smok zmax Good buy or spend the extra on a provari

[texandziggy]

I'm going to chime in here with what a ton of people will probably consider blasphemy, but I just don't get the appeal of mods. I've been vaping for about three years. During that time, I've tried a lot of devices and a lot of different juice delivery systems. I've used a Provari, Lavatube, and iHybrid that friends have owned, and I've used them rather extensively. I've used various drip atty's, clearo's and carto's during this time. After all that, my preferred setup is an eGo Twist and Mini Vivi.

Is the Provari a cool device that can do a lot of different things? Yes, it is. By the time you've spent roughly $200 for the device with batt's, charger, etc., is it worth it to have a basically glorified flashlight tube with a small, relatively simple circuit board? For me, it isn't. If you take the juice delivery system you're currently using and slap it on a Provari, is it going to perform exponentially better? By and large, not really. After all, a volt is pretty much a volt -- the juice delivery system is the more variable component in vaping.

Granted, something like the Provari is gonna be able to handle a greater variety of juice systems than something like a Twist because it can supply more volts. And, unlike a Twist or Spinner, the Provari isn't something you have to throw away after 3 or 4 months -- it will last a long time. But, $200 will also buy about 9 Twists and those will last a long time as well.

A lot of people love their mods for very good reasons. They're right for a lot of people. I totally get that. But, I sometimes think that people new to vaping think a fancy mod like a Provari is the be-all-end-all when it comes to vaping. While that's true for some people, it isn't always necessarily the case. A lot of people (like me) find something like a Twist and feel no need to go any further. It irks me sometimes that certain people have this notion that you're not a "serious" vaper unless you have a collection of big, honking, expensive mods. Not true, I say.

And, with all that being said, I do really want a Caravela mod. Not because I think it's going to launch me into a new stratosphere of vaping, but simply because I think they're so damned pretty. Heh.

 

[lulu836]

^^^^^^^^What she said!!!!!!!!!!! (minus the Caravela)

 

[texandziggy]

^^^^^^^^What she said!!!!!!!!!!! (minus the Caravela)

Haha, thanks for the thumbs-up, but actually I'm a guy -- just a big Marilyn Monroe fan!

 

[robtest]

I have been gradually buying bigger and bigger mods... Started with a lil ego-t 18650 clone, then a lambo v4, and now a SS Zmax v2... Basically I have found you get what you pay for... Probably go with a ProVari next, although this SS Zmax is awesome for now!

 

[steved5600]

If you get one get the V2. The V1 had issues with accuracy. The V2 will have 8 menus instead of 7. Supposedly it is pretty accurate. Will give the Provari a run for it's money and I love the Provari. If you get on consider the Stainless steel a apposed to plated. Stronger and don't have to worry about cutting the plating. Will be heavier but last longer.
I have the Zmax v2 on my wish list!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Scott_Simpson]

Either will work for you just fine, as will the Twist ... all three, the ProVari, the v2 Zmax (in RMS mode), and the Twist are quite accurate. I got one of those ECD Meters which reads PWM and RMS, and from the tests I've run on all three units, they are very similar. Basically, it comes down to the issue of: how do you intend to use it?

I'm using my Zmax for most of my rebuildables, since the ohms vary from coil to coil and the variable wattage is very nice for getting a consistent vape.

I have one of my Penelopes on my ProVari, and it's loaded with my ADV juice (Boba's Bounty, since you asked ). Since I'm so used to the Penny, I can wrap the coils to a consistent 3Ω and variable wattage isn't really necessary ... I can do Ohm's Law in my head easy enough to pop the ProVari up or down as needed for each coil. And, of course, the combination of the Penelope on the ProVari is one of the sweetest things I've ever seen ...

The Twists are my handy, out-and-about devices, and they also find their way into my daily routine with Mini Vivi Novas or Vision Eternitys on top for huffing a mil or so of different juices.

While I think there is little doubt that the ProVari will be the longevity champ, with its superior build quality and liberal warranty, there is, indeed, more than one way to skin a cat ... whack on!

 

[Babyande]

I am interested in the Provari Mini as well but the menus seem tough to manuever....any thoughts from current users?

 

[cyclotron]

I have a Zmax so my opinion is based on it. I haven't found fault with the Zmax. I do love the VW as it remains consistent as I rebuild my attys. I never change the wattage now that I've found what I like. For me I would buy it again and save the rest for a second device if I were worried about it failing. That said, I have no reason to believe my zmax won't be durable.

 

[kiwivap]

I would be worried my Zmax would break a few months after getting it and there's nothing I can do about it.

Mine has a 6 month warranty. So depends where you buy it. Not sure if the co-op clones have warranties, but my Smoktech Zmax's both have warranties.

