Realistic Starter Kit

[rinkusu]

Not to totally undercut our awesome suppliers here, I have come up with the following, more realistic approach to purchasing an e-cig starter kit.

I have found that the starter kits provided by most sites are simply the tip of a very large iceburg with regard to what is actually needed for a full on, seriously dedicated, vaping starter kit.

Here is the realistic starter kit I came up with after doing a fair amount of research on this forum and on several websites:

Start by going straight to the source - a wholesale supplier. I chose bestecig.com since they had the most competitive prices:

.:Minimal Starter Kit:.
~ Penstyle, DSE801 / BE112 E-cigarette ~
5x Atomizer.....................................$30.00
5x Rechargeable batteries.................$40.00
2x Battery charger with cord................$9.00
25x Blank cartridges.........................$17.50
4x 35ml e-liquid................................$61.80
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Total..............................................$158.30

At 2ml per day of vaping, that is approximately 70 days (over 2 months) supply (35ml x 4 = 140ml / 2ml per day of vaping = 70 days).

Now some additional materials will also be needed for storage, handling the e-liquid and cartridge preparation. Here is the minimum:

1x Tweezers......................................$2.00 <<<<<< most any dept store
1x Syringe with blunt needle...............$2.25 <<<<<< juicyliquid.com / puresmoker.com ($1.99 there) - both are presently out of stock
1x Storage container........................$10.00 <<<<<< - Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
1x Carrying case...............................$8.50 <<<<<< Casemaster Dart Cases (I recommend the Black Deluxe for Penstyles)
5x 10ml bottles.................................$1.15 <<<<<< Cylinder and Boston Round Bottles with Dropper Caps - US Plastic Corporation (note, you can also just purchase from other suppliers of e-liquid to get these smaller bottles for carrying around)
1x Polyester fiberfill (batting)..............$5.00 <<<<<< found at any fabric / crafting store - this is for replacing the cores that will eventually wear out, though you could just purchase more empty carts
----------------------------------------------------------------
Total...............................................$28.90
Plus above total.............................$158.30
Grand Total...................................$187.20

Please note these are estimated totals as some of the above items' prices are estimated or are subject to change.

Now that the initial purchase (investment!) is made, all that would be needed for continual usage is purchasing the e-liquid every couple of months at 4x 35ml, which would be a bi-monthly purchase of $15.45 x 4 = $61.80.

Once you break even from the initial investment, that is equal to approximately 1 carton of cigarettes for 2 months of vaping!

Note, you will need to replace atomizers every few weeks / months (based on how well you keep them clean), as well as batteries, which are designed to last anywhere from 200-300 rechargings.

So to recap, getting in to vaping costs an initial investment of around $200 with a bi-monthly upkeep of around $70 - $80 (conservatively, to include occasional atomizer and battery replacements).

Please note, I've only been into vaping for a mere 3 weeks or so. I am sure there are veteran vapers out there that could totally school me in how one's initial purchase should be.

This is simply my .02 from the research I have thus far performed.

Happy Vaping!

 

[Wildsky]

Nice, heck I don't even have that much and I've been vaping since Feb, but I would say your list is the SUPER DELUX starter kit! LOL

 

[Anonomo]

That's a pretty good assessment of what a complete kit should contain. My thoughts are that this type of kit would be appealing to more experienced users. Being new to this myself I'd be hesitant to buy such a kit initially. I'd prefer to spend $50-60 on a starter kit and determining if vaping will work for me and that I'm satisfied with the performance of the device.

 

[Skad]

Interesting list. I'd have cut the number of batteries down to 3 and added a USB passthrough instead.

I think the name "starter kit" for a setup like this is a bit of a misnomer though.
More like a solid commitment kit. While I like the idea for the equipment I have, I don't know that I'd buy it for an ecig that I hadn't tried out yet.

 

[rinkusu]

Yes, this is what I would have purchased three weeks ago had I done more research (I agree this is certainly a solid commitment kit!).

If you know you're going to go for the long haul, this super deluxe solid commitment kit is for you!

 

[Dilutetrips]

I would be spending around $45 a week if I still smoked. Vaping is much cheeper and I belive better for my health. I have had good luck with my parts so far my atomizers have been work good for about two - three weeks and they still work, but a little lite on vap. My only fear or worry is that the FDA is going to ban them not that I am spending to much money on them.

 

[wv2win]

Not to totally undercut our awesome suppliers here, I have come up with the following, more realistic approach to purchasing an e-cig starter kit.

