My opinion only

[fraydnerv]

I just wanted to express my opinion on the e-cig experience so far. I started off with a product which people here call a re-brand, I guess. Just a simple battery, with ready filled cartridges, bought in a mall. I completely stopped analogs while on this - for at least a year. I had some issues with the product & the availabilty, not the experience of using it. So I went online and starting reading. I tried another similar product, enjoyed it, but found the cartridge life to be extremely short lived. I them moved on to a 3-part type with a manual battery. Everything I read said this is the way to go -- fill your own. Although not difficult to use, somehow I did not feel like I was "smoking", as I did with my first two, and have started using analogs (as they are referred to here) again, in addition to the e-cig. I have come to feel that this "vaping" experience is a whole other addiction in itself. The point for me was to find a "fake cigarette" if you will. It is not a question of the nicotine or the amount of vapor. It's how well the product simulates the actual experience of picking up a cigarette, holding it, and smoking it. I have to say, I am going back to my mall brand, because they were as close to smoking a real cigarette as I have found. It may have it's drawbacks as far as cost & life of battery, but it is cheaper than cigarettes, and at least I do not use actual cigarettes while using them.
As I said, this is my opinion only. I just don't like seeing the posts on here that immediately tell newcomers to forget the mall brand - it may be the right solution for some of us.

 

[tat2d4life]

my motto is if it works for you, stick with it... I have seen a lot of people on here push others to get this or get that...what works for me might not be for you.....many people do not understand that ..

Hope you stick with it and stay analog free

 

[texasgranny]

What works for some, does not work for all. Glad you found your unit of satisfaction and if it
works for you, keep on keeping on!
I did not take the model suggestions given for first time users here and went straight into a
mod unit for my first.
Best decision ever!
Just glad you did not go back to the analogs!

 

[Mindfield]

Indeed, they might. I think many people's main issues with them is that they tend to be very overpriced for what you get and in many cases are, as you said, rebranded versions of the same kits you can get at other vendors much cheaper. (i.e. automatic KR808D-1, DSE801/901 or 510 kits.) Take a look at the automatic Vapor King or Volt kits, they're cheaper, have better availability, are refillable, and still closely simulate the experience of smoking.

 

[WomanOfHeart]

If it works for you, then do as you will. I think the only reason most of us are so against the mall kiosks is because they usually offer an overpriced, inferior product. The kiosks in the malls out here are charging $200 for 510 starter kits and $30 for 10mls of juice, which probably comes from China. A lot of people who end up here can't afford what the kiosks are charging and are usually ticked off when they find out that the kit they bought could've been purchased online for less than $60.

 

[fraydnerv]

What is an automatic Vapor King? And where do you purchase them?

 

[fraydnerv]

If it works for you, then do as you will. I think the only reason most of us are so against the mall kiosks is because they usually offer an overpriced, inferior product. The kiosks in the malls out here are charging $200 for 510 starter kits and $30 for 10mls of juice, which probably comes from China. A lot of people who end up here can't afford what the kiosks are charging and are usually ticked off when they find out that the kit they bought could've been purchased online for less than $60.

If I knew what my mall brand's actual brand or model is, I'd love to get it cheaper. It's called Cigotine, so if anyone knows what the original brand is, please tell me.

 

[NorthOfAtlanta]

Which Mall Brand is it, give us a name and someone on here will know the generic model number and should be able to give you several vendors that carry them. If it's working for you stay with it.

 

[Uncle Willie]

My first "kit" was and NJOY .. poo pooed here by many .. I still use it as a backup.. pre-filed cartos are easy to find as well .. I've even resorted to a disposable when I was away from home and had forgotten my stuff .. main thing is, stay off the analogs, use what works for you .. good luck

 

[tat2d4life]

My first "kit" was and NJOY .. poo pooed here by many .. I still use it as a backup.. pre-filed cartos are easy to find as well .. I've even resorted to a disposable when I was away from home and had forgotten my stuff .. main thing is, stay off the analogs, use what works for you .. good luck

+1 on the njoy... I fired mine up a few days ago just to reflect...

 

[Boodle]

The mall ecig worked for me for a few days then anxiety set in as I wasn't getting enough of something even with the highest mg cartos they sold. My cheeks hurt from pulling on it so often. We're all different. I'm glad it's working for you. Rock on! The best thing about the mall ecig (for me) was the lifetime battery warranty. I traded two in last week. I like to keep fresh batteries for friends that want to compare the cigarette-looking ecig with a fat batt. BTW - if you have smoke shops in your area you can probably get your filled cartomizers for 1/2 the price or less. The mall charges $20 + tax for 5. The smoke shop charges $10 for the same brand carto. Good luck!

