Ok...Vamo or Provari?!

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zapped

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For me, Vamo has been a great upgrade. Plus, since it only cost $45, I have plenty of money to buy a hand-made mechanical for the price of a Provari. Then, I'll have an electronic VW to beat around daily, and a more presentable device for steamrolling on the couch or going out.

Vamo: 4 clicks and I go from 8 watt to 10. Soooo complicated ! ;)

I wasnt saying the Vamo was complicated my friend, you misunderstood me. I was saying the user was complicated, which in turn makes VW more appealing and much more of a necessity. ;-)
 

kiwivap

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Also, worth a mention is the CVI v1. I think it retails for around $50 at anyvapes, VV/VW etc. Can't hurt to check it out.

It does look interesting - I'm waiting for a few more reviews on it myself. Mountain Prophet gave it a good review and the numbers showed good accuracy. I didn't know it was going for $50. So far have just seen people selling the 18650, but it is supposed to come with an 18350 tube as well - so can use two sizes.
 

Plumes.91

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The only reason I don't like these devices is, from the reviews I've seen, they misspell words and they have long words broken up between the top line and bottom line of the screen. I am sort of OCD when it comes to that type of thing. Thats annoying. I hope they will consult with an english writing programmer for future mods. The Provari has quirks too. Mine freezes as I am cycling through the menu and then sometimes it makes up for the freeze and sometimes it does not. which can be pretty annoying. I'm cycling up my voltage and it stops cycling. I press it to go up and it goes up two. -____- But that is the extent of the problems i've had with my Provari and I looove it. I couldn't ask for a better quality, more rugged mod. I've dropped it a few times, mostly rolling off my bed. It dropped once hanging from my mouth to the real tile floor and amazingly, it was recovered with not a scratch on it's bottom cap, which is what directly hit the floor. Pretty tough stainless steel device.

I think both are smart buys. I just bought a kick to try variable wattage myself and I'm very excited to receive it. I like the look of the Zmax, I like that I'm hearing the Vamo is very rugged, although I've also heard one story of the Vamo breaking when dropped. I saw a picture of a Provari that someone ran over with their car and it was bent and dented but it stilled worked :p Both of these mods are pretty rugged. I like the Zmax for VW a lot and I'd get that if I could afford it. All of these are fun mods to have and good mods to have in your collection!
 
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kiwivap

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The only reason I don't like these devices is, from the reviews I've seen, they misspell words and they have long words broken up between the top line and bottom line of the screen.

I think you must mean the Sigelei Zmax OLED screen. The Vamo isn't OLED. It uses clear symbols and is easy to read I've found. Not sure if the CVI is OLED, or how its worded. I know the Sigelei Zmax has a couple of things in the menu like that.
 

Plumes.91

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Yeah PBusardo showed the oled Zmax had a few little quirks in the screen that didn't tickle me the right way. If you wouldn't mind that, then I would highly recommend that device because I've only heard good reviews for it. If you've been around for a while you'd know that a lot of people really like kicked mechanical mods too. The Kick is a cool little module that turns any mod VV/VW up to 10 watts (around 5.5 volts) So if you already have a cheap mod that has your heart in a frenzie and you'd be totally in love with it if it were vv/vw, I recommend the Kick as well.
 

locke2121

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hmmm...well after all that I'm still steering towards the provari. I've watched pbusardo's video about the Vamo..and while VW would be a nice touch....the build quality question keeps coming up to me. The standard spring in the vamo seems to be a hit and miss, being too thick sometimes. And I'm a klutz so I don't need a nice shiny, and SLICK mod that I'll drop lol.
Yes I do my own coils...just got a couple of vivi novas which i LOVE at 2ohms. But in the end, the VW doesn't seem enough to sway me...I'm a simple guy when it comes to stuff like this, that seems just one more step where something could go wrong lol.

Thanks guys!
 

