"Not Again!" (Annoying Noob Question Revisited)

[baine102]

Alright, for the 3 millionth time, I'm sure, a noob wants to know what ecig to buy. Just so you know, I've read everything, and really, my head is spinning. I currently am vaping with a mall purchase, and truthfully, it's doing its job for me; I bought some juice from ave (love it!) and have been refilling cartridges. However, I know that parts are going to wear and that the no-name model I have isn't going to work for long. So, I definitely would appreciate more precise advice (or even a direct "Buy this!") To help, I'll provide as much info as possible:

Pre-vaping, I was not a huge analog smoker, about 5-10/day. My goal with vaping is to ultimately quit nicotine period.

That being said, I do not want to spend a ton of money. I'm hoping that within 6 months I will be nicotine free. However, I also realize this may not happen, or I may want to continue the flavored, nic-free vaping, so while I want something inexpensive, I don't want something cheap.

I absolutely do not care what it looks like, how big it is, etc. Battery life, while relevant, isn't a huge factor as I am able to charge at any point throughout the day.

However, I would like something that gives me the opportunity to buy parts and is fairly interchangeable. My mall purchase is already proving to be a waste, as I would like extra parts, but that's a no go.

Another thing I would be particularly into is refillable cartridges. While I have no problem filling my own (as I already said, I bought and have been using juice), I would prefer not to get into the buying filler material, dissecting carts, etc.

I'm sorry to ask the question every noob does, and I appreciate all the useful info on this site, but any one have some more direct advice tailored to my situation? Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Frank from Chicago]

I would say get an ego kit with a drip tip. They have them on sale for $30 in the suppliers forum. You can go wrong. and, no filling, just dripping.

 

[Dob_Bobolina]

Have you vaped before? I recommend getting a disposable first. If you have, sweet. I recommend buying your first one, grab an eGo or a 510 and go from there. Chances are you will be happy with either of those based off your current habit. You will learn a lot more by having one in your hand =). Welcome to vaping!

 

[Cowboysnavy]

an ego kit and some cartos would be the way to go imho. you can get ego kits from 30-60$ they have a 510 connection its a very standard conection that you will be able to find many parts for and the batts will last probly 10x the time as thogh mall cigs i hope this helps mypvshop.com has ego kits for 29$ w/ promo code ecf10 and i get my cartos from ikenvape.com

 

[dormouse]

The most recommend models are 510-based (a 3-piece w/ lots of atomizers and blank cartomizers) and KR808D-1 based (a 2-piece with lots of prefilled and blank cartomizers)

Manual batteries recommended

In order of battery charge

Joye 510 180mah (2-3 hours for a light vaper, half that for a heavy vaper)

Joye 510 w/ mega xl batteries 280mah (60% more charge, 138mm long w/ cart+atty, 128mm long w/ carto)
KR808D-1/Vapor4Life w/ standard battery - same charge life as Joye 510 mega xl

fat battery models: 650mah+ and ability to use hotter hitting low resistance atomizers or cartomizers
Riva 510 and Ego are 510 threading
LeCig PigCig and CigEasy Elegant Easy are KR808D-1 threading
(either can use the other's stuff with adapters)

I vape the slim ones - both Joye 510 (in standard and mega manuals) and a Vapor4Life.com manual which is KR808D-1

I think most people get sick of atomizer and cart pretty fast and end up dripping on an atomizer and/or using cartomizers. KR808D-1 has lots of prefilled cartomizers and blank styles and you can drip on it with a DSE901 atty. 510 models have fewer prefilled cartomizers, lots of blank kinds, variety of atomziers. The 510 manuals are better sealed on the threaded end than KR8's are.

If you think you want hot hits, go with Riva or Ego (see Riva Lite Bundle at Liberty-Flights.com). For the slim models see Vapor4Life.com for KR808D-1 (its VaporKing model) or plain KR808D-1 sets at LiteCigUSA.net. See Cignot.com and LiteCigUSA.com for Joye 510.