 

[BardicDruid]

E-Cigarette, Electronic Cigarettes, refills and more at Vapor Nine

Vapor4Life - Vapor King - the best e-cigarette/smoking alternatives!

These should help you find a one that works for you, I still use the 801 style I started with two years ago.

 

[BWG707]

I knew before getting into vaping that there is no way to replicate smoking tobacco ciggys. There is no juice that will taste like an actual tobacco ciggy. I went into vaping more for the "hand to mouth" thing. It will keep me occupied with I get that smoking urge. It doesn't quite satisfy the craving or reproduce the physical effects but it's a damn good substitute. You can not get the full effect of smoking a tobacco ciggy without "all" of the nasty chemicals, and poisins that they contain. I think replicating a real ciggy, in every way, is not going to happen. E ciggys are what they are. With that said, they have helped a whole lot of people become much healthier.

 

[NorthOfAtlanta]

Try this post, reply #6, Dormouse seems to know what this is. Cigotine returns 4 pages if you use the search ECF with Google in the upper right hand corner of this page.

 

[studio52]

Yep, what I like you may not..to each his own. The main thing for me was to be able to "smoke" the size or style was not as important to me as was the amount of vapor and ease of use....that was at the beginning, now I like the tanks, and dual coil carts, and my Ego is still among my use everyday devices. I never did use the "Mall Brand" stuff, but I am sure that some folks like that cig feel....

 

[untitledblue]

Whatever model you buy it's never going to be an exact replica of an analogue. You'll never get the experience of lighting up, putting out, and biting on the filter like you would with an real cig.

If they work for you, then whatever, but we probably can't help you much if you have your heart set on that brand.

 

[tearose50]

As I'm sure you know by now -- not all KR808D1's carto's are the same. Basically, they "work" with the battery threads, so there is a tendency to think they are all rebranded. Not so.

The Volt has really been gaining in popularity around here. Vapor4Life has a real good reputation. Are the products identical? I don't have a clue!

And, I think the "stores" are selling much better PV's than a year ago so we may find many more people like the OP-----and that's great!

 

[birdbrains]

As I'm sure you know by now -- not all KR808D1's carto's are the same. Basically, they "work" with the battery threads, so there is a tendency to think they are all rebranded. Not so.

The Volt has really been gaining in popularity around here. Vapor4Life has a real good reputation. Are the products identical? I don't have a clue!

And, I think the "stores" are selling much better PV's than a year ago so we may find many more people like the OP-----and that's great!

The Volt and V4L 808's are not the same thing. The Volt/Bloog/Halo G6 are what some people on the boards here refer to as "next generation" 808's. The Volt had the best price, so I bought that a little more than a month ago. It is, in my opinion, damn near perfect as an analogue replacement. 1 batt, a simple USB charger and a pack of cartos runs about $30 to give the product a try and I'm positive you could resell anything but the cartos in the classifieds here as the Volt has many many rabid fans.

It simply destroys what I was getting out of my first "mall brand" (although I did not get it from a mall, I paid an insane price), and it is priced incredibly fairly.

 

[dormouse]

Some problems with most mall brands are the price, not knowing what model you really have, being locked into that one vendor for parts. Some of them use perfectly fine models and jack the price up 2x to 4x. Some use crappy models and do the same. Some use crippled models and do the same. THEY ARE ALL MADE IN CHINA. If it is a good model you can get it for less elsewhere and know what you are buying, pay normal price, be able to choose from many vendors' parts and carts, and not have crippled carts that work once.

You must have misunderstood if you thought anybody here was telling you to USE a 3-piece model AS a 3-piece. Most people use them as 2-piece models with cartomizers. True most 3-piece models only have blank cartomizers available that you fill (and then keep damp to get 4-7 days use out of one cartomizer). And when we buy good compatible slim 2-pieces, every bit as good or better than what you bought first, we can top off each cartomizer with juice and get up to a week of use out of each.

If you were happy with your mall brand and fine with using each carto once, then use the mall brand.

BTW if you want a 2-piece with prefilled cartomizers that is probably less expensive and more compatible then look at KR808D-1 (and it may even be the same model as your mall brand). Look at SmokelessImage Volt and Vapor4Life.com. I recommend manuals since they are harder to damage or kill with juice leaks and make it easier to get a good hit. The 78mm or standard size batteries make a 120mm ecig w/ the cartomizer on and they have 60-70% more charge than the shorty/65mm battery size model. They can use prefilled cartomizers from SmokelessImage, Vapor4Life, Bloogplanet and Halocigs G6 model.