Need some help putting this together

[Kwitter]

Okay, so all I really know is what I like and what I don't, and the fact that if I continue vaping these little e-sticks, I'm going to have to give in and have an analog soon. These are just not doing it for me anymore, but since I haven't had an analog since Jan 16, I'd really rather not start over. That said, my head is spinning trying to narrow down the options here, so I'm hoping if I tell you guys what I'm seeing that I like, you can help me decide what to put together. I'm going to try to give you enough information to help, without drowning you like I have myself. lol Here goes:

The most important things to me:

1. Flavor. I have a picky palate. I want things to taste pretty close to the same every time. I care about VV/VW only as far as getting the best and most consistent flavor from the juice is concerned. I don't care how many puffs I take, as long as I don't jones or jitter, I'm good. I also don't think I really care how big the vapor cloud is, or how hard the throat hit is, as long as I feel like I'm inhaling something that tastes good.

2. I want to be able to vape all day without charging batteries or refilling anything. I don't mind changing out a piece to keep going, but I don't want vaping to be a lot of work throughout the day. I don't mind recharging and filling things at night and even replacing/repairing parts, but for the most part, I need to be able to do those things in the evening/weekends and not have them intruding into my day or hindering my ability to vape all day, so I need enough pieces to take care of that.

3. Looks are somewhat important to me. If I'm going to carry it everywhere, it'll be like my glasses. I don't like cheap-looking glasses and I don't care to carry a cheap-looking PV, either. Kind of a personal statement thing, I guess. Oh, and I want all the pieces to look like they actually go together... i.e. a skinny carto in a provari battery looks absolutely stupid to me, as do gaps everywhere. I like lines that make sense and it needs to feel like quality. I read a couple of reviews that said a few of these feel cheap... and they weren't the cheap ones, either. That worried me a bit in trying to make a choices.

4. Lastly, money isn't really an obstacle if there is a legitimate reason to spend the extra, but having the best for the money is more important to me than having the most expensive period... if that makes sense.

Pieces I like the look of:

Batteries: I like the more solid look of the bigger ones, like Zmax and ProVari and even the SLB eGO-V V2 Mega. I like that the Provari V2.5 automatically adjusts for the Atomizer's resistance, but there may be others that do that and I missed it.
If there is an ego type that will give me all day battery and fit a non-carto with enough juice for at least half the day, I'd go for it.

Cartos: I HATE THESE. I don't want anything with batting or only one coil.

Clearomizers: I love these, especially to see how much liquid you have left. I really like the VIsion V2 CE4s; can see using different colors for different flavors.

Tanks: I like the tanks that work/look like the clearomizers. I think the Vivi Nova Vision V3 and the Splitfire tanks would look spiffy on a larger battery.

Drip tips: I don't really care for colors here. Would love to hear thoughts on the different materials, since that's the piece that's in your mouth. I really like the GotVapes Bullets and Desperado del Muertes.

So..... what to do? What to do?!

If you were me, what would you buy? What are the pitfalls I need to look out for? What's worth the money and what's not? What's a pain in the .... that you didn't realize was going to be?

Last, but certainly not least, I do not want a collection of these. Some of y'all have gone crazy. You know who you are... lol

 

[TheAngryBovine]

Have you thought about a reo?

 

[Kwitter]

No. I don't really like the boxes, plus my cousin is a LEO here and was telling us there's a growing problem with people using the herb vaporizers that look the same for other things. I'd rather not get caught up in the confusion there.

 

[shatner]

I've had a Zmax and currently have a Provari with 18650 extension and a Provari Mini. The Zmax has had to have its switch fixed twice. Now it's dead again and I'm done with it. If I had to do it over again, I would have just started with Provari.

 

[Kwitter]

I was wondering how many people would say that. I really don't want to waste a bunch of money "stepping" my way to what I eventually want, but I also don't want to overspend when something along the way might have worked just as well.

