need some help, completely lost

[rimuser]

Hi guys, I've finally decided to give up smoking and start vaping and hopefully, get off nicotine for good. Now, I don't really know jack about most of this stuff other than the basics so I'm hoping you guys can help me out. Any information you can provide would be helpful.

I've been smoking for about 8 years now and am at 8-10 ciggies a day and have been able to come down to smoking milds or ultra milds. My cigarette of choice would be marlboro filter plus (Tar - 3 mg, Nicotine - 0.2 mg).

After asking around, and without breaking the bank, I've been recommended mt. baker juices and either a kanger or itaste e-cig. I've also been recommended to buy a pyrex tank so it doesn't leak. I do a lot of traveling abroad, sometimes months at a time, so I can't really afford to go hunting around for spares or parts or what not, which is why I'm coming to you guys for help.

1. Kanger or itaste? -why?
2. Pyrex tank?
3. How long do coils last?
4. Realistically, what do I need? I'm right now in the states, and will be leaving for another stint abroad (8 months) in the next month.
5. How long do juices last (size of bottle)?
6. What strength of nicotine do I need and also, what percentage of VG/PG?

I realize that no one can definitively say what will work for me, but i'm hoping for a general opinion which will help me wade through this ocean of products. Plus any pointers on what flavors are "should try" or "amazing" would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for all your info!

 

[Susan W.]

Welcome to ECF. You'll get a bunch of answers here.
1. I'd go with iTaste MVP but the threads are brass so if you drop it or nick the threads, you'll have to buy another device.
2. Glass tank because some juices melt plastic. With glass you don't have to be careful about what flavors you use.
3. Coils - it depends on the juices you use. Darker, thicker, sweeter juices will gunk up the coils quicker. There are ways to prolong them, like cleaning and dry burning.
4. You need at least two or more devices, probably 4 would be a good amount to last 8 months, backups for everything including an extra charger.
5. Juices last a long time in the bottle. As far as vaping them, that varies greatly from person to person.
6. I started with 18mg nic but quickly dropped to 12mg, then within 3 months, dropped to 6mg so don't stock up on higher nic. Most likely you'll drop soon. PG/VG percentage is what you like. I'd start with 50/50 and see how well you like it. PG carries flavor and is thinner and gives more throat hit. VG tends to be thicker and will create bigger clouds of vapor. Some people are allergic to PG so they go with higher VG. I like 80pg/20vg.

 

[Tealady12]

Congratulations on your decision to quit, it is the single most important thing you can do for yourself.

Find a local Vape shop, (not a tobacco store) and try a few items out. They are knowledgeable and will help you pick out a suitable starter kit. You will want 2 set ups and the correct strength juice. Really go to the pros.

Go on Facebook and find a local vapors page and they can direct you to a Vape shop that is passionate about helping people quit.

And join
http://www.casaa.org/Become_a_Member.html

 

[CJHacker]

I have recently switched along with a couple of my friends, and my wife. We all have had a different experience with it, but one of the big things I'd like to do is suggest that you find a juice that you truly enjoy. One of my friends was insistent that he needed a juice that was a tobacco flavor like his beloved marbs. After trying a few of my juices he realized that he can actually enjoy something that tastes 10 times better than what he was vaping. My wife had trouble with the higher nicotine levels giving too much of a throat hit etc.

Watch the forums here for some of the wonderful vendors that have $0.99 sales on their juice. Try them out. Or others will have sample packs for a few dollars. I ended up with some Lemon Chiffon Pie juice that I just can't get enough of. Everyone will have their favorite that will just click with them, and like Susan mentioned above, try to keep your orders smaller in case you need to change up your nic content.

Best of luck!

 

[novamatt]

Hi and welcome aboard!

1. Kanger or itaste? -why?

Both, but for different parts of your e-cig. The iTaste MVP is easily the #1 recommended device on the boards here for new vapers. It is variable power (which lets you control how strong your vape is), has a built in battery that lasts a day or two on a charge (that's a LOT more than most), is easy to use, not very big, and even has a port you can use to charge your cellphone if you're away from a plug and the cell is running low. Additionally, it has the ability to be used while it's charging, which is a big deal if you only have one thing.

In addition to your device (which provides the power), you'll need some sort of atomizer (which holds the juice and the heating element). For that, I recommend the Kanger Aerotank. It's pyrex tank that will hold about 3ml of liquid or so (I'll get into how much that is time-wise farther down the list here). Coils are relatively cheap at $10 for 5 coils, and they last longer than some of the other brands. Finally, it has airflow control, so you can adjust how your draw feels (think the difference between sucking a thick milkshake through a straw and sucking air through one - people like different feels, and this will let you adjust it to your own preferences).