Threads like this ask an impossible question IMO, because they put a pv that has been out for a long time against a newcomer. Then people speculate about how long the new one will last.
I can say the Zmax is built solid.
The Mad vapes gun metal Zmax 2 is a very good deal at $90, and if I didn't already have two I'd get one. For that price it's definitely worth trying.
There is a cheaper "Vamo" out now - $39 that has VW and is getting good reviews. Not sure who makes it. Like the Zmax 2 it has RMS and has been tested as very accurate.

 

[Baditude]

Is the Provari a cool device that can do a lot of different things? Yes, it is. By the time you've spent roughly $200 for the device with batt's, charger, etc., is it worth it to have a basically glorified flashlight tube with a small, relatively simple circuit board? For me, it isn't. If you take the juice delivery system you're currently using and slap it on a Provari, is it going to perform exponentially better? By and large, not really. After all, a volt is pretty much a volt -- the juice delivery system is the more variable component in vaping.

Granted, something like the Provari is gonna be able to handle a greater variety of juice systems than something like a Twist because it can supply more volts. And, unlike a Twist or Spinner, the Provari isn't something you have to throw away after 3 or 4 months -- it will last a long time. But, $200 will also buy about 9 Twists and those will last a long time as well.

A lot of people love their mods for very good reasons. They're right for a lot of people. I totally get that. But, I sometimes think that people new to vaping think a fancy mod like a Provari is the be-all-end-all when it comes to vaping. While that's true for some people, it isn't always necessarily the case. A lot of people (like me) find something like a Twist and feel no need to go any further. It irks me sometimes that certain people have this notion that you're not a "serious" vaper unless you have a collection of big, honking, expensive mods. Not true, I say.

It all depends upon one's perspective and their perceived needs. The eGo Twists work for you and I'm happy that you have found what works for you.

For me, I prefer putting my money on a non-disposable item than a disposable one.

The eGos are a relatively inexpensive device that can provide a great vape. The are lightweight, and although they are for the most part portable, extremely long, and compared to a mod they are relatively fragile. When an eGo loses it charge, you need to have a backup handy. That requires carrying two eGos with you. Because of their extremely slim form factor, their ability to carry a larger capacity of juice is limited, unless you don't mind carrying a device that is extremely top-heavy looking. Furthermore, an eGo must be ultimately considered a disposable device; it is only rated for some 250 charges, after that the entire device must be replaced.

My mods, on the other hand might be more expensive initially because of their more robust construction, the batteries that they use are comparatively cheap (< $10) and can last up to a year. I need only carry one mod with me and an extra battery; when a battery is spent, its quite simple to just replace the battery with a fresh one. Much simpler than carrying another entire device with me. Some of my mods can go up to two days without a fresh battery. My "glorified flashlight tube" will last years, compared to months that an eGo will. And lastly, because of their larger size, I am capable of bringing much larger quantities of juice with me in tanks capable of carrying up to 8ml of juice.

So in the final analysis, its all about choices and what is important to you. There is no right or wrong way to go about it. Just decide what is best for you and "whatever keeps you off of the smokes."

 

[PhreakySTS9]

I'm going to chime in here with what a ton of people will probably consider blasphemy, but I just don't get the appeal of mods. I've been vaping for about three years. During that time, I've tried a lot of devices and a lot of different juice delivery systems. I've used a Provari, Lavatube, and iHybrid that friends have owned, and I've used them rather extensively. I've used various drip atty's, clearo's and carto's during this time. After all that, my preferred setup is an eGo Twist and Mini Vivi.

Is the Provari a cool device that can do a lot of different things? Yes, it is. By the time you've spent roughly $200 for the device with batt's, charger, etc., is it worth it to have a basically glorified flashlight tube with a small, relatively simple circuit board? For me, it isn't. If you take the juice delivery system you're currently using and slap it on a Provari, is it going to perform exponentially better? By and large, not really. After all, a volt is pretty much a volt -- the juice delivery system is the more variable component in vaping.

Granted, something like the Provari is gonna be able to handle a greater variety of juice systems than something like a Twist because it can supply more volts. And, unlike a Twist or Spinner, the Provari isn't something you have to throw away after 3 or 4 months -- it will last a long time. But, $200 will also buy about 9 Twists and those will last a long time as well.

A lot of people love their mods for very good reasons. They're right for a lot of people. I totally get that. But, I sometimes think that people new to vaping think a fancy mod like a Provari is the be-all-end-all when it comes to vaping. While that's true for some people, it isn't always necessarily the case. A lot of people (like me) find something like a Twist and feel no need to go any further. It irks me sometimes that certain people have this notion that you're not a "serious" vaper unless you have a collection of big, honking, expensive mods. Not true, I say.

And, with all that being said, I do really want a Caravela mod. Not because I think it's going to launch me into a new stratosphere of vaping, but simply because I think they're so damned pretty. Heh.

