Suggestions about hardware for someone with hand problems

[amoret]

I'm planning to try vaping in order to quit smoking analogs, and have been researching on line (not a lot of local shops in rural North Dakota). What I haven't been able to find out is how much dexterity is needed for the different systems. I have health problems that have left me with severe numbness. Part of why this is urgent is the risks involved in dropping lit cigarettes (poisoning myself with cigarettes is one thing, burning the house down is another).

How much dexterity and coordination do the different systems need? As examples of where I'm at, I can't type at all anymore but can use a touchscreen keyboard with a weighted stylus (and lots of autocomplete).

In the best of all possible worlds I would prefer something bright colored that does not look like a cigarette. I've been leaning toward an eGo type but can't tell how hard it would be to fill. When referring to using syringes would large ones work? How small/slippery are the juice bottles? I'm pretty good at adapting processes to what I can do. I've been smoking between 1 and 2 packs a day for 40 years (back to the high end since I can't work anymore) so it sounds like prefilled cartridges would be expensive.

Any and all ideas appreciated.

 

[TruckDrivinMama]

Hi Amoret,
Welcome and congrats on your decision. I too have numbness. But it is from a flare up in the c4 and c5 disc over the years of wear and tear. The numbness moderately impedes my ability for my right arm to be raised to my face with numbness shooting down the thumb and elbow. Im not familiar with your condition or your current range of motion/mobility so i will attempt to describe some systems so you can choose what fits best for your needs.

A Joyetech eGo 650mAh passthrough batt is good. Lightweight, much thicker than an analog so it doesnt look like one, robust and will last, and the passthrough will allow you to vape while charging and saving you trips to and fro the wall outlet.

Easiest tank system for me to use was the Vision Vivi Nova V fate. Lots of people rave about the Protanks but it requires one to flip the tank upside down for refill. Thats a bit of challenge for my right wrist but I dont know if it will affect you. With the Nova v fate, just unscrew the top and you can use a normal dripper bottle for refill. The v fate is glass made so you can play with citrus, cinnamon juices that will normally ruin polycarb tanks.

I know it may be a lot of info entering the vaping game at first. Ask away on here or PM me if you wish

 

[Baditude]

I think an Ego battery system would work best for you. These are very lightweight. The amount of effort to press the fire button is minimal. I recommend the ego Vision Spinner. It is slightly larger in diameter to the ego Joytech Twist and the slightly larger diameter would probably be to your benefit.

All of the juice attachments will require some twisting to remove the parts necessary to fill/refill them. The coil heads can be replaced to prolong the clearomizers' usefulness, and they are sold by all the vendors that sell the clearomizers. These are not interchangeable brand to brand.

I would think, taking into consideration your disability, a larger clearo which is top-filled would be easier for you. This would be the Innokin iClear 30 with an adjustable mouthpiece, and the Vision Vivi Nova. Both are very similar in the way they are filled and used. It's very helpful to frequently tip these or swirl the tanks around as the juice level drops to keep the string wicks wet, and to prevent burnt or dry hits.

Video demo of the Vivi Nova clearomizer

Innokin iClear 30 clearomizer

Vision Vivi Nova clearomizer on an ego battery




Many of the juices sold online come delivered with child-resistant caps. Some e-liquid vendors offer options in the bottle caps at the time of ordering, if not I would contact the vendor about your special requirements and see what they can offer you.

Replacement juice bottles without the child-resistant caps can be found at vendors like My Freedom Smokes. They also offer blunt nose needle dispensors which may help you to fill your clearomizer juice attachments.

When ordering your e-liquids, being a 1 - 2 ppd smoker, I suggest 24 mg nicotine liquids. After trying this, you can go up to 32 mg or down to 18 mg when ordering more, depending upon how effective the 24 mg works out for you.

Expect to consume 3 - 6 ml of juice daily. I suggest a variety of flavors to start out with. Fruit flavors are a pretty safe bet to like. Don't expect the tobacco flavors to taste like what you smoked; smoke and burning tobacco leaves have yet to be duplicated in e-liquid flavors.

