Natural Tobaccos - Part Deux

[billherbst]

I live now in the tiny Pacific coast town of Florence, Oregon, but I lived in Minnesota---the Twin Cities---for a quarter-century before that. Last week I spent an afternoon with a dear friend from Minnesota, who, along with her adult daughter, was visiting a relative who lives in Florence. Both of them still smoke, but they’ve been vaping for the past year in an effort to quit.

Both of them had 650mAh eGo batts topped with CE4 clearos filled with synthetic tobacco juices, which they’d bought from brick and mortar ecig stores in Minneapolis. Neither has been able to stop smoking yet, nor do they know about the various vaping internet forums. At 66, Stacey still works full-time, and both she and her 29-year-old daughter have full lives without the free time to explore the online vaping world.

Needless to say, my massive collection of vaping hardware, juices, extracts, etc. impressed them. I let both of them vape one of my Rocky Patel cigar NETs, and they were astonished. My friend Stacey said, “Wow, what I’ve been using tastes nothing like tobacco, but this really does. And it’s so satisfying! I might be able to give up cigarettes if I had more of this.”

When the time came for Stacey and her daughter to go back to their cousin’s house and from there return to their respective homes in Minneapolis and San Franciso, I put together a large care package for each of them---a big ziploc bag filled with 200ml of NET liquids---some retail juices, and many DIY NET liquids made from my own and my compatriots’ home-extracted NETs, plus a couple extra eGo batteries, since they have only one each. I also told Stacey that I’d be happy to keep them both stocked with NET liquids and guide them toward acquisition of better vaping gear.

They’re smoking American Spirits, so I included some DIY NET made from my American Spirit Organic extract. Even with their crummy hardware, I’ll bet that will blow their minds.

Imagine the difference between the set-ups they’re both using now---small eGo batts with CE4 clearos and synthetic tobacco juices---and something like the new 20-watt VW eLeaf iStick using an Aspire BVC Mini Nautilus and NETs. Jeez, that would be like night and day. Their chances of giving up smoking should rise exponentially.

 

[checkum]

Bill, If your excellent extracts you gave them don't help them to quit nothing will!

 

[NotSoMini]

I have Organic Spirit in one of my Nautilus Minis right now and I agree with you on the sweetness. It has a quality different from any other NETcom product I've tried.

How many mls before you need to change the coil?

 

[Dusty_D]

While on the topic of mls through the coils, MVJ's latest batch is lasting me around 3 mls or so before having to re-wick my KFL. I'm sure there will be some that will be able to take it through a full tank, but I usually change out as soon as I notice a drop or change in flavour. Charlemagne needs a change NOW.. I can't vape it anymore. Heirloom Cherry was the same, as was Stogie. I've got Blonde marinating a wick since last night, and will start with it in the next hour or so, which is when I'll re-wick the others.

 

[NotSoMini]

The Perique Spirit is also really good. It's just hard to find a store that has them in stock. My daughter tried several stores before she found a place that had them. I'm getting low on the extract and I think I'll be getting two packs next time.

Very easy to extract your own if you get into DIY. Easiest is to buy a pouch of roll your own but it can be done by stripping pack sticks.

For as much as American Spirit is right up my alley plus Perique Spirit sounds tasty, it is not in my stars to do DiY at this time - perhaps down the road sometime. I will definitely remember these as easy extracts to make for a first timer. I thank both of you for the suggestion.

 

[Jerms]

Loaded up well aged Sun Grown cigar from MVJ in my KFL to take to work. While the flavor is too light for me to want to drip a home, it makes for an excellent on-the-go vape as I expected. Perfect for those 'cig' breaks as it's a similar experience to a light cig but with cigar notes. And of course, super clean in the Kayfun.

Also picked up a set of 16 hex wrenches at Walmart for under $2 that has a 1.5mm key, so will be able to build my Origen V2 clone when I get a chance. I've read it gives a drier vape, and I prefer wet, so won't be surprised if I'm not a big fan of it. Sure is a nice looking dripper though.

