Did some shopping today based on your recommendations, fellow vapers! I thought I'd offer up a quick review of what I have so far and what I think of it in hopes that it might help someone who's just starting out like me.
CURRENTLY OWN: V4L KR808D-1 (1 manual XL battery, 1 manual short battery). I love this setup so far but we'll see how it holds up as time goes on. PCC is REALLY handy, especially at work when you need a charge. XL battery hits like a champ and the shorty's just as good. PCC recharges dead (or close-to-dead as I don't run them through to the blinking death stage every time) batteries about 4 times in my experiences before needing a charge itself. Only 2 slots for carto's in the PCC case though.
FAVORITE juice SO FAR: V4L WOW! French Vanilla 24MG. Something about this juice just keeps it at the top of my list (so far, that is). Sweet but not overbearing. Just enough complexity to keep me interested and happily vaping. Strangely enough, I don't really taste the vanilla in it but it's good.
ARRIVED LAST WEEK:
Johnson Creek French Vanilla 24mg (beautiful aroma, can't comment in depth about the taste because I have yet to sample it on a dedicated, fresh blank which I think it deserves). Shows promise even with other juice in carto. If aroma alone were an indication of quality, this stuff's like a Mercedes Benz. Can't wait to try it out on a Jumbo Dripper MF carto.
VaporBomb: French and Regular Vanilla 24mg 80VG/20PG without extras (no double flavoring or sweetener, etc.) - Don't care so much for it. Lacks flavor (probably due to high VG content which I have since cut on recent orders). Very thick and syrupy. Can easily clog a cartomizer. Takes time to settle into the filling. Should have done more research on VG/PG but could be used as a filler flavor to add vapor and a hint of vanilla. We'll see.
VaporBomb New Grape 24mg 80VG/20PG - Surprisingly not bad. Nice smell and thick, pleasant finish. Much more flavor than the VaporBomb vanillas mentioned. This truly piqued my interest in fruity flavors and has slowly drawn me out of my vanilla haze. This was sent as a free sample. Thanks, VaporBomb!
Blank V4L WOW! Cartos: Burnt out a few early and only ordered 5 (1 pack). Went through 'em in about a week though I'm sure they last longer if properly maintained. Decent but looking for something else.
Heat quickly and can burn lips if frequently and overly vaped. Good vapor production.
V4L Pre-Filled Cartos (Cool Carts, Various flavors): Not worth a DAMN! Mostly taste like crackling air with limited vapor production. One of 'em even tasted like steamed rice (which would be great if you wanted to vape steamed rice but the carto wasn't advertised as such).
Based on your recommendations and some educated crap shooting, today I went with:
Vermillion River: 20mg French Vanilla (FREE Sample)
Smokeless Image: 5 Blank Cartos and the 5 pack of the Sweet Sampler prefilled cartos.
Nhaler: 10 (2 packs) of the Jumbo Drippers (MF Style) Blank Cartos
Viking Vapor: Vanilla in 100% PG (Double Flavor and Regular), Vanilla in 80PG/20VG (Double and Regular), and a Cappucino flavor to sample.
Can you tell I'm in search of that elusive vanilla? Thank you ALL for your replies, insight, and overall support. Folks at ECF really take the time to answer questions based on the needs of whomever poses the question and for this, I'm grateful. I'll keep this thread going in the days to come as I get this stuff and let you know how it all works out. I hope this puts an end (at least for awhile!) to the search for gear that suits my needs.
The toughest part about vaping seems to be finding that "sweet spot" - the perfect union between you and your gear. It's a lot like dating - you gotta keep at it until you find "the one." You'll go through some hardships, the separations can be tough and you may even end up broke at the end but it beats the hell out of smoking!
CURRENTLY OWN: V4L KR808D-1 (1 manual XL battery, 1 manual short battery). I love this setup so far but we'll see how it holds up as time goes on. PCC is REALLY handy, especially at work when you need a charge. XL battery hits like a champ and the shorty's just as good. PCC recharges dead (or close-to-dead as I don't run them through to the blinking death stage every time) batteries about 4 times in my experiences before needing a charge itself. Only 2 slots for carto's in the PCC case though.
FAVORITE juice SO FAR: V4L WOW! French Vanilla 24MG. Something about this juice just keeps it at the top of my list (so far, that is). Sweet but not overbearing. Just enough complexity to keep me interested and happily vaping. Strangely enough, I don't really taste the vanilla in it but it's good.

ARRIVED LAST WEEK:
Johnson Creek French Vanilla 24mg (beautiful aroma, can't comment in depth about the taste because I have yet to sample it on a dedicated, fresh blank which I think it deserves). Shows promise even with other juice in carto. If aroma alone were an indication of quality, this stuff's like a Mercedes Benz. Can't wait to try it out on a Jumbo Dripper MF carto.
VaporBomb: French and Regular Vanilla 24mg 80VG/20PG without extras (no double flavoring or sweetener, etc.) - Don't care so much for it. Lacks flavor (probably due to high VG content which I have since cut on recent orders). Very thick and syrupy. Can easily clog a cartomizer. Takes time to settle into the filling. Should have done more research on VG/PG but could be used as a filler flavor to add vapor and a hint of vanilla. We'll see.
VaporBomb New Grape 24mg 80VG/20PG - Surprisingly not bad. Nice smell and thick, pleasant finish. Much more flavor than the VaporBomb vanillas mentioned. This truly piqued my interest in fruity flavors and has slowly drawn me out of my vanilla haze. This was sent as a free sample. Thanks, VaporBomb!
Blank V4L WOW! Cartos: Burnt out a few early and only ordered 5 (1 pack). Went through 'em in about a week though I'm sure they last longer if properly maintained. Decent but looking for something else.
Heat quickly and can burn lips if frequently and overly vaped. Good vapor production.
V4L Pre-Filled Cartos (Cool Carts, Various flavors): Not worth a DAMN! Mostly taste like crackling air with limited vapor production. One of 'em even tasted like steamed rice (which would be great if you wanted to vape steamed rice but the carto wasn't advertised as such).
Based on your recommendations and some educated crap shooting, today I went with:
Vermillion River: 20mg French Vanilla (FREE Sample)
Smokeless Image: 5 Blank Cartos and the 5 pack of the Sweet Sampler prefilled cartos.
Nhaler: 10 (2 packs) of the Jumbo Drippers (MF Style) Blank Cartos
Viking Vapor: Vanilla in 100% PG (Double Flavor and Regular), Vanilla in 80PG/20VG (Double and Regular), and a Cappucino flavor to sample.
Can you tell I'm in search of that elusive vanilla? Thank you ALL for your replies, insight, and overall support. Folks at ECF really take the time to answer questions based on the needs of whomever poses the question and for this, I'm grateful. I'll keep this thread going in the days to come as I get this stuff and let you know how it all works out. I hope this puts an end (at least for awhile!) to the search for gear that suits my needs.
The toughest part about vaping seems to be finding that "sweet spot" - the perfect union between you and your gear. It's a lot like dating - you gotta keep at it until you find "the one." You'll go through some hardships, the separations can be tough and you may even end up broke at the end but it beats the hell out of smoking!
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