Man, I sound like my husband - never satisfied - but I'm really not. lol

 

[Kable]

I like that the Provari V2.5 automatically adjusts for the Atomizer's resistance, but there may be others that do that and I missed it.

This is what vw mods do (smoktech zmax, sigelei zmax, vamo), but not the provari.

I haven't really liked the clearomizers I've tried very much, but others love them. I prefer my phiniac carto tanks personally, for flavor, consistency, and looks.

 

[Kwitter]

Ah, that's right... the variable watt, not volt. Love the phiniac woods... as does everyone else, according to the "sold" on everything there. lol

Went to the other sites... the vamo looks like... well, a toy for girls... to me. I did look at the Zmaxes, but I saw too many reviews with broken things like shatner's for them to make my list.

Anyone tried the EGO-C 1100 Tank System? I just saw that one on smoktek, but hadn't seen it before. Like the look of the black one, but a 1.2mL tank doesn't sound like much to my newbie brain. Of course, having used cartos up until now, I have no idea how much liquid I will use in a day.

 

[Thrasher]

while i dont have a device to recommend, as i am an admitted fanboy. if a provari is even in the running, i suggest looking through the proV forum and notice the lack of complaint threads. you cant go wrong and anything else after that is because you feel like playing with some more mods..
if using only 1 or 2 devices the VW doesnt come into play as much, but there is also the stallion mod.

 

[zapped]

Check out a carto tank at Phiniac.com, IBTanked.com or Valley View Vapes. IMO its the best of both worlds and far superior in taste when compared to a clearomizer.

Ive used both and at least with my juices clearos mute the taste enough to negate their ease of use.Its been my experience and one thats shared my many others that outside of dripping and RBA's youre going to get the best flavor from a carto tank.

These will still have batting inside the cartos BUT buying the cartos pre-punched or putting holes in them and then inserting them in a tank filled with juices eliminates dry hits and that nasty burnt carto taste.

Just so were clear here, Splitfires and ViVi Novas are only tanks in the barest sense of the word. What they are in all actuality is a clearomoizer/tank hybrid or a clearo tank.

When veterans use the term tank most are referring to carto tanks since they came out first and were designed on this very forum.

 

[dgm76513]

Shoot, I'm a tinkerer. I have a Provari with an AGA T+ and I have finally found what I was looking for all along.

It took me a while to get here, and I'll probably wind up getting a ZAP.

I tired cartos - I hated them. They dry out too quick and the filler mutes the flavor.

I tried clearos - I hated them. They are very prone to leaks and cracks, and you have to be careful what juice you put in there. The flavor is also plastic-y and the string wicks are junk.

I tired Carto-tanks - I hated them. With all the people saying it's like a carto that stays wet because it's constantly submerged in liquid, it sure let me down. I found these to be no better than regular cartos. I tried all ways of filling the cartos to get them to wick juice, even punching more holes. Nothing worked. As far as flavor? See my comment about cartos.

I tired the infamous Vivi Nova. What a piece of crap. It's a rebuildable tank-shaped clearo.

Then, fed up with it all, I went to Discount Vapers and purchased the AGA T+, rolled up a SS mesh wick, wrapped a coil, filled it up and took my first hit. Finally. The flavor is good, the vapor production is good, and you can adjust the throat hit. After a little fine-tuning and a little breaking-in, it is what I expected. Plus, the tank is glass so certain liquids won't mess it up. It comes with spare parts, and you can order more. When you get comfortable with how everything works, you can fine tune it some more by setting up the perfect wick-coil relationship, down to the tenth of an ohm if you felt so inclined. There is one drawback that especially concerns those who are frugal with their juice; it's a massive juice hog. I can get about 4 hours average on a tank. 6-8 if I am extremely conservative.

No wonder I want a ZAP.

