New to vaping, seeking advice.

[newtovape]

Hi all. I found e cigs only about a month ago. Usual story- 20 plus quit attempts, even with champix (and resultant severe, and i mean, SEVERE depression as a side effect). Ive only been smoking a little less then 3 years, (i was a 8 year smoker- quit for 6 years- starting up again 3 years ago- ok maybe this is a little complex ). Im nearly 33 yrs old, australian, female, was smoking 5-10 analogs a day.

It may not sound like much I guess, many people on here are pack or more a day smoker for upwards of 20 years or so- but i REALLY dont like the side effects of smoking. I have an autoimmune disease, and when I smoke I feel like complete .... (exhausted, achey everywhere, headaches), and yet Ive had SUCH a hard time giving it up. Well up until i found vaping of course (usual story!)

I dont even remember where i found out about vaping, funny, cause it was probably only a month ago, but i really can not recall how i discovered it, i hadnt really heard about it before, its not big in australia. I ordered white cloud fling disposables (collective cringe probably, seems everyone on here loathes them). I got a ten pack, loved them instantly, about didnt touch a ciggarette for more then a week- cause i didnt want to (well i tried to smoke a couple of times, and when i did it tasted disgusting and i couldnt finish the whole thing). then the flings pack ran out, and well, i reluctantly picked a ciggarette up again! I ordered again from white cloud- the cirrus two- it arrived today, and Im so relieved to not have to smoke ciggies again. But as you all know whitecloud is EXPENSIVE especially for australians, but there super fast shipping (like three days!!!) was what sold them to me. I bought a vapouriser from vaporfi while i was vaping my flings, spent alot of money on bit and bobs and juice. it took too long to arrive (still hasnt arrived) so i bought from WC again cause i cant stand analogs, and needed something FAST. You really cant beat their express international shipping at $20 USD. Im worried I chose the wrong company with vaporfi, but i guess I just wanted to stock up fast to keep me off smoke, the choices out there are soooo overwhelming- even the amount of info on this forum is overwhelming. i decided to just chose something and order it asap.

Any and all suggestions welcome from experienced vapers about best tools and liquids that ship to australia. Im still waiting on my vaporfi pro and liquids, its taking forever, but when that arrives ill be stocked up for a while, having just received my Cirrus and 20 cartridges. But sooner or later Ill need to order again, and would like to be better informed next time.

BTW despite all the bad reviews on here regarding WC ive really enjoyed the experience (despite the high price). I enjoy the vapour, it tastes good (except the vanilla flavour, yuck, i usually love vanilla flavour) and satisfies nic craving perfectly. Ive found the full strength ones good, extra strong too strong (feels great to draw, but get heart palps after a while!), light strength good, sometimes a little too weak tho. Overall, Ive really enjoyed vaping with WC. so far its all i know, but gee, if WC is considered low quality vape, cant imagine what something better would be like? it is exciting...

thanks in advance for your suggestions.

 

[Sir2fyablyNutz]

Hello @newtovape and welcome to the forum. Congrats on your vape journey. You've only scratched the surface in your vape gear. Life will continue to get better the longer you stay off the stinkys. We have an Australian forum where you might find more info on the hows and whys concerning vape gear and juices.
Australia - New Zealand Forum | E-Cigarette Forum

Good luck.

 

[vapee]

Hey theres alot of info here on getting good deals on vaping gear shipped internationally, alot of us started on the simpler systems and progressed to refillable systems and higher capacity batteries as the vape can be better and more convenient and tailored quite a bit theres places with free shipping like fasttech and gearbest too from china. Not sure exactly on liquids and such but I watch the vape review by a reviewer called "the vaping bogan" from australia whos videos are hilarious as you may see, but he knows alot about vaping in australia and pro gear too, some videos are maybe aimed at beginners more than other though but might be best to take a look at the link to the Australia forum above. Heres his youtube channel though [removed]

I took a quick look at the cirrus ecigs and it appears to be a cartomizer or cartidge setup, they were the only style of ecig around years ago and are still available in many shops on the high streets but vape shops and online have progressed alot from those - larger battery capacities and ability to change voltage was one of the first changes and instead of cartomizers theres many other options now that you can fill with eliquid that you can purchase that'll save alot of cash and also won't have to keep changing the cartomizer too.

 

[Romano Cheese]

Hello and welcome to the forums. I don't know anything about vaporfi so I can't comment on their performance record. I would just say wait on your vapemail (its torture we all know) and see how those products perform compared to what you like, comment back and chat with us. If there are any issues or you have questions, you know where to come to find the answers.

