Hi! Really need help, PLEASE?! ;)

[OG09]

Hi!

So, brand new here & really desperately in need of some help!!! PLEASE!!! I’ve been trying to switch from juul, to another, better option, I think called a pod system…??? Sorry! Still learning all this new terminology! ;P

So, I think I'm probably going to go with the smok Nord (or smok Nord 2?) at this point, which has taken me like forever to even decide on that! But, now it seems I need to have all these other details to decide on ALLLLL this other stuff!!! And I’m just sooo utterly confused!!! I’m so lost & really need some guidance!

Can anybody please help???

Eternally grateful & THANK YOU!!!

N.

 

[OG09]

*Further details below (if needed, or can help, to answer original question). Thank you!!!

I was smoking cigarettes for approx. 25 years, but was never actually a really heavy smoker. I typically ranged between 0-2 cigarettes a day, unless I was out partying, or extremely stressed out, but never really more than a pack a week, if even that… However, I was never really able to quit, even though I wanted to. I had also tried the patch and gums before, but even at the lowest strength, those ended up making me feel extremely sick, supposedly because it was a too high nicotine content for me all at once...(?).

Then, a few years back (when vaping was still brand new), my friend got really into vaping and I was sooo interested!!! Especially because I had always been one those smokers that actually extremely detested, not only the smell (& taste) of smoking cigarettes, but the messiness of it all, as well as hating to have to walk thru random parking lots & hide in between cars in order to have a smoke without anybody seeing me, and just overall pretty much everything else about smoking... except for the overwhelming need that I would get when really yearning for a cigarette.

But, as alluring as the whole idea of vaping was, because it eliminated a lot of these other negative factors I had hated so much about smoking, it just always seemed SOOO complicated!!! My friend spent so much time having to run around town to 3 or 4+ different shops in order to just get a flavor he wanted, then the whole taking apart & putting back together the device, cleaning it, dealing with messy liquids, and doing all this stuff with cotton & wiring, etc., and all the other stuff involved… I just could not deal with all that.

So, when the e-cig disposable things came along (like “blu”, etc.), I tried almost all of them, but they were all horrible because they would either barely work, or run out of battery almost immed., tasted awful, or have a myriad of other problems, on top of the fact that they would never give me any kind of real satisfaction...

Then about a year & a half ago, I got turned onto JUUL. At first I thought it was great, and on the PRO side of things, it did pretty much get me off cigarettes almost completely. However, there were a ton of things I didn’t like about it as well… First off, I can EASILY go through at least 1, or even 2 JUUL pods (at 5.0% nic. strength, which is “supposedly” equivalent to a pack of cigarettes each!?), in 1 DAY when I am studying or working! Coming from 25 years of barely smoking a ½-1 pack a week, that’s extremely disconcerting!!! Also, there were always major leakage problems on their pods, which was totally gross & messy, not only in my mouth & on my lips, but in my pockets & purses as well. Not to mention the waste of money that incurred from all those leaky pods, which were sometimes even leaking and cracking prior to even opening their blister pack. Anyways, these were just a few things, and I could write a whole full article series on their other problematic issues, but again, their 1 big win was pretty much just at least helping to convert me off of actual cigarettes.

However, I have now gone through the huge supply of JUUL pods I had previously purchased, and definitely want to make the switch to something else… I have been doing a TON of research on the matter for several months, but it has been extremely difficult because there are not only a million different opinions on each & every aspect of everything (from all of the hundreds of different devices, to wattages, to ohm’s, to coils, to juice & flavors, to PG/VG %, freebase vs. nic salts, to nicotine percentages/mg, etc…!!!), but even trying to just get some real, true, concrete info. on basic specifications & facts, seems to be almost impossible... IT IS JUST TOO CRAZY!!!

So, again, if any of you here that have more experience & familiarity with all this stuff, can possibly PLEASE help me, I would be sooo beyond grateful!!!

Oh, and also, just to clarify things to make it easier:
Re. Flavors = I am not looking for all those crazy flavors, or any of that… All I want is the MOST INTENSE, MINTY, MENTHOL, ICY, etc. liquid/e-juice possible (I think nic-SALTS liquid???)… No other flavors of tobacco or fruity stuff, etc., just straight MINTY/MENTHOL in the strongest, purest, coolest, most extreme form possible!!! ;P

THANK YOU ALL AGAIN!!!
xoxo!