2. Pyrex tank?

Yes, see above. This is because some juices (citrus flavors, cinnamons, and a few others) have are acidic enough to weaken or crack plastic tanks. Glass is immune to this.

3. How long do coils last?

This will depend on your juice and your usage, but a good estimate is a few days to a week.

4. Realistically, what do I need? I'm right now in the states, and will be leaving for another stint abroad (8 months) in the next month.

At a bare minimum, you're going to want the two items listed for your first question, a good supply of replacement coils, and juice. In addition to that, I like to have a few more tanks so that I can keep them full with different flavors and just change the tank if I want something else. If you're going somewhere where vape stuff isn't really available, you may also want a second MVP as a backup in case something goes wrong with your first one.

5. How long do juices last (size of bottle)?

This really depends on how much you vape and at what settings. Some people only go through 1ml per day, others over 10. A safe bet would be 3-6ml per day.

6. What strength of nicotine do I need and also, what percentage of VG/PG?

These are both personal preference things, and the nicotine doesn't really correlate well to how much you smoked. I've seen 1 pack a day smokers who need to vape 36mg to stay off of cigarettes, and other pack a day (like me) who couldn't do more than 12mg without nicotine overdose symptoms. Because your body metabolizes the nicotine in a different manner with vaping, it hits people at different levels. The only way to find out is to experiment.

PG/VG is simply a personal preference, unless you find out you're allergic to one or the other. Try a range of them and see what you like the best.

Hope that helps, and don't hesitate to post any other questions you have - we like to help here.

Oh, and one more thing to mention - most people try to start with tobacco flavored juices, but find out pretty quickly that none of them really taste like a cigarette. Most of us end up enjoying the fruits, desserts, and other stuff, and never go back to the tobaccos. Make sure you get a range of flavors to try.

 

[Shootist]

Most all the questions you are asking is personal choice.

Although Kanger does have starter kits on there corp website they are known best for the clearomizers, tanks, they make.

KangerTech

Innokin, IE iTaste product, make a wider variety of products as far as starter kits and PV batteries. They also sell there own brand of clearomisers.

Best Electronic Cigarette | E Cigarette Manufacturer|Best Vape MOD| Innokin

Both of those site are the corp sites. You as an individual can't buy directly from them.

Also look at Aspire for clearomizers, tanks. I own 5 Aspire clearomizers of one type or another and 2 Kanger tanks. Along with 3 Kayfun tanks and a bunch of Halo G6 gear. I use them all.

As for batteries I suggest you stay with something in the eGo style to start with or the Innokin iTaste VV V3 which is very similar to the Ego style.

Glass tanks are better in some regard and worse in other. They can break, but so can plastic tanks. Plastic tanks can degrade and crack from certain juices.

Coils last as long as they last. Each one is different even of the same brand and style/type. I just changed the coil head in my Aspire Nautilus tank after using it for 10 days. The original still worked I just figured I'd change it.

I just changed the one in my Eleaf iJust tank after using it for 2+ weeks. Again the original still worked. I washed it out and set it aside for sometime in the future if I need it.

So how long does a coil last? As long as it lasts. It is all dependent on the type of juice, the voltage you are supplying to it and the amount of juice that is run through it.

Again juice lasts dependent on how much you vape. In the time I have been vaping, about 9.5 weeks, I've gone through about 60 to 80 MLs of juice, IIRC.

For the amount of smoking you do I'd say to start off with 12mg (1.2%) nic content. Maybe have a bottle of 18mg (1.8%) on hand for those times you feel you need a stronger jolt of nicotine.

As far as to what juice to buy that is Totally Up To You. It is purely subjective. What I like you and everyone else might not. What someone else likes I might think it tastes like Sh-i-t. Case in point Alien Vapers Gorilla juice. A lot of people think it's good. I bought a bottle and couldn't stand it. I do like their BOBA's Bounty juice. It is becoming one of my favorites along with Halo Tribeca.

I was a 25 cig a day smoker. I started with 18mg and now i'm down to 12mg for the most part. Soon, a few months, will try going down to 6mg.

 

[Cool-breeze]

I tried a couple times to respond to this and each time I failed. Planning ahead for 8 months of vaping seems very challenging to me, especially trying to help someone just starting. I agree with the mvp, though I'd suggest taking 3 with you. One to use, one to charge, and one for just in case. Being 1/2 pack a day I'd say try 12mg strength for your liquid. Coils do vary, I've had some last a week others last closer to a month. How much liquid?: Days I work (using a common beginners tank) I'd go through 1.5 ml of liquid, days off with time to kill 3 ml easy. You'll find yourself vaping more often than you smoked for a variety of reasons so guestimate on the high side. Try to find a local shop you can try some flavors in. Toppers is tough: I like the kanger t3s. They are not glass and can crack from citrus/ cinnamon / or even mint flavors. Most online stores warn you about known tank crackers. A mini pro tank 2 is glass and is my second favorite for tanks I'd start ppl off with. Going back to coils kanger has had a lot of crap coils out recently so if you get those I'd buy a bit more than you think you need. Good luck!!!

