Hey all, I wrote up the following to reply on a different topic, and thought this might be of help to others. In summary, I've been vaping about two-three weeks wanting to get off analogs, had some draw backs during the initial period due to device frustration and lack of information; went through the load of information on the forums lurking in every section, and this is what I came to so far.
Please feel free to share your experience, correct me if I might be wrong about something, or have any suggestions (and I do ask for suggestion regarding my next purchase).
To sum up my preference so far: I wanted something easy to use, doesn't require modification or fidgeting with, aesthetically pleasing and of good build quality, and constant.
Here goes. And, I tried my best to make it as easy for a person new to PVs to understand.
Here's my journey. At first I got an joyetech (make) eRoll (make), those are the cig-a-likes, but quickly found the constant filling and heating up annoying. Might use it every once in a while at a bar, or to have as a backup. But three or four puffs and this thing burns my fingers.
Then I got a joyetech (make) eGo-C Twist (model) 900mah (batter size) which lasts me almost a full day going through about 3-5 ml of juice at 12mg nicotine (I smoke about a 1/2 pack to a pack a day for 8 years).
For the Twist, I got a Kanger (make) T3 (model) clearomizer (the type of juice delivery system), for these you buy extra coils specifically for the model to replace every week to 2 or once the flavor turns bad. There are ways to prolong the life of these by flushing, dry-burning, etc. but are messy, and sometimes sketchy. But then I read some scary .... about the wick (material that the juice soaks in through to the coil that burns it) being from silica (or something like that) and apparently it might be dangerous to inhale. The wicks can be redone/rebuild to use cotton or bamboo but it's too much of a hassle, and requires some other devices.
Then I decided to try cartotanks (cartomizer with a tank, this is the second type of juice delivery system). By that time, my plastic T3 got ugly from constant use, all scratched and beat up. So I decided to go with a pyrex system (some sort of glass?) which holds up better but is still prone to breaking if dropped. There's a couple people who make pyrex cartotanks, but I found IBTanked (maker) to be the best bang for the buck. Some other are little vendors, and Phiniacs (another maker) but those cost much more. Ordered the complete set, some extra cartomizers (which, once again, need to be replaced every few weeks just as the coils in the clearomizers). I got the Smoktech pre-punched 2.0ohms (you usually take the ohm rating, multiply by 2, and that's your maximum voltage - you can go anything below, just try it out with the juice you're smoking, but in this case I set my Twist to about 4 - 4.2). I haven't tried other cartomizers, but Ikenvapes are supposedly good but hard to find. I'll try to get an order of them, along with Boge cartos at different Ohm ratings to taste the difference. Low Resistance (LR) 1.8-2.0 ohms, from what I understand, give a more warm vape, and Standard Resistance (SR) 2.4-2.6 Ohms have a cooler vape. I've been very happy with the IBT tank, and will probably order more because the cartomizers taste weird if you switch the juice you're pouring in at some time. As a recent smoker, I like the crackling popping sound the cartotanks make which I didn't find with the clearomizer.
Surprisingly the cartotank was much more easy to fill up and use than I thought. In fact, while the initial priming might take some of your time, the fill ups after that were much faster than with the T3. The T3 has to be unscrewed, flipped over and carefully filled. Whereas the cartotank from IBT has a long drip tip included in the kit which makes filling up a breeze, just slide up a bit, and fill up with juice along the drip tip and into the tank. All it needs is a little wipe down with a napkin and I'm set. With a needle tip I have shipping with my next batch of juice, it'll be even more fast and clean.
Now, I'm deciding whether to get another Twist as a back up when the one I have runs out of batteries - which is frustrating (probably the 650mah one since it's smaller) or jump straight to a Provari (the more expensive, but better USA made mod). Mechanicals and RBA atomizers are still confusing to me at this point, and I'm not sure I want to go that route.
Feel free to make your decisions based off of my story so far, but do research anything you found confusing in more detail. Also, visit an actual physical store if there are any in your proximity as that cleared up a bunch of questions for me by being able to try, taste, and touch different devices and juice.