 

[Skeebo]

I tried all 6 of my flavors from GeJ out of the mailbox. I'm not at all disappointed, and eager to see what develops with some steep time. Patriot stood out to me the most, very unique and not at all what I expected. I think I had this drawn up idea in my head that these NET's would be a little funky, almost musty if you will. I was pleasantly surprised. I wish I wasn't so worn out, I'd probably be able to describe my enjoyment better.

Hardware report..



Magma: finally something I can use. Very easy to build; couple minutes after cleaning have a simple single micro ready to go. Lovely dripper. Loaded up Porch Rocker and the flavor is full, dense, saturated, and wet. Flavor is easily up there with my Atomic, maybe even a little better. Nearly leak-proof like the Veritas. Easy to adjust airflow. I've tried one 1mm, two 1mm as Dusty, and 2mm partially closed off; all work fantastic. Love it.

How is the Magma comparing with the Veritas in the flavor department? I use a single horizontal build in the Veritas. It being my first dripper, I have nothing else to compare it to.

 

[Jerms]

I tried all 6 of my flavors from GeJ out of the mailbox. I'm not at all disappointed, and eager to see what develops with some steep time. Patriot stood out to me the most, very unique and not at all what I expected. I think I had this drawn up idea in my head that these NET's would be a little funky, almost musty if you will. I was pleasantly surprised. I wish I wasn't so worn out, I'd probably be able to describe my enjoyment better.





How is the Magma comparing with the Veritas in the flavor department? I use a single horizontal build in the Veritas. It being my first dripper, I have nothing else to compare it to.

Patriot's a very special juice. Love, love, love it.

For me the Veritas gives very good flavor, while the Magma gives excellent flavor. The Veritas gives all the notes, but the vape is a little on the drier side. The Magma is very easy to build too, while the Veritas is the toughest build I've experienced. The airflow control works much better on the Magma also.

 

[Skeebo]

Patriot's a very special juice. Love, love, love it.

For me the Veritas gives very good flavor, while the Magma gives excellent flavor. The Veritas gives all the notes, but the vape is a little on the drier side. The Magma is very easy to build too, while the Veritas is the toughest build I've experienced. The airflow control works much better on the Magma also.

Sweet, I now know what my next purchase is going to be.

 

[Dusty_D]

Sweet, I now know what my next purchase is going to be.

Yes!! another future "Magmatized" member!!

Jerms, have I already told you that I'm glad you're enjoying your Magma?!

I spent the last few hours in the company of a gorgeous Blonde and a mad Englishman. Drew Estate 7th Ave Blonde and Davidoff Royalty Mixture Pipe Tobacco. The two could not be further apart in a vape experience.

The Blonde is a mild, slightly sweet, delicious juice and one that you could spend hours with. The Royalty mixture was the complete opposite, all "Tally Ho! Let loose the hounds.. Bwahahahhaa!" crazy Latakia leading mad man! Thoroughly enjoyed the company of the both of them, but now I'm taking the Blonde to bed with me and I'll let the Englishman prowl the woods out back!

G'night folks!

 

[Jerms]

Yes!! another future "Magmatized" member!!

Jerms, have I already told you that I'm glad you're enjoying your Magma?!

I spent the last few hours in the company of a gorgeous Blonde and a mad Englishman. Drew Estate 7th Ave Blonde and Davidoff Royalty Mixture Pipe Tobacco. The two could not be further apart in a vape experience.

The Blonde is a mild, slightly sweet, delicious juice and one that you could spend hours with. The Royalty mixture was the complete opposite, all "Tally Ho! Let loose the hounds.. Bwahahahhaa!" crazy Latakia leading mad man! Thoroughly enjoyed the company of the both of them, but now I'm taking the Blonde to bed with me and I'll let the Englishman prowl the woods out back!

G'night folks!

..Scandalous.

Myself, I'm enjoying Bill's Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 in my Magma, so been cigaring it all day.

I really have zero complaints about the Magma. It's not the most attractive dripper, but really, who cares. Funny thing though, after finding out how well it performs it suddenly looked a whole lot nicer. Matches up with my Nemesis clone quite well.

 

[Frankenmizer]

How is the Magma comparing with the Veritas in the flavor department? I use a single horizontal build in the Veritas. It being my first dripper, I have nothing else to compare it to.