 

[LondonGirl]

I would recommend an EVOD starter kit for a beginner. You get 2 batteries, 2 tanks, a charger and 5 spare coils. This means you have a spare in case your battery runs out or breaks down. As you are travelling, you might actually want 2 of these.

Plastic tanks can crack with certain juices, so you might also want to buy one glass or pyrex tanx specifically for those flavours.

Protank and Protank Mini 1 & 2 use the same coils as the EVOD, so you would only need one type of coil. A Protank would fit on EVOD batteries.

You're quite a light smoker so you might find 10-12mg/ml nicotine is suitable for you. Personally I would buy a variety of strengths to see what suits you best. Many people keep a higher nicotine juice on hand to deal with cravings, and use a lower strength for general use.

I personally like 50/50 PG/VG. Any more than 70% PG gives me a sore throat. It's a really personal thing though, so you might buy a few different ones and see which suits you best.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[Lurch]

Go to YouTube and check out some of the reviews of various equipment mentioned by the others ^ That will give you a sense of what they are talking about and provide additional information, pros and cons, of the various components.
I would also recommend watching some videos on how to rebuild coils. Once you learn to that, and it is very easy, you can carry a roll of 100' of wire with you and some cotton balls and be good to go for a very long time.

Good luck and thank you for your service!

 

[Summerr]

Hey and welcome! You can definitely make the switch, but there is a learning curve. I quit cigarettes for good 8 months ago, and what's kept me happy and off the cancer sticks are an EVOD starter kit and a Halo G6 starter kit plus the tobacco sample pack from Halo. Like LondonGirl said, the EVOD is an excellent kit with great tanks that work well and won't break and everything you need to vape away for many, many months. But when I first quit, I didn't like the EVOD. It wasn't enough like smoking, it was too smooth or something. The G6 is a cig-a-like. It won't be your last device, but for making the switch and travel it's pretty great. I happily vaped my way through Bankgok and Phuket in October using the G6. I got the low-resistance blank cartomizers so I could still use juice but they're less messy than tanks. It may be worth considering. Hope that helps. Safe travels!

 

[rimuser]

Thank you all so much for your prompt responses. I was honestly surprised to see so many replies so soon. I'm going to look into everything you guys have suggested and will definitely let you know what i've narrowed it down to. Thanks again, nice to see such a helpful community.

 

[Buggainok]

I've never traveled abroad, but I understand that the charger you use there may be different from the ones we use in the U.S. So something to keep in mind.

The first Ego starter kit I ordered came to me with the wrong charger - it was marked EU instead of US. It would not fit into my wall plugs. They exchanged it for me and all was well. I've joked that I should have kept it and made hubby take me to Europe so I could use it.

 

[djsvapour]

Welcome.

8-10 a day at 0.2mg.

BE CAREFUL. Please.

You will in no way require nicotine in double figures. If you start vaping 12 or 18, it's going to blow your head off and make you feel terrible.

I would go on 6mg and take it extremely easy... and that's an understatement.

 

[fraychek]

I second the recommendation of an Evod starter kit. I'd rrcommend adding a couple of mini Pro Tank 2's for any "tank cracker" liquids you might choose. They will all use the same coils. Get a couple packs of spare coils to use until you're comfortable with cleaning and re-using them. Easy, no fuss, gives you time to get comfortable with vaping and then you may or may not go on to more complicated set-ups. Juice, try several to find what you like, small bottles until you know what you want.

 

[rimuser]

Ok guys, this is what I've come up with, feel free to correct me. I'm going to get an itaste mvp 2.0 and an EVOD. I'm also going to pick up three mini protank 2 (2.4-2.6ohm), and about 10 packs of the replacement heads/coils (each pack has 5). I'm thinking of picking up a total of two 15 ml bottles of 12mg, ten bottles of 6mg, and five bottles of 0mg.

Sound good?

 

[Hijack]

All the answers to these are subjective and not set in stone so here's mine.