 

[Sthur]

With having problems pushing buttons I would say for a good starter go with a cig look a like that vape when you draw and no button to push. Here is a site from a place that offers 1 year warranty. Good luck and welcome to the vaping community.

Electronic Cigarette Starter Kits, E-Cigarette Starter Kit - ProSmoke

http://www.smoovcigs.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=157

 

[RedhatPat]

Quick addedum to baditude's powerpoint presentation. I've noticed the cut off from Vision Spinners are shorter than Joyetch's Twists. If you like long drags, get the joyetech twists. Which is a shame because if i had to choose between these two, I'd go with the Spinners for all the points mentioned above.

This is just my

RHP

 

[kittybite]

Not sure if you want to order from FastTech, but you might be able to find something similar from a US vendor (I haven't done much research on this item to know where you might be able to get one). They sell an automatic (i.e., no button to press) eGo style battery. Here's a link to the 900mAh version: $7.07 900mAh Automatic USB Rechargeable Battery with Blue LED Light for EGO-T E-Cigarette at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping

For this battery, the only benefit I can see is not having a button to push; the drawbacks of course would be non-passthrough and non-variable voltage. Hope that helps!

 

[CCC1]

Fasttech is hopeless right now. They're offering a refund/resend if you don't receive your order in 10-11 weeks!!!

 

[amoret]

Thanks for the info. I hadn't even thought about the child resistant caps. Range of motion isn't as much of an issue as the numbness. My right hand can hold things that I can see, and flipping things over or holding in a button that doesn't have a safety ring around it wouldn't be a big problem once I got used to where it was. My left hand is numb to the point that it is hard to hold onto things without squeezing very hard, but I can usually brace or prop things.

 

[EvilZoe]

The main difficulty I would see for you would be filling the tanks and I agree about the top filling clearomizer and probably in one of those brands, too. Changing the head might be an issue, too. I don't know how dexterous you can be screwing in something that small.

The Vision Spinner is very easy to use, however. The button doesn't require a lot of strength to push and the variable voltage can assist you in getting a stronger "hit".

I do NOT recommend a cig-alike because I personally found them to be extremely lacking and I had nowhere near the confidence that I would be able to quit as I do with the spinner.

I smoked about a pack a day of Pall Mall blues and I find 12 - 18 mgs nicotine works for me just fine.

I hope you find what will work for you, too.

 

[The Ocelot]

Hi and welcome!

Several of our members who have arthritis use bottom-feeder devices. A bottle of juice is inside the box along with the battery. The easiest thing to use on top is a plain atomizer or small cartomizer.

The pros for this set-up:

• Light weight
• Easy to use
• You put 3ml of juice (or more depending on the model) in the bottle, put on the atty and press the button. That's it.

Cons:

• Cost. There aren't many on the market and the price is relatively high. However, you get what you pay for and the Reo is a little Sherman tank.
• While you can direct drip to try new flavors, it's not designed to use tanks and clearos. The bottle of juice can be changed, but it's more practical to keep the same juice flavor in it for awhile.

It's probably not the best choice for a first time vaper, because you need to be able to experiment to find what works for you, but it might be something to consider in the future.

Inside bottom-feeders

 

[unknown_shooter]

I'm wondering if a bigger unit might be easier to hold onto?

they make a kit that has that bigger iclear 30 tank and a bigger box -

https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10004594/1390806-innokin-itaste-mvp-2600mah-voltage-adjustable

(there are us sources for those as well, no need to order from china unless you want to save a few extra bucks).

one advantage with something like that is less fiddling with chargers & filling that bigger tank less often.. with a usb extension cord, you could probably even leave that particular model plugged in all the time. lots of reviews for that one saying the battery can last for days at a time..

seems like the box shape might be better so it doesnt roll away on you..

as for liquids - they have some (blunt) "needle" caps that can be put on standard 10-30ml bottles that should make filling tanks less of an issue..you could use any juice you liked.. no need to stick to a particular vendor.

 

[Jewels]

I agree with the 24 mg strength nicotine liquid to start - as I used to smoke ultralights and now vape 24 mg or higher.

Mint may be a good juice for you.