 

[Valsacar]

I'd say go with the Riva (Liberty Flights still has a 20% discount going, which makes it only 30USD for a starter set). For the cart part I understand not wanting to deal with getting more filler material, get the blue foam (just do a quick forum search, it's pretty easy stuff to find). Cut it to size, never have to replace (just take it out and give it a wash with hot water and mild soap, vegetable wash is great, once in a while). I've given that set to over 20 people now (with 2 pieces of blue foam, pre-cut, to use) and they've all been happy with it.

Riva is a clone of the eGo, uses standard 510 atomizer, so very easy to get parts anywhere.

 

[NicksVap3]

ego or tornado or riva, with a low resistant atomizer and drip tip. wish i just bought that for my first "good" setup

 

[Credo]

If you hate fiddling with stuff all the time and just want something that is consistent and works for a good price...
KR808D-1 with disposable cartomizers are hard to beat. You get a fresh new atomizer inside very cart.

You can get the batteries in manual or auto battery variants.
I like both for different reasons and situations, so I've picked up some of each type.

They pack a good deal of juice in a cart. Once you settle on some favorite flavors, you can also keep a bottle of juice around to 'top off' the carts from time to time and save a few cents. Places like Safe Vape offer good quality preloaded cartos from $6 or so a five pack. So...for the price of the carts, you're also getting from 5ml to 10ml of juice (depending on how tightly they packed the juice in the cartos). Really, it's not a bad deal considering. In short, 5ml of a good juice tends to be about six bucks. Five disposable carts tends to be about six bucks. So in this case, you're getting either the juice or the carts for free They'll usually last a while if you refill or top them off as well.

Topping off cartomizers is no more odd or difficult than filling/topping any other system.
The one major drawback to cartos is that some people just hate anything that has poly filler in them.

Well, to get away from poly filler, you have to get into modding carts (tea bags, straws, blue-foam, wicking cartos, etc.), or dripping, or some kind of tank system. All can be worth it...but also will be expense and hassle.

Yes, you can find kits that 'perform better', but most of them will require constant packing/dripping/etc.
Yes, there are all kinds of tank systems out there, and it can all be much fun to tinker with.....
Yes, heavy vapors who go through gallons of juice a month can save money other ways.

BUT...for over all value and ease of use for someone who just wants a good and affordable vaping experience...
I find the generic KR808D-1 with the 'right juice for you' is tough to beat.

If the little $10 - 15 each KR batteries wimp out on you too soon...you can always pick up some nice eGo XL batteries (roughly $25 each) and pop a KR adapter on them. A couple of full KR cartos, and these eGo/riva cigar sized batteries will last most folks all day...or more.

 

[acorn54]

dormouse and credo give very good advice.
personally i don't like to fiddle around and you mention you don't want to either, so you are probably looking for a two piece system.
for light vaping the 808 batteries are good. but if you are a heavy vaper like me you will want a fat battery. i think the cigeasy elegant that dormouse mentions is good for that, and that is what i use. you can get a kit of two with the charger for 70 bucks from cigeasy.

 

[baine102]

Thanks for all of the advice! This is what my cart @ liberty-flights looks like so far, let me know what I'm missing or if there is anything I don't need:

Riva 510
1 drip tip
5 pack boge cartos

Total cost w/shipping = 42.81

Since the set-up I got at the mall cost nearly as much for 1 atomizer and 1 crappy battery, I feel like this is a great deal for what I'm getting.

 

[jjloupe]

Just remember, Cartos are considered disposable. They won't last forever and you'll be needing to replace them soon. If you ordered the Riva kit, it will come with blank cartridges that you can refill indefinitely. Looks like your ordered exactly what you will need to get the hang of vaping, and become addicted to as the rest of us!

PS, what about juice? You ordered some juice, right?

