Hi all, I've been a smoker for five years and just got into vaping two weeks ago. I've been lurking here since before I took the first hit on my new device - although that wasn't my first ever vape, as several years ago I picked up a cigarette look-alike from a mall kiosk on a whim. It was a terrible experience that really turned me off to vaping as a potential cigarette replacement. Everything about it was a total let-down: batteries that needed to be recharged far too frequently, cartridges that died often, hardly any vapor, minimal throat hit - and what throat hit there was felt like a chemical burn rather than the smooth hit of smoke. It was good for a novelty gift but not much else - and at $100, it felt like a total ripoff.
Fortunately, after reading these forums for a while I discovered that others felt similarly - but more importantly, there were better alternatives available! After this realization, I was determined to not let my second experience with vaping be anything like my first... so I sort of went a bit overboard.
![IMG_0567[1].jpg IMG_0567[1].jpg](https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/data/attachments/92/92369-3de2e5ba49e11515538ce59d653c62dc.jpg)
ProVari V2.5, Big Daddy 5ml tank (Pro-Cise finish with polished, angled caps), Cherry Vape brushed stainless steel ming drip tip, and of course Boba's Bounty e-liquid
Not exactly the recommended setup for a newbie, but after the prior let-down I adopted the "go big or go home" philosophy. So far the substantial investment seems to have paid off, as the experience has been better in every way - incomparable to the first really. In fact, I have to admit that the experience is better than smoking. I had never even imagined that to be possible, and I always thought that vaping was something people "settled for", but now I realize that with the right setup vaping totally kicks smoking's ...!
I have much more to share about my adventure into the world of vaping thus far, but for now I'll leave it at that. Thank you all so much for making this forum the thriving community it is today. Without it, I'm sure I never would have decided to give vaping a second chance - and in turn receive my second chance at a tobacco-free life.
Fortunately, after reading these forums for a while I discovered that others felt similarly - but more importantly, there were better alternatives available! After this realization, I was determined to not let my second experience with vaping be anything like my first... so I sort of went a bit overboard.

![IMG_0567[1].jpg IMG_0567[1].jpg](https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/data/attachments/92/92369-3de2e5ba49e11515538ce59d653c62dc.jpg)
ProVari V2.5, Big Daddy 5ml tank (Pro-Cise finish with polished, angled caps), Cherry Vape brushed stainless steel ming drip tip, and of course Boba's Bounty e-liquid
Not exactly the recommended setup for a newbie, but after the prior let-down I adopted the "go big or go home" philosophy. So far the substantial investment seems to have paid off, as the experience has been better in every way - incomparable to the first really. In fact, I have to admit that the experience is better than smoking. I had never even imagined that to be possible, and I always thought that vaping was something people "settled for", but now I realize that with the right setup vaping totally kicks smoking's ...!
I have much more to share about my adventure into the world of vaping thus far, but for now I'll leave it at that. Thank you all so much for making this forum the thriving community it is today. Without it, I'm sure I never would have decided to give vaping a second chance - and in turn receive my second chance at a tobacco-free life.
