Newbie recommendation

[Sunshyn]

Hi,

I'm trying to help my husband out. He quit smoking clove cigarettes last week because he was laid off so we are cutting back costs significantly. He's been a smoker for over 20 years but has been doing very well far as the lack of nicotine goes. What he misses most the feel of a cigarette, especially when driving. He's getting offers for some temp work and, of course, it all looks like it'll entail a great deal of driving so I'd like to make this all easier on him.

I do realize that quality is important and that some of the expensive ones would be much better, more realistic, longer lasting, etc. Unfortunately, finding something economical is a prime concern at the moment. There seem to be plenty of cheap, generic offerings, and I'm uncertain how to avoid those which are particularly cheap or dangerous. I wouldn't be able to afford anything over $50 at this point, but don't know how realistic that is.

I'm hoping someone here might have recommendations for a type of e-cigarette which feels very close to a regular one and would be inexpensive enough that he can try it out. I'm sure he'd prefer one with a clove flavor available.

As he's gone a week without nicotine with none of the trouble I had with that part when I quit years back, is it possible to get something with no nicotine?

Thank you very much for any advice you can offer.

 

[Terraphon]

The chances of finding an e-cig for under $50 that isn't a complete waste of time and money are very slim. Plenty of them are in the 49.95 range but then you have to add on shipping, any accessories you may want, liquid, etc...Plan on spending closer to 80-100 USD.

If you're looking for something that feels / looks like a cigarette, try the M-401 (Evo or Pilot) or some of the super-minis. Just be wary of the seller.

Once you DO find one, though, you can find clove flavored liquid that, from what I hear, tastes exactly like the real thing.

You should also be able to get it in no-nic.

 

[nicowolf]

You can find a decent starter kit for something in the ball park of 50. He will need a little more than that though. I want to give you a realistic idea so you can make informed decisions. The cartridges do not last anywhere near as long as a pack of cigarettes - that is one great big falsehood. The most economical way to go longterm, if you don't need nicotine is to make the liquid yourself - there is a subforum here called DIY e-liquid that could be of great help in this. For the short term, he will need a bottle of liquid - this is less expensive than buying factory filled cartridges - it costs about ten dollars for enough to last a moderate smoker about 5 or 6 days. Let me break this down for you a little better.

Short term - to try it out - you will need:
One starter kit about $50
One 10ml bottle liquid about $10
Shipping depending on how many different suppliers and how much each charges $10 to $20

(if you add this up you will see why Terraphon says 80 would be more realistic) Personally, I would suggest The Ultimate Starter Kit @ The Smokeless Shop - . It would be $83.50 shipped within the US and would have everything he needs to get started plus a couple of spare parts. There are plenty of reputable suppliers here. We will be happy to help you find one if you want. You might also want to just give him a budget to work within and send him here as there are many choices to be made - the most important being just how realistic looking the device needs to be (there are many that look less like a cig but feel and taste more like a cig and vice-versa).

Long term - if he likes it and wants to continue his monthly needs will be:
Two atomizers $20 (this varies depending on many factors, but a slightly high estimate here)
One 50ml bottle liquid about $30
One battery about $15
Shipping same as above about $10 to $20

 

[Iken]

Good call nico wolf, I was just about to recommend smoklessshop. They do have the greatest stater pack, Sunshyn.
Ultimate
DSE 901b Black Mini Starter Kit $77.50
Black Out of Stock check back 2/25/09
Still have White in Stock
Also Available in White both have Blue LED
All the new e-smoker will need to start e-smoking!!

Kit includes:

2 - Black Atomizers
3 - Black Batteries (Blue LED)
1 - Battery Charger
1 - Power Cord
1 - Pack of Cartridges (Mixed Marboro) 5 cartridges in
a Pack.
1 - Pack of Cartridges Your choice (Marb Med - High,
Tobacco
Med - High, Menthol Med - High) 5 cartridges in a
Pack
1 - Black Soft Leather Cig case with zipper top.
2 - Bottles of 4 ml Kick juice (nicotine) all flavors
High (16m) Medium (11m), Low(6m), Zero (0m)
see Juice page for flavors.
1 - Syringe with removable needle
1 - USB charger for DSE901 mini
5 - Blank core cartridges for juicing

 

[Edd]

Great suggestions for the yanks. But anyone want to write one of these for people in Europe? The kit from smokless is really really good but they wont ship to Europe :-(

Any resellers fancy making up a kit like that that includes 2 atomisers and all that smokey goodness?

Cheers

 

[wv2win]

I would recommend the 901 for a first time user. The site mentioned above has it for the following cost:
DSE 901-White with Blue LED $48.00 with 2 atomizers
A workhorse, lots of vapor, great looking.
Comes with 2 atomizers, two batteries,
1 power cord, 1 charger. 5 cartridges mixed. These cartridges last a little longer that the super mini. The batteries last 2 to 3 hours.
See Juice and cartridges for additional nicotine. I suggest getting a bottle of juice to top off your cartridges makes them last alot longer. Replacement parts on accessory page. To order go to Order Page and complete the order form. 14 Day warranty on batteries and atomizers. 30 Day warranty on Chargers

Since it has two batteries and two atomizers, that is is a good deal. If you order a small bottle of their juice, plus shipping, I think you are looking at a total of $58 to get started. That's about as low as you will get for a well reviewed brand like the 901.

 

[aldo]

Sunshyn check this Mini E-cigarette Dse901 (black) + 5 carts free Blue LED - eBay (item 370156862195 end time Mar-10-09 22:23:57 PDT) a good cig with a good price (if you can wait for the longer shipping time)..you can also check out ...bestecig.com for their USB passthrough....you can smoke in the car or at your computer without using up your batteries .

