I highly recommend Vapor4Life, ive been very happy with their products, I'm sure it will get you off analogs, worked for me!
Wow that looks like an awesome daily setup! I want to get me a twist to add to my collection soooo bad hahaYes. And I don't even like the Provari for myself. But it depends a lot on the person involved. The nova is a decent choice as long as s/he gets enough information.
The Ego-C Twist is just branded Ego-C. It's an Ego. It's a Twist. It has nothing to do with their "Ego-C System". I'm using a Vivi Nova (a full size and a mini) on 2 Ego Twists right now, and I have been for a while. They work flawlessly as long as you're aware of a couple small things.
1 - The vivi nova heads (the part with the atomizer coil that actually heats the liquid) take a little time to break in. There are ways to shortcut it (boiling the heads for a few minutes in water), but those shortcuts are not the kinds of things that a beginner or "n00b" would be expected to know or do flawlessly. I didn't screw up the first time I did it, but that might have been luck. Plus, I'm a nerd and watched youtube videos and read forum posts about it.
If you don't do that, they'll take a day or two to break in. On a twist, you'll be playing with the voltage knob after just about every drag to ride that fine line between "no flavor" and "burned flavor"……and it seems to change (for me) every few drags for the first day or two. Fortunately, they don't seem to need to break in again (at least, not as badly) after being cleaned by running hot water over all the pieces, drying them out, and putting them back together.
If you're using a single-voltage battery (like a regular Ego), I doubt the experience would be very good at all for at least 2 days.
2 - There's a bit of a learning curve to using them because of weird manufacturing tolerances. The center posts on the vivi nova (which carry the + electrical connection) tend to stick out too far. If you just crank one down on a battery, you'll probably break the battery. You can adjust it by disassembling the vivi nova, screwing it on your battery, and then putting the atomizer head on, taking it off the battery, and reassmebling the rest of it. But it doesn't always work completely. It works on one of mine, but not the other. Probably some version issue.
IMO, the best thing you can get for using a Vivi Nova on a Twist is a thread cover like this or this. The first one is for the full size; the second is for the mini. You screw the thread cover all the way on, put the vivi nova on the battery just until it makes solid contact, then unscrew the thread cover until it holds the vivi nova in place.
It's not like rocket science to do it right, but there is a learning curve. If you do it that way, you wont damage the battery from over-tightening the vivi nova, and you don't have to worry about it being un-stable on the battery. But, you can also damage threads doing that, which could make the battery useless. Again, it's not rocket science…but it's not entirely straightforward either.
I love that setup, and if that's where your budget falls and you think that, assembled, it's the type of thing you could see yourself using……I'd seriously consider it. It gives a great experience, IMHO. But I haven't used much that people would consider higher end than that.
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I feel like I'm whoring that picture out all over the place, but that's my daily setup. 2 ego twists. One has a full size vivi nova with a blue tube, the other has a mini with a clear tube. Both of them have aftermarket drip tips which you don't need and are largely just aesthetic (you need to have one, but not a specific one…and they each come with a black one).
If you want to go higher-end right off the bat…the added financial investment might help convince you to make a more legitimate try of it. Judge that based on yourself. But you owe it to yourself to watch some reviews of anything you consider buying. Grimmgreen (on youtube) has a great review of the twist, and pbusardo (tasteyourjuice.com) has a good review of the provari as well as the twist……though he gets a lot more technical and posts long reviews that might bore you senseless if you're not as much of a geek as someone like me. There are a lot of others as well.
After you figure out hardware that works for you, it's just a matter of trying juices. And there are a lot of juices out there. It might just end up being fun.
Also, there are people who are perfectly happy with the Blu. They just tend not to frequent vaping forums because they're not enthusiasts. It seems like you probably won't be happy with it, but if money's no issue……go ahead and try it. You might like it. People here tend to prefer the Volt from Smokless Image. Frankly, I think all of the "mini" e-cigs, the things that still look like cigarettes, are just sick jokes. I can't see how they're satisfying to anyone……but they still exist, so they must be.
The other big point…
It's also true…to a degree. The experience of vaping is a lot closer to the experience of smoking a hookah or a pipe. The feel when you're inhaling is a lot closer to a hookah than a cigarette, and the draw is closer to a hookah or a pipe than a cigarette. Also, if you've ever smoked either a hookah or a pipe, you know there's some babysitting: keeping a pipe bowl at the right temperature by how often/hard you drag; moving the coal around a hookah and occasionally purging the stale/burned smoke from the chamber above the water; tamping things down properly; setup; cleaning; etc..
