As a fellow newbie with just a little experience under my belt, I'll relate my experiences with the two e-cigs I've used so far. I started with the 510 and moved on to the Vapor King after a week. IMO, the 510 (with a good atty) does produce better vapor but loses out in every other category, like taste and throat hit, ease of use, etc... Its just an opinion though, everyone is different. I'll try to explain my opinion in more detail below.
The 510 (Good)
I started vaping by ordering two 510 starter kits from two different vendors and just found out that the first two attys I used were subpar, to say the least. Being a newbie I only found out because the third atty (from the second vendor) produces twice as much vapor as the others did! So my advice is if you're going to buy a 510, go with a reputable dealer. I'm sure the 510 supporters here will help ya out. If you decide to go with the 510, order two starter kits. Not really a big deal, the kits are relatively cheap and having spares when you start vaping is really a good idea anyway. You will need the 4 batteries and 2 chargers because the batteries on the 510 suck. They run out of power in 1 1/2 - 2 hours even with moderate vaping. They do recharge very quickly, though, usually in just under an hour. If you are a heavy vaper, you still might use up one battery before the other is charged. Without modding, the 510 carts aren't very good either. They don't last long and don't seem to do your e-juice much justice. Where the 510 really shines is dripping. Great vapor and good throat hit, not so good on taste. If you're sitting at home dripping is easy and satisfying. If you're driving or out and about, dripping can become a pain real fast. The other thing I like about the 510 is that you can emulate an analog by dripping. What I mean by this is that two drops on the atty will give you 9-10 good deep hits (with a few primer puffs thrown in) and then you're done. Its easy to regulate yourself. Even with the crappy attys, the 510 kept me off analogs without any real problems. Its a good ecig but I just like the VK better. To be fair, I haven't used any of the 510 mods like the PTB or ADP. I didn't feel the need to because I moved on to the VK pretty quickly.
The VK (Very Good)
The VK (KR808d-1) isn't perfect, either (nothing is, right?). Filling the cartomizers isn't difficult but does take a bit of practice to get right. You can sometimes fill a carto with juice only to find out its not really working that well anymore. And the cartos can be inconsistent, one will work really well for 7+ refills, some will be crap after 2-3 uses. I'm sure that at least 1/2 the failures I've had have been my fault (using the carto too long, overfilling and flooding, etc). You just have to learn the hard way, every e-cig has a bit of a learning curve. But 99 outta 100 times when you pick up the VK and take a hit, its for me what vaping is all about. Great taste, good vapor, and a nice throat hit that even beats analogs. Once a good carto is filled or refilled it will last you for hours (even for heavy vapers) without having to drip or refill again. And the taste, vapor, and TH will be consistent until the carto runs dry. The batteries last a really long time. I've used the XL battery for up to 9-10 hours of moderate vaping and it kicks ... vapor-wise. The regular size batteries last me 4-6 hours on average. However, the VK is the opposite of the 510 in self-regulation. The VK is too tasty, I have to put it outta reach and use it on a schedule (5-7 good hits every 1/2 hour, a few primer puffs as well) otherwise I'll be be vaping all day...Check out the V4L forum for more advice from more experienced vapers.
Future E-Cigs/PVs (Maybes?)
I've been looking at the Revolver for one reason. This past weekend, while out driving, a cop pulled up beside me at a stop light. I was vaping on my black XL VK and of course he started looking at me kinda funny. He had no idea what I was smoking and probably thought it was some new-fangled skinny .... or something (I live in a college town). I tried to ignore him but couldn't decide wether to put it away (and look guilty) or keep on vaping (and arouse his curiousity even more). I kept on vaping. Anyway, the light turned green and we went our seperate ways. Now, I know vaping isn't illegal and if he had pulled me over it wouldn't have been a big deal, but who likes to be pulled over and questioned for no real reason? The Revolver looks a lot more like a real cigarette unless you get really close up. I've seen some reviews for the Revolver and they seem pretty good but if anyone else has an opinion on them, I wanna hear it. The main question I have is how long do the cartridges last? Would a full one get me through a 3-4 hour drive without dripping/dipping?
The Vendors I've used, my recommendations.
My good 510 vendor was electronicstix.com. Very good CS and fast service. Good juice too. I won't give out the name of the other vendor, last time I checked it was outta stock of pretty much everything anyway.
I have ordered VK hardware and juice from Cigeasy, NHaler, and V4L. Outstanding CS, fast delivery, would order from either one again without hesitation but V4L has gone the extra mile for me. IMO, they are the VK specialists and they are the only ones, as far as I know, that carry the awesome XL manual battery.
