Noobs: Save $200-300!

[SnakeFarm]

I took the "standard" route when I started; bought a $150 mall kit, came to ECF and learned about the $30 RiVa kit, got a larger RiVa batt, then finally got a ProVari. That's quite a chunk of change (on my budget) in just three months, but I'm compleatly satisfied with my situation now.

I have a Liquinator tank that makes it really easy to fill up from a drip bottle or dropper. I usually just charge my batterys over-night fill up my tank in the morning, and vape happy all day long. The only hassle is slotting cartos, but I only have to do that once every week or two because each carto lasts that long. At first I was afraid of creating my own "crab flavor" if I refilled the tank with a new flavor without swapping the carto, but I've discovered that the "combo-flavor" only lasts a few puffs. Another win for simplicity!

I suppose it would be still easier if I just slot the whole batch of cartos when I get them, but somehow, one-at-a-time seems like less trouble.

Anyway, I think if I had it to do over, I'd opt for the ProVari/Liquinator rig from jump. On the rare occasion I've used my Riva batts since I got the ProVari, I realize that they just didn't cut mustard for me, so I was always a little dissatisfied, plus, I was always fiddleing with them; charging them; filling cartos; swapping cartos...). While the Big Batt VV ProVari with a carto-tank on top may not look like a cigarette (a pluse for me actually) it is a much better analog analog in the simplicity department.

Then again, It might have been hard to convince me to lay down $250 at the gate.

 

[tj99959]

Learning to run was pretty easy AFTER you first learned how to walk, wasn't it.

How many $200 ProVari's would end up in the trash can if people didn't learn how to walk first?

 

[Arcticchill360]

id be right behind them picking them up after they threw them away!!!!! when it comes to a getting a provari for free you better bet id be dumpster diving!!!

 

[ad356]

dumpster diving? agreed
my wife has a provari and i love that thing. such a big hitter. i would love to have one but its hard to spend another 160 bucks on a 2nd provari. i love my e power but its still no provari

 

[SnakeFarm]

Learning to run was pretty easy AFTER you first learned how to walk, wasn't it.

How many $200 ProVari's would end up in the trash can if people didn't learn how to walk first?

Sure, there's that. I do remember holding off on the Riva because I thought that pushing a button would be too weird.

I guess I just didn't realize I was learning to walk. Still, I have the lingering suspicion that I would have taken to the big stick pretty quick once I got a "real" hit from it.

 

[donnah]

I got some advice like this when I was a noob. while I appreciated it very much, I still didn't know what I was doing and I needed an "all in one" kit. I still had no idea that a silver bullet or a precise (what was recommended to me) was just a battery and I had no idea what atomizer went with it, or if I needed a separate battery to go in the battery. I had just bought a mall kit and was using cartridges. There is a learning curve that most of us HAVE to go through, unless we are lucky enough to have someone right beside us to show us what is what and what is not.

I know I would have saved money by going straight to the top (the precise was the top of the line back then.. there were no provaris or darwins) but I need something a bit more user friendly and I ordered a standard 510 starter kit from cignot. yes I paid too much for it. I then went up to an eGo, which I still use (and loan out) on occasion. I started buying some ejuice and dripping into my cartridges and then bought a drip tip and dripped directly onto my attys. It hasn't been that long ago that no one liked cartos because they didn't wick well enough.. so I stayed with 510 attys.

I've since evolved into cartos, tanks, vv bottom feeders, and making my own juice. It has taken me time (and money) to learn all of these things and I was determined! For the first few months I kept smoking cigarettes. I played with vaping. I learned more and more about it. After 3 months I was able to completely put down cigarettes and haven't had one since, nor do I miss them. I don't have very much money to experiment with so I have to choose my purchases carefully. I do have a couple friends who look to me to guide them and I do so happily.

As I look back, I don't regret not skipping the steps. It's been a learning experience and I've enjoyed every minute of it. well.. not EVERY minute but you know what I'm saying. I haven't really kept up with how much I've spent but I don't think I've spent much more than I did smoking and I wasn't a heavy smoker at all.

