Greetings ECF forum! New vaper here, glad to be a part of such a thriving community!
For my first post, I thought I would share my journey from smoker to vaper, and what I've learned in that short time:
I started with analogs 23 years ago. I quit a few times (once for over two years) but I kept coming back. I don't think it was so much for the nicotine as for the oral fixation, the flavor, the TH. I could go cold turkey for a month without cravings, then one day my impulse control would get the best of me and I would be back to a pack a day. But as I get older, those coffin nails were really starting to affect my health. My wife was starting to lose patience with me, and I was starting to get desperate that I wouldn't be able to quit.
I had very little experience with e-cigs until recently. I had a friend that used disposables, and for years I have been seeing those ubiquitous mall kiosks with their cheap and sketchy Chinese junk. Then I read that e-cig review on Gizmodo last month. While the article wasn't very good, the insightful and detailed comments from passionate vapers eventually led me here, where my eyes were opened to a whole new world I didn't know existed.
I started doing lots and lots of research here and on YouTube. Especially helpful were the excellent YouTube tutorials by andruless. Eventually I realized that all the knowledge in the world is no substitute for reality, so I figured I had to get my hands dirty and just jump in. I ordered a 510 carto kit, some smoktech dual coil megas, and a selection of juice from TheVaporRoom.
Within 15 minutes, I had my stuff all laid out, and was filling my first cart like a pro with EC Menthol and a few drops of Spearmint. Being a former Kool king smoker, that really hit the spot! I quickly experimented with draw styles to find what I liked, and learned when I needed to re-prime the cart with a couple fresh drops. I was on my way!
A couple of days later, I threw the rest of my analogs in the trash. Good riddance! vaping is equally satisfying, without the guilt, smell, and horrible lung aches. It also keeps me from constantly stuffing snacks in my face as I work.
It's been a little less than a week, and I already feel like I'm out-growing my 'starter kit'. I'm not super-psyched about the vapor production on the 1.6 ohm 510 carts, and the draw seems a bit thin. Consequently, I'm running my 650mAh batteries dry a couple times a day. The 510 seems right for 'on-the-go' vaping or sipping, but for heavy 'thinking' sessions, I think I need more serious hardware. I'm thinking of going with a Pyrex tank carto on either a ProVari or an SB, but I still need to do more research to find what's right for me before I make the investment.
In the meantime, I've got a couple of 1000mAh batteries on the way for my 510, and I am going to experiment with PG/VG mixes to figure out what's going to give me that optimal TH. I'm still learning how to recharge my carto without overfilling, my draw technique, and the various flavor profiles one gets with mixing, juice level, draw style, etc. I intentionally induced my first 'dry hit' today, so now I know what that's like (ugh).
I want to thank ECF Forum and all the passionate people here for being the source of a lot of inspiration, excitement and knowledge about this fascinating world of vaping. I already feel so much better now that I ditched the analogs, and I'm never going back. It's onwards and upwards from here, and I look forward to haunting the APV forums in the near future!
Happy Vaping!
For my first post, I thought I would share my journey from smoker to vaper, and what I've learned in that short time:
I started with analogs 23 years ago. I quit a few times (once for over two years) but I kept coming back. I don't think it was so much for the nicotine as for the oral fixation, the flavor, the TH. I could go cold turkey for a month without cravings, then one day my impulse control would get the best of me and I would be back to a pack a day. But as I get older, those coffin nails were really starting to affect my health. My wife was starting to lose patience with me, and I was starting to get desperate that I wouldn't be able to quit.
I had very little experience with e-cigs until recently. I had a friend that used disposables, and for years I have been seeing those ubiquitous mall kiosks with their cheap and sketchy Chinese junk. Then I read that e-cig review on Gizmodo last month. While the article wasn't very good, the insightful and detailed comments from passionate vapers eventually led me here, where my eyes were opened to a whole new world I didn't know existed.
I started doing lots and lots of research here and on YouTube. Especially helpful were the excellent YouTube tutorials by andruless. Eventually I realized that all the knowledge in the world is no substitute for reality, so I figured I had to get my hands dirty and just jump in. I ordered a 510 carto kit, some smoktech dual coil megas, and a selection of juice from TheVaporRoom.
Within 15 minutes, I had my stuff all laid out, and was filling my first cart like a pro with EC Menthol and a few drops of Spearmint. Being a former Kool king smoker, that really hit the spot! I quickly experimented with draw styles to find what I liked, and learned when I needed to re-prime the cart with a couple fresh drops. I was on my way!
A couple of days later, I threw the rest of my analogs in the trash. Good riddance! vaping is equally satisfying, without the guilt, smell, and horrible lung aches. It also keeps me from constantly stuffing snacks in my face as I work.
It's been a little less than a week, and I already feel like I'm out-growing my 'starter kit'. I'm not super-psyched about the vapor production on the 1.6 ohm 510 carts, and the draw seems a bit thin. Consequently, I'm running my 650mAh batteries dry a couple times a day. The 510 seems right for 'on-the-go' vaping or sipping, but for heavy 'thinking' sessions, I think I need more serious hardware. I'm thinking of going with a Pyrex tank carto on either a ProVari or an SB, but I still need to do more research to find what's right for me before I make the investment.
In the meantime, I've got a couple of 1000mAh batteries on the way for my 510, and I am going to experiment with PG/VG mixes to figure out what's going to give me that optimal TH. I'm still learning how to recharge my carto without overfilling, my draw technique, and the various flavor profiles one gets with mixing, juice level, draw style, etc. I intentionally induced my first 'dry hit' today, so now I know what that's like (ugh).
I want to thank ECF Forum and all the passionate people here for being the source of a lot of inspiration, excitement and knowledge about this fascinating world of vaping. I already feel so much better now that I ditched the analogs, and I'm never going back. It's onwards and upwards from here, and I look forward to haunting the APV forums in the near future!
Happy Vaping!
