Hello everybody. 
I have been reading this forum and its introductory pages (very nice material, btw) for about a week now and finally decided to become a member. I thought I might as well drop in and post my story, and maybe even get a few questions answered along the way.
I was a smoker of about a pack a day and knew that I would have to quit eventually, not only for my own health and my profession, but for the health and safety of my children and those around me. The problem is that I didn't want to quit, I enjoy my smoke breaks. So I decided to purchase an electronic cigarette starter kit for $20 from a local convenience store, the Cig2O. If nothing else I would at least know if I could actually use one of these things. If not, I would have only been out $20. I got the 18mg tobacco flavor, which didn't really taste like tobacco, more like a slight hint of plastic strawberries. Nevertheless, I found that I actually could use this thing in place of my daily cigarettes. Even if I only smoked 3 to 4 analogs per day, I was saving money and my health.
Now convinced that this was a long-term investment, I decided to explore my options for an upgrade. The best reviews that I could find seemed to point to the Green Smoke (which is strangely not mentioned AT ALL in this forum, wonder if this post will get deleted...) The problem is that the Green Smoke runs for $129 for the basic starter kit, and I would have had to order all refills through the mail. So I searched around and found an electronic cigarette store in my area. They showed me a few models and gave me a complementary Marlboro Light carto, which I was surprised actually had flavor, though still tasting like tobacco. I didn't buy a new unit that day, but did pick up a coffee sampler pack of cartos that fit my cheap battery, which seemed to produce an acceptable amount of vapor. Cappuccino was pretty good, espresso even better, the black coffee... SCORE! Found my favorite flavor so far.
Now realizing the difference between 2-piece and 3-piece setups, and that individual parts (batteries, cartomizers, etc.) are not entirely brand-specific, I decided to purchase an upgrade. I went back to the store the next day and told them what I wanted: a black battery with a push-button, blue light, and not much thicker than an analog but possibly longer. The ever-so-helpful woman behind the counter pulled up a fancy black box containing a KR808D-1 starter kit, which I excitedly purchased, along with a carrying case and some more cartos. The only thing that I was leary of was the fact that they didn't seem to advertise the brand of the product that they carry in that store (sometimes I would get V4L cartos and sometimes they would be blank), but I later found that the KR8 was the Smoking Anywhere brand, which seems to be somewhat reputable.
At this point (about 1 week after buying my first e-cig) I had smoked my last analog and switched entirely to e-cigs, without the slightest bit of craving. Surprisingly, I found that after tasting some of the new flavors, I really didn't want something that tastes like tobacco when I could have something much tastier to puff on. In fact, all I could really taste in the last analog that I had was the paper and that carpet glue crap they put in to make them "fire safe." Anyway, After experiencing a few burnt and low-vapor cartos, I decided to try to refill them myself.
Yesterday, following several instructional videos on youtube, I boiled, rinsed, and dried several of my used cartos to be refilled. Today, I bought a 30ml bottle of 24mg coffee juice and managed to successfully drip-fill each of them *insert tasty coffee-flavored vapor plume here*. Not quite sure why, but for some reason I had the urge to peel the labels off of each of the refilled cartos. The bare metal looks neat, all shiny and pretty, but there is still some sticky residue left on a few of them. Oh well.
Which brings us to where I am right now, posting in this forum. The KR808D-1 seems to be a preferred choice for many here, a reassuring fact for me. I have been thinking, though, about switching over to a 3 piece unit for my next upgrade. They seem to be a little more geared toward those that like to drip their own juice, but with the atties only lasting a week or so and the carts holding less juice, it doesn't seem worth it. Makes more sense to me just to buy blank cartos and fill them myself. I'm guessing they would last just as long (if not longer) than an atomizer and they go longer between refills/cleanings.
So anyway, that's my story. Glad to meet all of you! If anyone wants to chime in with some advice about the KR8 or refilling cartos and such, feel free!
