Have I made a mistake?
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Thanks for the response. I was also worried that I would be watching friends suck liquid into their mouths and they'd be frustrated with PV 's forever. You'd probably have mentioned that by now if it was the case, as you're a fellow newbie (I was frustrated when a local shop took out the inner seal "because its so much better in every way" of my fluxomizer and didnt mention that they leak in your pocket and leak into your mouth - come on guy, you know I'm new at this!) This is all about getting more people in my circle "on the bandwagon" using what's familiar to them. Also, a cig look alike eases the conversations that a new vaper must inevitably have with the uninitiated. Plus they have all drawn a bit too hard the first time/day/week no matter what I tell them (so far, on a 510, or in one case a disposable). I'm hoping kr808D will allow them to vape "into the lungs" until they get a bit more comfortable.
I won't try dripping with them. And although you have nothing to compare it to, the 510 I got the first time would have scared me away from the model 510 for good had it not been for the fact that I tried a different batt and cart and decided it was the vendor, not the schematic, that I'm incompatible with. So I'm glad to hear that the Volt line-up is better quality than the one I'm referring to. (I'm assuming bashing vendors is best done elsewhere
)I'm certainly no expert, and this is just my personal experience and opinions based on what I was looking for out of Ecigs.
When I first started vaping 3 or 4 months ago, I started with the cheap disposables and Njoy kit you find a gas stations and was severely disappointed. The disposables tasted horrible and the Njoy electrocuted me when the battery fried about 3 puffs in. But I knew if I could find a perfected version of the concept, I could be happy and finally wean myself off analogs.
So, being that I am something of a tinkerer when it comes to "techy" stuff (I bought my last prebuilt computer in 1994 and have built my own ever since) I assumed the mods had to be better in every possible way to something so pedestrian as the minis and I started trying every mod I could get my hands on. I also bought huge amounts of sample packs of juices in every flavor, mix of PG/VG and nic strength I could get my hands on. I spent well over $1000 the first month, was still unhappy and was still smoking nearly a pack of cigs a day.
Most of the higher voltage mods only create an illusion of doing more as they burn juice hotter and faster. It's akin to emptying a cigarette into a wide bowled pipe and using a torch lighter to fire it up. The huge cloud of vapor was impressive. The fact that I was coughing it out because it was too overwhelming, not so much. I ended up taking really small hits off them and was just wasting their capabilities.
I finally came to the personal conclusion that, other than the superior battery life some of them offer, and their ability to handle poorly concocted juices which have ingredients with an excessively high flashpoint, mods are really only useful to those for whom vaping goes somewhat beyond simply replacing analogs. Since none of those was an issue for me as I tend to use juices that are formulated for and tested to work well with the capabilities of my hardware, I wasn't looking at vaping as a hobby and I didn't need the capacity that the mods could offer, I was over complicating it.
To that end I bought a Volt. It vapes well formulated juices very well and offers many battery/LED combos for a bit of style (I also considered the Bloog but it was continually out of stock). It's simple, comfortable, gives a satisfying experience with the juices I use* and isn't as likely to get me tackled by TSA at an airport as a big battery mod.
I got 5 different batteries which included USB and wall chargers, a PCC for an emergency charge, and a couple packs of blank carts. I also picked up a Car USB adapter at Walmart for $6 since I travel long distances by car occasionally.
I then bought samplers of the specific flavors of juice that I liked (rather than continually experimenting with flavors that 9 out of 10 times I didn't like at all and was just wasting money on) in various different ratios of PG/VG (where possible) to find which ones worked best with it for my flavor/vapor preferences. And I'm now completely happy and am down to only a couple cigs a day and will likely be able to quit entirely soon.
Mods are great if you approach vaping as a hobby, enjoy the tinkering aspect, have a huge lung capacity, like huge hits and/or enjoy impersonating a dragon.
But if you just want to replace analogs, the KISS methodology will save you a lot of needless frustration. A decent mini, some spare batteries, a travel charger and (the hardest part) a couple flavors of juice that are formulated to work well with your hardware are all that most people need.
