Hi, I am brand-new, too, and can totally relate. After going through a bit of hell myself finding a good e cig, I now have the problem that my 30 plus smoked-on taste buds are completely, 100% dead. Nothing can get through there, I mean not menthol, hot cinnamon candy, nothing. But I am sticking with it anyway. I can smell the vapor for the most part, and that helps. Also, now that I get my nicotine needs met, regular cigarettes taste like crap. I smoke less and less every day, although I still have cravings for a "real" cig. I think that it's not just the nicotine we miss, but also that the actual mechanics of inhaling are different and it's hard to get used to it. But, YOU DO!
Because I am sucking on this e cig almost constantly, I needed a good battery that's big enough to not have to be charged constantly. I ended up (after trial and much error) with an EGO T with a 1000mAh battery. I bought the renamed model from the TOTALLY WICKED website. They call the ego the Tornado Tank and you buy a beginners kit. You get a 20% discount with the code NY2011. Vapor King has a good price on the ego t and they have a discount too, I think it's ECF69, but don't quote me. You buy the beginners kit (referring to Totally Wicked here) which comes with two "cigarettes" which I will call vaporizers from now on (Personal Vaporizer=PV). You also get 5 pre-filled cartridges with different strengths tobacco juice, a USB charger and a wall charger that the USB charger can be plugged into, or you just use the computer. A little bag and instruction pamphlet is also included. The box it comes in has a magnetized lid, is sturdy, and useful to me for storing bottles of liquid, my syringe, extra cartridges, etc. I think all vaping on-line stores have a similar arrangement with their kits. I think with the discount the tornado is $59 to $69. That is a really good price, but you should do research. There is NO WAY you should spend a lot more than that, it's just not necessary right now. I am considering one of the advanced ones that are named "mods" for the future, which ARE more expensive, but those are meant for more experienced vapers than I am. The Tornado Tank I have is more than enough for now, I really like it.
What I like it so much is that you don't mess with tricky ways to get liquid into the cartridge. You just open your "tank" cartridge, pour in quite a bit of juice, cap it, stick it in the atomizer, screw it all onto the battery, and start vaping. The batteries include in the kit are only 650 mAh so have to charge more often than the 1000, but they are still very, very long-lasting. The colors it comes in are black, red, and pink. The kits are only in blac, but I bought an extra battery and atomizer in red. I also ordered a carrying case, a box of 5 extra black tank cartridges (come in clear, too), and a couple of liquids, or "juices". Although there are some little tricks in terms of cleaning your atomizers, and making sure the atomizer wick stays wet, compared to what I went through before, it's a complete pleasure. I am already down from 2 plus packs a day to 1/2 pack. I can't believe it. I tried EVERYTHING to stop, patches, gum, nasal spray, inhaling little cartridges of nicotine, all the NRTs. I took Chantix, Wellbutrin. I was ready for the hypnotist and then I found out about PVs.
I go around with it, to any store, restaurant, wherever, and I have never had a problem once I explain it. I think we should have pamphlets to hand out! lol
The tobacco taste you are looking for I don't know about. I am really more interested in fruits and anything that DOESN'T taste like smoking, but that's what I wanted in the very beginning, but since reading here, I took a chance on other tastes. I do order the highest nicotine level that's available wherever I'm ordering, but taste-wise it doesn't really matter yet to me- can't taste yet! I have been assured it will come back. BTW, I think both Totally Wicked and Vapor King's juices are too expensive. I am trying Tasty Vape, Kick Bass Vapor, Backwoods Brew (sp) next. They all have great reputations. There are lots of threads about liquids, I would read very carefully and not worry about DIY yet. Just find flavors you like so you'll get hooked on them and not cigarettes anymore. lol
Anyway, keep looking around here and posting, there's an Ask the Veterans thread you might try, too, but they are really good at checking the newbies out and answering our questions. If you like we could pm each other and compare notes. You'll find us for the most part really helpful.
Good Luck. TG
I was doing two puffs 4 times a day. But for the easiest hassle free e smoke, vie heard praises of the ego-t (it has a see through tank, instead of the cotton like material).
