Passthroughs are great, but they should be plugged into a dedicated external powered USB port, like a hub or an AC-to-USB converter. Even the cheap 510 PTs can cause problems with computer USB ports. Mine is a 5V PT plugged into a 2 Amp AC/USB converter. For $12 it was a great investment. I got it from LiteCig.com, but lots of places sell it. There is also the Hello Sit-and-Go PTs, which are essentially regular 510 batts with a mini USB plug to charge. They are rated at about 3.7V, so more power than regular 510 batts. I have a couple of those, and they are nice since one can vape on them as PTs or continue to vape while unplugged for around 45 minutes.
Longer battery life is easy to solve...there are MANY
mods that will have longer batt life!! Not bulky is another thing. I'm not a big fan of big heavy metal pipe type mods. I like the box mods (one vendor:
Box Mods) for several reasons. They are:
light
durable
small (the single batt model fits easy in the hand or pocket)
can be switched off with a master switch so they do not fire up in a tight pocket
they use easy to find and likely eternally legal batteries (10440s or 14500s)
there are variable-volt models for dialing in your ideal voltage (like the Little Sister or Big Brother), and thus vaping power
Most of these mods are 510 threaded, but adapters are widely available to convert to, say, kr808d-1 threading to use your kr808d-1 cartos. Or to 801, 901, and other atty/carto threadings if you wanted to try those.
And for me, of high importance, box mods are cheap! A good 3.7V box mod is about $25, and mine have been going strong for 10 months. And if you get a build-your-own bug, madvapes.com has kits to build your own for a fraction of the already low price.
Some box mods are USB chargeable, and act as PTs, like the Bartelby (
Bartleby) which are $50 (USB charging adds $$).
I also like the DSE905, which is also known as the Screwdriver with some vendors. It is metal, and has a big blue LED, so I only use it at home, but its a good mod that uses a 14500 batt.
Mods that use larger batteries than the 14500 tend to be the big metal pipe types. They will go a long time between charges, since the batteries they use have much higher capacities, and they can give higher voltage for longer between charges, but they tend to be more bulky.
Many people love the eGo, Riva, or Hello016 mods. They have higher capacity than regular 510 or kr808 batts, but they require their own chargers, like kr808 batts. Of course the mods I listed above, unless they are USB charging, require chargers too, but they would be more "normal" Li-ion battery chargers.
In terms of attys, its all a matter of taste, really. The most popular atty model is the 510, and one can get them in different resistances to be more tailored to your wishes. They range from 1.5 ohms all the way up to 5 ohms. I tend to stick with 2.4 ohm 510 attys, which are the Joye510 regular attys, but also like the 3.0 ohm SLB or DSE 510 attys on higher voltage. Its really all about the wattage, which is equal to batt_voltage*batt_voltage/atty_ohms, so a 5V PV with a 2.5 ohm atty will give 10 W of power. Your kr808 batts are 3.7V working, and the cartos are about 3.0 ohms, which would be about 4.5 W of power. A 3.7V box mod with a 2.5 ohm atty is about 5.5 W, so will be a little stronger a vape than the kr8. Flavor tends diminish somewhat with higher power, so some prefer lower wattage, while some prefer higher wattage for a stronger hit experience and more vapor.
The point of all this is, that it does not require you to buy a $100 mod to try out higher voltage and other battery types. After you get an idea of what you like in terms of wattage, you may decide to get a more expensive mod. But like with all electronics, the more bells and whistles, the more things can go wrong.
BTW, the Boge 510 cartos are quite good, and I use them often. 510 cartos also come in a rage of ohms, so you can also play around with wattage.
Good luck!
