Mt. Baker? Meh.
Just to be clear, this isn't a call for Mt. Baker to answer to my complaints, nor is it an attempt to get them to amend my problems. I've already decided not to purchase from Mt. Baker again so I seek no restitution from them. (Edit: I do not believe it is the customer's obligation to contact a vendor to explain and prove why a vendor blundered; instead, it is the vendor's obligation not to blunder in the first place.) This is merely my "honest" review of their juice and the service that I received in relation to that juice—and of course this reflects my own personal experiences and these opinions are solely the opinions of me, myself and I.
The three flavors I am reviewing are Ecto Cooler, Albino Drake and Tropic Thunder.
I've been hearing about Mt. Baker this, and Mt. Baker that, since I started vaping, so I finally broke down and made a purchase from them to see what all the rave is about, despite my reservations. What reservations, you may ask? My reservations came from the rather cheesy sales tactics they use at their website. Just about every juice they offer lists the following pricing:
$7.99 (with slash through it)
Your Price: $4.99
(You save $3.00)
OK, now wait a second. I've been to their site dozens of times and have never once seen anything for $7.99, so that's not their regular price. $4.99 is their regular price. The $7.99 is just a figure they invented to create the illusion that you are somehow saving three dollars, but your neighbor is paying $4.99, the guy at the other side of the country is paying $4.99, and the guy at the other side of the world is paying $4.99, so you're not saving anything—you're paying exactly what everyone else is paying.
Still . . . all those positive reviews . . .
So anyway, I ordered my juice and the one thing you can't deny about Mt. Baker is they have fast shipping. Honestly I don't know why they have fast shipping. It's just USPS First-Class so it shouldn't arrive any faster or slower than any other first class package should. But to give them credit, both the orders I placed arrived within about two days.
However, fast shipping can only impress so far. Upon receiving my three 15ml bottles of juice I discovered my advertised free bottle of juice was not included in my package. My Subtotal was $15.97 and I used a coupon code that gave me free shipping, which means my total was still over $15. But . . . no free juice.
So next, of course, I eagerly tried my juice and all I could do was scratch my head. None of it had any flavor whatsoever. It was like vaping air. So I searched around some on the internet and the general consensus seemed to be that you have to order flavor shots. Some advised ordering as many as three flavor shots! So I thought, oh well, I didn't know, rather than let my juice go to waste, I'll place another order for three more 15ml bottles of the same juice, each with three flavor shots in them, and mix it all together to equal a shot and a half in each 30 ml bottle. By this point I had spent about $40 (Edit: exactly $37.82, including shipping for second order and three empty 30ml bottles with one blunt needle for mixing).
Once again, my order arrives so fast that my head spins. They must have made up my juice and got it to the post office within minutes of my order for it to arrive so quickly. However, as I opened the package I realized the price of such speedy delivery. No care at all was taken with my order. Across one page of my invoice was a big brown splash of something that smelled like pickles. It literally looked like someone wiped their you-know-what with it. I was disgusted. I thought, gee whiz, if they can't take five seconds to print up a new invoice after they've spilled something all over it, what makes me think they'll spend five minutes correcting my juice if they make a mistake with that? And it seems they didn't. One of my bottles of juice, the Ecto Cooler, was sort of pinched in as if two fingers had pressed it together. At the top toward the nipple clung all the flavor shots, a bunch of it, thick dark orange gunk. All I can imagine is that they accidentally put too much flavor shot in and then squeezed some of it out before putting the cap back on. Needless to say, when I took the cap off and air got sucked into the bottle and the bottle expanded to its intended form, I was about 3ml short of Ecto Cooler e-liquid.
So I did my mixing to produce three 30 ml bottles. Ironically, the only one that came out good was the Ecto Cooler. It's actually really good, as a matter of fact, but that could be for one or both of two reasons: 1) I'm just a big fan of orange flavoring (I don't like it any more or less than The Vape Room's Sunkist flavor for example); and / or 2) By accident they dumped too much flavoring in and therefore I could actually taste it—as opposed to the other two flavors, Albino Drake and Tropic Thunder, which were still completely tasteless.
Now I know, this is the part where I'm told I should steep it and even though I'll say I've steeped it and heated it and did this and did that to it and still no flavor, I'll be told that I should put it in a drawer and forget about it until I'm old and gray and then maybe it will taste better after I've forgotten that I spent $40 on tasteless juice. No, sorry, it aint gonna happen. It simply doesn't have any taste in it to steep. As a matter of fact, after trying it in three different tanks, when I finally gave up and decided to just dump the juice back into their bottles, I couldn't do it because I couldn't tell which one was supposed to be Tropic Thunder (was it the one that had no flavor at all or the one that sort of tasted like warm sugar water) and which one was supposed to be Albino Drake (which, by the way, for whatever reason I don't know, costs a dollar more than the other juices [Edit: Albino Drake is suppose to be a "specialty" and that is suppose to explain why it costs more; what I don't know is why such a sub-par flavor should be considered a specialty in the first place]).
