mechanical mod as a durable gift for a 1 year vaper without access to gear?

[flybykite]

I introduced a friend to vaping a year ago in Vietnam and she completely quit smoking. Recently the the 2 ego twists that I gifted her broke.
I don't want to give her any more of those knowing they break quickly. I'd like to get her something that will last instead, but a provari is a little out of budget and I still want to keep mine. I've been thinking of introducing her to mechanicals, possibly with a kick for safety or a recessed button that won't easily auto fire. I'm a little wary of the quality in an svd and vamo still. If it breaks, she will go back to the smokes and Vietnam does not have reasonable replacements. I thought one of the dna 30 clones from fasttech was my best idea but my girlfriend shot that idea down rather quickly based on its non fashionable shape and size.
I'm well versed in mechanicals and builds but I'm not sure if it's an ideal solution for her especially since she's quite happy in the 1.8-2.5 ohm range.
I'd really like to introduce a better topper at the same time like a magma or at least a kayfun but I worry that she won't be able to or just won't do the builds even with all the equipment. Maybe but I'm not certain. I have 6 months only each year that I can help her with these things and I'm hoping it will be enough time if I decide this route.
What are your thoughts on this. Should I just stick with vv devices and hope for the best or do you think mechanicals are a sensible solution for someone who cannot access equipment from their location?

 

[Nytebreed]

I don't know your friend so I'll tell you the questions I would ask myself if I were in your situation.

Does she have the knowledge to use and maintain a mechanical mod safely?
Does she have access to the tools required to maintain a mechanical mod and test her toppers, be it clearo or RBA?

You can run a clearo on a mech just fine, but just like on a RBA you NEED to check for shorts and resistance. The off the shelf coils are not made with the greatest level of quality control in mind, usually they are run on a regulated mod so it's not an issue, but on a mech it's a potential issue.

Personally I'd send over a MVP a couple of clearos and a bunch of coils.

 

[Shootist]

You gave someone 2 eGo batteries a year ago and they have now died. I think that is a pretty good life span.

I personally will never use or own a Mechanical Mod. No safety features, IMHO dangerous even with above 1 ohm coils. I would certainly never Gift one to someone.

There are many regulated battery devices around that include many safety features. So give her one of those.

 

[Vaslovik]

You can run a clearo on a mech just fine, but just like on a RBA you NEED to check for shorts and resistance. The off the shelf coils are not made with the greatest level of quality control in mind, usually they are run on a regulated mod so it's not an issue, but on a mech it's a potential issue.

Oh I would not run a clearo on a mech at all. I tried running a Protank on my first mech, and went through 1.8 ohm coils so fast it wasn't even a joke. I had more than 20 of them and was spending way too much time rebuilding them. It was clearly RBA time. If your friend in Viet Nam doesn't have access to the things she needs to run a mech and an appropriate atty safely it might not be so good an idea.

An MVP might be a better idea for her, with perhaps a carto tank or a Kayfun style atty. Most folks aren't ready for mechs and RBA's right out of the gate, and in Viet Nam she might have to deal with certain restrictions. A mech just puts the juice straight to the coil, no questions asked. That might not be the best thing for her.

 

[flybykite]

I don't know your friend so I'll tell you the questions I would ask myself if I were in your situation.

Does she have the knowledge to use and maintain a mechanical mod safely?
Does she have access to the tools required to maintain a mechanical mod and test her toppers, be it clearo or RBA?

You can run a clearo on a mech just fine, but just like on a RBA you NEED to check for shorts and resistance. The off the shelf coils are not made with the greatest level of quality control in mind, usually they are run on a regulated mod so it's not an issue, but on a mech it's a potential issue.

Personally I'd send over a MVP a couple of clearos and a bunch of coils.

Thanks, yes, that's been the main deliberating points. I'm sure inside of the 6 months I'll be there, I could teach her all she needs to know but I'm not sure she really wants to learn. I'm thinking she'll be more of a plug and play type though.
I'm still thinking a mech with a kick is the most reasonable solution for a long lasting option.
With the box mods, I tend to agree with my girlfriend that the fashion factor drops significantly puffing on one of these in public and I know that I like the look and feel of my mods so she should also.
All I really want is a reliable and regulated tube mod but I only know of one. $$$ provari.

@ shootist

The 2 egos lasted from May until July. Also, a mech is only as safe as the battery chemistry you use. The only real danger I can see with a good battery such as a vtc5 is a burn from grabbing a hot mod or damage to items it melted. A fire is very unlikely but I suppose it couldn't be ruled out.

 

[InTheShade]

What about something like the Innokin iTaste VV3? It's similar to an ego but from what I have seen and read on the forums, it's sturdy and a good quality device. You should be able to get one for around $25-30.

Failing that, I am not sure what brand of egos you purchased previously, but a genuine Vision Spinner or a Joyetech Twist would be my advice (if you didn't already get one of those) It's worth remembering that they are 'disposable' to a point, and a years worth of use out of them I would consider to be about par for the course.