I'm going to have to disagree here. I can tell a huge difference in vape quality between a Twist and my Provari. I can tell a huge difference between my Lavatube and my Provari even. If somebody blindfolded me, and held a Twist and a Provari, I would be able to tell which was which, honestly, and i'm sure so could MANY people that are familiar with both devices. I've taken atomizers off my Twist(I used to just bring a Twist or a standard eGo to work since they're so small and pocket friendly) that were kind of disappointing and slapped them onto a Provari and it was a night and day difference. The Provari has a much longer cutoff, and is just, for reasons I honestly can't explain a better vape. I had a 306 atty on a Twist just a few weeks ago and it wasn't quite satisfying me. I later put the same atty on my Provari and it was a night and day difference. I'm not saying the Twist gives a bad vape, it doesn't. I've had some great times with mine, but I just think the Provari is a lot better. I have no scientific reasons to back this up, but i'm just sharing what I and many others have experienced.

 

[lulu836]

Haha, thanks for the thumbs-up, but actually I'm a guy -- just a big Marilyn Monroe fan!

Ooops....sorry. But I still stand behind what you said!!!

 

[Baditude]

I'm going to have to disagree here. I can tell a huge difference in vape quality between a Twist and my Provari. I can tell a huge difference between my Lavatube and my Provari even. If somebody blindfolded me, and held a Twist and a Provari, I would be able to tell which was which, honestly, and i'm sure so could MANY people that are familiar with both devices. I've taken atomizers off my Twist(I used to just bring a Twist or a standard eGo to work since they're so small and pocket friendly) that were kind of disappointing and slapped them onto a Provari and it was a night and day difference. The Provari has a much longer cutoff, and is just, for reasons I honestly can't explain a better vape. I had a 306 atty on a Twist just a few weeks ago and it wasn't quite satisfying me. I later put the same atty on my Provari and it was a night and day difference. I'm not saying the Twist gives a bad vape, it doesn't. I've had some great times with mine, but I just think the Provari is a lot better. I have no scientific reasons to back this up, but i'm just sharing what I and many others have experienced.

Personally, I believe what you experience with the Provari is the trademarked Accuset microchip. I believe it is just one of the reasons for the higher cost of a Provari. Provape has said it is not a cheap chip to produce. I also believe that it, along with its robust build and construction, is what has set the Provari to be the industry standard to which all APVs are compared to.

This is all my opinion, gathered from research that I did prior to buying my own Provari.

 

[texandziggy]

I'm going to have to disagree here. I can tell a huge difference in vape quality between a Twist and my Provari. I can tell a huge difference between my Lavatube and my Provari even. If somebody blindfolded me, and held a Twist and a Provari, I would be able to tell which was which, honestly, and i'm sure so could MANY people that are familiar with both devices.

I didn't experience that. I honestly thought I would and was surprised when I didn't. I used the Provari for about a week exclusively and totally didn't get the night-and-day experience you describe. Same with the Lavatube and iHybrid. And, as you are not alone in your experience, I too, have heard from others who haven't seen an incredible amount of difference in vv devices. I find tremendous differences in juice and juice delivery systems, not so much in vv battery systems.

I'm certainly not knocking mods, and I think it's awesome that there are people out there dedicated to vaping enough to make these devices. However, they're not necessarily for everyone and I think many brand-new vapers fall into the trap of thinking that they are. But, it's great that there are so many options now for vapers. I remember when I first started out in 2009, a manual 510 was about as advanced as it got, mods were virtually unheard of, and almost all the juice was from China and most of it was pretty bad. We've come a long way in just a few years.

 

[zapped]

I didn't experience that. I honestly thought I would and was surprised when I didn't. I used the Provari for about a week exclusively and totally didn't get the night-and-day experience you describe. Same with the Lavatube and iHybrid. And, as you are not alone in your experience, I too, have heard from others who haven't seen an incredible amount of difference in vv devices. I find tremendous differences in juice and juice delivery systems, not so much in vv battery systems.

I'm certainly not knocking mods, and I think it's awesome that there are people out there dedicated to vaping enough to make these devices. However, they're not necessarily for everyone and I think many brand-new vapers fall into the trap of thinking that they are. But, it's great that there are so many options now for vapers. I remember when I first started out in 2009, a manual 510 was about as advanced as it got, mods were virtually unheard of, and almost all the juice was from China and most of it was pretty bad. We've come a long way in just a few years.

I dont think buying a Provari is falling into a trap for brand new vapers in the slightest. The combo of a Provari, my Phiniac tank and 1.7ohm cartos finally got me off a 30 year 2 pack a day habit. IMO its FAR worse to transfer ones own cheapness or whatever it is onto a new vaper and talk them into getting something that is inadequate for their needs. Its the same reason I dont advocate cig-alikes, while its true they have helped plenty of people get off analogs I firmly believe that they have turned just as many if not more off of vaping.