*In case anyone cares, the juices I use are Cowboy from Smokeless Image, a light menthol from ULTRApure (I'm still looking for a better one) and the Organic Orange Cream from Vaporite for an occasional sweet treat. I smoked Marlboro Lights for 15 years. I don't need 20 different flavors to replace them.
When I first started vaping 3 or 4 months ago, I started with the cheap disposables and Njoy kit you find a gas stations and was severely disappointed. The disposables tasted horrible and the Njoy electrocuted me when the battery fried about 3 puffs in. But I knew if I could find a perfected version of the concept, I could be happy and finally wean myself off analogs.
So, being that I am something of a tinkerer when it comes to "techy" stuff (I bought my last prebuilt computer in 1994 and have built my own ever since) I assumed the mods had to be better in every possible way to something so pedestrian as the minis and I started trying every mod I could get my hands on. I also bought huge amounts of sample packs of juices in every flavor, mix of PG/VG and nic strength I could get my hands on. I spent well over $1000 the first month, was still unhappy and was still smoking nearly a pack of cigs a day.
Most of the higher voltage mods only create an illusion of doing more as they burn juice hotter and faster. It's akin to emptying a cigarette into a wide bowled pipe and using a torch lighter to fire it up. The huge cloud of vapor was impressive. The fact that I was coughing it out because it was too overwhelming, not so much. I ended up taking really small hits off them and was just wasting their capabilities.
I finally came to the personal conclusion that, other than the superior battery life some of them offer, and their ability to handle poorly concocted juices which have ingredients with an excessively high flashpoint, mods are really only useful to those for whom vaping goes somewhat beyond simply replacing analogs. Since none of those was an issue for me as I tend to use juices that are formulated for and tested to work well with the capabilities of my hardware, I wasn't looking at vaping as a hobby and I didn't need the capacity that the mods could offer, I was over complicating it.
To that end I bought a Volt. It vapes well formulated juices very well and offers many battery/LED combos for a bit of style (I also considered the Bloog but it was continually out of stock). It's simple, comfortable, gives a satisfying experience with the juices I use* and isn't as likely to get me tackled by TSA at an airport as a big battery mod.
I got 5 different batteries which included USB and wall chargers, a PCC for an emergency charge, and a couple packs of blank carts. I also picked up a Car USB adapter at Walmart for $6 since I travel long distances by car occasionally.
I then bought samplers of the specific flavors of juice that I liked (rather than continually experimenting with flavors that 9 out of 10 times I didn't like at all and was just wasting money on) in various different ratios of PG/VG (where possible) to find which ones worked best with it for my flavor/vapor preferences. And I'm now completely happy and am down to only a couple cigs a day and will likely be able to quit entirely soon.
Mods are great if you approach vaping as a hobby, enjoy the tinkering aspect, have a huge lung capacity, like huge hits and/or enjoy impersonating a dragon.
But if you just want to replace analogs, the KISS methodology will save you a lot of needless frustration. A decent mini, some spare batteries, a travel charger and (the hardest part) a couple flavors of juice that are formulated to work well with your hardware are all that most people need.
*In case anyone cares, the juices I use are Cowboy from Smokeless Image, a light menthol from ULTRApure (I'm still looking for a better one) and the Organic Orange Cream from Vaporite for an occasional sweet treat. I smoked Marlboro Lights for 15 years. I don't need 20 different flavors to replace them.
I agree, dual coils at 3.7 volts is weak and nothing to write home about. At 5 volts is where they really come alive.
Hi, DedTV and welcome! Congrats on finding a satisfying vape!
I just wanted to point out a couple of things:
That is an excellent illustration of how vaping is a matter of personal preference. Several variables - vapor, throat hit and flavor - are bound to have different 'sweet spots' for different people.
A higher voltage does not only blow through the juice faster. It changes vapor production and more importantly throat hit by altering the vapor temperature. Juices behave differently at different power settings, and some are even not good for higher power. The ability to tweak these variables, especially with a variable voltage mod that allows you to change the voltage subtly (as opposed to the battery stacking that gives you 3.7 or 6 or 7.4 V) can be important to some, and is to a lot of people here.
You obviously don't like a stronger throat hit, so higher power is not for you. This doesn't say anything about high power vaping, it only states the fact of your preference.