Please know that 30ml is a small bottle - any smaller than that may be too difficult to deal with (the 10mls are Tiny).

If I'm trying to hold on to something - bigger IS better!

 

[Baditude]

If I'm trying to hold on to something - bigger IS better!

And that's what she said.




Sorry, its become automatic anymore.

 

[Katya]

Hi Amoret,
Welcome and congrats on your decision. I too have numbness. But it is from a flare up in the c4 and c5 disc over the years of wear and tear. The numbness moderately impedes my ability for my right arm to be raised to my face with numbness shooting down the thumb and elbow. Im not familiar with your condition or your current range of motion/mobility so i will attempt to describe some systems so you can choose what fits best for your needs.

A Joyetech eGo 650mAh passthrough batt is good. Lightweight, much thicker than an analog so it doesnt look like one, robust and will last, and the passthrough will allow you to vape while charging and saving you trips to and fro the wall outlet.

Easiest tank system for me to use was the Vision Vivi Nova V fate. Lots of people rave about the Protanks but it requires one to flip the tank upside down for refill. Thats a bit of challenge for my right wrist but I dont know if it will affect you. With the Nova v fate, just unscrew the top and you can use a normal dripper bottle for refill. The v fate is glass made so you can play with citrus, cinnamon juices that will normally ruin polycarb tanks.

I know it may be a lot of info entering the vaping game at first. Ask away on here or PM me if you wish

Thank you for your thoughts, Truck! I have good news for you--and for the OP! Kanger is about to introduce a new top-filled ProTank. I'm not sure about the exact release date, but it should be soon.

Anyway, I love my ProTank 2. I believe it's far superior to ViVi Novas (just my opinion, mind you). Another issue with a ViVi Nova and other top coil toppers is that they need to be turned upside down often during vaping, or at least tilted, to improve wicking. That might not be good for someone with decreased dexterity.

http://.........blogspot.com/2013/09/rollout-kanger-unitank-top-filling.html

Just a thought.

 

[Katya]

Fasttech is hopeless right now. They're offering a refund/resend if you don't receive your order in 10-11 weeks!!!

Only for batteries and eliquids, though.

I thought all the other orders are still being shipped and processed by the customs on time...?

 

[oldbikeguy]

You might check out the vapor for life black zeus it's large easy to fill holds lots of juice and it's automatic no button to push,they have a large rubber tip that you can bite on and use hands free and filling would be easy for you.They are also a pass through design so it can be used while charging

 

[Katya]

In the best of all possible worlds I would prefer something bright colored that does not look like a cigarette. I've been leaning toward an eGo type but can't tell how hard it would be to fill. When referring to using syringes would large ones work? How small/slippery are the juice bottles? I'm pretty good at adapting processes to what I can do. I've been smoking between 1 and 2 packs a day for 40 years (back to the high end since I can't work anymore) so it sounds like prefilled cartridges would be expensive.

Any and all ideas appreciated.

Hi Amoret and welcome to the forum. First of all you should decide whether you'd prefer a tube shape, like the eGo batteries, or a box shape, like this Smoktech Gripper:

or the very popular, albeit more expensive, Innokin iTaste MVP:

They come in pretty colors and don't look like cigarettes at all! And may be more comfortable to handle.

 

[Katya]

And another good looking battery + passthrough. Looks like a fancy pen.

Electronic Cigarette...

 

[Baditude]

I own a Smoktech VV Gripper (actually two, the first's buttons fell into the mod after a few weeks and was replaced by warranty). It is a fantastic design ergonomically but the craftmanship and materials suck. Last time I checked Mad Vapes and Got Vapes had raised the price on these from $30 to $50.

The MVP is one of my favorite mods to use, but it's firing button is quite stiff and because the button is flush with the body, even I had problems finding the button at times, let alone someone who has decreased feeling of their hands.

Not saying this to counter what you recomended, Katya, but I'm thinking of the original poster's condition.

 

[Katya]

I appreciate your expertise on the subject, Bad; I don't own any box mods (except for my ancient Altoids box mod ). I just thought that the box shape might be easier to hold and manipulate. Any other good ones that you can think of? Other than the Reo that Ocelot already recommended earlier?