I will give Mt. Baker half-credit for giving me my free bottle on the second order; however, it's their standard policy to give you a bottle of something 12mg and, well, I don't vape 12mg, so it's still sitting on my shelf awaiting a review that will most likely never arrive.
So I was still scratching my head. How come I saw so many raving reviews about Mt. Baker if their juice is just, to be kind about it, meh? Well, the answer came with my invoice. In a form letter included in my package, they are offering me a $10 in store credit if I post a "positive" review about them. Mind you, it doesn't say "honest" review—it specifically says "positive". So the reviewers that I saw on YouTube actually got paid by the company they were reviewing for their positive reviews. Upon reading this, I felt like I had been truly had by Mt. Baker. (Edit: It should be noted that MBV sells a lot more than just juice, so a $10 credit could be used toward a new battery or tank, even if you don't like their juice, which, in my opinion, may encourage dishonest reviews.)
For me, anyway, I've found the bottom line is that you get what you pay for. If you buy a bottle of juice for $4.99 that has a slash through the $7.99 you aren't going to get the same quality as if you actually buy a bottle of juice for $7.99.
(Edit: these juices were tried using the Kanger Mini Protank and Evod, the Evod battery at 3.7V and the Ego-C Twist at a range between 3.2V and 4.1V.
2.2, 2.4 and 2.8 ohm heads were used.
Steeping was attempted by leaving the cap off for a period of time [longer for the first batch than the second batch obviously], and when that didn't work by heating it in hot water and shaking.)
FINAL VERDICT
Ecto Cooler 8/10. (Only with maximum flavor shots.)
Albino Drake 2/10. (Not worth the extra dollar they are charging for it.)
Tropic Thunder 2/10. (I have no idea what the rave about this juice is—it does NOT taste like tropical punch to me.)
(Edit: Service 5/10. [10/10 for shipping speed. 4/10 for sloppy handling. 1/10 for not honoring free juice offer.])
____________________________________________________
REVIEWER POLICY
Note: this is the reviewer's own personal policy and does not reflect ECF policy in any way. If you have questions about this policy, please contact the reviewer personally.
Thank you for reading my review of a vaping product at ECF. I encourage everyone to comment on my reviews, regardless of whether your comment is pro or con. In order to ensure that everyone gets to express their own opinions without being subjected to the reviewer's rebuttal, I will not be participating directly in any discussion that follows. If I feel a comment brings up a legitimate point that warrants addressing, I may edit the body of my review for clarification purposes. Edits will appear in parenthesis and will be clearly labeled "Edit" to distinguish them from the body of the first draft version of the review. You may also try to private message me if you need more direct clarification than that. Thank you.
Just to be clear, this isn't a call for Mt. Baker to answer to my complaints, nor is it an attempt to get them to amend my problems. I've already decided not to purchase from Mt. Baker again so I seek no restitution from them. (Edit: I do not believe it is the customer's obligation to contact a vendor to explain and prove why a vendor blundered; instead, it is the vendor's obligation not to blunder in the first place.) This is merely my "honest" review of their juice and the service that I received in relation to that juice—and of course this reflects my own personal experiences and these opinions are solely the opinions of me, myself and I.
The three flavors I am reviewing are Ecto Cooler, Albino Drake and Tropic Thunder.
I've been hearing about Mt. Baker this, and Mt. Baker that, since I started vaping, so I finally broke down and made a purchase from them to see what all the rave is about, despite my reservations. What reservations, you may ask? My reservations came from the rather cheesy sales tactics they use at their website. Just about every juice they offer lists the following pricing:
$7.99 (with slash through it)
Your Price: $4.99
(You save $3.00)
OK, now wait a second. I've been to their site dozens of times and have never once seen anything for $7.99, so that's not their regular price. $4.99 is their regular price. The $7.99 is just a figure they invented to create the illusion that you are somehow saving three dollars, but your neighbor is paying $4.99, the guy at the other side of the country is paying $4.99, and the guy at the other side of the world is paying $4.99, so you're not saving anything—you're paying exactly what everyone else is paying.
Still . . . all those positive reviews . . .
So anyway, I ordered my juice and the one thing you can't deny about Mt. Baker is they have fast shipping. Honestly I don't know why they have fast shipping. It's just USPS First-Class so it shouldn't arrive any faster or slower than any other first class package should. But to give them credit, both the orders I placed arrived within about two days.
However, fast shipping can only impress so far. Upon receiving my three 15ml bottles of juice I discovered my advertised free bottle of juice was not included in my package. My Subtotal was $15.97 and I used a coupon code that gave me free shipping, which means my total was still over $15. But . . . no free juice.
So next, of course, I eagerly tried my juice and all I could do was scratch my head. None of it had any flavor whatsoever. It was like vaping air. So I searched around some on the internet and the general consensus seemed to be that you have to order flavor shots. Some advised ordering as many as three flavor shots! So I thought, oh well, I didn't know, rather than let my juice go to waste, I'll place another order for three more 15ml bottles of the same juice, each with three flavor shots in them, and mix it all together to equal a shot and a half in each 30 ml bottle. By this point I had spent about $40 (Edit: exactly $37.82, including shipping for second order and three empty 30ml bottles with one blunt needle for mixing).