Mods and/or batteries:

I'll base this off what I have or have used for a length of time, because unless I own it and have used it for a while, I cannot honestly say anything about them.

e-Go batteries are okay for the casual vaper. For me, they were too small, and when they would no longer accept a charge, or broke in some form or fashion, you would just have to throw it away. I don't care much for throw-away technology. I would avoid these.

The Empire mod is an outstanding device, provided you can get one. The drawback with this mod, at least with the current ones, it has a 901 connection. I used to love 901 atties, but something happened and now they are all garbage. I honestly don't know what they changed, but it was for the worse, so I decided to bite the bullet and pick up another mod.

The Provari speaks for itself here on ECF. It's a solid device and it's not too large, either. It is quite heavy, though, but I do not see that as a flaw in any way. What I like most is the consistency. What you set it at is what you get, from full charge to dead battery. Now there is one drawback; the stock setup accepts an 18500 battery, which usually lasts me between 4 and 6 hours. I'll be purchasing the extension cap and using my 18650s very soon.

 

[Kwitter]

The Provari ... What I like most is the consistency. What you set it at is what you get, from full charge to dead battery.

That does it for me right there. Consistency is paramount in my world. ProVape has them on sale, looks like. Woot! Think I'll just go with the ZAP from the beginning, too.

 

[Koman]

Have you thought about a reo?

Reo sounds pretty good imo!

 

[Thrasher]

That does it for me right there. Consistency is paramount in my world. ProVape has them on sale, looks like. Woot! Think I'll just go with the ZAP from the beginning, too.

check out the clearance section of provape too.

 

[Baditude]

I try not to be a fanboy for the Provari, and at times I will recommend something else if I think it will fit someone's needs and expections better. In fact, I recommended a bottom feeder mod to someone last night who didn't even know that they existed. But reading what his expectations were, that was what best suited him.

I believe if you can find a better APV than a Provari, then buy that. If the initial outlay in price doesn't scare you off, it will repay you with years of service. Having the confidence that Provape will always be there should your Provari ever need them, even after the warranty, is peace of mind for me. No Chinese mod can deliver on that promise.

If you're a fan of the clearomizers, get a vivi nova tank or Kanger T3 to put on the Provari and be as happy as a lark.

You should give a pyrex cartotank a chance. In my opinion, they blow the doors off any string wicked device for flavor.

 

[Kwitter]

I was liking the look of the clearomizers, but I have a real dislike of that burnt taste and so many people seemed to get that, I figured I'd just skip it and go straight to the ss mesh wicks. Although the Kanger & Vivi Novas were the two I was looking at before the switch.

I found the ProVape FB page and they've got the elusive ZAP for sale tomorrow, so I figure it's kismet! Can't WAIT!!!

 

[dgm76513]

I do have to warn you before you buy a ZAP; you mentioned in your OP that you didn't want to be tethered to your device by the need to constantly refill, and perform maintenance.

At first, you will probably spend a decent amount of time reviewing different techniques for building wicks and coils. Then, it is possible that when you set it up, you may not get the desired results, so you will try, and try, and try. You may even get frustrated.

But, once it is built to your liking, you will enjoy it. However the elephant in the room is that once it's built and you're using it constantly, you will have to refill it quite often as it does consume large quantities of juice. I can compare it to a 4 barrel carbureted V8 engine, compared to a modest 4 cylinder (clearomizer).

If that doesn't put you off, and you aren't afraid to take the time to get to know everything, then it is definitely worth it IMHO.

I would suggest you get something as a backup, though.

Good luck!

 

[Kwitter]

Thanks, DGM. Good to know. I've decided to buy a few different items to see what I like long term. Watched some videos on all the RBAs... not nearly as involved or complicated as I was thinking it might be, but then again, I build amps and pedals, so I guess it's a matter of what you're used to.

 

[tyancey00]

Have you been to any of the local Brick and mortor shops? St. Louis has a few...

 

[dgm76513]

but then again, I build amps and pedals

Oh, well then you should have no problems