For me the Veritas gives very good flavor, while the Magma gives excellent flavor. The Veritas gives all the notes, but the vape is a little on the drier side. The Magma is very easy to build too, while the Veritas is the toughest build I've experienced. The airflow control works much better on the Magma also.

I find the Veritas and Magma to be more or less equivalent flavor-wise, when both are built with dual coils (the only way I've built both are with dual coils). I haven't noticed the drier vape Jerms notes, but flavor topics are subjective.

I have a hard time building either with duals, but that's a function of practice and technique. I'm neutral on this measure.

I agree with Jerms that the Magma's airflow control is better than the single massive (but adjustable via the top cap) air intake on the Veritas.

The Magma weeps juice if not handled carefully. The Veritas, while not leak-proof, is considerably better in that regard.

 

[Jerms]

I find the Veritas and Magma to be more or less equivalent flavor-wise, when both are built with dual coils (the only way I've built both are with dual coils). I haven't noticed the drier vape Jerms notes, but flavor topics are subjective.

I have a hard time building either with duals, but that's a function of practice and technique. I'm neutral on this measure.

I agree with Jerms that the Magma's airflow control is better than the single massive (but adjustable via the top cap) air intake on the Veritas.

The Magma weeps juice if not handled carefully. The Veritas, while not leak-proof, is considerably better in that regard.

Yeah, the experience is very subjective. Mine comes from my builds, my wick, my vaping style, and my brain; so unless someone shares all those they may have quite a different experience. I think part of the reason for my drier vape is my insistence on a tighter draw, and the Veritas seems to work better for those who open it up.

I am confused about your leaking issues with the Magma. For me it's been totally leak free, same as the Veritas. Maybe your coil is too close to the airhole allowing juice to drop in? I use a compact coil with rayon which holds onto juice well, so no drops are falling in the airhole. Like the Veritas I've been vaping the Magma with no regard of which way the airhole points and the outside remains bone dry.

 

[Frankenmizer]

Yeah, the experience is very subjective. Mine comes from my builds, my wick, my vaping style, and my brain; so unless someone shares all those they may have quite a different experience. I think part of the reason for my drier vape is my insistence on a tighter draw, and the Veritas seems to work better for those who open it up.

I am confused about your leaking issues with the Magma. For me it's been totally leak free, same as the Veritas. Maybe your coil is too close to the airhole allowing juice to drop in? I use a compact coil with rayon which holds onto juice well, so no drops are falling in the airhole. Like the Veritas I've been vaping the Magma with no regard of which way the airhole points and the outside remains bone dry.

The leaks come from tilt and a full juice well. At vape time, if I tilt toward either of the two coil sides, juice can run (well, ooze really) up the well wall, down the air hole and outside to the airflow control hole. I now make sure I tilt to one of the two closed sides. The advantage of the Veritas is that the single afc hole can be closed off quickly, and short of turning it upside down, it won't ooze a drop. That being said, I could have worse problems than two great RDA's, each with their own minor idiosyncrasies.

ETA: As for draw, I tend to run the Magma at the middle afc setting. I run the Veritas at half to three-quarters closed.

 

[Jerms]

The leaks come from tilt and a full juice well. At vape time, if I tilt toward either of the two coil sides, juice can run (well, ooze really) up the well wall, down the air hole and outside to the airflow control hole. I now make sure I tilt to one of the two closed sides. The advantage of the Veritas is that the single afc hole can be closed off quickly, and short of turning it upside down, it won't ooze a drop. That being said, I could have worse problems than two great RDA's, each with their own minor idiosyncrasies.

ETA: As for draw, I tend to run the Magma at the middle afc setting. I run the Veritas at half to three-quarters closed.

My guess is different vape styles is causing it to leak for you and not for me. I naturally don't tilt my mod much when vaping; always less than 90° and usually much less, so juice from the well isn't really flowing up the device. The airhole is often pointing right me with the Magma and no gurgle or leak.