I have found that the starter kits provided by most sites are simply the tip of a very large iceburg with regard to what is actually needed for a full on, seriously dedicated, vaping starter kit.

Here is the realistic starter kit I came up with after doing a fair amount of research on this forum and on several websites:

Start by going straight to the source - a wholesale supplier. I chose bestecig.com since they had the most competitive prices:

.:Minimal Starter Kit:.
~ Penstyle, DSE801 / BE112 E-cigarette ~
5x Atomizer.....................................$30.00
5x Rechargeable batteries.................$40.00
2x Battery charger with cord................$9.00
25x Blank cartridges.........................$17.50
4x 35ml e-liquid................................$61.80
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Total..............................................$158.30

At 2ml per day of vaping, that is approximately 70 days (over 2 months) supply (35ml x 4 = 140ml / 2ml per day of vaping = 70 days).

Now some additional materials will also be needed for storage, handling the e-liquid and cartridge preparation. Here is the minimum:

1x Tweezers......................................$2.00 <<<<<< most any dept store
1x Syringe with blunt needle...............$2.25 <<<<<< juicyliquid.com / puresmoker.com ($1.99 there) - both are presently out of stock
1x Storage container........................$10.00 <<<<<< - Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
1x Carrying case...............................$8.50 <<<<<< Casemaster Dart Cases (I recommend the Black Deluxe for Penstyles)
5x 10ml bottles.................................$1.15 <<<<<< Cylinder and Boston Round Bottles with Dropper Caps - US Plastic Corporation (note, you can also just purchase from other suppliers of e-liquid to get these smaller bottles for carrying around)
1x Polyester fiberfill (batting)..............$5.00 <<<<<< found at any fabric / crafting store - this is for replacing the cores that will eventually wear out, though you could just purchase more empty carts
----------------------------------------------------------------
Total...............................................$28.90
Plus above total.............................$158.30
Grand Total...................................$187.20

Please note these are estimated totals as some of the above items' prices are estimated or are subject to change.

Now that the initial purchase (investment!) is made, all that would be needed for continual usage is purchasing the e-liquid every couple of months at 4x 35ml, which would be a bi-monthly purchase of $15.45 x 4 = $61.80.

Once you break even from the initial investment, that is equal to approximately 1 carton of cigarettes for 2 months of vaping!

Note, you will need to replace atomizers every few weeks / months (based on how well you keep them clean), as well as batteries, which are designed to last anywhere from 200-300 rechargings.

So to recap, getting in to vaping costs an initial investment of around $200 with a bi-monthly upkeep of around $70 - $80 (conservatively, to include occasional atomizer and battery replacements).

Please note, I've only been into vaping for a mere 3 weeks or so. I am sure there are veteran vapers out there that could totally school me in how one's initial purchase should be.

This is simply my .02 from the research I have thus far performed.

Happy Vaping!

Looks like you did great! I see you got the same organizer that I use from Harbor Freight. It's very handy.

Good Luck

 

[gatsby]

I would second adding the usb pass through if this is a starter kit intended to replace the analogs. Even with the pen style, extra charger and batteries there is still the human element and I know when I have slipped it has been when I didn't have a battery ready with a full charge (took a couple on the road and forgot to put one in the charger...). The pass through eliminates that 'excuse' IMO.

 

[rinkusu]

Now that I have been vaping for a few months, I am going to update my realistic starter kit.

If I were to get into vaping with the knowledge I now have of it, I would do it this way (least expensive in the long run and more bang for your buck):

1. Go to:
PureSmoker.com - Home of the USA Built PV !!!

and purchase the Prodigy 801 kit, as well as purchase an extra atomizer ~$150.

2. Go to:
e-Smokey Treats - Electronic Cigarette's, The healthy alternative to traditional tobacco cigarette's

and purchase 3-4 15ml bottles of e-liquid. They have great tasting e-liquid and the 15 ml bottles are very handy to re-use when mixing / making your own. ~$40

Add about 5 BLANK 801 penstyle cartridges to your order from e-smokeytreats.com- you will need these for vaping with the Prodigy. ~$5

3. Obtain Fluval
to replace that crappy polyester batting that comes with your cartridges ~$7 (it's what holds the e-liquid in the core of each cartridge):
Fluval Canister Filter Foam Blocks for Models 104 - 404, from Hagen - Filter Media - Fish - PetSmart

When I got my fluval, I simply cut it to match the size of the cartridge and replaced the polyester batting with it.