 

[OG09]

Oh, also, if it helps at all...I used to always pretty much smoke:

• Camel Crush Menthol (green or black/green box)
• Marlboro Menthol Smooth (silver box w/ blue on top)
• Newport
• Parliament Menthol

And even though I was NEVER a heavy smoker in terms of like # of cigarettes, etc., I could never, ever (even in the beginning!) stand trying to smoke those like ultra-slims, or Virginia Slims, type cigarettes!!! They made me feel like I was going to pop a brain vessel every time I actually tried to take a hit (because you would suck on it until you basically maxed out your full lung capacity, and still never feel like you actually took a real hit...)! Kind of like when you try to smoke a real cigarette, but there are holes in the paper that you didn't know about, so you keep trying to like draw it in, but it doesn’t really work…??? Sorry! I know that doesn’t sound very exact or scientific, but hope it at least makes sense to all the previous smokers out there! ;P

Also, just to note, although I definitely haven’t had a TON of other vape experiences, I do seem to find it much more satisfying when there is more vapor/smoke on the exhale... I know I am still way too new to all of this to accurately attribute the main underlying cause of this, whether it be to the different systems, nic. %/strengths, diff. PG/VG levels, etc., or whatever else, or maybe it's just due to my physical response to that feeling of exhalation, or my mind’s response to the visual sight of the smoke (but, I kind of feel like this is probably a little less likely, due to experiments in a dark room, and with eyes shut, blindfolded, etc...but who knows?), and I am still also confused about the whole MTL vs DTL thing… So yeah, again...still don’t know what I am doing…!!! Please help?!?!?!

Thank you!!!

 

[stols001]

I wish I could help. To be honest I am not too into the whole pod thing. I will agree, there are things which make vaping a little top heavy especially if you want to move from cigalikes, but I would maybe ask (or just look) at the pod system forum

Here: Vape Pod Systems

I don't know if the Smok nord will cure your leaking deal (although it may not be you ever have, there are tons of Juul users who don't have issues) and it sounds to me like the right juice is going to be almost as important if you have some taste or whatever you "must have."

The bottom line is though I would expect it to take you some time to find the best pod and the best juice for you, and IDK quite what to tell you other than

Welcome and good luck
Anna

 

[somdcomputerguy]

Welcome to ECF, OG09.

 

[Hawise]

Hello, and welcome to ECF. I don't know too much about pods, but I do know a few things that might be helpful to you:

• You might want to reconsider the SMOK Nord. It is fairly popular, but SMOK is best known around here for their lousy quality control. Other brands can be much more reliable.
• Vaping is as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. You mentioned cotton wick and wire, for instance. They only come into the picture if you happen to use rebuildables. I do, so I wrap wire around a jig, screw it into my tank and carefully wick the coil I just built, and then clean the lot and rewick every few days - but that doesn't mean you have to. Many vapers stick with tanks that use 'drop-in coils', meaning they buy a package of replacement coils and, once every week or two, pop one out of the package and screw it into their tank.
• There are basically three styles of vaping right now: pods, MTL and DL. Pods provide the least vapour, so you might prefer a different option. I'll give you a short overview:

Pods:

• Low-powered, minimal vapour per puff, generally compensate for that with very high nicotine concentration
• Usually a small device (with a small battery)
• Often a tighter draw

MTL

• Middle-of-the-road option
• More power (and more vapour) than pods, usually used with a medium nicotine concentration
• Also tend to have a tighter draw, but it varies a lot (most tanks are adjustable, and some have a range that's looser than others)
• Vaping style is usually like cigarettes - take vapour into your mouth, hold it there a moment, then inhale

DL

• High power, lots of vapour, usually used with lower concentration juices
• Looser (but also variable) draw
• Users usually inhale directly into their lungs

If you want to consider a non-pod-mod, here's what that involves (I'm assuming from your posts that you're not interested in rebuildables, so I'll stick with a description of drop-in coils):

• You'll need a tank and a mod (which can be purchased together as a kit) and possibly some batteries and a charger.
• Mods can either have an internal battery or a replaceable battery. With an internal battery, you charge via USB (and you may need a second mod to use while one is charging). With replaceables, it's best to swap out the batteries when they run out and charge them in an external charger.
• Tank: Maintenance is pretty simple. You generally twist or unscrew the top when you run low on juice and fill it up. When the coil stops working well, usually every week or two, you take the tank off the mod, unscrew the bottom and pop in a new coil (which includes the wick). Some people rinse out a tank when they change juice flavours, others don't. (For me, it depends on how compatible the flavours are.)
• Tanks are generally designed for either MTL or DL. A few do both, but usually not well. Most tanks come with a variety of compatible coils. Try them out, see which you like best, and buy that type of replacement coils.
• A mod can be used with almost any tank. The exception is that some lower-powered mods aren't suitable for use with the higher-powered end of DL vaping.

 

[BrotherBob]

Can anybody please help???

