Hi, can i introduce myself?

[Texugou]

---

Hallo

I registered today, but I've been reading for some months. I started vaping in December after smoking hookah daily for over 15 years. I'm almost 30 now, and never really felt problems until a tough time in my life led me to smoke hookah for about 5 hours a day. I was inhaling a lot of carbon monoxide and all the known tobacco toxins. I started getting a lot of phlegm in my throat, which made breathing difficult, and my stomach was terrible with ulcers from smoking on an empty stomach and prolonged acidity.

A few years ago, I bought some pods like the Koko Prime but couldn't make the switch. Then I got a Geekvape Aegis (the first model with only pre-built coils). It was better, but still pretty lame and didn't satisfy my craving, which was more about the act of smoking itself than nicotine. As I said, I was in a bad place, and the conscious inhaling and exhaling, standing still with something in my hands, made me calm. Those devices just felt like trash.

This year, I met a guy with a Voopoo Drag 4 and got curious again. I tried his vape and felt it had potential to help me switch from hookah. I wasn't sure if it was healthier, so I started researching, looking at real studies instead of clickbait. I decided it was a better option for me. Since selling any e-cig, nicotine, or even nicotine-free juice is illegal where I live, he got me a Voopoo Drag 5 with a PnP X from his country (I live in a border city). It was awesome!

From there, I got a Zeus Mesh, a Blotto Max, and an Elder Dragon RDA. I had some really hard dry hits with the Zeus that almost made me hallucinate, haha, it was terrible! But after I learned wicking, I can't use anything besides SS316 mesh. It's my favorite; when I try any other coil, I just think, "meh, why am I not vaping with mesh?"

I started making my own DIY juices after just one month of vaping. I have 104 flavors right now because I wanted to get references about tastes (all 10ml bottles). In my country, I can only find Capella, TPA, or some limited Flavorah, Inawera, SSA, or WF. Not all of them, but enough to be happy. I tried importing some from Nom Nomz UK, and my package is currently being held in customs for authorization analysis. I really like milkshake and bubblegum juices. Oh, and I absolutely hate Johnny Cream Puff Banana. It was the first juice I bought myself because it sounded so good (US-made, and I love banana), but I still have 50% of it because it's horrible. Sometimes I just use it when my cotton is going dark just to try it again.

I still want to get a DNA 250C or a YiHi, but they are hard to get here. Only the G Class V2 or DNA 100C are available right now, and I'm not sure if it would be worth it for me since I only use mesh. TC wouldn't act the best, and I really can't understand the "replay function"—I don't grasp the concept of it just repeating the heating.

I'm worried because disposables are dominating everything, and I'm afraid I won't be able to find any good new mods here in a few months. But since I live on the border, I could order from the US or UK, send it to the other country, and bring it over on foot; for personal use, that should be okay.

Oh, and of course, now that I'm only vaping and not smoking hookah, my phlegm has started to improve. I had actually given up hope it would return to normal because it had already been six months, but now it's much milder, and I also have more energy—not just from having more oxygen, but genuinely more motivation to get things done. With hookah, I had to sit for an hour doing nothing until it finished; with vape, I can just take a puff now and another whenever I want. I really believe my health is still improving, even though I'm a heavy user, going through 20-40ml per day of either 3mg freebase or 6mg salt. But I know that with time, I can cut down. I'm just afraid of increasing the nicotine and only increasing the quantity instead of decreasing my puffs.

And my nickname just means badger in my language that i use since i was 12, mostly because i lack the creativity to think in a better one.
I'm from Brazil, that i get reluctant to say most of the times, because it doesnt get a good reputation

 

[somdcomputerguy]

Welcome to ECF, Texugou. I'm a DIYer also. For most of the close to 11 years of vaping and not smoking. I go through only a ml or less a day, but my juice is 25 mg/ml freebase, usually unflavored. Maybe the higher content level of nicotine has something to do with that..

 

[Texugou]

Welcome to ECF, Texugou. I'm a DIYer also. For most of the close to 11 years of vaping and not smoking. I go through only a ml or less a day, but my juice is 25 mg/ml freebase, usually unflavored. Maybe the higher content level of nicotine has something to do with that..

