I know there's probably several dozen reviews on this forum alone, but many I've seen were either written by people who are used to vaping detonators, people who were turned off and went back to analogs, or written before Blu switched to cartomizers. So I'd like to present my own personal pros/cons for this particular PV, and possible alternatives for people wanting to get something else. (I'd also like my five posts, but I figured I could do it constructively. 
)
After thinking hard about how many times I'd spent 'just $5.50', I decided the $70 starter kit wouldn't hurt terribly much if it really worked as advertized. For that, I got two batteries, a(n awesome) PCC, a USB charger, and a pack of five pre-filled cartomizers, and a beautiful, magnetically-closed box.
First, the cartomizers: These are pre-filled, so I'll also touch on the fluid here as well.
The Blu cartomizers come in packs of five, and are advertized as being good for 250 puffs each, equivalent to one full pack of analogs according to Blu.
My experience with them was disappointing to say the least. The highest strength offered by Blu is 16mg/ml, which left me, a pack/day full flavor smoker, vaping almost constantly without refrain to avoid withdrawl. I would switch cartos after the flavor/TH went away. This resulted in running through three of the five cartomizers within the first day. Definitely not a pack's worth of nicotine, though it may have been a pack's worth of puffs. Additionally, they all acquired a burnt taste about 30 minutes into vaping. The one saving grace is that these cartos can be reused by popping the back off with a paperclip, cleaning, and refilling.
tl;dr: Cartos: 3/5, Fluid: 2/5 (+1 point for taste)
Battery life: The included batteries and PCC are, like the fluid, apparently meant for the 'social smoker', and not for those with a serious addiction. The batteries are slightly shorter and thinner than a normal 510 battery and last about 40 long drags, which you'll need to take to get satisfying vapor and TH. It's possible the size is to facilitate stealth vaping, but the blindingly bright blue LED makes this unlikely. All they did was make people ask if I was using a one-hitter at the bus station.
Battery life is also significantly impacted by the unreasonably sensitive sensors on the batteries. Simply screwing on a carto will cause it to activate, as will removing/inserting it from/into the PCC, opening PCC, or removing/inserting a battery into your pocket. This is likely why Blu suggests unscrewing cartos slightly before storing a Blu for 'lengthy periods of time'.
tl;dr: Batteries: 1/5, Flashlight: 5/5
The (awesome-looking) PCC charges in about three hours using the included 500mA wall charger, charges each battery in approximately 45 minutes, and lasts about four charges. However, you may never know for sure if a battery is charged. Its only indicator, the blue Maglite LED/death ray, is supposed to shut off once it's done charging a battery. This may happen, but more often than not, it will simply blink at unspecified intervals, ranging from switching states (on/off) every 30 seconds, to pulsing multiple times per second.
One of the batteries included has a tiny, black rubber band around it for an unspecified purpose. It turns out that it's so the PCC doesn't eat the non-charging battery. I found myself spinning in a circle, holding the PCC in my outstretched arm, praying for centripedal force to return my battery from the void.
tl;dr: PCC: 3/5, Death Ray: 4/5, Black Hole: 4/5
Overall, I found vapor production, TH, nicotine content, and battery life to be seriously lacking compared to a pack of analogs. Analogs also don't spontaneously light when you put them down. It's a wonder I pressed on.
Shortly after, I went from this tiny, blue-glowy, pinch-hitter to manual 510 XL mega batteries, a pack of LR (1.8Ohm) XL Bauway cartos, and 50ML of RY4 at 24mg/ml. All in all, this cost me about $35 after shipping, provided WAY more TH, vapor, and flavor (subjective, but still), and lasts 2-3 hours between charges. About as long as it took to kill the PCC's battery from a full charge.
This is in no way as stealth as the Blu (if you cover the LED), but it's even more obviously not an analog, looks like a nice pen, and actually garners a lot more positive attention. I dare say it's stylish. More importantly, I now turn down analogs when offered, not because I want to quit, but because I truely don't want them. On the Blu, I would've accepted easily. I can easily see this fountain pen wannabe being a good PV for someone, just not me.
tl;dr (the above crackpipe) - Battery: 3/5, Carto: 4/5, Addiction satisfaction: 5/5, vapor production: 4/5, TH: 5/5
I'm now moving tofull-on pipebomb a small cigar (really want a pipebomb-looking thingy, though) after vaping for just under a month. My eGo kit is in the mail, and still rang in $15 less than the Blu. My Blu is also in the mail, by the way. Going far, far away from me.