I don't think anything will be quite the same as pulling out a pack, shaking one out, lighting it, and tossing it away when you're done. There's just too much going on in vaping for it to feel that simple.
BUT, the experience is tremendously rewarding. I don't stand out as "that guy playing with electronics" when I'm hanging out with my still-smoking friends. But there's more prep work. At times, I feel like a chemist with all the juice bottles and cleaning little metal and plastic pieces. But it's easily worth it.
And there are a few other things. Vaping will dry your throat out, so you have to drink a good bit of water. You have to be able to fiddle with things a bit; dry hits can always happen (especially if you're avoiding propylene glycol) and they will tear up your throat (temporarily) worse than I remember cigarettes doing. I don't think it's ever going to be 100%, but it's easily good enough if you want it to be.
I was a PAD (pack a day) Lucky Strike smoker for a while. My girlfriend tried a gas station disposable that was a hands-down better experience than my first vape kit (in early 2009 from a mall kiosk) and lead me to this site. I got off the disposables pretty quickly and am extremely happy with what I've got. But I never intended to quit smoking; I wanted something that would cut down on the pointless chain-smoking when I was waiting for things. I thought eventually I'd get to the point where I vaped most of the time but had a cigarette when I wanted one. Instead, I still have a couple lucky strikes sitting in a drawer somewhere that I have no intention of ever smoking. And it's only been a few months. I'm so enthralled with this community and all these new toys that my old rituals have been left in the dust.
So, it's not the same. And it won't be. But you might find it's better.
As for the nicotine head rush thing: I definitely get it. But most people seem not to. I always chalked it up to oxygen deprivation rather than any specific drug effect (because I didn't get it from gum either) so maybe it has something to do with the way I breathe while I vape. Start with a higher nicotine juice (24 or 36mg/ml) if you need to.
I say definitely go for it. But you might have to change your expectations just a bit.
I think it's worth it. Easily.
Good luck.
And sorry about the wall of text. I'm also an insomniac.
We'll have to agree to disagree there. I will be putting an avidvaper 2-ohm coil in one at some point just for S&G. Well more than likely 5 of them since that's how they're sold and I doubt avidvaper will disappoint especially for $1/coil. But you don't have to jump down that rabbit hole to get what I think is a really good vape.
Hey, I'm a total noob too, looking to buy my first ecig to try to get away from "real" cigarettes ASAP. Everything I've read elsewhere says that the 18mg e-liquid should be a good place to start for someone (like me) who smokes a pack a day. Now I see everyone here saying that you can't get that "hit" that a real cig gives at all unless you try something super strong like 36mg. Is there something I'm missing here? Are ecigs really a good alternative to people who want to quit smoking, but actually love smoking? That's me - I love to smoke, but I hate what it's doing to my body, so I thought ecigs would be the perfect alternative. Am I on the wrong track all together?
Yes, as a new vaper myself I will say that this is different than smoking. I get that throat hit on the tobacco flavors on a good draw, but no one will ever trick me into thinking it's an analog. Edensin is right, no buzz that I've experienced but it certainly kills the cravings. I liked the buzz you speak of, but I like my lungs more. I've made this change for a healthier alternative to smoking. I find the world of juices has million+1 choices out there. It may take some searching to find "the one", but that's what the forum can help you with!
Welcome and read on.![]()
Okay, after reading everyone's comment and doing some thinking, I think I will start off my vaping experience with the Ego Twist C and the Viva Nova. I can't go wrong with that right? I mean, from the comments, it might not be the best out there (Provari), but it's definitely a good system. As in, I shouldn't get too disappointed with it so to cause me to quickly yearn for a cigarette...
Any other comments about my choice? thanks
You are right on.
I'd suggest for juice that you go to Heathers Heavenly vapes
Order 4 5ml Juices. start with 18mg and go up to 36mg. You can always dilute the higher ones with VG that you can buy at any CVS. By the way if you like tobacco, just type in Tobacco to the search field.
Dark Horse tastes just like Marlboro Light to me.
Heathers is $12.00 for a 30ml bottle which is darned reasonable for a premium juice.
Alright, thanks to all who've given me advice. I plan to buy the Ego C Twist 1000mah battery and a Vivi Nova tank. Of course, I plan to buy some good juice as well. But, is that all I need to start vaping? Is there anything I'm leaving out? I would hate to have my order arrive in a few days and realize I still needed certain parts or accessories. For example, do I need an atomizer as well? or is it built into the vivi nova tank (coil)?
Please advise. Thanks