I guess I don't have a reason not to try making 10ml of something like 25mg. But I just changed to nicsalts this month, freebase was harsh to get to 6mg.

And I was afraid of increasing in salt, since I got one cush man salt 50mg for pod and it was written "don't use in mods, or you will get your face on the floor".

More specifically because I use mesh, that theoretically increase the amount absorbed by heating more juice.

Will try 10ml 12mg and 25mg

 

[Daniel Forsyth]

Welcome to ECF

 

[zoiDman]

Welcome to the ECF Texugou.

 

[bombastinator]

”…introduce myself”… I’ve heard that before… are you by any chance “a man of wealth and taste” and do you know anyone who writes songs for the rolling stones?

I worry about nic salts a bit. The vagueness about which salt exactly they are selling you creeps me out.

I went from smoker to ex-smoker in about three weeks. Its amazing how effective “ smoke even one puff and you’ll be flat on your back for two weeks from severe bronchitis” is.

I eventually had to remove nicotine because of blood pressure stuff. It wasn't difficult or unpleasant though it did take a long time. DIY has advantages. The most useful one was being able to make fractional mg juice. That whole “3mg is weak enough to quit from” is B.S. 0.25mg/ml, now THAT is weak enough to quit from.

 

[BrotherBob]

I'm from Brazil,

Welcome and glad you joined.

 

[yoshi.poshi]

I smoked cigarettes from the age of 15 until in my mid 20s on the way to a wedding my wife and I stopped at a vape shop and got our first ego pens - sorta spur of the moment.

But in my college years I used to finish up class for the day and head to a middle eastern restaurant / shisha bar. I would get a lamb shawarma (the guy at the counter knew how I liked it and he’d add feta cheese and some spicy sauce). I’d eat that with a carafe of Syrian tea and get a hookah for dessert. Whatever flavor I was feeling for the day. And I’d puff on that while I did my homework and studied until evening time when I would usually head to an open mic night or whatever else may have been going on that night.

What worked for me with the ego pen and what sticks today still (I’m 40 now) with RDAs and RDTAs is that vaping always felt more to me like hookah rather than cigarettes. Back then I used to say that if I could fit a hookah in my pocket I would never buy another pack of cigarettes again.

Turns out 20 year old me was right.

 

[ShowMeTwice]

Hello @Texugou and welcome to the forum.

I'm from Brazil, that i get reluctant to say most of the times, because it doesnt get a good reputation

While I've never been to your country, I have always viewed Brazil as a vibrant and culturally rich country.

 

[Letitia]

I guess I don't have a reason not to try making 10ml of something like 25mg. But I just changed to nicsalts this month, freebase was harsh to get to 6mg.

And I was afraid of increasing in salt, since I got one cush man salt 50mg for pod and it was written "don't use in mods, or you will get your face on the floor".

More specifically because I use mesh, that theoretically increase the amount absorbed by heating more juice.

Will try 10ml 12mg and 25mg

Welcome
If you are like me and more addicted to the hand to mouth habit higher nic doesn't really help much in my experience. For now just vape what level of nic works best for you. Freebase and salts are the same as far as strength. Salts are simply smoother.

 

[Texugou]

”…introduce myself”… I’ve heard that before… are you by any chance “a man of wealth and taste” and do you know anyone who writes songs for the rolling stones?

I worry about nic salts a bit. The vagueness about which salt exactly they are selling you creeps me out.

I went from smoker to ex-smoker in about three weeks. Its amazing how effective “ smoke even one puff and you’ll be flat on your back for two weeks from severe bronchitis” is.

I eventually had to remove nicotine because of blood pressure stuff. It wasn't difficult or unpleasant though it did take a long time. DIY has advantages. The most useful one was being able to make fractional mg juice. That whole “3mg is weak enough to quit from” is B.S. 0.25mg/ml, now THAT is weak enough to quit from.