Well, that was a long rant. Let's hope I have better things to say about the eGo, lest I begin vaping a detonator or a flashlight.
)After thinking hard about how many times I'd spent 'just $5.50', I decided the $70 starter kit wouldn't hurt terribly much if it really worked as advertized. For that, I got two batteries, a(n awesome) PCC, a USB charger, and a pack of five pre-filled cartomizers, and a beautiful, magnetically-closed box.
First, the cartomizers: These are pre-filled, so I'll also touch on the fluid here as well.
The Blu cartomizers come in packs of five, and are advertized as being good for 250 puffs each, equivalent to one full pack of analogs according to Blu.
My experience with them was disappointing to say the least. The highest strength offered by Blu is 16mg/ml, which left me, a pack/day full flavor smoker, vaping almost constantly without refrain to avoid withdrawl. I would switch cartos after the flavor/TH went away. This resulted in running through three of the five cartomizers within the first day. Definitely not a pack's worth of nicotine, though it may have been a pack's worth of puffs. Additionally, they all acquired a burnt taste about 30 minutes into vaping. The one saving grace is that these cartos can be reused by popping the back off with a paperclip, cleaning, and refilling.
tl;dr: Cartos: 3/5, Fluid: 2/5 (+1 point for taste)
Battery life: The included batteries and PCC are, like the fluid, apparently meant for the 'social smoker', and not for those with a serious addiction. The batteries are slightly shorter and thinner than a normal 510 battery and last about 40 long drags, which you'll need to take to get satisfying vapor and TH. It's possible the size is to facilitate stealth vaping, but the blindingly bright blue LED makes this unlikely. All they did was make people ask if I was using a one-hitter at the bus station.
Battery life is also significantly impacted by the unreasonably sensitive sensors on the batteries. Simply screwing on a carto will cause it to activate, as will removing/inserting it from/into the PCC, opening PCC, or removing/inserting a battery into your pocket. This is likely why Blu suggests unscrewing cartos slightly before storing a Blu for 'lengthy periods of time'.
tl;dr: Batteries: 1/5, Flashlight: 5/5
The (awesome-looking) PCC charges in about three hours using the included 500mA wall charger, charges each battery in approximately 45 minutes, and lasts about four charges. However, you may never know for sure if a battery is charged. Its only indicator, the blue Maglite LED/death ray, is supposed to shut off once it's done charging a battery. This may happen, but more often than not, it will simply blink at unspecified intervals, ranging from switching states (on/off) every 30 seconds, to pulsing multiple times per second.
One of the batteries included has a tiny, black rubber band around it for an unspecified purpose. It turns out that it's so the PCC doesn't eat the non-charging battery. I found myself spinning in a circle, holding the PCC in my outstretched arm, praying for centripedal force to return my battery from the void.
tl;dr: PCC: 3/5, Death Ray: 4/5, Black Hole: 4/5
Overall, I found vapor production, TH, nicotine content, and battery life to be seriously lacking compared to a pack of analogs. Analogs also don't spontaneously light when you put them down. It's a wonder I pressed on.
Shortly after, I went from this tiny, blue-glowy, pinch-hitter to manual 510 XL mega batteries, a pack of LR (1.8Ohm) XL Bauway cartos, and 50ML of RY4 at 24mg/ml. All in all, this cost me about $35 after shipping, provided WAY more TH, vapor, and flavor (subjective, but still), and lasts 2-3 hours between charges. About as long as it took to kill the PCC's battery from a full charge.
This is in no way as stealth as the Blu (if you cover the LED), but it's even more obviously not an analog, looks like a nice pen, and actually garners a lot more positive attention. I dare say it's stylish. More importantly, I now turn down analogs when offered, not because I want to quit, but because I truely don't want them. On the Blu, I would've accepted easily. I can easily see this fountain pen wannabe being a good PV for someone, just not me.
tl;dr (the above crackpipe) - Battery: 3/5, Carto: 4/5, Addiction satisfaction: 5/5, vapor production: 4/5, TH: 5/5
I'm now moving to
Well, that was a long rant. Let's hope I have better things to say about the eGo, lest I begin vaping a detonator or a flashlight.
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