. I will just look for another vendor then to get a genuine product and hopefully some assorted ejuices in same order, if not another site will work fine. Any recommended vendors would be great! Beyond that all my other questions still stand so any more input would be great.

Thanks

 

[Telescope Neil]

I'd really suggest an ego twist or a vision spinner, as you would get a better vaping experience with these Variable Voltage devices IMHO. I personally never went to the eGo route, my first PV was a mechanical and i didn't even do some research about PVs at all, i just bought it. hehe.

 

[scooterholic]

It looks like there are several brick and mortar stores in your area that have joyetech. And you and your wife could sample juice to get some that the both of you enjoy. ecig stores San Antonio, Tx - Google Search

 

[Larzis]

Well the mg choices of your juice look good, but it is really hard to tell ya what juices to avoid. Some want a strong tobacco, others want fruity, and others want something more like candy. You might want to pick up sample packs at a few places. Lately we have been really liking Vape Dudes and Mountain Oak Vapors. I hear lots of people rave about Mt Baker Vapor. They certainly have good prices.

 

[Topkicker]

Your story sounds a lot like my DH and I. I am new here also but can say you are in the right place for all the information you can soak up. We were turned on to vaping by a guy my husband works with. He gave DH one of the cheapy cigaelectric cig look alikes (like you can pickup at the gas stations). I fell in love with the concept and knew there had to be something better. I started researching online which lead me here. Then came the brain overload! HA! I don't know how important at first it will be for yall to have the "feel and look" of an actual analog. It only took me a week with the cheapy to figure out that was not going to a big deal for me. HOWEVER, I really really thought it would be. We decided we wanted to start out middle of the road, almost bought the Ferrari (Provari) right out the gate BUT we both decided that will be the ultimate gift to ourself 6months or year of being analog free. We decided on the Inferno by Volcano. They have a really nice starter kit which gives you a lot of options to customize it to your liking. They have a lot of you tube videos on how to use their product and a forum on their website that covers a lot of different topics. I have placed two orders with them and so far have been super pleased in the quickness. The batteries are awesome!

You also seemed to smoke the same amount of cigs we did. We ordered juice in 16mg and 8mg. My DH was so sure he was a 16mg but it was too strong. We are 8mg. The taste, vapor, and pull feels the same. The amount of nic keeps us satisfied with no cravings. I would say get one bottle of the 16mg just in case but I think you might find the 8mg will be all you need.

Lots of stuff you just have to customize for yourself, what you "style" is. I will say the benefits of vaping is a no brainer compared to analogs. I just wished we had found out years ago!

 

[scooterholic]

And welcome to ECF.

 

[rand4ll]

And welcome to ECF.

Thanks for the welcome!

And thanks everyone else for the tips! I was worried a variable voltage battery would complicate things one more level for getting started but if it has come recommended so many times I will certainly take a look. I don't find many kits with the variable batteries included but guess I could just as easily order all the components separately. I may go check out some of the local shops as well for juices but being frugal as I am somewhat doubt they will be able to beat the prices on the PV setups.

I am astounded at the level of replies I have already gotten and how friendly everyone is here to the noobs like myself.

EDIT: looking at notcig.com they seem to have the genuine ego-c kits and you can even upgrade just the battery to the twist style! I think I will get 1 650mah and 1 1000mah twist battery with each kit so we can make the whole thing shorter length if need be. Also, their options brought up one more question, low resistance or regular resistance atomizer heads? I read the low resistance heads burn hotter so probably make more vapor but I would guess also hotter vapor? I could always order one kit with low and the other with regular so I can get a feel for both...thoughts?

Also, topkicker, I will order some 8mg juice as well based on your advice. Just get a plethora of them to find the right thing.

 

[Telescope Neil]

Variable Voltage devices wouldn't really complicate your vaping experience, it would actually improve it with very short and simple adjustments IMO. a few clicks with a button, or a twist in the bottom, and it's gonna be a great vape. If you think the numbers are what making you think it will complicate things, then think of it this way: Adjust the voltage by taste, not with numbers. If the vapor is too cool and producing small amounts of vapor, then increase the voltage by small increments. if it tastes burn, then the voltage is too high so you simply lower it down bit by bit.

 

[MF DOOM]

Myvaporstore.com has a killer price on a VV twist starter kit, with choice of 2 clearomizer tanks (get the EVOD'S if you do!).

Lightning fast shipping as well.

 

[BossManBill]

I'm a newbie also. Shopped around for a while and then a buddy of mine pointed me to Vapor4Life. They have some awesome hardware an their juices are top notch! Plus!!!! They have daily sales ranging from 10-40% off.

 

[Serendipitysrs2]

Thanks for the welcome!

And thanks everyone else for the tips! I was worried a variable voltage battery would complicate things one more level for getting started but if it has come recommended so many times I will certainly take a look. I don't find many kits with the variable batteries included but guess I could just as easily order all the components separately. I may go check out some of the local shops as well for juices but being frugal as I am somewhat doubt they will be able to beat the prices on the PV setups.

I am astounded at the level of replies I have already gotten and how friendly everyone is here to the noobs like myself.

If you choose to go with something like an ego twist or vision spinner, it wouldn't be all that complicated. They are really simple to use. A regular ego battery is 3.7 volts, so if you set the voltage dial at a little below 4, you'd be getting the same amount of voltage. You don't have to mess with it any further until you want to. Then, it's just a matter of twisting the dial up or down. Once you learn a little more about ohms and voltage, you can experiment with changing the voltage and trying different ohms and resistances in your atomizers, cartomizers, clearomizers, whatever delivery system you choose.

However, ego batteries do not live forever. I have been using regular ego batteries for a couple of years now and I get four to six months out of them. So one option is to get regular ego batteries (they are a little cheaper, too) to start off with and learn a little more about the variable voltage stuff. Then, when you are ready to replace them, you can bump up to the twists.