Even though I don't regret the "in betweens".. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had bought a precise or a screwdriver or a silver bullet.

 

[VTAK8K]

I'd like to try a Provari. I started out on an eGo 4 months ago and still love it. With a LR type B atty, it makes much more vapor than an analog can. I just can't see it being much better.

I annoy myself sometimes watching TV, if I exhale forward, I block my view with vapor. I never had that problem with smoke.

 

[stephen1979]

There is something to learning your vaping techniques on the cheaper models. Vaping isn't for everyone and purchasing a high end mod right away is a waste if the user isn't going to use it regularly. Besides, there's many people for whom that $30 Riva kit is just fine for them.

 

[Xaiver]

When I got my eGo-T and was using it regularly, I was sort of frustrated because I skipped a lot of the mall/gas station type PVs, and missed out on all of those experiences. Now that I've moved into mod-land, it's not that big of a deal.

Still, though, it's always good to be able to have some sort of goals to aim toward, and if you go straight to the top, you don't really appreciate how you got there....and if you want for something longer, it'll mean more to you once you get it, right??

-X

 

[Martini]

I've thoroughly enjoyed my journey through vaping thus far. Having plunged head first into the arena with the intention of quickly switching off analogues, I started out with a KGO kit and a Tekk Mod (I don't count my first foray with a mall kiosk unit a few years back - an awful mistake best forgotten), then shortly after picked up a Reo and eventually 3 months into it a Provari. Though I have been delighted with all of the devices, and mind you I still use all the other PV's, especially the Reo, I do feel it would have been a wiser choice financially to start out with the Provari, maybe with an Ego or clone as a backup just in case. Hell for the money I spent I could have purchased two. The variable voltage functionality has proved invaluable, whether for vaping at higher voltages which I prefer, or for tuning it to use with an atty gone a bit wonky, which given I have a limited budget to spend on monthly supplies and juice has already come in handy. I would classify it perhaps as a slightly advanced device, although with the requisite research that should accompany starting vaping anyway as well as its ease of use I can definitely see it appropriate for someone who is starting out vaping and who seriously wishes to transition away from analogues. That said, if there is one major benefit to progressing through various mods, it is that the owner more than likely will end up with at least one mechanical mod, with no high tech electronics to fail and not be repairable by the user and batteries that can be replaced. High technology has its merits; sometimes though its the good old creaky but well oiled machine that ends up being the clutch player in dire times.

The world of mods is quite seductive though, and despite having a Provari, I still yearn to acquire a tube mod or two ....I look at the shelf where I keep my mods and it doesn't seem right for there not to be a Silver Bullet. Not to mention, the day someone releases a pen/sharpie size variable voltage device with the battery life of an 18650 I'll be hitting "Buy" in the checkout along with most of the other Provari/Darwin/Lavatube owners.

At the end of the day, anyway you get there is the right way, as you are purchasing a Provari instead of a pack of Reds, Camels etc, and that is worth any amount of money, no matter how much.

 

[melloyello]

When I got my eGo-T and was using it regularly, I was sort of frustrated because I skipped a lot of the mall/gas station type PVs, and missed out on all of those experiences. Now that I've moved into mod-land, it's not that big of a deal.

Still, though, it's always good to be able to have some sort of goals to aim toward, and if you go straight to the top, you don't really appreciate how you got there....and if you want for something longer, it'll mean more to you once you get it, right??

-X

i like the way you think

 

[kabonk]

last year when I started carto tanks wern't around I think maybe the map tanks was or had just came out but I hated CE cartos so I steared clear and bottom feeding was my thing (which I still really like just in a vv model now) I just didn't want to be bothered with a tube mod dripping or topping off a cartos dragging around paper towels ease of use is what I need, so when I bought my first provari I didn't think I was going to like it as much as I do all those things people say about it that are a issue to them or keep them from wanting one aren't an issue for me it's my favorite PV