 

[baine102]

I figure since the Riva comes with two atomizers and 10 blank cartridges, I'll have that covered for awhile, then having the 5 cartos will allow me to see if I like that set-up more. Or, perhaps I'll want to use both, I'm thinking, the drip for around the house and the cartos when I go out. I didn't want to go overboard at this point, until I really figure out what I like/works best.

In terms of juice, I currently have some from AVE, which I'm loving. However, I got a small supply (about 20ml in total), so I definitely need to get more. Also, I got all VG for some reason, and I'm wondering if I should try PG or a mixture. I was thinking of madvapes because of the reasonable prices, but I have a feeling I'll be going back for the boba bounty. I've been reading the juice forum for some more suggestions, but feel free to tell me what I shouldn't miss out on!

 

[MickeyRat]

I like you're choices. Personally, I think you're going to like the cartos.

Madvapes sells Dekang juices, some like them, many don't. Go ahead and try it but, you might want to have some others around too.

 

[Tiari]

This is what I have, and opinions on them if it helps.

510 - Its okay. Battery life short, "airy and light" vapor. Little throat hit
RN4081 - Love this sucker. I have no idea why, but it is the one that satisfies my cravings best
EGO - Just got this a few days ago from AzSmokefree at an incredible price. Makes the 510 completely obsolete. Taking a while to get over that it looks like a cigar, but the battery life makes up for the cumbersomeness.

I still prefer the 4081 though, over anything else. With BOGE cartos has the warmest most "cigarette like" feel in the lungs than the other two, at least to me.

Cartos, cartos, cartos. Can't be beat.

 

[Rosa]

I'd be interested to know which mall e-cig you got. It's always possible that it's just a re-named 510 or 4081 or something, and if it works for you now there may be inexpensive replacement pieces to buy from a reputable vendor... since you like it anyway.

 

[baine102]

I'd be interested to know which mall e-cig you got. It's always possible that it's just a re-named 510 or 4081 or something, and if it works for you now there may be inexpensive replacement pieces to buy from a reputable vendor... since you like it anyway.

Yeah, I tried that, but after endless googling, I can't determine what style of e cig it is...it's called Pure Smoke, and the replacement parts they sell on their website are more than at the smokeshop I bought it at. If I had any idea what model it was, I would be more than happy to buy parts, but since I haven't been able to figure it out, starting over seemed like my best bet.

 

[Credo]

So far I'm really loving the CE2 Clearomizer XL. Trying my first batch ever now.
I do find myself going through much more juice than I ever have on my 808 cartos...either I'm loving vaping that much more or it just uses more...either way...I'm really liking them so far I also understand it's easy to make super sized tanks for these using cheap bits from your local pharmacy. I might try that later

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Affxs7O8Wxc&feature=fvwrel

I just learned about smart carts...
I haven't tried them yet...
Reviews: GotVapes SmartCart 2.0 - .9ml ClearTube Cart for 510 Atty 5 PK [gotvapes-510smartcart1ml] - $4.99 : GotVapes.com, E-cigarette Supplies - Atomizers Cartomizers Mods Juice and more
These are a kind of cart/tank hybrid that go on the 510 atty of your choice...
They have them for ego/riva mega attys as well I think.

 

[MickeyRat]

So far I'm really loving the CE2 Clearomizer XL. Trying my first batch ever now.

Really really mixed reviews on those CE2s. I haven't tried one but, a lot of people are saying they work great at first but, start having problems later. I hope your case is different.

 

[kriddique]

Really really mixed reviews on those CE2s. I haven't tried one but, a lot of people are saying they work great at first but, start having problems later. I hope your case is different.

I liked the CE2s I got but I thought they were tough to fill on the go and the durability of the cartos themselves varied greatly from one to the other.

 

[OldDragon]

I've been using the ce2's for 4 months now and find them easy to use. Just got some clear one and am liking them quite abit, I find the clear easier to fill and since you can see the liquid, you can change to a new one before the liquid gets to the burn stage.