Best of hopes,
Aleks
Please feel free to share your experience, correct me if I might be wrong about something, or have any suggestions (and I do ask for suggestion regarding my next purchase).
To sum up my preference so far: I wanted something easy to use, doesn't require modification or fidgeting with, aesthetically pleasing and of good build quality, and constant.
Here goes. And, I tried my best to make it as easy for a person new to PVs to understand.
Here's my journey. At first I got an joyetech (make) eRoll (make), those are the cig-a-likes, but quickly found the constant filling and heating up annoying. Might use it every once in a while at a bar, or to have as a backup. But three or four puffs and this thing burns my fingers.
Then I got a joyetech (make) eGo-C Twist (model) 900mah (batter size) which lasts me almost a full day going through about 3-5 ml of juice at 12mg nicotine (I smoke about a 1/2 pack to a pack a day for 8 years).
For the Twist, I got a Kanger (make) T3 (model) clearomizer (the type of juice delivery system), for these you buy extra coils specifically for the model to replace every week to 2 or once the flavor turns bad. There are ways to prolong the life of these by flushing, dry-burning, etc. but are messy, and sometimes sketchy. But then I read some scary .... about the wick (material that the juice soaks in through to the coil that burns it) being from silica (or something like that) and apparently it might be dangerous to inhale. The wicks can be redone/rebuild to use cotton or bamboo but it's too much of a hassle, and requires some other devices.
Then I decided to try cartotanks (cartomizer with a tank, this is the second type of juice delivery system). By that time, my plastic T3 got ugly from constant use, all scratched and beat up. So I decided to go with a pyrex system (some sort of glass?) which holds up better but is still prone to breaking if dropped. There's a couple people who make pyrex cartotanks, but I found IBTanked (maker) to be the best bang for the buck. Some other are little vendors, and Phiniacs (another maker) but those cost much more. Ordered the complete set, some extra cartomizers (which, once again, need to be replaced every few weeks just as the coils in the clearomizers). I got the Smoktech pre-punched 2.0ohms (you usually take the ohm rating, multiply by 2, and that's your maximum voltage - you can go anything below, just try it out with the juice you're smoking, but in this case I set my Twist to about 4 - 4.2). I haven't tried other cartomizers, but Ikenvapes are supposedly good but hard to find. I'll try to get an order of them, along with Boge cartos at different Ohm ratings to taste the difference. Low Resistance (LR) 1.8-2.0 ohms, from what I understand, give a more warm vape, and Standard Resistance (SR) 2.4-2.6 Ohms have a cooler vape. I've been very happy with the IBT tank, and will probably order more because the cartomizers taste weird if you switch the juice you're pouring in at some time. As a recent smoker, I like the crackling popping sound the cartotanks make which I didn't find with the clearomizer.
Surprisingly the cartotank was much more easy to fill up and use than I thought. In fact, while the initial priming might take some of your time, the fill ups after that were much faster than with the T3. The T3 has to be unscrewed, flipped over and carefully filled. Whereas the cartotank from IBT has a long drip tip included in the kit which makes filling up a breeze, just slide up a bit, and fill up with juice along the drip tip and into the tank. All it needs is a little wipe down with a napkin and I'm set. With a needle tip I have shipping with my next batch of juice, it'll be even more fast and clean.
Now, I'm deciding whether to get another Twist as a back up when the one I have runs out of batteries - which is frustrating (probably the 650mah one since it's smaller) or jump straight to a Provari (the more expensive, but better USA made mod). Mechanicals and RBA atomizers are still confusing to me at this point, and I'm not sure I want to go that route.
Feel free to make your decisions based off of my story so far, but do research anything you found confusing in more detail. Also, visit an actual physical store if there are any in your proximity as that cleared up a bunch of questions for me by being able to try, taste, and touch different devices and juice.
Best of hopes,
Aleks
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