Hi all, I just wanted to share my experience in my first month of vaping. Hopefully somebody will find it useful.
I've purchased three different brands of starter kits and various brands of disposables, and I'll share my experience with each.
1) Upon deciding I wanted to switch from analogs to e-cigarettes, I went to the biggest, oldest, most well known tobacco shop in my city. The only brand of e-cig they sold was Crown Lion. I bought the Crown Lion starter kit for $39.99. (Came with one battery, one atomizer, USB charger, and 5 cartridges.)
After charging the battery for 8 hours as recommended by the instructions, the Crown Lion e-cig produced minimal vapor and the LED blinked (indicating low battery) right from a full charge. Went back to the tobacco shop, was given a new battery for free. Charged it for 8 hours, and then - same problem. Went back to the tobacco shop yet again. They nicely swapped my whole kit for a brand new one- but even this one had the same problem! (I used the USB charger on 3 different computers to make sure it wasn't just my computer). The tobacco shop won't give a refund so I've basically wasted $40 on a useless piece of junk.
2) Still wanting to vape, but not wanting to spend too much more money, I start buying different brands of disposables from various gas stations and convenience stores around town. I tried probably 5 different brands ranging in price from $7.99 to $12.99. Most were junk that didn't even last a full day. Oddly enough, the cheapest one turned out to be by far the best. That would be Blu brand disposables, sold at my local pharmacy for $7.99. They produce a good amount of vapor and last me about 2 days.
3) Getting sick of spending money on disposables, I happen to spot a cheap starter kit at a local gas station. The brand is 21st Century and it comes with one batt, two cartomizers, and wall charger. I figure for $21 it's worth a try - it'll at least save me from buying a few disposables, right? This "cheap" product turns out to be GREAT! Huge vapor production, good battery life, charges fast, cartomizers last days. I'm not expecting it to last forever, but it's already saved me money over buying disposables.
4) I started doing my research and found this forum. I ended up ordering a 510 starter kit from a vendor I found on the forum. For only $30 including shipping, I got a kit with 2 atomizers, 2 batteries, USB charger, wall adapter, and 5 empty cartridges. I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of this kit, but since it's being shipped from China, I expect it will be a few weeks.
Bottom line: You DEFINITELY don't always get what you pay for with e-cigarettes! This is why research is crucial, and that's why I'm making this post! Had I found this forum before I got started, I could have easily saved myself $100+ and a lot of headaches. Props to everyone posting useful info, you've all helped me a bunch. Hopefully this post helps out another noob somewhere.
Peace, love, and vapor.
I've purchased three different brands of starter kits and various brands of disposables, and I'll share my experience with each.
1) Upon deciding I wanted to switch from analogs to e-cigarettes, I went to the biggest, oldest, most well known tobacco shop in my city. The only brand of e-cig they sold was Crown Lion. I bought the Crown Lion starter kit for $39.99. (Came with one battery, one atomizer, USB charger, and 5 cartridges.)
After charging the battery for 8 hours as recommended by the instructions, the Crown Lion e-cig produced minimal vapor and the LED blinked (indicating low battery) right from a full charge. Went back to the tobacco shop, was given a new battery for free. Charged it for 8 hours, and then - same problem. Went back to the tobacco shop yet again. They nicely swapped my whole kit for a brand new one- but even this one had the same problem! (I used the USB charger on 3 different computers to make sure it wasn't just my computer). The tobacco shop won't give a refund so I've basically wasted $40 on a useless piece of junk.
2) Still wanting to vape, but not wanting to spend too much more money, I start buying different brands of disposables from various gas stations and convenience stores around town. I tried probably 5 different brands ranging in price from $7.99 to $12.99. Most were junk that didn't even last a full day. Oddly enough, the cheapest one turned out to be by far the best. That would be Blu brand disposables, sold at my local pharmacy for $7.99. They produce a good amount of vapor and last me about 2 days.
3) Getting sick of spending money on disposables, I happen to spot a cheap starter kit at a local gas station. The brand is 21st Century and it comes with one batt, two cartomizers, and wall charger. I figure for $21 it's worth a try - it'll at least save me from buying a few disposables, right? This "cheap" product turns out to be GREAT! Huge vapor production, good battery life, charges fast, cartomizers last days. I'm not expecting it to last forever, but it's already saved me money over buying disposables.
4) I started doing my research and found this forum. I ended up ordering a 510 starter kit from a vendor I found on the forum. For only $30 including shipping, I got a kit with 2 atomizers, 2 batteries, USB charger, wall adapter, and 5 empty cartridges. I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of this kit, but since it's being shipped from China, I expect it will be a few weeks.
Bottom line: You DEFINITELY don't always get what you pay for with e-cigarettes! This is why research is crucial, and that's why I'm making this post! Had I found this forum before I got started, I could have easily saved myself $100+ and a lot of headaches. Props to everyone posting useful info, you've all helped me a bunch. Hopefully this post helps out another noob somewhere.
Peace, love, and vapor.