 

[Vicman]

Been vaping RBFS's Porch Rocker for the past day and a half and am likin the heck out of this stuff. I can taste a little of the brightness of the Virginia and a little of the darker notes of Burley with maybe a little smoky element which I guess is the Latakia. Maybe a little of the Perique as it has a somewhat musty hint to it. However, it is just the essences of these I am tasting. The description said it also has something called Flake (no clue what that is?). All of these together make up a completely different type of tobacco flavor; a real good one at that. No one flavor dominates it as all the tobaccos blend perfectly. Gonna keep vaping till this tank runs dry and put it away so I don't vape till it's gone. This is defiantly a keeper; awesome stuff.

 

[Vicman]

On another note. I know most of y'all use kayfun's and tanks like that. I tried but my fat fingers and bad eyesight makes wrapping around that ridiculously small screw almost impossible. That's why I have been searching for something that has great flavor and not to bad on the expenses. I started using nautilus tanks with the bvc coils. These produce great flavor but the coils are costly. However, I seen a thread the other day which talked about dry-burning the coils. Tried it and have been doing that for a few days and seems to work great with no flavor loss or burnt taste (which makes sense as it is some type of ceramic filler material). On the third dry-burn on this coil and tested it against a new one; no noticeable difference in flavor or vapor. Now I got around 30 coils to use. Just throwing it out there in case there are others like me that struggle with coils and such.

 

[67Tele]

Thanks for asking because I'm interested too and to whether I'd be disappointed by not getting a true representation without a RDA.
And thanks everybody else. I'm new to NETs and have been....slowly working my way through the thread. Tons of good information, testing, suggestions and knowledge being shared!

On another note. I know most of y'all use kayfun's and tanks like that. I tried but my fat fingers and bad eyesight makes wrapping around that ridiculously small screw almost impossible. That's why I have been searching for something that has great flavor and not to bad on the expenses. I started using nautilus tanks with the bvc coils. These produce great flavor but the coils are costly. However, I seen a thread the other day which talked about dry-burning the coils. Tried it and have been doing that for a few days and seems to work great with no flavor loss or burnt taste (which makes sense as it is some type of ceramic filler material). On the third dry-burn on this coil and tested it against a new one; no noticeable difference in flavor or vapor. Now I got around 30 coils to use. Just throwing it out there in case there are others like me that struggle with coils and such.

 

[Vicman]

Thanks for asking because I'm interested too and to whether I'd be disappointed by not getting a true representation with a RDA.
And thanks everybody else. I'm new to NETs and have been....slowly working my way through the thread. Tons of good information, testing, suggestions and knowledge being shared!

I have to say that the best flavor I have gotten was from the Magma; easy to coil and use. That thing is a beast but not practical for when out and about. Great for the home though. The nautilus with bvc's to me is very close on picking up the flavor nuances though. The coils are just a little costly to chuck after gunking; glad I saved them.

I agree about the great info on this thread. I feel like I get a free education on the finer points of tobacco and vaping from it. I feel, and yes, I'm biased cause I just love NET's, it is the most informative thread on the forum.

 

[billherbst]

On another note. I know most of y'all use kayfun's and tanks like that. I tried but my fat fingers and bad eyesight makes wrapping around that ridiculously small screw almost impossible. That's why I have been searching for something that has great flavor and not to bad on the expenses. I started using nautilus tanks with the bvc coils. These produce great flavor but the coils are costly. However, I seen a thread the other day which talked about dry-burning the coils. Tried it and have been doing that for a few days and seems to work great with no flavor loss or burnt taste (which makes sense as it is some type of ceramic filler material). On the third dry-burn on this coil and tested it against a new one; no noticeable difference in flavor or vapor. Now I got around 30 coils to use. Just throwing it out there in case there are others like me that struggle with coils and such.

That's good to read. The BVC coils are not an easy rebuild, so if their lives can be extended by dry-burning, that's great. I rebuild my RDAs, bottom-feeder rebuildables, and all my EVOD-style bottom-coil clearos that use single-coil replaceable Kanger heads, but while I don't mind the coil-wick dance and even enjoy it, it'd be great to get better-than-average flavor and performance from a coil I don't have rebuild or re-wick every time I turn around. Plus, at roughly two bucks each, the Aspire BVC heads are more expensive than I want to pay very often.