Funny thing, there is a thread around here where some TSA agents who happen to be vapers explain that unless a mod is truly outrageous, and your juice is in appropriate containers in a plastic bag, you most likely will have no problem with TSA
That's awesome! ROFL! So true! To be honest, I'd never vape my 100% VG on higher voltage in public, I really do look like dragon!!!
PS: Expect your tastes to change in time, mine certainly did! People seem to go through different phases....
I just wanted to point out a couple of things:
That is an excellent illustration of how vaping is a matter of personal preference. Several variables - vapor, throat hit and flavor - are bound to have different 'sweet spots' for different people.
A higher voltage does not only blow through the juice faster. It changes vapor production and more importantly throat hit by altering the vapor temperature. Juices behave differently at different power settings, and some are even not good for higher power. The ability to tweak these variables, especially with a variable voltage mod that allows you to change the voltage subtly (as opposed to the battery stacking that gives you 3.7 or 6 or 7.4 V) can be important to some, and is to a lot of people here.
You obviously don't like a stronger throat hit, so higher power is not for you. This doesn't say anything about high power vaping, it only states the fact of your preference.
Funny thing, there is a thread around here where some TSA agents who happen to be vapers explain that unless a mod is truly outrageous, and your juice is in appropriate containers in a plastic bag, you most likely will have no problem with TSA
That's awesome! ROFL! So true! To be honest, I'd never vape my 100% VG on higher voltage in public, I really do look like dragon!!!
PS: Expect your tastes to change in time, mine certainly did! People seem to go through different phases....
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You either bought some poorly designed "mods", don't know how to use them or don't understand the features and capabilites of some of the better mod type PV's.
I and many of us who use higher end model PV's are not hobbists. I only have two PV's. But like many who vape, I want warm vapor, full bodied, long battery life and most important, consistency which comes with a model that does not suffer from battery drain. The Volt is probably the best of the mini-battery models but it can't touch a good high end model in those categories.
Hey Rocketman! Yes, I'm talking about 1.5 ohm DCs. I find that 3.7 volts does not drive 1.5 DCs well, it's not a bad vape, but not great either. Pumping them to 4.5 volts and above is where I find them to really shine. On at 3.7 volt big battery mod I find Boge LRs perform better. Resurrectors are even better than Boges, but in a tank I find they flood too easily.
If 1.5 DCs at 3.7 volts work well for you, then rock on with it bro!
Thanks for your story DedTV, very insightful. I could see myself following a similar path. I like the simplicity of the Volt for sure. I also like to tinker. I'll probably end up with drip tips, cartos, atty's tanks, etc, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that I would want that simplicity again.
Worst comes to worst, I'll just unload everything on the classifieds!
Worst comes to worst, I'll just unload everything on the classifieds!
I'm sure there were benefits, I just didn't need or want them.
All I wanted was something to replace the cancer sticks. The mods only made vaping more complicated and expensive than it needed it to be.
I sincerely believe most people who only want to get off analogs should start with a mini and should only consider a mod if they can't kick the analogs with the mini via different nic concentrations or flavors of juice or, if they have a specific issue with the mini that keeps them from being able to quit and that a mod is specifically designed to address.
You may not be a hobbyist. But you probably aren't the typical vaper "out in the world" either. You're what I'd classify as the equivalent of a Foodie in the vaping world. You tend to look at going from smoking to vaping as akin to a change from eating McDonald's to eating at Jean Georges.
Most people however start out looking at vaping as a nicotine diet plan. Our goal isn't to find vaping nirvana. Our ultimate goal is to not smoke or vape and kick the nic addiction entirely. We don't want the best vaping experience possible. We only want one good enough to get us off cigs on the way to our ultimate goal.
For people like that, simplicity breeds success. The best vape is the one that gets you off analogs. Most vapers who simply want to get off analogs don't know or have any interest in what mAH, different voltages, drip tips, drip shields, cartomizers, clearomizers, atomizers, low resistance, warm vapor, throat hit or any of the rest of it means. They just want something that will satisfy their urge to smoke.
Based on what I see from the other newbies, most are like me and aren't looking to swap one addiction with another. But like me, they get caught up in the enthusiasm from the foodies and the hobbyists and quickly lose sight of that.
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