Recommendation for ProVari 2.5

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suprtrkr

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Yeah, I finally had to break down and drop the coin... not too bad, I found the one I have for around $100... and that's a STEAL!
That is a steal. What kind and where did you get it? I don't want one of the 100 amp ones for testing motor coils. A few milliamps would do nicely :) There's some Chinese ones for 50-60, but I worry about calibration...
 

VNeil

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I vaped Subtank Mini's (STM) on my Provari 2.5's for quite some time. Although I built my own coils on the RBA deck, you can get 1.6 phm coils that will work fine in the Provari.

Previous to that, I first vaped a Nautilus and Nautilus mini on the Provari. Personally I find it does not deliver enough vape for me, but if you are not used to more vape then you might be quite happy.

I then tried a Kayfun Lite +, which I never liked. I liked the STM much better, and the Kayfun went into the Fail Bin.

I recently bought a Kabuki. It has a couple of advantages over the STM. First, it doesn't leak, and all 4 of my STMs leak from time to time. I was using RBA decks though. I don't recall if my factory coils that came with the STM leaked. But you will find many threads with people complaining about STM leaks, and I guess if you want to make a serious hobby out of finding the perfect build it might not leak.

The second advantage to the Kabuki is that, at least in my experience, it delivers more vape per watt. I can get a really nice vape at 8-10W, where with the STM I need to run it more to the max of about 14W. That yields much more battery life. I also think the Kabuki is a generally more flavorful and better vape than the STM, at least at the wattages the P2.5 allows. The STM likes to be more like 20W to perform well.

Do you need a Kabuki? No. But it is the best vape I've gotten from my Provaris, maybe short of dripping single coils, and it might be hard to find an RDA that performs as well at 14W or less. The only thing I have against the Kabuki is that I'd rather build my own coils, just to save money. I work hard to keep my consumables cost as low as possible, and with the looming Vapocalypse there is some question as to how long a Kabuki will take you when we are all hiding behind thick curtains stealing vapes from anything other than BT cigalikes.

ETA: in case it was not clear from the above, the Kabuki totally blows away a Nautilus, even though it uses the same coil. I spent months holding off, simply because I really did not like the Nautilus after moving into higher vaper production gear. I saw a lot of discussion from people moving from a Nautilus to a Kabuki but not that many moving "down" from subohm gear. I was surprised how much I like it. I still drip most of the time, but that is just because I really enjoy dripping. When I want to use a tank I use the Kabuki now.
 
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Just Me

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I have 3 Provaris and 4 Nautilus minis. You can guess what I recommend. lol

I did just receive a Lemo 2, a rebuildable tank atomizer, simply in preparation for the deeming regs, should it happen that I we can't buy coils in the future. I haven't tried the Lemo yet, so I can't speak from experience on that.

Congrats to you on the Provari!
 

Hulamoon

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The Provari 2.5 won't fire or read anything in the sub-ohm range. I'm thinking the 3.0 would. As for the aspire nautilus, I've had no problems with them and find them very user friendly. Love the 1.6, and apparently everyone else does, as they sell out faster than I can usually find them. So I do what everyone else is obviously doing…..buy many when you DO have the chance. :D Fill n' go. I suspect the problem is that being a BVC, many tootle puffers of which I am a proud member, don't realize that you need to move your power up from the 4.1/4.2 level to around 5./5.1 level. No more gurgling then. :) Just my experience and of course using the authentic aspires.
 

Plumes.91

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I would argue that... the cheap ohm-readers are a worse choice, and the Provari would be better for reading your coil's resistance. The Provari was programmed in the US with US quality standards. The chips inside cheap ohm meters are programmed and checked for Quality Standards in China. I have been around a long long time too... & it's my personal opinion, that checking your resistance on a mod, is as safe or safer (depending on the quality of the mod, for the most-part) as checking it on a dedicated ohm-reading meter. I have never had issue checking my own builds with the Provari's ohm meter, before firing it, on my Provari.

There's absolutely no reason (in my HUMBLE opinion) that you could-not use your Provari as an ohm-reader for freshly built coils, rather-than using an ohm meter. HOWEVER (in my opinion) an ohm meter is nice to have, for building ON, as it is more stable, and you can more efficiently create a better coil, on a wide-footprint meter. But as I have said, there is no reason one shouldn't, & couldn't, use the Provari or similar mod, as their meter. If safety is a reason, I would-have adopted the use of an ohm-meter a long time ago. Safety is not a concern for me, when I use my Provari as my own meter. & I also fully trust my Evic & Subox Mini, among other regulated mods I've used in the past. They ARE ohm meters, same code as the code used in a dedicated ohm meter. SAME 0's and 1's.
 
