My new recruit needs your input

[alisab]

Someone with very limited cash wants to start vaping - she sees all of the equipment I have (excessive in every way) and pretty much wants everything that I have. She understands she won't be able to afford all of that but we have been working together on some of my equipment so that she can narrow down what she wants and maybe save some $ upfront.

She has really liked my P18 with 18650 battery and a CE2 2.8 - it is her favorite. She also loves dripping on 6 volts (Chameleon), and last night she tried my Reo Grand (6 volts) and asked how much is this!!! She has a budget of maybe $200 and that would be to get one (or two) PVs, some variety of attys, cartos, batteries, chargers, juices - you know everything, from scratch. My opionion is that it would be good to get a mod and maybe a "standard" pv - so she has one for backup and it will be easier to start with and maybe even take different places. I would like her well set up so that she then has month to month expenses of about $20 for juice, and an occasional new atty/carto and a battery or two. I have been buying some of the extras off the classifieds for her - her $ isn't here yet to buy it from me or anything else. I have purchased ce2, some batteries, a wide variety of juices - I am keeping an eye out for her and if she doesn't want or like something I'll be using it anyway.

Her money should be here by next week so the PV purchases are soon to be done. I discussed with her perhaps buying a Provari rather than a P18 - very similar and robust but less expensive. I started myself with Smoketip an 808 system - it was very good, batteries are backed for life - and they stand by that too. But I want to back up a little bit and see what you all think. When we have some ideas I will be checking the classifieds to round up more gear.

Thank you Vets!

 

[Kurt]

Well, if money is a big issue, as far as the juices are concerned, she should go DIY. There are sales all the time here for unflavored high-nic liquid, flavors are pretty cheap, and she could get VG from any drug store. I set myself up with 100 mg unflavored and a bunch of flavors, VG, some syringes well over a year ago, and I have not spent a dime on juices in almost as many months. Yes, there is an initial outlay of cash for this, but as far as control, knowing exactly what is in your juice, and how they will taste, it cannot be beat.

As for PVs, those you list are quite good. I'm a big fan of box mods and PTs. A 5V PT can be bought for about $12. The Sit and Go PT is a great little 3.7V device for about $15, and charges by USB with a slow trickle charge, so is safe for computer ports. The 5V PT is not, but an AC/USB converter is cheap, like $10. Ken's boxmod.net has 3.7V, 5V and variable volt PVs that are convenient, sturdy and use inexpensive batteries. And for vaping, no complaints at all. You can get a great PV there for $60 or less. Light, rugged, and with master on-off switch for the pocket. madvapes also sells box mods, and kits to build them for about $5, but that requires some electrical equipment and know how.

I recently tried a CE2 carto, and found I really like it! The nice thing about it is in addition to its capacity, it vapes astoundingly well and hard at low voltage. And especially given that the one I have is about 3.3 ohms. Even on a regular 510 batt (~3.1V) , it hits hard!

In addition to regular 510 attys, I am a big fan of Boge Soft-Tip cartos. Clean them well occasionally and they last me weeks and weeks, and they are certainly cheap. Vape really well too, and are especially great for tobacco juices, which tend to clog my attys.

I am on a very tight budget, and yet I vape gratuitously and very cheaply. Budget has kept me from getting the big expensive mods, but I am extremely satisfied with my gear and juices, and have no need to spend a lot of cash for something pricey. All my stuff currently is 510, but for a another suggestion of a regular PV, the kr808d-1 is a great choice, and adapters for virtually all PV conversions are available.

I'm sure others will have different suggestions. These are mine. Good luck!

 

[DonDaBoomVape]

I suggest that she take it gradually, step by step ... rather than trying to blow her entire budget at once. Most important is to find the atomizer/cartomizer (510, 306, Kr8, 801, 901, etc.) and vaping intensity (i.e., watts) she really likes. Kurt is right about the adapters: with $1 adapters, any of those attys (at various resistance levels) can be used on almost any battery platform.

Start with an inexpensive battery package, e.g., the box mods Kurt mentioned ... or a fat batt. I describe some of the fat batt choices in my eGOs and Rivas, Hellos, Oh My! article (although there is a lot missing; the world of fat batts is evolving so fast). Later on, she can step up to a $100+ mod like those in your collection.