 

[Rucerius]

Welcome newtovape! As Sir2fyablyNutz said there is a forum for our Aussie/Kiwi friends where you'll be able to get help from people in your area. You can read those forums now but you'll need to get 5 posts in this forum and wait for it to update at :25 past the hour before you can post there.

Good luck on your vaping journey.

 

[Filfa]

I haven't come across many aus vapers here, but welcome c:

Btw AussieVapers | The original Australian e-cigarette community active Australian vape community, be able to help more with the local sourcing there

[removed]

 

[MoDmAnDaN]

Welcome to ECF!!! I've heard that getting vape gear and juice there can be hard....I wish you much luck!

 

[uthinkofsomething]

The biggest mistake ppl I know who are trying to quit smoking by vaping make is... they keep smoking. Sounds obvious but many ppl smoke only at work or only when drinking or whatever and they never break that purely mental habit. get some good vape gear, so much out there it is hard to choose, stay stocked up on juice, and never look back. I was pretty happy for quite a while with a vision spinner and a smoktek guardian tank. Look for a device with variable voltage and get a good tank. Google for info as much as you can. Nautilus by aspire is a great tank. Right now I'm using an istick 30 watt mod and a kanger subtank mini, little more advanced but still easy peasy. Look on youtube for video reviews and of course get more personal advice here. You can buy almost anything online internationally. Good luck.

 

[newtovape]

Wow so many quick replies. I love the enthusiasm to help others on this forum. Thanks for leading me to the aussie forum. Not much there tho, guess not many people vape here in oz, with it being kinda illegal and all! I did see some good info about buying pure/strong nic liquid at wholesale prices for DIY. This info may come in handy, as stocking up is probably advised, with the anti vaping stance of the government/corps and the dangers of future prohibition. From my first day vaping, researching and finding out about the legal and health organisational issues around vaping- i was shocked at the contraversy. it seems insane that there are so many people so passionately against something that is such an good alternative for people who fail at quitting smoking. Sure there are unknowns with vaping, we dont know the long term effects. But same goes for drugs like champix, which not only have possible unknown risks, but in addition, have KNOWN risks- which have already been proven to be very harmful. And yet Champix is so freely available and recommended in australia! doesnt make any sense at all. It seems so odd and strange that e ciggarettes are not for sale at tobacconists alongside ciggarettes in tobacconists.

 

[uthinkofsomething]

Wow so many quick replies. I love the enthusiasm to help others on this forum. Thanks for leading me to the aussie forum. Not much there tho, guess not many people vape here in oz, with it being kinda illegal and all! I did see some good info about buying pure/strong nic liquid at wholesale prices for DIY. This info may come in handy, as stocking up is probably advised, with the anti vaping stance of the government/corps and the dangers of future prohibition. From my first day vaping, researching and finding out about the legal and health organisational issues around vaping- i was shocked at the contraversy. it seems insane that there are so many people so passionately against something that is such an good alternative for people who fail at quitting smoking. Sure there are unknowns with vaping, we dont know the long term effects. But same goes for drugs like champix, which not only have possible unknown risks, but in addition, have KNOWN risks- which have already been proven to be very harmful. And yet Champix is so freely available and recommended in australia! doesnt make any sense at all. It seems so odd and strange that e ciggarettes are not for sale at tobacconists alongside ciggarettes in tobacconists.

The wrong ppl put the right amount of money in the right ppls pockets. Thats a shame.

 

[TotemHarpy]

Something that I've learned since my first vapemail: Get juice that will get to you about a week before you run out of the last lol. I buy from Mtbakervapor and they make it to order, so much of what I ordered needed a week to steep (and a good shaking or two). They've also got the istick20w at a good price there, and the kanger nano subtank. (I can't speak for any other mods/tanks/cigalikes, because this is what I started with, and all I've used so far).

 

[uthinkofsomething]

. They've also got the istick20w at a good price there, and the kanger nano subtank. (I can't speak for any other mods/tanks/cigalikes, because this is what I started with, and all I've used so far).

the istick 30 watt is an even better match for the kanger subtank

 

[newtovape]

Thanks for everyones suggestions! What about variable wattage? How does it affect vape? Ive heard people say throat hit is better at higher wattage. Does this affect the nicotine hit? As in, are u getting a higher nic dosage, if your getting more throat hit, or is it produced another way?

 

[Sir2fyablyNutz]

Hi new. I'd suggest an investment of a 30 watt mod. (iStick 30W) With a good mod (variable wattage/voltage) you'll have room to grow and it does let you fine tune your vape to suit you. The Aspire Nautilus Mini was my game changer when I tried to quit the stinky's. For me it was like the insurance policy when I got my mod to pair with it. In my opinion the 30W with a Nautilus Mini would be the top of the line starting kit. Many people get this and stay with it.

