I bought my mini for $159. I just checked Provape's site, they are still selling them at the same price for the satin silver mini...
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Very true.... And for that $160 I can't vape a thing. Because I need batteries, a charger, a delivery system...etc...etc..It add's up. The minimum I charted a ProVari with appropriate charger, batteries and such was the 219.00 they charge for the starter kit. And for that I get one PV and one ProTank 2.
For $45.00 and some juice I can start vaping my MVP'2 out of the box. I could buy 5 MVP 2's with 5 I-Clear 30's for $225.00. I could use each MVP 2 for two days but it on a charger and rest it for 8 and charge each unit once every 10 days. I would only be using each one for 1 day out of 5, so my wear and tear on the units goes down as well.
Even if I calculated my charge cycles
33% lower than what is rated for the LiPo battery installed, (200 charges) that still equates to 2000 days or nearly 5 and 1/2 years. And that's based on a full level of discharge. Of course the installed LiPo will lose about 10% capacity per year like any LiIon, so by the end of my 5 years, my MVP's would only hold about 1300 mAh, or the same equivalent charge as a brand new high capacity 18350's. So in 5 years I go from the equivalent of 18650's to 18350's and with the MVP's USB pass through I can vape while charging so 1300 mAh on an MVP isn't the same as swapping out batteries.
I've never argued the build quality of the ProVari. In my opinion it is second to none. But after the warranty period, a single repair for a ProVari is 75% the cost of a new MVP. It's not the build quality I have an issue with, it's the fact that a ProVari requires a nearly 5 year return of investment when compared to my MVP's.
That's a pretty long time. Now, when you look back when ProVape started, someone who purchased a ProVape product in 2010, they have gotten their return of investment rather quickly. I used to wash an 8080KRD regularly when I started vaping in 2010. (I relapsed and went back to cigs for several years). At $20 a battery, I went through $100 in batteries alone pretty quickly. A ProVape 1 or ProVari would have been a no brainer back in 2010. I could have made back my investment in less than a year AND have unbelivable vape quality at the same time.
2014 is completely different. The ProVari hasn't changed. It's still great. But everyone else has stepped up their game. Who would have "thunk it" that in 2013, I could get a 2600 mAh VV/VW all in one package like the MVP2 for less than $45.00? Add to that, the fact that the vape quality of a mod like an MVP is so close to that of a ProVari, that many ProVari users use MVP's as their backups or out and about vapes means the vape quality gap has narrowed significantly in 4 years. The ProVari quality is still there, but the quality of it's competitors has lengthened my ROI from 1 year to 5 years. And thats a simple truth.
