Did you ask your friends why they hated the Rok Star?
Was it because it didn't produce good vapor?
Was it because they got tired of constantly juggling batteries?
Did their cartridges leak?
Did their automatic batteries keep firing when exposed to noise, wind noise or vibrations in their pockets? Many auto-batts are known for this.
Was it because of the taste of the juice? Tastes change in the
vaping world. What you like today, you might not like at all tomorrow.
Most people lose much of their taste for tobacco and move to other flavors after they've been
vaping for awhile.
I haven't used this particular brand, but here are my impressions based on my experience with this type of e-cig and based on what I can tell from their website. The Rok Star basic and starter are small battery PVs and as such, is subject to the same limitations that all small batteries have, short battery life, inability to safely accept low resistance cartomizers and relatively fast voltage drop. So the first few drags might be good, but it's all downhill from there.
Cons:
I don't see anything to distinguish the Basic and Starter kits from any of the other run of the mill, over priced junk out there, but the "performance" kit looks like it might perform decently for a mini-cig, mainly due to it's larger 600mah and 900mah batteries. It's not really a mini, but closer to the size of a large marker pen than a cigarette.
The website leaves me with the smell of a typical "upsell" type of business because there is such a huge difference between their very overpriced smaller kits and the one kit that doesn't even look like it came from the same place. With and "upsell" first, you overspend on the starter. Then you get tired of changing batteries every 2 hours and then you go back to complain, whereupon you are sold the one (overpriced) model that might actually be a decent performer; the one you should have gotten in the first place, except it costs too much. Next thing you know, you're into it for $200 and could've gotten a great PV in the first place.
The company lies about how many cigarettes the cartridges are equal to. That's a big red flag. Five cartomizers does NOT equal 4 packs.
The juices are grossly overpriced. Another Red Flag.
I can't be 100% sure of this, but I don't think the cartomizers have a standard thread pattern. They look to be proprietary and, like all cartomizers, they burn out. If they are not a standard thread, you'll be stuck buying from Rok Star, no matter what they charge. I might possibly be wrong about this, but it's fairly common for an e-cig company to use a proprietary thread pattern to hook you into only buying their pricey cartomizers.
The cartomizers are only available pre-filled in 3.2ohm resistance. The smaller batteries can't handle a lower resistance, but the larger batteries of the "performance" kit could. Lower resistance cartomizers produce more and warmer vapor. You should have the option of using a 2.0-3.0ohm cartomizer. But you don't because it's not offered.
I don't see any empty cartomizers offered. That means you're pretty much stuck with whatever juice they have, unless you want to clean your cartos so you can use another juice of your choice. That works sometimes, sometimes it doesn't works so well. Either way, it's a pain.
The cartomizers are too expensive, (but, honestly, I've seen worse.)
I wouldn't touch the starter and basic kits with a 10 foot pole. RUN AWAY!! You can do as well at a gas station for half the price.
The "performance kit" looks decent, but it's very over-priced for what it is.
Pros:
These "pros" are for the "Performance" kit only. The other 2 kits appear to be junk.
Good sized batteries, but it's a larger e-cig. If you don't mind a larger e-cig, there are better options for less money, but 600mah and 900mah batteries are good sizes that, between them, should last most people a whole day or more.
Nice looking, styling.
Can't think of much else. The "performance" kit still has the 3.2ohm limitation on the cartomizer and it's over-priced.
Summary and recommendations:
If you smoke about 1/2 pack a day and absolutely, positively must have an e-cig that looks like a cigarette and has an automatic battery, (the two most common newbie mistakes that most live to regret), there are other, better alternatives.
The
"Volt" comes to mind as the best of an otherwise very poor performing subset of e-cigarettes, the mini or cigarette syle.
If you have read some posts here and noticed that nearly everyone who buys a cigarette look-alike gets tired of the limitations and upgrades within a few months, you will save yourself frustration and money and skip that step. You'll find another e-cig with a good sized battery and a standardized connector that will accept various resistance cartomizers. Something like an eGo, Kgo, Riva, e-Power, Firefly or similar. They outperform an e-cig like the Rok Star basic or starter by miles and they're significantly less expensive than the Rok Star Performance kit.
I'd give this kit a thumbs-down and suggest you look at the Firefly or similar e-cig at Liberty-Flights. They are a respected, proven vendor here and have a shop in the U.K. so you won't incur excessive shipping charges.
I'm not sure if Liberty-Flights carries the volt, but you should be able to find it somewhere in the U.K.
If you smoke more than a 1/2 pack a day, make sure that if your batteries are less than about 300mah each, you get 3 or 4 of them in your kit. There's nothing worse than watching one battery go dead when you know the other one isn't fully charged yet.
A kit or set of batteries with a total of between 1200 and 2000mah should last most moderate to fairly heavy smokers a full day without recharging. Larger batteries also hold their voltage longer and that allows you to get good vapor for a longer time between recharges. This is especially important with 3.ohm and higher cartomizers. Once your batteries drop down to 3.2 volts, the vapor production of your 3.2ohm Rock Star cartomizer will be pitiful. With a small 200mah battery, that can happen within an hour. Then, you'll be stuck with lame vapor while you wait for your other battery to charge up.