These forums are full of highly intelligent people who had enough sense to research their decisions and to come here if they werent quite satisfied and ask questions. Not everyone is like that. Ive talked to dozens of people who tried a cheap disposable or a Blue (that they paid entirely too much money for to begin with) and then threw it and any chance they had of giving vaping another try into a drawer and forgot about it.

Im not knocking anyone for being cheap at all, just often the so-called cheaper alternatives end up being more costly in the long run because they fail, dont last as long and just dont give as much in the way of performance. As an example, I use my Provari with 18650 batteries....they cost 10.99 at RTDVapor while an Ego twist battery cost 24.99 and breaks pretty easily...in the long run...because I hope to be off analogs for years to come, this seems like a no brainer to me. ..in two years if i Have to buy 6 more batteries I'm out 66.00 dollars while the person using the twist is out 150.00.

Im going to end my little rant by saying that its always best to err on the side of caution, especially when youre talking about something as tenuous as getting off of cigarettes and I sure wouldnt trust my recovery to something that barely gets the job done or ends up costing me twice as much 5 years down the road.

 

[Off Topic]

thanks for the input I do like the idea of varitable wattage what is the minimum ohm load for a provari?

I run 1.5 ohm DC cartos all day long. There is a safety feature in the Provari that disables it if the resistance drops below 1ohm.

I wish someone would come out with a 2ohm non tank carto.

 

[Baditude]

I run 1.5 ohm DC cartos all day long. There is a safety feature in the Provari that disables it if the resistance drops below 1ohm.

I wish someone would come out with a 2ohm non tank carto.

Mega XL HV 2.0 ohm dual coil cartomizer

 

[texandziggy]

I dont think buying a Provari is falling into a trap for brand new vapers in the slightest. The combo of a Provari, my Phiniac tank and 1.7ohm cartos finally got me off a 30 year 2 pack a day habit. IMO its FAR worse to transfer ones own cheapness or whatever it is onto a new vaper and talk them into getting something that is inadequate for their needs. Its the same reason I dont advocate cig-alikes, while its true they have helped plenty of people get off analogs I firmly believe that they have turned just as many if not more off of vaping.

These forums are full of highly intelligent people who had enough sense to research their decisions and to come here if they werent quite satisfied and ask questions. Not everyone is like that. Ive talked to dozens of people who tried a cheap disposable or a Blue (that they paid entirely too much money for to begin with) and then threw it and any chance they had of giving vaping another try into a drawer and forgot about it.

Im not knocking anyone for being cheap at all, just often the so-called cheaper alternatives end up being more costly in the long run because they fail, dont last as long and just dont give as much in the way of performance. As an example, I use my Provari with 18650 batteries....they cost 10.99 at RTDVapor while an Ego twist battery cost 24.99 and breaks pretty easily...in the long run...because I hope to be off analogs for years to come, this seems like a no brainer to me. ..in two years if i Have to buy 6 more batteries I'm out 66.00 dollars while the person using the twist is out 150.00.

Im going to end my little rant by saying that its always best to err on the side of caution, especially when youre talking about something as tenuous as getting off of cigarettes and I sure wouldnt trust my recovery to something that barely gets the job done or ends up costing me twice as much 5 years down the road.

It actually has very little to do with cheapness for me. Believe me, if there's one thing I like to do it's spend money and I have enough of it to spend on pretty much anything I want. If I wanted a Provari, there's nothing stopping me from buying 30 of them tomorrow. Definitely not the issue.

I simply wanted to raise the point that mods aren't for everyone, and I knew people would come down on me for saying it. Which is fine -- I fully concede to being in the minority on this issue. When people ask me about upgrading to a mod I usually say, "by all means, buy one if you want. But if what you have is working for you, don't feel like you're missing out on some crucial aspect of vaping if you don't have a mod." That's all. Nothing more.

And the last thing I want is for this thread to become hijacked and degrade into a mod/non-mod discussion. That's not what the OP wanted, and to the extent that my first post in this thread contributed to that, I apologize. I'm leaving it alone now.

 

[kiwivap]

And the last thing I want is for this thread to become hijacked and degrade into a mod/non-mod discussion. That's not what the OP wanted, and to the extent that my first post in this thread contributed to that, I apologize. I'm leaving it alone now.

I didn't mind it. This is like the umpteenth Zmax vs Provari thread anyway. I dunno why people can't just read the other threads and make a purchase.

 

[Off Topic]

Mega XL HV 2.0 ohm dual coil cartomizer

You just don't know how long I've been looking for that exact carto. I am in your debt, sir.