I spent too much on e-cigs and frustrated

[FireDragon1138]

It feels like I've spent a lot of money on e-cigs and I'm frustrated with the results. Maybe someone could offer some input into what I'm doing wrong. Here's the setup I have:

1) Mistic e-cig and cartridges. 2) smokeless image shorty batteries and cartomizers 3) unregulated 3.7v EGo's, CE4 clearomizers, 510 atomizers and cartridges 4) some small, cheap 510 cigalike batteries

Of all the stuff I'm vaping, the Mistic and the Smokeless Image deliver the best vaping. The Ego with a 3 ohm atomizer and cartidge is blah- cold vape weak flavor. The CE4 is a bit better but it's a waste of e-liquid as I tend to leak it and it's kind of gross compared to the cartridges. I'm surprised people recommend the Ego so much for beginners, it's really rather junky, at least the fixed voltage setup. The only thing I like about the EGo is that the cartridges are good for trying out small quantities of new flavors, and the vape is fairly clean tasting.

I'm wondering if I'm getting enough nicotine. Sometimes it is hard to tell. I've vaped 18mg cartridges in my Mistic and sometimes it leaves me feeling jittery and queasy. I smoke light cigarettes. Other times I think I'm OD'ing on nicotine, especially both smoking and vaping. I noticed today I had less desire to really puff hard on the cigs and I found them less pleasant overall. I just had a few e-cig puffs today, not a lot. I also felt strung out and jittery. I've had a few near panic attacks trying to force myself to vape nic-only e-juice.

I've been experimenting with WTA's but not dived in yet. Too worried by the cost and limited selection, to be honest. But it doesn't seem to produce anxiety like ordinary e-liquid can.

 

[Xaiver]

When I started vaping, Variable Voltage was a fairly new tech to the market. The devices that you could affordably get your hands on were cheap and sort of junky as far as VV was concerned. About 6 months in, the eGo Twist was released, the cost was a bit higher, but it was a way to try variable voltage without diving into something like a ProVari. I just bought my first ProVari a couple months ago and I can say that it's the best device I've owned. I also have an eGo Twist that I'm pretty happy with.

Kits are a fairly quick and easy way to test the waters and see if you like vaping. Once you're past that point and looking for something to satisfy your cravings, you're going to have to pick and choose through the market and buy everything ala carte. I had a mistic for when I first started, they carried them at one of the local gas stations. It was tolerable, helped a bit, but I went through the batteries and cartos way too fast.

The thing to remember is this: it's not a cigarette. It's designed to function like a cigarette, sort of, but it's not a cigarette. It's a different sort of beast, and your body will get used to it, but it takes some time. I stopped smoking and started vaping at the same time. The jitters and the irritability and all of the signs of withdrawal were there for a good month or two. YMMV. The general rule of thumb is that if you find yourself craving a cigarette, you probably need to vape some more. Drink lots of water...lots of water.

Here's my recommendation for 'starter' gear: Pick up 2 eGo Twists, and a few single coil cartomizers. I prefer SmokTech, but the Boge and Kanger ones are just as well.
With the twist, you can adjust the heat of the vape, make it stronger/weaker for your moods, or to fit your craving.
The cartos are pretty basic, and they're fairly reliable. They should last you about a week each, once you get used to them.

As for e-liquid... That's all pretty subjective. Flavors make a big difference too. Once you find a flavor you really like, it'll be a little easier. I smoked regular cigarettes, but I really like a minty flavor for my e-liquid. I found a spearmint type flavor that suited me and have been using it for a couple years now.

 

[Stosh]

Starting out seems always to be the biggest expense for most of us, but it will get better.... And you sound very committed to making vaping work for you....

The Mystic and Smokless Image (SI) gear you have is a 808D-1 thread, the SI uses a Kanger bottom coil cartomizer which is well reviewed and a workhorse carto, not a bad choice. I've never tried a Mystic, but the battery - carto threads should match up to the SI batteries and cartos if you want to switch up.

The CE-4 cartos on the other hand have generally poor reviews, (I bought 2 a long time age, and never again). The eGo itself is a nice sized battery, last longer than the smaller SI and Mystic, but the carto or atomizer makes all the difference. A 3 ohm atomizer is a rather high resistance for a fixed voltage eGo, and using it with cartridges is very old school, not often done anymore.

My recommendations for you would be to get an adapter for about $3 so you can use the Mystic and SI cartos on your eGo for longer battery life. 510 to 901/808-D Adapter The Kanger BCC (bottom coil cartos) were always a pretty good performer.

But also maybe try a Kanger EVOD bottom coil cartomizer, they are produced by the same company as the Smokless Image cartos but instead of filler inside it uses a small tank for the liquid. Being 510 threaded, they would fit the eGo without an adapter.

Regarding the 3 ohm atomizers, throw them in your stash box for when you might get a variable voltage battery, where a higher voltage would make them shine. You seem to enjoy the atomizers functionality, so if you purchased a 2.0 ohm - 2.2 ohm atty and just used it with a drip tip (no cartridges) to try liquids, you may find you just like dripping. (many of us still do...)

Your nicotine levels are tougher to figure, everyone has their own preferred and a lot depends on how well your equipment is delivering the vapor and nicotine, along with how much you smoke. The strung out and jittery feeling could be a bit of withdrawal from cigarettes, or too little nicotine, or too much nicotine. Usually headaches, nausea and hiccups are a sign of too much nicotine (it's always been hiccups for me), and a sign to put the cig or e-cig down for an hour or two. A small bottle of 12 mg and one of 24 mg strength would allow you to experiment a bit with how it's affecting you, use the lower to chain vape to give you the hand to mouth action of a cigarette. Or if you have strong cravings for a cig, try a dozen drags of the higher level liquid.

WTAs are a big help for some people, they provide additional compounds other than nicotine our bodies are craving. I never used them, but you may find occasional use (when you REALLY want a cig) may give you relief.

Most important, keep asking questions!! (I hope I answered some for you...)
The choices can be overwhelming starting out, now more than ever, new equipment is developed every day. But there's a lot of people here that have gone through what you are experiencing and are willing to help....

 

[H Niemand]

Figure how much you spent on analogs in year. That is a good start. Probably $5 to $7 a pack in Florida. At a pack a day, that's $25 to $35 per week or $1300 to $1820 per year. About the same where i live.
After all of my start up costs of about $300, I now spend about $25 per month on juice, coils, etc. Let the math do it for you.