Once again, my order arrives so fast that my head spins. They must have made up my juice and got it to the post office within minutes of my order for it to arrive so quickly. However, as I opened the package I realized the price of such speedy delivery. No care at all was taken with my order. Across one page of my invoice was a big brown splash of something that smelled like pickles. It literally looked like someone wiped their you-know-what with it. I was disgusted. I thought, gee whiz, if they can't take five seconds to print up a new invoice after they've spilled something all over it, what makes me think they'll spend five minutes correcting my juice if they make a mistake with that? And it seems they didn't. One of my bottles of juice, the Ecto Cooler, was sort of pinched in as if two fingers had pressed it together. At the top toward the nipple clung all the flavor shots, a bunch of it, thick dark orange gunk. All I can imagine is that they accidentally put too much flavor shot in and then squeezed some of it out before putting the cap back on. Needless to say, when I took the cap off and air got sucked into the bottle and the bottle expanded to its intended form, I was about 3ml short of Ecto Cooler e-liquid.
So I did my mixing to produce three 30 ml bottles. Ironically, the only one that came out good was the Ecto Cooler. It's actually really good, as a matter of fact, but that could be for one or both of two reasons: 1) I'm just a big fan of orange flavoring (I don't like it any more or less than The Vape Room's Sunkist flavor for example); and / or 2) By accident they dumped too much flavoring in and therefore I could actually taste it—as opposed to the other two flavors, Albino Drake and Tropic Thunder, which were still completely tasteless.
Now I know, this is the part where I'm told I should steep it and even though I'll say I've steeped it and heated it and did this and did that to it and still no flavor, I'll be told that I should put it in a drawer and forget about it until I'm old and gray and then maybe it will taste better after I've forgotten that I spent $40 on tasteless juice. No, sorry, it aint gonna happen. It simply doesn't have any taste in it to steep. As a matter of fact, after trying it in three different tanks, when I finally gave up and decided to just dump the juice back into their bottles, I couldn't do it because I couldn't tell which one was supposed to be Tropic Thunder (was it the one that had no flavor at all or the one that sort of tasted like warm sugar water) and which one was supposed to be Albino Drake (which, by the way, for whatever reason I don't know, costs a dollar more than the other juices [Edit: Albino Drake is suppose to be a "specialty" and that is suppose to explain why it costs more; what I don't know is why such a sub-par flavor should be considered a specialty in the first place]).
I will give Mt. Baker half-credit for giving me my free bottle on the second order; however, it's their standard policy to give you a bottle of something 12mg and, well, I don't vape 12mg, so it's still sitting on my shelf awaiting a review that will most likely never arrive.
So I was still scratching my head. How come I saw so many raving reviews about Mt. Baker if their juice is just, to be kind about it, meh? Well, the answer came with my invoice. In a form letter included in my package, they are offering me a $10 in store credit if I post a "positive" review about them. Mind you, it doesn't say "honest" review—it specifically says "positive". So the reviewers that I saw on YouTube actually got paid by the company they were reviewing for their positive reviews. Upon reading this, I felt like I had been truly had by Mt. Baker. (Edit: It should be noted that MBV sells a lot more than just juice, so a $10 credit could be used toward a new battery or tank, even if you don't like their juice, which, in my opinion, may encourage dishonest reviews.)
For me, anyway, I've found the bottom line is that you get what you pay for. If you buy a bottle of juice for $4.99 that has a slash through the $7.99 you aren't going to get the same quality as if you actually buy a bottle of juice for $7.99.
(Edit: these juices were tried using the Kanger Mini Protank and Evod, the Evod battery at 3.7V and the Ego-C Twist at a range between 3.2V and 4.1V.
2.2, 2.4 and 2.8 ohm heads were used.
Steeping was attempted by leaving the cap off for a period of time [longer for the first batch than the second batch obviously], and when that didn't work by heating it in hot water and shaking.)
FINAL VERDICT
Ecto Cooler 8/10. (Only with maximum flavor shots.)
Albino Drake 2/10. (Not worth the extra dollar they are charging for it.)
Tropic Thunder 2/10. (I have no idea what the rave about this juice is—it does NOT taste like tropical punch to me.)
(Edit: Service 5/10. [10/10 for shipping speed. 4/10 for sloppy handling. 1/10 for not honoring free juice offer.])
____________________________________________________
REVIEWER POLICY
Note: this is the reviewer's own personal policy and does not reflect ECF policy in any way. If you have questions about this policy, please contact the reviewer personally.
Thank you for reading my review of a vaping product at ECF. I encourage everyone to comment on my reviews, regardless of whether your comment is pro or con. In order to ensure that everyone gets to express their own opinions without being subjected to the reviewer's rebuttal, I will not be participating directly in any discussion that follows. If I feel a comment brings up a legitimate point that warrants addressing, I may edit the body of my review for clarification purposes. Edits will appear in parenthesis and will be clearly labeled "Edit" to distinguish them from the body of the first draft version of the review. You may also try to private message me if you need more direct clarification than that. Thank you.
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