1. itaste mvp 2 is number 1 for new vapers. You might want to steer clear of kanger tanks as their coils are crap right now so it wouldn't be good to buy 20 and find 10 of them are crap. Maybe an aspire nautilus would be better choice.
2. this has been answered.
3. They can go quickly but usually 2 weeks. If you are running out, you can do whats called dry burning a coil to bring it back to life. Basicaly rinse coil(atty) under tap, shake off water, screw in battery and slowly burn off the crap on coil using the device. this cleans the coil up and you can get another week or so from it.
4. MVP, tank of choice, 25 coils, and the juice.
5. I use 30ml a week. so that a fair bit for 8 months but I was a 20 a day smoker.
6. I started on 18mg to help with the cravings.
Hope this is helpful and not just confusing.

 

[Hulamoon]

Unless you already know you're going to love the PG/VG ratio and flavor of the juice, I'd recommend getting sampler sizes from a few different vendors as fast as you can. The sampler sizes are in general already matured enough to develop a good flavor and lose any perfumey/soapy or alcohol taste. As you then try them, then you can get online or telephone and order the big bottles. Where are you heading to, btw?

Ok guys, this is what I've come up with, feel free to correct me. I'm going to get an itaste mvp 2.0 and an EVOD. I'm also going to pick up three mini protank 2 (2.4-2.6ohm), and about 10 packs of the replacement heads/coils (each pack has 5). I'm thinking of picking up a total of two 15 ml bottles of 12mg, ten bottles of 6mg, and five bottles of 0mg.

Sound good?

 

[novamatt]

Ok guys, this is what I've come up with, feel free to correct me. I'm going to get an itaste mvp 2.0 and an EVOD. I'm also going to pick up three mini protank 2 (2.4-2.6ohm), and about 10 packs of the replacement heads/coils (each pack has 5). I'm thinking of picking up a total of two 15 ml bottles of 12mg, ten bottles of 6mg, and five bottles of 0mg.

Sound good?

Sounds like a pretty good plan. How long are you going to be home before you leave? If you have the time to do so, it might be better to order several small bottles of juice to test out, and then buy the ones you like in bigger sizes (some places sell bottles as large as 500ml, and they're significantly cheaper than 33 15ml bottles for the same amount of juice). On average I only tend to enjoy 1 or 2 bottles out of 10 enough to want more. I'm pickier than most, but liking less than half is pretty common.

 

[novamatt]

You might want to steer clear of kanger tanks as their coils are crap right now so it wouldn't be good to buy 20 and find 10 of them are crap. Maybe an aspire nautilus would be better choice.

In my experience, the nautilus coils have been MUCH worse, which is funny, since they cost 50% more.

 

[edyle]

Hi guys, I've finally decided to give up smoking and start vaping and hopefully, get off nicotine for good. Now, I don't really know jack about most of this stuff other than the basics so I'm hoping you guys can help me out. Any information you can provide would be helpful.

I've been smoking for about 8 years now and am at 8-10 ciggies a day and have been able to come down to smoking milds or ultra milds. My cigarette of choice would be marlboro filter plus (Tar - 3 mg, Nicotine - 0.2 mg).

After asking around, and without breaking the bank, I've been recommended mt. baker juices and either a kanger or itaste e-cig. I've also been recommended to buy a pyrex tank so it doesn't leak. I do a lot of traveling abroad, sometimes months at a time, so I can't really afford to go hunting around for spares or parts or what not, which is why I'm coming to you guys for help.

1. Kanger or itaste? -why?
2. Pyrex tank?
3. How long do coils last?
4. Realistically, what do I need? I'm right now in the states, and will be leaving for another stint abroad (8 months) in the next month.
5. How long do juices last (size of bottle)?
6. What strength of nicotine do I need and also, what percentage of VG/PG?

I realize that no one can definitively say what will work for me, but i'm hoping for a general opinion which will help me wade through this ocean of products. Plus any pointers on what flavors are "should try" or "amazing" would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for all your info!

1: Kanger miniprotank2 v2.
Standard workhorse tank; start with that; ego thread; glass/pyrex; replaceable mouthpiece.
For a battery get an itaste MVP2 or for a more economy version the itaste vv v3. Power control passthrough batteries. Easy to use.
2: Yes use glass.
3: For you: probably a week.
4: ...
5: For you, sounds like 10ml per week.
6: Get 2 tanks and use 2 strengths: 6mg and 24mg?(Probably 12 for you, or maybe 18); Use the low strength, and if you get a craving, take a puff of the higher strength.
PG/VG rato: 50/50.

Flavor to try: Be sure to try some unflavored. Establish a baseline.
Sometimes you find when you vape a certain flavor, there is a part of it that you don't like; but if the unflavored has that same taste then it's not the flavor causing the problem but something else; some shops it doesn't matter what flavor you buy, you might never like any of there flavors because there's something in the BASE that they are using that you don't like.