So you're completely ignoring one of Blu's largest selling points (or the M402, for that matter).
It's kind of like berating someone who was on a waiting list for a Wii when Xbox 360's were readily available.
"Oh, you want to play motion-based games? Well, I guess if that's your kind of thing. But it'll never play Madden like my Xbox 360 does."
That's great. Does it look and feel like a regular cigarette, and can it be carried around like a pack of cigarettes?
If you can't answer "yes", you're comparing apples to hammers for a lot of people.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to flame bait here. I'm 32 years old, married, with a kid, and I've been smoking since I was 15. Looking cool is pretty low on my list of priorities. But I'm not about to go around with some Bic pen in my mouth with a 50's looking case in one hand and a dropper bottle in my other hand.
Personally, I don't want something that screams "look at me!". I'm not interested in being a local PV ambassador. And really, that's the only reason I haven't gone with the M402. I can't find one in stock that isn't black with a strange gold dragon design on it.
To me, though, these deficiencies aren't relevant.
I don't care how long the battery lasts, if I have two of them and a PCC. The reports on throat hit are quite varied. And when I'm paying $7.25/day for a pack of cigarettes, the cost of replacing batteries is negligible. I'm also not interested on inhaling anything for 5 seconds straight. If that's a requirement for mimicking a real cigarette, then the experience isn't similar enough for me.
I think there are components that a lot of PV users are really missing when they're talking to "real" cigarette smokers, and by and large, it's where Blu is hitting the mark reasonably well.
To switch from cigarettes, many regular smokers are going to want a product that:
1) Can be carried around like a pack of cigarettes.
2) Provides the same (or very similar) "buzz" from smoking a cigarette.
3) Looks and feels the same as a cigarette.
4) Has the same level of convenience as a cigarette.
The only not-Blu products I've seen that come close are the M501 with a PCC (which is perfect for 100 / 110 smokers, but strange for King smokers) and the M402 (which has no PCC available, from what I've seen from all of the vendors here).
I think this really illustrates the point I'm trying to make.
Whichever model you have, we've established that it costs more, requires more maintenance (filling carts, as opposed to buying them pre-filled), and doesn't accurately replicate the full cigarette smoking experience.
Personally, I don't think my Blu is going to show up, and it's going to be something I'm using three months from now. Though, given their shipping "issues", I guess "I don't think my Blu is going to show up." is probably all I need to say.
But for what it costs, it's really the only viable way to check and see if using a PV is right for me. If I found a store that had the M402 for the same price, with a white battery, and a 30-day "no questions" return policy, I'd probably skip over the Blu and find some way to improvise on the PCC.
When my alternative is to invest about $65 shipped on an M402, $5 on some empty carts, and $15 on a single bottle of juice, I'm looking at an experiment that costs me return shipping with Blu, or $85 with anyone else.
I'm going in to this knowing that I will almost certainly replace the Blu with an M402, or send the Blu back and wait for the technology to improve. Again, my concern isn't with the overall cost. It's the "cost of entry" so to speak.
Seriously, though, if you (or anyone) knows of a place that has white M402's with a 30-day return policy, by all means, point me in their direction. I'm cool with blowing $20 on juice / carts and return shipping. I'm not going to lie... if the high nicotine Coke juice really tastes like Coke, I can see myself saying "screw it" and spending the entire day with one of those Bic pens
Sometimes, sure. But there are a lot more "moving parts" with PV's and who should be using which one.
As someone who smokes a pack of strong regular cigarettes a day, I'm not sure advice about "the best PV ever" from someone who used to smoke a few menthol lights is going to help much. Just as my eventual advice to someone who has never smoked and wants to vape non-nicotine Red Bull flavored juice isn't going to be useful.