Well, Im sure I ain't no senator's son but I have had some sympathy for the devil now and then

I got the nic from a third-party vendor; they claim it’s imported from PurNic or Chemnovatic. But since liquid nicotine is illegal here, it’s kind of a black-box situation.

That sounds really motivating. I have strong rhinitis, I can't smell any perfume or I start sneezing non stop. The flavor from eliquid doesn't do the same though, not sure why.

Sucks that you had to go through that with your lungs and BP, but it’s good to hear quitting wasn't unpleasant.

While I've never been to your country, I have always viewed Brazil as a vibrant and culturally rich country.

That's nice to hear — Brazil does have a lot of energy and culture, for sure.

I usually don’t mention it right away because, to be honest, there's this stereotype that Brazilians are loud, messy, or don’t know how to behave. Even if it’s not said out loud, you can kind of feel it in how people react. At least in my past experiences.

So it’s cool when someone actually sees more than just that

Welcome
If you are like me and more addicted to the hand to mouth habit higher nic doesn't really help much in my experience. For now just vape what level of nic works best for you. Freebase and salts are the same as far as strength. Salts are simply smoother.

3mg felt pretty close or even milder to what I was used to. I tried 4mg freebase, but it started to feel too harsh after a while — kind of metallic or just that throat burn.

Salts really seem to be smoother so far, but I still need to get used to them — the lack of throat hit makes it harder to tell when I’ve had enough

Thanks to everyone who replied — really appreciate the insights

 

[bombastinator]

re: unprotonated- Good nic has no color or odor, but any nic will develop it if its left in warmth or light. “Salts” are more stable and do not need to be frozen if stored for long periods. The black box with salts is what the acid is and thats one everyone gets. I don't go near salts because i don't have to.

 

[bombastinator]

---

Hallo

I registered today, but I've been reading for some months. I started vaping in December after smoking hookah daily for over 15 years. I'm almost 30 now, and never really felt problems until a tough time in my life led me to smoke hookah for about 5 hours a day. I was inhaling a lot of carbon monoxide and all the known tobacco toxins. I started getting a lot of phlegm in my throat, which made breathing difficult, and my stomach was terrible with ulcers from smoking on an empty stomach and prolonged acidity.

A few years ago, I bought some pods like the Koko Prime but couldn't make the switch. Then I got a Geekvape Aegis (the first model with only pre-built coils). It was better, but still pretty lame and didn't satisfy my craving, which was more about the act of smoking itself than nicotine. As I said, I was in a bad place, and the conscious inhaling and exhaling, standing still with something in my hands, made me calm. Those devices just felt like trash.

This year, I met a guy with a Voopoo Drag 4 and got curious again. I tried his vape and felt it had potential to help me switch from hookah. I wasn't sure if it was healthier, so I started researching, looking at real studies instead of clickbait. I decided it was a better option for me. Since selling any e-cig, nicotine, or even nicotine-free juice is illegal where I live, he got me a Voopoo Drag 5 with a PnP X from his country (I live in a border city). It was awesome!

From there, I got a Zeus Mesh, a Blotto Max, and an Elder Dragon RDA. I had some really hard dry hits with the Zeus that almost made me hallucinate, haha, it was terrible! But after I learned wicking, I can't use anything besides SS316 mesh. It's my favorite; when I try any other coil, I just think, "meh, why am I not vaping with mesh?"

I started making my own DIY juices after just one month of vaping. I have 104 flavors right now because I wanted to get references about tastes (all 10ml bottles). In my country, I can only find Capella, TPA, or some limited Flavorah, Inawera, SSA, or WF. Not all of them, but enough to be happy. I tried importing some from Nom Nomz UK, and my package is currently being held in customs for authorization analysis. I really like milkshake and bubblegum juices. Oh, and I absolutely hate Johnny Cream Puff Banana. It was the first juice I bought myself because it sounded so good (US-made, and I love banana), but I still have 50% of it because it's horrible. Sometimes I just use it when my cotton is going dark just to try it again.