I have been reading this forum and its introductory pages (very nice material, btw) for about a week now and finally decided to become a member. I thought I might as well drop in and post my story, and maybe even get a few questions answered along the way.
I was a smoker of about a pack a day and knew that I would have to quit eventually, not only for my own health and my profession, but for the health and safety of my children and those around me. The problem is that I didn't want to quit, I enjoy my smoke breaks. So I decided to purchase an electronic cigarette starter kit for $20 from a local convenience store, the Cig2O. If nothing else I would at least know if I could actually use one of these things. If not, I would have only been out $20. I got the 18mg tobacco flavor, which didn't really taste like tobacco, more like a slight hint of plastic strawberries
. Nevertheless, I found that I actually could use this thing in place of my daily cigarettes. Even if I only smoked 3 to 4 analogs per day, I was saving money and my health.Now convinced that this was a long-term investment, I decided to explore my options for an upgrade. The best reviews that I could find seemed to point to the Green Smoke (which is strangely not mentioned AT ALL in this forum, wonder if this post will get deleted...) The problem is that the Green Smoke runs for $129 for the basic starter kit, and I would have had to order all refills through the mail. So I searched around and found an electronic cigarette store in my area
. They showed me a few models and gave me a complementary Marlboro Light carto, which I was surprised actually had flavor, though still tasting like tobacco. I didn't buy a new unit that day, but did pick up a coffee sampler pack of cartos that fit my cheap battery, which seemed to produce an acceptable amount of vapor. Cappuccino was pretty good, espresso even better, the black coffee... SCORE! Found my favorite flavor so far. Now realizing the difference between 2-piece and 3-piece setups, and that individual parts (batteries, cartomizers, etc.) are not entirely brand-specific, I decided to purchase an upgrade. I went back to the store the next day and told them what I wanted: a black battery with a push-button, blue light, and not much thicker than an analog but possibly longer. The ever-so-helpful woman behind the counter pulled up a fancy black box containing a KR808D-1 starter kit, which I excitedly purchased, along with a carrying case and some more cartos. The only thing that I was leary of was the fact that they didn't seem to advertise the brand of the product that they carry in that store (sometimes I would get V4L cartos and sometimes they would be blank), but I later found that the KR8 was the Smoking Anywhere brand, which seems to be somewhat reputable.
At this point (about 1 week after buying my first e-cig) I had smoked my last analog and switched entirely to e-cigs, without the slightest bit of craving. Surprisingly, I found that after tasting some of the new flavors, I really didn't want something that tastes like tobacco when I could have something much tastier to puff on. In fact, all I could really taste in the last analog that I had was the paper and that carpet glue crap they put in to make them "fire safe." Anyway, After experiencing a few burnt and low-vapor cartos, I decided to try to refill them myself.
Yesterday, following several instructional videos on youtube, I boiled, rinsed, and dried several of my used cartos to be refilled. Today, I bought a 30ml bottle of 24mg coffee juice and managed to successfully drip-fill each of them *insert tasty coffee-flavored vapor plume here*. Not quite sure why, but for some reason I had the urge to peel the labels off of each of the refilled cartos. The bare metal looks neat, all shiny and pretty, but there is still some sticky residue left on a few of them. Oh well.
Which brings us to where I am right now, posting in this forum. The KR808D-1 seems to be a preferred choice for many here, a reassuring fact for me
. I have been thinking, though, about switching over to a 3 piece unit for my next upgrade. They seem to be a little more geared toward those that like to drip their own juice, but with the atties only lasting a week or so and the carts holding less juice, it doesn't seem worth it. Makes more sense to me just to buy blank cartos and fill them myself. I'm guessing they would last just as long (if not longer) than an atomizer and they go longer between refills/cleanings.So anyway, that's my story. Glad to meet all of you! If anyone wants to chime in with some advice about the KR8 or refilling cartos and such, feel free!