Either way, the egos are a great place to start. As far as liquid, when I started, I bought sample bottles of the same couple of flavors but in different nicotine strengths so that I could compare them. Different nic strengths are going to give you different amounts of throat hit. I found I liked how 18mg felt, 24mg is way too harsh for me!! For my hubby, he doesn't like much throat hit, so he uses a lower nicotine strength. The strength of the nicotine, for me, didn't seem to have much to do with how many cigarettes I smoked before but how satisfying the hit of vapor is in the moment. If a hit "feels" right in your throat and lungs and tastes good, it is a satisfying vape. A satisfying in-the-moment experience keeps you from reaching for a cigarette. So I wouldn't get too caught up in worrying about how much nicotine you need based on how much you smoke, but rather what FEELS satisfying in a physical sense. It will take some experimenting to find what feels right to you.

Oh, and most tobacco flavors taste like crap. If you are menthol smokers, it is easier to get close to the true taste of a cig, if that's what you're looking for. But tobacco flavors - you really can't replicate the flavor of burning tobacco unless you burn tobacco. So check out fruitier or coffee flavors. Otherwise you might drive yourself nuts looking for a good tobacco. I have two dozen bottles of various tobacco juices that I tried and now they sit in the basket of juice rejects. "The Dean" from fuzion vapors comes the closest for me but my hubby does not agree. Taste is subjective for sure!

Good luck! I sincerely hope you and your wife find the vaping experience enjoyable, even when it's frustrating.

 

[Maddog1904]

I've only been vaping a month but my advice would be avoid starter kits as you will very rapidly want to move on..save that money and go for a decent mod. Nova tanks are a good starting point too, easy to fill and maintain.

 

[rand4ll]

I went to my local store today hoping to buy some kits and get started this weekend but they were out of nearly everything. Literally had one eGo type battery and one eVic in stock, unfortunate, though they seemed nice and helpful and was very chill in there. I also tried to order a kit based on MF DOOMs advice from MVS, but they also seem to be out of stock on every VV battery (both ego and vision brands) and the vision ego clearomizer 2.0 (was going to try one eVod and one vision with each)...lol...bad luck, hoping it isn't a sign. So anyways, went to cignot and was finally able to get an order together, decided to throw in a couple clearomizers and a couple cartomizers along with the tank system the start kit comes with so I can just try out a bit of everything, here is the order if interested:

Joye eGo-C - Type A - a 650mAh and 1000mAh battery (both VV) - low resistance heads
Joye eGo-C - Type A - a 650mAh and 1000mAh battery (both VV) - regular resistance heads

Visions eGo Stardust Clearomizers 1.8-2.0 Ohms - black
Visions eGo Stardust Clearomizers 1.8-2.0 Ohms - clear

Smok Tech eGo Dual Cartomizer - Stainless
Smok Tech eGo Dual Cartomizer - Black

I'm going to order a sample pack of e-juices from halo as they seem to have a nice variety one put together and look for some more e-juices to start with as well. This should get me at the very least going on this and let us discover what we like and what we don't. From here we can upgrade/change/etc. to get everything narrowed down I think. Thanks for the support, since I was still so blown away by all the decisions and needing to start somewhere, this seems as good as any!

Any other e-juices or vendors that you can recommend is great, if not, I will continue reading in here and find out some on my own, already saw a tiramisu from one vendor that I'm sure my wife will like, it is her favorite desert ever!

Thanks again all!

 

[Larzis]

I always had good luck with Cignot. Vicki is great and shipping has always been quick.

I would suggest when starting out keeping the voltage down, especially on low resist and those Stardusts (they look to be LR as well). something like around 3.8 volt should be a nice starting point.

You are going to find many a vendor out of stock on items. Chinese New Year shut things down for a couple of weeks, but people are getting stocked back up.

I also suggest reading the following if you are going to play with the Cartomizers. Not everything will apply, but the how to fill portion will be a BIG help. Carto can taste nasty if not filled well. And bookmark that blog. If you ever move forward into carto tank setups that will have about all the info you will ever need.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blogs/baditude/3710-5-cartomizer-tank-setup.html

 

[rand4ll]

Alright got a ton of stuff in today. My two ego c twist kits, some juices from three vendors so far (halo, mountain oak, and mt baker), some clearomizers and a couple dual coil smoketek cartomizers (before I read I shouldn't use them on my ego batteries really, and their HUGE...lol). So of course I want to try some of this out tonight but what about steeping the juices? Also, should I start with the little tank things on the ego c setups or clearomizer or massive cartomizer?

Got the small batteries charging now and will charge the big ones while I test stuff with the small ones. Any tips welcome!

 

[Hoipolloi]

Alright got a ton of stuff in today. My two ego c twist kits, some juices from three vendors so far (halo, mountain oak, and mt baker), some clearomizers and a couple dual coil smoketek cartomizers (before I read I shouldn't use them on my ego batteries really, and their HUGE...lol). So of course I want to try some of this out tonight but what about steeping the juices? Also, should I start with the little tank things on the ego c setups or clearomizer or massive cartomizer?

Got the small batteries charging now and will charge the big ones while I test stuff with the small ones. Any tips welcome!

Sounds like you had a good buying spree

 

[rand4ll]

Sounds like you had a good buying spree

Yeah. Figured I would get a little bit of everything to give it a go. Only one more order to ship from HHV of some juice samples, a pack of boge lr sing coil cartos, some dripping atomizers, and a couple drip tips. Standing outside vaping some halo Tribeca juice from their sampler with a little tank the kit came with. Taste OK but a bit wierd at the same time...

Actually getting good (for me I guess) hits off this thing, more vapor from this than smoke from a cig.