Keely

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hmmm...well after all that I'm still steering towards the provari. I've watched pbusardo's video about the Vamo..and while VW would be a nice touch....the build quality question keeps coming up to me. The standard spring in the vamo seems to be a hit and miss, being too thick sometimes. And I'm a klutz so I don't need a nice shiny, and SLICK mod that I'll drop lol.
For what it's worth, 5 people will probably have 5 different opinions on how slippery the Vamo is. While I don't care for the look of it (my partner has one) it doesn't feel all that slick to me. As for build quality, hers survived a 4 foot drop onto pavement this weekend. The upper threading did end up slightly askew but a gentle-ish tap with a rubber mallet popped it right back into place. It's working fine and was working even with the non-screw off threads askew.
 

ruet

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hmmm...well after all that I'm still steering towards the provari. I've watched pbusardo's video about the Vamo..and while VW would be a nice touch....the build quality question keeps coming up to me. The standard spring in the vamo seems to be a hit and miss, being too thick sometimes. And I'm a klutz so I don't need a nice shiny, and SLICK mod that I'll drop lol.
Yes I do my own coils...just got a couple of vivi novas which i LOVE at 2ohms. But in the end, the VW doesn't seem enough to sway me...I'm a simple guy when it comes to stuff like this, that seems just one more step where something could go wrong lol.

Thanks guys!

Color me confused here. VW is the epitome of simplicity. Especially if your building your own coils. Set your device to you favored wattage and forget about it. Let’s say you like to vape at 7 watts (this is the wattage of a 2ohm coil at 3.7 volts rounded to the nearest half). You go about building some coils and the first one meters at 2.3 ohms. You set your VW device to 7 watts, throw your 2.3 ohm coil on it and it vapes at 7 watts. Let's say your next coil meters to 2 ohms. You throw it on your VW device and it hits at 7 watts. Your final coil meters at 3 ohms. Attach it to your device and it fires at 7 watts. There's no mucking about to find the right voltage for a given resistance. Build quality and the spring? I'm pretty hard on my devices and my VAMO is still working like a champ. Having said that; buy from a trusted vendor with a solid return policy and pick up a $4 spring (the spring is that bad). Oh, and they come in stainless steel now if your worried about slippage.
 

Riverboat

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I dont own either but from what I have read this question is like saying I am going to buy a car should I get a Toyota or a Ferrari? Money is the only reason I could see someone choosing a vamo over a provari and if that's the reason then go with the vamo. Not like the provari is going to load your juices for you, make sure it's battery is always charged for you or magically make crappy juice taste good.

Toyota vs. Ferrari? Japan vs. Italy made auto- wrong countries? It more like USA made quality mod vs. China made junk mod! You will get what you pay for, Provari #1 with great customer service.....
 

dam718

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I should also mention, and you'll probably see folks say oh it's not that bad, but I REALLY don't like the single button interface APV's like the Provari / ZMax... This is only my opinion though, lots of folks seem to think it's not that bad... Well, maybe not for them, but I don't care for it at all.

Now, this is exaggerated, but should I really have to press the button 27 times to check my resistance? Or press it once?

So, when I was doing this same research, I ended up skipping over the Provari and getting a Lavatube v2 from Volcano. It also has a 1 year warranty, decent customer service, the accuracy is very good, and getting it set to whatever you need is quick with 3 buttons! Oh, and it is built like a freakin tank. I know you asked about Vamo / Provari, so I apologize for throwing this in the mix, but I think it's worth a mention. It's a very good VV mod, for around half the price of a Provari. It will last you at least a year cause Volcano will replace it if the thing breaks
 

mrdee3

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Color me confused here. VW is the epitome of simplicity. Especially if your building your own coils. Set your device to you favored wattage and forget about it. Let’s say you like to vape at 7 watts (this is the wattage of a 2ohm coil at 3.7 volts rounded to the nearest half). You go about building some coils and the first one meters at 2.3 ohms. You set your VW device to 7 watts, throw your 2.3 ohm coil on it and it vapes at 7 watts. Let's say your next coil meters to 2 ohms. You throw it on your VW device and it hits at 7 watts. Your final coil meters at 3 ohms. Attach it to your device and it fires at 7 watts. There's no mucking about to find the right voltage for a given resistance. Build quality and the spring? I'm pretty hard on my devices and my VAMO is still working like a champ. Having said that; buy from a trusted vendor with a solid return policy and pick up a $4 spring (the spring is that bad). Oh, and they come in stainless steel now if your worried about slippage.

That is all fine and dandy but I have not bought into the vw. I have 2 mods that have vw and I still use vv because I like different juices at different voltage or watts. I just adjust to taste so vw does nothing for me. Also if you use a RBA it is hard to set up on a vamo it will only go down to 1.2 ohms so when you are tweaking the coil to get the hot spots out of it the vamo just shuts down. It is all in what you are into and what you want to spend a perfect mod is the one that you love to most not the one that someone else says is.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
 

tc1

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I rarely have a problem with RBAs on my Vamo (all I use is RBAs now). The key is to make sure your wick is properly oxidized before you even wrap your coil. The cig paper method can help build carbon under the coil right away -OR- you can try the newer cotton hybrid wick where the coils never even touch the ss. Obviously silica RBAs are pretty easy on any device ...