Welcome and glad you joined.
Pods can get pricey but worth the cost to wean you off smokes.
The information below may help you to obtain a good foundation of vaping knowledge.
Learn About Vaping Here - Everything Ecigs - From Beginner To Advanced
Learn What Vaping is and How to Inhale Properly (Vaping 101)
2015: The Art of the Drip - A Dripping Primer | Spinfuel VAPE
ECigarette Academy: Essential Need to Know for New Vapers
Beginner Archives - Guide To Vaping
Vaping 101: An Ultimate Guide Focusing on Basics for Beginners
6 Quick & Useful Vaping Tips for Beginners
Reference-Guides Archives - The Vapers Table
(10) Advancing Up the Vaping Ladder with Egos and Mods | E-Cigarette Forum
(1) Proper Terminology - Is it a carto, a tank, or what? A Guide to Juice Attachments. | E-Cigarette Forum

 

[RuiG]

Welcome to ECF

There's always people a lot of so much useful information.

Hope you clear your doubts and make this vape journey a good one.

Stay safe.

 

[MJCSD]

Hello and welcome to ecf

 

[Coyote628]

I wish I could help. To be honest I am not too into the whole pod thing. I will agree, there are things which make vaping a little top heavy especially if you want to move from cigalikes, but I would maybe ask (or just look) at the pod system forum

Here: Vape Pod Systems

I don't know if the Smok nord will cure your leaking deal (although it may not be you ever have, there are tons of Juul users who don't have issues) and it sounds to me like the right juice is going to be almost as important if you have some taste or whatever you "must have."

The bottom line is though I would expect it to take you some time to find the best pod and the best juice for you, and IDK quite what to tell you other than

Welcome and good luck
Anna

Smok nords can leak like a funnel. Actually the novo leaks too. My last novo2 didn't last 2 months, leaked down into the circuitry a fried itself.

 

[OG09]

Smok nords can leak like a funnel. Actually the novo leaks too. My last novo2 didn't last 2 months, leaked down into the circuitry a fried itself.

Oh, Wow! Seriously?! What a bummer!!! I had actually been referred to the Novo beforehand, but then saw a bunch of negative things about it, so then started looking into the Nord & -2, which I thought could be a better option...

I will def. reach out to the other forums, but any other recommendations over here???

 

[sonicbomb]

reach out to the other forums

Do you really want to do that?

 

[vaper1960]

It's kinda ironic how many new members lately saying "I only smoke 3-4 cigs a day and tried a Juul..." Those are really strong nicotine (but deceptively seem like it's not that much) I smoked a pack a day and only needed 18 mg to quit (some Juul are 50 mg... 5%) There are many better options (and less expensive) Hope you find something that works (lots of people here to help you with that)

 

[stols001]

IDK I probably would agree. I smoked 3 ppd and only used 18/19 mg. To be fair, I vaped a LOT.

Anna

 

[Skunk!]

Jewel Mint or Naked 100 Arctic Air are my favorite salt menthol flavors. I can't help much with pod systems but zi liked the Cobble that I had. It's refillable and draw activated with no buttons or adjustments
Aspire Cobble AIO Vape Pod Starter Kit
Jewel Mint
Mint by Naked 100 Salt 30ml - (Arctic Air)

 

[PeterKay]

Hello, and welcome to ECF. I don't know too much about pods, but I do know a few things that might be helpful to you:

• You might want to reconsider the SMOK Nord. It is fairly popular, but SMOK is best known around here for their lousy quality control. Other brands can be much more reliable.

Having bought a smok nord for my girlfriend, I have to agree. The pod itself isn't too bad, small and compact, coils ranging from 0.6-1.4 so you can do both direct lung and loose mtl. Flavor is pretty good, easy to fill IMO. Battery life isn't too bad either with 1100mah. Coils can be replaced as it's not integrated. It's also cheap because it's not a new pod. Coils are pretty cheap and readily available. And it would be hard to break it of dropped for example. So has a few pros.

However, I have to agree with the quality control being bad. My girlfriend bought some 1.4ohm ceramic coils and the whole pack just sucks. They clog up easily and leak juice, 3rd coil in a week did the same thing and is pretty much unusable. I've read reviews where people complained on bad batches of coils for nord where the entire pack of 5 seemed to be faulty.
She also bought some spare pods which turned out to be bad as well- they fit extremely tight into the body and jam, it's really hard to take them out, compared to the pod that came in the kit. The black mouthpiece cap in one actually came off when i tried to force the pod out... And the coils seem to slide in a lot looser than into the pod that came in the kit, so theres additional leaking through the o rings at the bottom.
She also bought 0.8 ohm mtl coils, but haven't tried them yet. Hopefully a better batch...

