Hello everyone,
I saw my first e-cigarettes on a trip to Poland with my wife several months back. Curiously, I had just gone through one of my occasional periods of having briefly quit smoking, but had quickly begun to fail, as usual. I was using nicotine gum and neatly cut down kebab skewer sticks to chew/suck on as an aid to quitting, but that just wasn't cutting it. No pun intended. The trip to Poland was stressful enough that I completely gave up on quitting (which wasn't really going all that well anyway). My wife was disappointed, but was supportive in helping me buy cigarettes from kiosk vendors that didn't speak much English. She is a sweetheart.
Though the e-cigarettes I saw in many stores throughout Poland caught my eye, I figured there wasn't much point getting into them, mainly because I thought they were unavailable in the US. Apparently I was wrong, but I'd never seen e-cigarettes in a store here, at least until recently. Then I saw the m401 model type xhale02 e-cigarettes that 7-11s are now selling. The price for a starter set was only about $20, so I took the plunge. I was fairly pleasantly surprised with these e-cigarettes. I have been on them about 3 weeks now, and I'm on my 2nd 10-pack of regular flavor refill cartridges (medium nicotine level).
I've had maybe two regular (analog) cigarettes since then. No, the analogs don't taste disgusting to me now. Nothing like that, but the e-cigarette habit has become my new and preferred way of getting my nicotine fix. I'm completely sold on the concept, wishing I had checked into it much earlier than I have, not that it matters much now. The concept is great, and working, but I definitely want something more satisfying than the 7-11 e-cigs I've stared with. Now I've order two white (with blue LED tip) standard sized KR808D-1 automatic batteries from Vapor Kings (not to be confused with Vapor King, which is apparently a completely different brand/company).
I already have a USB charger from my xhale02 starter kit, and despite slight size differences between the two batteries I can still apparently use my current xhale02 supplied USB charger for a KR808D-1, so I didn't feel a need to go the new starter kit route this time. That way the price has turned out to be very reasonable. I did throw in a 5-pack of 555 tobacco flavor (medium nicotine level) cartomizers, just so I have something to try when the new model batteries arrive. I'm pretty excited about these new batteries, though I hope the slight extra thickness of the KR808D-1 models doesn't put me off too much. It shouldn't, as it's not much thicker than what I'm using now.
Say what you will about the xhale02 from 7-11, it is a very realistic looking size, with an appropriate length and great feel. I think that's very helpful in making the switch from analogs to e-cigs. Throat hit is not all that great, very mediocre most of the time, though I do occasionally get a very satisfying hit off of mine. Vapor production from the little xhale02 is not bad either, at least when a cartridge is fresh. Even the flavor of these little cartridges is not bad, just not great. They do taste a little like plastic, but not much. The biggest negative about the xhale02 is the relatively short battery and refill cartridge life. This is particularly annoying, since you can't just buy a spare extra battery by itself at a 7-11. You have to either buy a whole new $20 starter set, or buy an extra online instead for about as much money as a new starter set.
Same with the extra vaporizers for the 3-piece xhale02 unit, though I've had no problems with mine yet. I smoked about a pack a day of light 100s when I used to smoke. An xhale02 refill cartridge lasts me about a day, but sometimes only half a day, just depending on how my day is going. I wouldn't really say that each cartridge is equivalent to a pack of cigarettes, maybe more like 10 or so cigarettes. The plastic xhale 02 carry case is actually not too bad, but feels very disposable. It's flexible plastic hinge will probably break on me soon, but it does fit neatly and lightly in any of my pockets.
I really wanted to talk and ask some questions about the KR808D-1 model batteries I'll be receiving soon, but this is a long enough post as it is, so I will leave well enough alone for now. Next time I think I'll do a comparative review between my current xhale02 e-cigs and my forthcoming KR808D-1 set. Hopefully I'll have improved experience results to report. Bye for now.
I saw my first e-cigarettes on a trip to Poland with my wife several months back. Curiously, I had just gone through one of my occasional periods of having briefly quit smoking, but had quickly begun to fail, as usual. I was using nicotine gum and neatly cut down kebab skewer sticks to chew/suck on as an aid to quitting, but that just wasn't cutting it. No pun intended. The trip to Poland was stressful enough that I completely gave up on quitting (which wasn't really going all that well anyway). My wife was disappointed, but was supportive in helping me buy cigarettes from kiosk vendors that didn't speak much English. She is a sweetheart.
Though the e-cigarettes I saw in many stores throughout Poland caught my eye, I figured there wasn't much point getting into them, mainly because I thought they were unavailable in the US. Apparently I was wrong, but I'd never seen e-cigarettes in a store here, at least until recently. Then I saw the m401 model type xhale02 e-cigarettes that 7-11s are now selling. The price for a starter set was only about $20, so I took the plunge. I was fairly pleasantly surprised with these e-cigarettes. I have been on them about 3 weeks now, and I'm on my 2nd 10-pack of regular flavor refill cartridges (medium nicotine level).
I've had maybe two regular (analog) cigarettes since then. No, the analogs don't taste disgusting to me now. Nothing like that, but the e-cigarette habit has become my new and preferred way of getting my nicotine fix. I'm completely sold on the concept, wishing I had checked into it much earlier than I have, not that it matters much now. The concept is great, and working, but I definitely want something more satisfying than the 7-11 e-cigs I've stared with. Now I've order two white (with blue LED tip) standard sized KR808D-1 automatic batteries from Vapor Kings (not to be confused with Vapor King, which is apparently a completely different brand/company).
I already have a USB charger from my xhale02 starter kit, and despite slight size differences between the two batteries I can still apparently use my current xhale02 supplied USB charger for a KR808D-1, so I didn't feel a need to go the new starter kit route this time. That way the price has turned out to be very reasonable. I did throw in a 5-pack of 555 tobacco flavor (medium nicotine level) cartomizers, just so I have something to try when the new model batteries arrive. I'm pretty excited about these new batteries, though I hope the slight extra thickness of the KR808D-1 models doesn't put me off too much. It shouldn't, as it's not much thicker than what I'm using now.
Say what you will about the xhale02 from 7-11, it is a very realistic looking size, with an appropriate length and great feel. I think that's very helpful in making the switch from analogs to e-cigs. Throat hit is not all that great, very mediocre most of the time, though I do occasionally get a very satisfying hit off of mine. Vapor production from the little xhale02 is not bad either, at least when a cartridge is fresh. Even the flavor of these little cartridges is not bad, just not great. They do taste a little like plastic, but not much. The biggest negative about the xhale02 is the relatively short battery and refill cartridge life. This is particularly annoying, since you can't just buy a spare extra battery by itself at a 7-11. You have to either buy a whole new $20 starter set, or buy an extra online instead for about as much money as a new starter set.
Same with the extra vaporizers for the 3-piece xhale02 unit, though I've had no problems with mine yet. I smoked about a pack a day of light 100s when I used to smoke. An xhale02 refill cartridge lasts me about a day, but sometimes only half a day, just depending on how my day is going. I wouldn't really say that each cartridge is equivalent to a pack of cigarettes, maybe more like 10 or so cigarettes. The plastic xhale 02 carry case is actually not too bad, but feels very disposable. It's flexible plastic hinge will probably break on me soon, but it does fit neatly and lightly in any of my pockets.
I really wanted to talk and ask some questions about the KR808D-1 model batteries I'll be receiving soon, but this is a long enough post as it is, so I will leave well enough alone for now. Next time I think I'll do a comparative review between my current xhale02 e-cigs and my forthcoming KR808D-1 set. Hopefully I'll have improved experience results to report. Bye for now.