4. Obtain tweezers.
These are used to adjust the fluval core each time you top-off the cartridge- helps the fluval fully absorb the e-liquid each time you top-off (I don't drip, I prefer topping off). If you prefer to drip, this step can be ignored.

5. Obtain a carrying pouch for the Prodigy
I use this one from the planettools merchant. ~$15:
Amazon.com: Clip Pock-its XL Utility Holster w/clip Black: Home Improvement

It holds the Prodigy, tweezers, a bottle of 15ml liquid, 2 extra batteries and 2 extra atomizers. I did have to cut a small slit in the flap and sew around the cut portion in order to fit the Prodigy with its mouthpiece, but it works fine for my purposes.

The above will get you fully started, for a grand total of about ~$200. Now all you will need to do is occasionally purchase an atomizer (from puresmoker or some other source) every few months if you properly maintain the atomizer (I clean mine every week by simply draining it). You will need to also maintain your supply of e-liquid by purchasing it online from one of the best and cheapest Chinese suppliers I have found:

        PG, VG, Custom Sampler,e-liquid ingredients, e-liquid, electronic cigarette juice, apple flavor, mint flavor, tobacco flavor, cherry flavor, eliquid, tobacco juice, nicotine juice - Eastmall International Co.,Ltd

I understand more advanced vapers might purchase 1 liter or more of e-liquid directly from Chinese wholesalers and cut it with PG, etc., but I won't get into that here.

One other resource you'll need is batteries. As these are rechargeable ion batteries you won't have to purchase them often (maybe every 8 months to a year) and they are very cheap:

Tenergy LiFePO4 RCR123A 3.0V 750mAh Rechargeable Battery (as low as) $2.79 ea!

Another good source for e-liquid and atomizers from China is:

BestEcig-Newest Mini E-cigarette|E-cigarette|wholesale e-liquid

One other purchase I can think of is a plastic container to store your e-liquid, extra atomizers, batteries, etc (keep everything away from children / pets!). You can use the one I mentioned in the original post or simply find something that suits your needs at places like Target or Walmart.

Hope this information helps!

 

[four2109]

But If you were going to do that right now, you could go to the classifieds and get a full used 801 and 901 + mods and extra parts + juice for $100 bucks, and be done for awhile.

 

[rinkusu]

But If you were going to do that right now, you could go to the classifieds and get a full used 801 and 901 + mods and extra parts + juice for $100 bucks, and be done for awhile.

Ah, but you wouldn't have a Prodigy, which blows all e-cigs out of the water!

It's a +2 Vaperizor!

 

[callousparade]

has anyone found a site similar to bestecig that sells 501 parts?

 

[rinkusu]

has anyone found a site similar to bestecig that sells 501 parts?

I've never tried a 501. I know Eastmall is similar to bestecigs. There may also be some wholesalers out there who would sell those parts.

The search function on the forum is your friend!

 

[vjnnc]

Seems a bit pricey to me for a starter - especially a starter who just isn't convinced, like I was. The 29.99 DSE901 and $10 bottle of liquid was an investment not much more than that of a carton of regular smokes.

Even after that, I'm still under $200 about 2 months in - and have plenty; 1 complete 901 w/ extra atty, 2 complete M401 units with 2 or 3 extra atty's - all told, I'm probably at about $140, plus liquid.

 

[rinkusu]

I understand it is indeed a bit pricey. I'm just the type of person to experiment and test things. I also look at the long run and want to be absolutely certain I have enough supplies so I will never go back to tobacco.

I have had atomizers and batteries die on me and having to wait for new shipments, hoping my backups keep me afloat is very disconcerting.

I also like to go full bore when I make a commitment to change my lifestyle.

 

[callousparade]

I have had atomizers and batteries die on me and having to wait for new shipments, hoping my backups keep me afloat is very disconcerting.

doing that right this instant. down to two carts of juice and no hope of my JC juice coming in until monday. never going to wait till i'm running out to order again.
doesn't help that i can smell my suitemates cigs either.

 

[Porphy]

This would be a great "gift set" kit. I say this because if it's an experienced user buying for a friend they can walk them through the process and what all the materials are for. For the first time inexperienced user getting the starter kits usually ends up giving the purchaser some grief/worry, and as a result, brings them here to ECF which is by far the better than any singular item you can get.