Kanger Subtank Mini was my next step and I am still using the Nautilus daily. With the subtank I am using the factory OCC 1.2 ohm coils and mouth to lung hits on it. (I also got a more restrictive drip tip for it, didn't care for the car exhaust sized one) With a 30W iStick you can take the next step into sub tanks and sub ohms with the Kanger and not have to purchase another mod.

The reason I say invest in a mod is skipping all the wasted money "prior" to my mod with the Nautilus Mini on the right in the pic below. (iStick 50W)
The tall VV Spinner (center) was ok with the Nautilus, but the mod really makes it shine.

Good luck in your decisions.

 

[Panorama911]

Thanks for everyones suggestions! What about variable wattage? How does it affect vape? Ive heard people say throat hit is better at higher wattage. Does this affect the nicotine hit? As in, are u getting a higher nic dosage, if your getting more throat hit, or is it produced another way?

Welcome to ECF.....In a way yes nicotine is affected. The higher the power(wattage) in this case, the more efficient the vaporizing of the liquid, this includes nicotine. But using a higher nicotine level in the liquid is the best way to get the needed dosage. Having the VW is just a good way to fine tune the vapor qualities to your liking. Too warm you can turn the wattage down, too cool turn it up. Nicotine will have an effect on TH as will PG, VG is not as good for the TH. But you can still get a nice TH without nicotine too.

The higher the wattage the more vapor can be produced and with that more nicotine can be inhaled, same with the the TH.

 

[autojohn]

I smoked 2 packs of analogs a day for 36 years. Used Chantix for 3 years (loved the vivid dreams) I did not need the nicotine, I just liked the hand and mouth feel of the act of smoking. In any case, if you want information about vaping - the ECF Library has a series of posts that turned me around -- Start with The Wonderful World of Vaping: An Illustrated Guide to E-cigs (Part 1 of 6) | E-Cigarette Forum and read all 6 posts.

As you are in Australia, you can buy from any reputable Chinese manufacturer since you will be paying international shipping anyway. The Prices are excellent for the hardware, especially if you buy in bulk - I do - although I do not use their liquids (there is some controversy about quality control but as you will find - everyone has an opinion) - I buy liquid made in the USA

I use HealthCabin which has a suppliers forum in ECF, Heaven Gifts which has a lot of posts in ECF and Health007 - good battery prices and has never shorted me on product.

In any case, Welcome to the Forum. This site is a treasure trove of information (if, like the Google, you can only find it) - and my advice is start low and go slow. Those packaged ecigs are a good place to start. I bought several different brands to test the waters, until I knew enough to know what I wanted out of the vaping experience and began buying on-line. Good luck, and congratulations for taking the first step.

 

[newtovape]

Sub tank and sub oms??? Im way in over my head right now :/ no idea wat any of that means. Do not even understand what a coil is in relationship to a vaporizer. . Guess ill figure it out! When I get my vaporfi pro, ill finally get to have a real life look at what these things look like and how they are put together! Chantix for 3 years *we call it champix in Australia. I could barely handle 3 weeks, was so depressed I could barely get off the sofa most days. The dreams were good tho I agree.

 

[newtovape]

Can only find part one of the 6 parts.

 

[Ohm Gnome]

Don't feel bad for not knowing stuff yet. We all started out that way. And you're doing the best possible thing to do coming here to learn. Good luck in your vaping journey and feel free to ask questions. The only bad question is the one that doesn't get asked

 

[newtovape]

Well its been three months now and im regretting my choice of user name cause I feel im becoming well established in my vaping career! I have had no real urge to return to analogs, after I ran out of my flings and was still to recieve my cirrus and pv (about two months ago) I bought my last pack of cigarettes and they were awful but got me through the 4 days without any vaping supplies. since then ive stocked up big time so that never happens to me again! Ive had some bumps in the road. I got bad break outs at first which was not fun, and my hair was falling out alot too. Ive also felt really under the weather, ill, fatigued and depressed. I think im very sensitive to nicotine. Ive had to move my nic sstrength all the way down to 3-4mg to ease all these side effects. I still feel a little unwell, and am going to try 2mg to see if it helps. I think some people don't tolerate nrt too well, it's unfortunate to be one of those people. Im diy ing and have about 15 flavors and its fun! Its great being able to customize. Im still on an evod non variable and its good. I don't want to go variable wattage cause I want to wean off nic, I hear alot of people find themselves adjusting voltage as they drop nic and I don't want to give myself the option but rather let myself adjust. Im getting used to the lower nic content and no longer get the heart palpitations or foggy headed feeling that I did on higher doses. I do feel some withdrawal thou but its improving