Another flaw: if you push the pod all the way into the device, it will leak due to condensation from underneath the black mouthpiece cap. you need to leave a small gap to allow for the air to circulate, which is a bit tricky- it's easy to push to in too much due to resistance with which it slides in. But then also the airflow seems to increase slightly, so mtl on it becomes even more loose...
But the 0.6 mesh coil that she got in the kit worked perfectly well in the tank from the kit. Nice flavor, good vapor for a small device. 70/30 Vg/Pg- no problem. So if you're lucky and get a good coil and good pod tank, it works great... wouldn't recommend though, it can be a lot of messing about when things go wrong, I'm sure there are better devices out there.

 

[jwbnyc]

welcome to ECF.

 

[PeterKay]

I found these suggestions helpful:
https://real-tobacco-extract.com/recommended-equipment-for-beginnershelpful
Most vaping devices are coming out of China so getting coils can be difficult in the short term as inventories are low here in the USA.. If you decide to purchase an atomizer make sure you can get a supply of coils to go with it.

It's a pretty good article, the only problem I can see is that it's from the beginning of 2018, and the devices recommended are from 2016 and 2017, even 2015. Like you said, in US inventories are short, and having an older device certainly won't help

 

[PeterKay]

Oh, also, if it helps at all...I used to always pretty much smoke:

• Camel Crush Menthol (green or black/green box)
• Marlboro Menthol Smooth (silver box w/ blue on top)
• Newport
• Parliament Menthol

And even though I was NEVER a heavy smoker in terms of like # of cigarettes, etc., I could never, ever (even in the beginning!) stand trying to smoke those like ultra-slims, or Virginia Slims, type cigarettes!!! They made me feel like I was going to pop a brain vessel every time I actually tried to take a hit (because you would suck on it until you basically maxed out your full lung capacity, and still never feel like you actually took a real hit...)! Kind of like when you try to smoke a real cigarette, but there are holes in the paper that you didn't know about, so you keep trying to like draw it in, but it doesn’t really work…??? Sorry! I know that doesn’t sound very exact or scientific, but hope it at least makes sense to all the previous smokers out there! ;P

Also, just to note, although I definitely haven’t had a TON of other vape experiences, I do seem to find it much more satisfying when there is more vapor/smoke on the exhale... I know I am still way too new to all of this to accurately attribute the main underlying cause of this, whether it be to the different systems, nic. %/strengths, diff. PG/VG levels, etc., or whatever else, or maybe it's just due to my physical response to that feeling of exhalation, or my mind’s response to the visual sight of the smoke (but, I kind of feel like this is probably a little less likely, due to experiments in a dark room, and with eyes shut, blindfolded, etc...but who knows?), and I am still also confused about the whole MTL vs DTL thing… So yeah, again...still don’t know what I am doing…!!! Please help?!?!?!

Thank you!!!

Hi again. I'm not a very experienced vaper myself- been vaping for nearly 3 years now, however I only got properly into it about 3-4 weeks ago (started researching, learning, gave up smoking completely, bought a new mod and 2 tanks).
I thought things through- you haven't really received a straightforward advice so far. It's not easy to give one, there is a very broad spectrum of possibilities and with time you need to find your own style. However, it seems like you need a quick solution, so I'll try.
I wouldn't get anything too complicated for a start. However, I wouldn't buy anything too basic either. If you've been vaping juuls and small pods so far you're most likely going to enjoy a good MTL setup (Mouth to lung- first you take a drag into your mouth and then inhale into your ungs, sort of like with a cigarette). I hope you saw what I wrote abot smok nord- it's a no no.
I would get something relatively new and from a popular and reliable company (so you can easily buy coils and replacement accessories), with adjustable wattage for more options. Internal battery for easier maintenance and safety- no need for an external charger. Not a pod- a mod with adjustable wattage, good battery and a decent tank, for more options- you can for example buy a new tank later on and use it with your mod, swap the two around etc.
Something like this:
Coolfire Z50 – A Better Vape Experience



Doesn't have to be this particular one, however I've heard good things about the Zlide tank and coils for it, with few folks recommending it here as well. 4ml tank is a nice size, there is a nice selection of coils available for it, and you should be able to get them easily.

I bought an MTL device from Innokin in 2017- model Endura T22e. Outdated now, but coils and replacement accessories are still available everywhere, it works just fine 3 years after I bought it. Battery holds a decent charge (all you need to do is not to overcharge to keep the mod going, for example not to charge it overnight! or use a wrong, too powerful charger. My girlfriend's similar pen-style device, endura t18e, has a messed up battery because she would charge it overnight and hooked it up to her phone charger a few times that was twice stronger than recommended for that device lol). I still use it, and it's going to be my backup device even if I get a better MTL mod in the future. Would I buy an e cigarette from Innokin again? definitely yes

Once you have your first one working, you will have plenty of time to learn more, decide what and how you want to upgrade, and which options to explore. Hope that helped a bit more, good luck!

 

[Faivocals]

smok NOrd..