 

[Sunshyn]

Thank you everyone. thesmokelessshop had been the one I really liked when I tried looking myself, and I had figured I'd need more than the base price for accessories and such. I think he might end up with this as an early birthday present, but its a personal enough choice that I'll be sure to check with him before ordering anything.

The lack of clove flavor at thesmokelessshop. i was concerned because it only seems available with nicotine, and it can't be good to jump those levels up and down at this point. Also, that kit only seems to come with tobacco flavor. As they don't seem to carry clove at all, I'd have to find and pay shipping for it elsewhere if he doesn't care to go back to regular tobacco flavor. Or are local tobacco shops likely to carry that, so to avoid that shipping cost initially? Can anyone recommended sites for the liquid?

 

[Kestrial]

Sunshyn are you in the US? I don't have any clove juice but if your hubby might be open to trying some fruit flavors, I'd be happy to send you some different juices for him. I understand money woes and budget wrangling so I'd be happy to help.

 

[Sunshyn]

Wow Kestrial. That's incredibly nice of you. I am in the US. Since it turns out my husband never cared for the taste of regular tobacco at all, being able to try flavors will probably make a huge difference on whether this is something he'll want to stay with. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure he'll go right back as soon as the money situation gets better, if not sooner.

I somehow haven't managed to find ANY non-nicotine clove liquid and just one (Janty) which has is with high nicotine.

I showed him the DSE 901s. His first reaction was not liking the idea of the LED light, of all things. I liked that part. I very much doubt it would make any real difference to him if these really work as great as the people here talk about. Meanwhile, I suggested he could always put tape over it. I'm liking The Smokeless Shop ones and wrote them asking about getting non-nicotine cartridges. I'm terribly impressed about how responsive and helpful they were.

 

[Kestrial]

Is your husband nic free now?

 

[katink]

What you could do about the zero liquid, seeing you are in the US (and it's a pretty cheap solution also): take a look at lor-ann or bickford, or other sites you will find mentioned in the DIY-liquid sub-forum. Be careful to choose those without oil or colouring. Also buy a bottle of PG and, if wished, a bottle of VG. With these you have all you need to make your own zero-liquid; at a lot better price then buying zero-liquid ready-made for the e-cig.

Please look around in the DIY liquid forum for the links you might need and/or fancy.

Good luck on getting what you are looking for!

 

[Sunshyn]

He's been nic free for just over a week now and says that part isn't really bothering him. It's the action and feeling that he misses, especially when driving. I miss that part myself and am thinking I'd like to get one myself for occasional use, but mine will wait until I can afford luxury purchases again.

I had half a thought that it must be possible to make our own liquid eventually. Sounds sort of fun if flavors to try are readily available . I thought we should make sure he likes it first, but if we can't find his clove flavor I might have to move the DIY up. I can't believe that particular flavor isn't one of the most easily found.

 

[Sunshyn]

Wow katink, is it really that easy? I've been checking out the DIY forum here and even found that Bickford sells a clove flavor which isn't an oil! I've only ever seen clove available as oil, regardless of use. All I have to do is mix that, or just about any other flavor, with pure VG (which I found to be quite inexpensive at an e-shop I regularly purchase from) and that's it?! I assumed would be at least much more expensive to start off doing our own.

Why isn't there an entire market of nic-free vapor desserts for all the people so concerned about weight loss lately? They could make a killing with non-smokers if not for the prejudice.

Thank you! I think my husband will be more than happy with that. He tends to have a sweet tooth but has to watch his blood sugar so I doubt we'll be sticking with just clove flavor either.

 

[katink]

Welcome Hope he likes it, and good luck in your mixing-classes

 

[nicowolf]

Thank you! I think my husband will be more than happy with that. He tends to have a sweet tooth but has to watch his blood sugar so I doubt we'll be sticking with just clove flavor either.

Please be careful. PG breaksdown to lactic acid in our bodies. VG breaks down to glucose. This is important to know when watching your blood sugar.

 

[Sunshyn]

Very good to know nicowolf. Thank you. Sounds like I'd be better off spending more on PG.

 

[Kate]

Apparently the glucose isn't the type to affect diabetes ... at least that's what's been said here, I don't know.

Sunshyn, here is a thread about diy eliquid, you can just leave out the commercial nicotine ingredient - http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/diy-e-liquid/5066-eliquid-recepies.html

I'm surprised that you can't get zero clove eliquid from Janty, they usually have all strengths of their flavours.

 

[Sunshyn]

I was having trouble finding an affordable small amount of PG. I'll have him test his blood more often at first. Both PG and VG isn't absolutely required, right? I can just go with VG, a flavor, and maybe distilled water for testing and experiment from there?

Janty's site only has high 16mg, at least at the moment. I'm looking at picking out a few Bickford flavors to make the shipping from them worthwhile. Other brands might run cheaper but non-oil clove just doesn't seem available elsewhere. The clove/cinnamon mix recommended in another post sounds lovely, and I'll look for a sweeter flavor that others recommend as well.

The smoklessshop ultimate kit really does look like a great deal, but I'm afraid I'll have to go with just a smaller set with the DSE 901 and probably a separate pack of blank carts for my initial purchase. Please let me know if I'm forgetting anything important.

 

[UkUsa]

Sunshyn....... if you like the starter kit but want to alter the package a little i'd email Katy and tell her your situation. She'll probably work with you some to get you just what you want. She is awesome to deal with.