I still want to get a DNA 250C or a YiHi, but they are hard to get here. Only the G Class V2 or DNA 100C are available right now, and I'm not sure if it would be worth it for me since I only use mesh. TC wouldn't act the best, and I really can't understand the "replay function"—I don't grasp the concept of it just repeating the heating.

I'm worried because disposables are dominating everything, and I'm afraid I won't be able to find any good new mods here in a few months. But since I live on the border, I could order from the US or UK, send it to the other country, and bring it over on foot; for personal use, that should be okay.

Oh, and of course, now that I'm only vaping and not smoking hookah, my phlegm has started to improve. I had actually given up hope it would return to normal because it had already been six months, but now it's much milder, and I also have more energy—not just from having more oxygen, but genuinely more motivation to get things done. With hookah, I had to sit for an hour doing nothing until it finished; with vape, I can just take a puff now and another whenever I want. I really believe my health is still improving, even though I'm a heavy user, going through 20-40ml per day of either 3mg freebase or 6mg salt. But I know that with time, I can cut down. I'm just afraid of increasing the nicotine and only increasing the quantity instead of decreasing my puffs.

And my nickname just means badger in my language that i use since i was 12, mostly because i lack the creativity to think in a better one.
I'm from Brazil, that i get reluctant to say most of the times, because it doesnt get a good reputation

You can build a hose based vape hookah. There used to be several for sale.

“Replay” is a DNA mod only thing. Im not super fond of it.

Mesh atties work best if theres some sort of spring hldin the wick against the mesh. Using the springiness of the cotton, which many do, isnt reliable and they consquently suck.

DIY juice may serve you well as you have total control over nic content then

 

[Letitia]

re: unprotonated- Good nic has no color or odor, but any nic will develop it if its left in warmth or light. “Salts” are more stable and do not need to be frozen if stored for long periods. The black box with salts is what the acid is and thats one everyone gets. I don't go near salts because i don't have to.

Salt nic if exposed to light will eventually turn orange but they don't get bitter/harsh like freebase will.

 

[yoshi.poshi]

… and TBH I’ve never heard negative stereotypes of Brazilian people in particular. For context I’m in the US and I’m half El Salvadoran and half ethnically Jewish so I’ve heard plenty of brown and Semitic slurs all my life. But nothing in particular of Brazilian people other than being brown.

But I do love me some rodizio. In fact I’ve got a picanha in the freezer I think I may defrost this week. Make me some chimichurri go with it. Always a good time.

 

[zoiDman]

Geeze.

Is Mercury in Retrograde or Something?

 

[bombastinator]

… and TBH I’ve never heard negative stereotypes of Brazilian people in particular. For context I’m in the US and I’m half El Salvadoran and half ethnically Jewish so I’ve heard plenty of brown and Semitic slurs all my life. But nothing in particular of Brazilian people other than being brown.

But I do love me some rodizio. In fact I’ve got a picanha in the freezer I think I may defrost this week. Make me some chimichurri go with it. Always a good time.

The american stereotype, which isn't even all that wide spread, of south America in general only really applies to men and its macho. Possibly toxically macho

 

[yoshi.poshi]

The american stereotype, which isn't even all that wide spread, of south America in general only really applies to men and its macho. Possibly toxically macho

Guess I just haven’t had that exposure. But then again…

There was the overly sexualized depiction of Brazilians in the US version of Shameless. But at the time I didn’t think it was perpetuating a stereotype somuchas creating a cartoonish character. But I suppose that’s how a lot of stereotypes evolve and find mind share.

But you know what else is really really good? Caipirinha!

There was a gallery opening I went to once and the artist was Brazilian. And his mother made the cocktails and she just talked my ear off about the process of making it from scratch and the sugar cane and… this was almost 20 years ago, but I remember she was the sweetest lady.

I had no intention of buying anything mind you nor did I look like the kind of person that would be buying any art - slacker looking college student. But such a sweet lady. I remember her. And the Caipirinha.

 

[yoshi.poshi]

Come to think of it… caipirinha would make a fantastic ejuice!

 

[Letitia]

Come to think of it… caipirinha would make a fantastic ejuice!

Had to look that one up, right up my alley!