I wouldn't gift her a mech. It's just too easy to find a reason to go back to smoking if she is not 100% committed. Oh, I ran out of kathanl, it burnt and I didn't have any wick with me etc. etc. I don't know your friend so I am not saying this would happen - only that the potential for more issues is there with a mech and a non-clearo topper.

 

[flybykite]

You can achieve the same result or even more juice running a 1.8 ohm coil on an Mvp. You're not going to get more watts until the ohms lower or the voltage goes up. You won't get more than 4.2 volts on a mech. I'm sure you could pop a dry 1.8 ohm coil in a few seconds @ that voltage.
I'm sure you already know all this.

 

[TheRac25]

Oh I would not run a clearo on a mech at all. I tried running a Protank on my first mech, and went through 1.8 ohm coils so fast it wasn't even a joke.

could you elaborate on this? i cant think of anything that would cause coils to go faster on a mech than an ego, both are single cell lithium with the same voltage range

 

[UncleChuck]

I introduced a friend to vaping a year ago in Vietnam and she completely quit smoking. Recently the the 2 ego twists that I gifted her broke.
I don't want to give her any more of those knowing they break quickly. I'd like to get her something that will last instead, but a provari is a little out of budget and I still want to keep mine. I've been thinking of introducing her to mechanicals, possibly with a kick for safety or a recessed button that won't easily auto fire. I'm a little wary of the quality in an svd and vamo still. If it breaks, she will go back to the smokes and Vietnam does not have reasonable replacements. I thought one of the DNA 30 clones from fasttech was my best idea but my girlfriend shot that idea down rather quickly based on its non fashionable shape and size.
I'm well versed in mechanicals and builds but I'm not sure if it's an ideal solution for her especially since she's quite happy in the 1.8-2.5 ohm range.
I'd really like to introduce a better topper at the same time like a magma or at least a kayfun but I worry that she won't be able to or just won't do the builds even with all the equipment. Maybe but I'm not certain. I have 6 months only each year that I can help her with these things and I'm hoping it will be enough time if I decide this route.
What are your thoughts on this. Should I just stick with vv devices and hope for the best or do you think mechanicals are a sensible solution for someone who cannot access equipment from their location?

In defense of the VAMO, I got one when they first came out, beat the thing to hell, sold it to my sister, and she still uses it and beats it to hell as her only mod. The gunmetal finish is totally worn off the two bottom tubes, the screen cover is cracked in several places, but it just keeps on ticking. She uses protanks and constantly drops her mod, snapping off the protanks, and the 510 is still in excellent condition (after I remove the lodged threads from the 510)

I know that's only one person's experience (well, two) but I believe there is a thread called something like "how long has your vamo lasted" where quite a few people have workhorse VAMOs still kicking around.

From the perspective of absolute reliability a mech would be better, as it seems like cheap APVs either fail quickly or last a long time, and if she got unlucky it'd be bad news. Maybe get her two VAMOs just in case, they are fairly cheap depending where you get them.

The only word of caution I'd give is to listen to what she feels comfortable with. A kayfun and mech is simple stuff to many here, but for someone used to egos and the like it's a huge step, and could potentially cause more reliability issues than an APV would. Since she probably isn't going to be concerned with a slight drop in performance, a fuse in the mod would be a great idea if you do go with a mech just in case of any issues. A person still needs to want to learn as you say, and if it seems like she doesn't it's best to stick with an APV for her.

 

[flybykite]

Well said and thanks for that. Now I'm leaning towards 2 vamos. It'll be much easier on me as well while still upgrading her units. Perhaps I'll throw a kayfun and some kanthal in so she has the option of expanding later.

I've heard good things about the aerotank over the protank3 so I'll get a few of those as her adv device.

 

[The Ocelot]

Have you checked the classifieds? There have been some very good deals on ProVaris lately.

Personally, the jump from an eGo to a mechanical requires a change in focus. Does she want a hobby or just to vape?

 

[flybykite]

So after all the considerations and good advice, I've got 2 vamos, a kayfun lite v2 and an aerotank on the way. That should do it. If she wants to enter mechanicals, I've got plenty she can choose from my collection.
Thanks again

 

[JMarca]

To the OP: Don't buy mechanicals based on the presumption that they last longer. Nothing lasts forever, furthermore mechanicals can and do break, theres the switch fail or the 510 connector that can strip or break off inside the well.

Point being that things happens and everything can break, especially when dropped, buy a quality device be it a box mod, mechanical, regulated or un-regulated just make sure the quality is there. Plenty of info online for pretty much anything you consider.

 

[danny4x4]

If you do get the vamo for your friend, perhaps you might want to add in a couple of 510 to 510 connector, or even better, an ego to ego/510 connector. The most common failure point on a vamo is the 510 connector. With the connector in place, if the threads are shot, just screw in a new connector.

 

[regal55]

my nemesis clones are my least reliable in my collection