As far as look and "slippery" feel of the Vamo ... just about every skin vendor sells wraps for the Vamo these days. Well worth the extra $10-$15 IMHO.

And I agree with the Vamo menu system ... it's what I love the MOST about it. I'm a setting tweaker so being able to do so in a split second is huge for me. It's what turned my attention from a Provari Mini to the Vamo in the first place (besides the ridiculous low price of course ... I paid $30 for my Vamo)

Honestly ... the choice comes down to two major decisions:

Do you want VW?
How much are you willing to spend?

And anyone who thinks the Provari is expensive should go look at some of the mechanical mods out there. $200-$300 for a CNC'd metal tube with no electronics what so ever. Price always has and always will be relative to each individual.
 

Plumes.91

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I have grown to really like the 1 button interface of my Provari. You don't have to memorize what each button's second function is. And checking the resistance is 5 clicks fast to get into menu, then 6 clicks to Atty Ohms. Voltage check is 5 fast clicks, stop. Not bad. As far as warranty, I could care less about my Provari's warranty. I find it highly unlikely that anything is going to happen to this block of steel in the 1st year. I more-so like the fact that they have a clear list of prices to fix anything that could go wrong with your Provari for the LIFE of the device, right on the Terms of Service page of their website. $40 for a brand new tube if you run yours over. You can replace anything on or in your Provari and the price of the replacement is listed on the Provape website. You don't get that with foreign made mods. If your 510 connection strips in 3 years, send it back and get it fixed. If you drop it out the window on the highway and it gets ran over by a car, send it back for a new tube, or screen or button. So far the foreign made mods have no fix policies from what I've seen. Which is unfortunate because its the 1 thing I care about.

Another thing against VW for me is the fact that I do change my voltage on things that have nothing to do with the ohms of my heads. If my cartomizer, atomizer, or clearo head becomes flooded, I put the voltage up so the coils will heat up higher to vaporize the excess juice. Variable wattage mods don't sense things like flooding, taste, etc. They just look at the resistance. Fruity juice flavors are better at lower volts, coffee and tobaccos are better at higher volts. Also, the Vamo and Zmax don't have as many safety features as the Provari as far as I've seen. The Provari has temperature sensing technology among others, including things that make life easier, such as what has been said above about using rebuildable atomizers with it. So these are more things to consider.

But this all doesn't mean that I don't trust the quality of the Vamo and the Zmax. I have not owned either, but I have read and watched a lot of reviews on both and the general consensus is these are STURDY mods! These aren't cheap plastic or cheap pot metal or aluminum like they used to be. These are genuine stainless steel mods and they aren't going to break easily. The insides of these foreign made mods look almost identical to the Provari and mods like it from what I've seen. They don't have the sealed inside battery cap these days, the microchips are exposed to the battery compartment which is good + bad. But what I like it that you can plainly see the quality+care used to secure your microchips into place and you can easily tell if your 510 connection seal has failed and if juice is getting into the chip compartment.

All of the top rated mods in the US and coming out of the foreign countries are great devices and things are definitely looking up for the foreign market, they are listening to us and they are making good improvements and damn good mods. I know I'd feel proud to bring a Vamo to a vape meet.
 
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dBm0

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Yep, still running my V2 ProVari for a year now and really glad I saved up to get it. It’s my go-to workhorse, especially with RBAs because of its safety features and build quality. Don’t trust my RBAs on a V1 LT or Kicked Bolt quite yet…LOL.

Will admit I've been tracking really closely on all the recent VW mods coming out. The one I'll get is real close now, but none of the new ones I've seen are quite there yet for me. Wish Provape would make one, but the answer I got back from them said they won’t be offering one anytime soon.

Off topic, but I hear ya on the tweaking the settings on the fly to burn off flooded center tubes or compensating for different juice types or delivery systems. Found that different tank systems seem to have their own unique sweet-spot wattage, even with the same juice. IDK, but it seems that mesh wick RBAs vape better at higher wattages than any other tank system I’ve tried.
 
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