I ordered the 510 batt adapter from altsmoke.com and can't praise them enough either. Fast, excellent service and they even threw in a little something extra for free.
Hope this helps you out a bit...and sorry for the length!
The 510 (Good)
I started vaping by ordering two 510 starter kits from two different vendors and just found out that the first two attys I used were subpar, to say the least. Being a newbie I only found out because the third atty (from the second vendor) produces twice as much vapor as the others did! So my advice is if you're going to buy a 510, go with a reputable dealer. I'm sure the 510 supporters here will help ya out. If you decide to go with the 510, order two starter kits. Not really a big deal, the kits are relatively cheap and having spares when you start vaping is really a good idea anyway. You will need the 4 batteries and 2 chargers because the batteries on the 510 suck. They run out of power in 1 1/2 - 2 hours even with moderate vaping. They do recharge very quickly, though, usually in just under an hour. If you are a heavy vaper, you still might use up one battery before the other is charged. Without modding, the 510 carts aren't very good either. They don't last long and don't seem to do your e-juice much justice. Where the 510 really shines is dripping. Great vapor and good throat hit, not so good on taste. If you're sitting at home dripping is easy and satisfying. If you're driving or out and about, dripping can become a pain real fast. The other thing I like about the 510 is that you can emulate an analog by dripping. What I mean by this is that two drops on the atty will give you 9-10 good deep hits (with a few primer puffs thrown in) and then you're done. Its easy to regulate yourself. Even with the crappy attys, the 510 kept me off analogs without any real problems. Its a good ecig but I just like the VK better. To be fair, I haven't used any of the 510 mods like the PTB or ADP. I didn't feel the need to because I moved on to the VK pretty quickly.
The VK (Very Good)
The VK (KR808d-1) isn't perfect, either (nothing is, right?). Filling the cartomizers isn't difficult but does take a bit of practice to get right. You can sometimes fill a carto with juice only to find out its not really working that well anymore. And the cartos can be inconsistent, one will work really well for 7+ refills, some will be crap after 2-3 uses. I'm sure that at least 1/2 the failures I've had have been my fault (using the carto too long, overfilling and flooding, etc). You just have to learn the hard way, every e-cig has a bit of a learning curve. But 99 outta 100 times when you pick up the VK and take a hit, its for me what vaping is all about. Great taste, good vapor, and a nice throat hit that even beats analogs. Once a good carto is filled or refilled it will last you for hours (even for heavy vapers) without having to drip or refill again. And the taste, vapor, and TH will be consistent until the carto runs dry. The batteries last a really long time. I've used the XL battery for up to 9-10 hours of moderate vaping and it kicks ... vapor-wise. The regular size batteries last me 4-6 hours on average. However, the VK is the opposite of the 510 in self-regulation. The VK is too tasty, I have to put it outta reach and use it on a schedule (5-7 good hits every 1/2 hour, a few primer puffs as well) otherwise I'll be be vaping all day...Check out the V4L forum for more advice from more experienced vapers.
Future E-Cigs/PVs (Maybes?)
I've been looking at the Revolver for one reason. This past weekend, while out driving, a cop pulled up beside me at a stop light. I was vaping on my black XL VK and of course he started looking at me kinda funny. He had no idea what I was smoking and probably thought it was some new-fangled skinny .... or something (I live in a college town). I tried to ignore him but couldn't decide wether to put it away (and look guilty) or keep on vaping (and arouse his curiousity even more). I kept on vaping. Anyway, the light turned green and we went our seperate ways. Now, I know vaping isn't illegal and if he had pulled me over it wouldn't have been a big deal, but who likes to be pulled over and questioned for no real reason? The Revolver looks a lot more like a real cigarette unless you get really close up. I've seen some reviews for the Revolver and they seem pretty good but if anyone else has an opinion on them, I wanna hear it. The main question I have is how long do the cartridges last? Would a full one get me through a 3-4 hour drive without dripping/dipping?
The Vendors I've used, my recommendations.
My good 510 vendor was electronicstix.com. Very good CS and fast service. Good juice too. I won't give out the name of the other vendor, last time I checked it was outta stock of pretty much everything anyway.
I have ordered VK hardware and juice from Cigeasy, NHaler, and V4L. Outstanding CS, fast delivery, would order from either one again without hesitation but V4L has gone the extra mile for me. IMO, they are the VK specialists and they are the only ones, as far as I know, that carry the awesome XL manual battery.
I ordered the 510 batt adapter from altsmoke.com and can't praise them enough either. Fast, excellent service and they even threw in a little something extra for free.
Hope this helps you out a bit...and sorry for the length!