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MudVaper

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well said, and smart move. I am a very experienced builder and I use an ohmmeter every time. Three times, actually: once with the coils installed to see how close I got to my desired resistance, once after wicking to make sure I didn't break a wire pulling wick, and once after the barrel goes on, to make sure my build isn't so fat the coil grounded on the barrel. To be sure, this is imperative when using a mech mod; it's merely smart when using a regulated mod. You can, as you observe, buy a cheap 510 threaded ohmmeter on eBay for 10-15 bucks. After I wore out or broke about 3 of them, I bought an "ultimate" from USAOhmmeters, and it may be the best 27 bucks I have spent on vaping.

A meter is in my future any way because the chalice clone for my squonk box will need to be recoiled sometime in the future. (Impulse buy on some advice on another post several weeks back) The guy I bought it from built the coil for me but I'm on my own after that.
 
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MudVaper

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I vaped Subtank Mini's (STM) on my Provari 2.5's for quite some time. Although I built my own coils on the RBA deck, you can get 1.6 phm coils that will work fine in the Provari.

Previous to that, I first vaped a Nautilus and Nautilus mini on the Provari. Personally I find it does not deliver enough vape for me, but if you are not used to more vape then you might be quite happy.

I then tried a Kayfun Lite +, which I never liked. I liked the STM much better, and the Kayfun went into the Fail Bin.

I recently bought a Kabuki. It has a couple of advantages over the STM. First, it doesn't leak, and all 4 of my STMs leak from time to time. I was using RBA decks though. I don't recall if my factory coils that came with the STM leaked. But you will find many threads with people complaining about STM leaks, and I guess if you want to make a serious hobby out of finding the perfect build it might not leak.

The second advantage to the Kabuki is that, at least in my experience, it delivers more vape per watt. I can get a really nice vape at 8-10W, where with the STM I need to run it more to the max of about 14W. That yields much more battery life. I also think the Kabuki is a generally more flavorful and better vape than the STM, at least at the wattages the P2.5 allows. The STM likes to be more like 20W to perform well.

Do you need a Kabuki? No. But it is the best vape I've gotten from my Provaris, maybe short of dripping single coils, and it might be hard to find an RDA that performs as well at 14W or less. The only thing I have against the Kabuki is that I'd rather build my own coils, just to save money. I work hard to keep my consumables cost as low as possible, and with the looming Vapocalypse there is some question as to how long a Kabuki will take you when we are all hiding behind thick curtains stealing vapes from anything other than BT cigalikes.

ETA: in case it was not clear from the above, the Kabuki totally blows away a Nautilus, even though it uses the same coil. I spent months holding off, simply because I really did not like the Nautilus after moving into higher vaper production gear. I saw a lot of discussion from people moving from a Nautilus to a Kabuki but not that many moving "down" from subohm gear. I was surprised how much I like it. I still drip most of the time, but that is just because I really enjoy dripping. When I want to use a tank I use the Kabuki now.

Definitely intrigued by the Kabuki - to the point of trying to hunt one down last night - couldn't find one for sale with 510 threads. At that price I don't want to screw around with adaptors.

Really, really want to try one if I can find it.

I'm not interested in dripping right now. I don't like screwing around with juice in the best of times.

Part of my budget problems are directly related to the impending vapocalypse and stockpiling. Also another reason to begin coil building but that is no reason not to enjoy the best vape possible while I cut my teeth on building.

Dang, vaping instead of smoking was supposed to save me big bucks. I figured out I was letting the equivalent of a new car payment go up in tobacco smoke every month - now that cash is all going towards gear.
 

MudVaper

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It sure is-dam. It is SO out of my vape budget right now.
Th

The blue version is in stock. That is SS with blue o-rings

Sure is - dang, need to try to scrounge up some extra coin.

Or wait a couple of weeks and hope they are still in stock.

I've pretty much decided to go with the Lemo 2 to get my feet wet with an RTA and can get that right now and the Kabuki later, though I'm more excited about the prospect of a Kabuki.
 
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MudVaper

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UPDATE: A few emails later with Mt. Baker - I was able to order the Kabuki! Didn't really want it in blue edition, but some of you here gave me a dose of shinyitis so I didn't have a lot of choice.

It came in today.

Wow, airy as all get out, much more than I typically like. With that said, I have chain vaped it all day in my office without a hitch. Nothing, even my beloved fake REO squonker, has been able to keep up with my incessant puffing, lol.

Best of all, despite not enjoying all that air, I will say I have had ZERO urge to smoke with being able to just use this one device.

I also got the lemo, but it will have to wait until I get around to trying my first build - which needs to be soon because as a surprise, my husband got me not one, but two Provari 2.5s. So, best birthday since I was a kid, really.
 

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