Since I seem to be the odd ball and pretty much did everything backwards, I thought I would add my 2c's worth in case there is anyone else out there who thinks there is only one way to go.
I started out with a very old version of a two piece. I cannot discover what it is exactly, although its just a 901 batt with a carto that fits. It has absolutely no vapor production, but a strong TH and good flavor along with easy filled cartos.
That was back in February last year, I got it and charged it and started on the 1st of March. It was enough to stop me smoking entirely by sometime around the second week of that month, although since I could not remember exactly when I stopped I set my counter for April, partly because every few days or so I would light up a cigarette to make sure I
really did not want to smoke (it just seemed too easy) confirmed I did NOT and put it out after 2 puffs. Still use that old two piece as a stealth vape every now and then, its become my "going to the movies" vape but for the rest of the time I like some vapor.
Changed to a 901 which was pretty good, and the flavor was really good, but I kind of wanted more so I headed for an 801 pen style. Lots of vapor but the flavor was really poor. I also had to learn not to flood the attys, which was my biggest problem, and also to stay hydrated.
Right about then, less than a month into it, I started DIYing nicquid. No idea that process had a name because I was not involved with any groups yet, it just made sense to me to mess around with it, especially as I could not for the life of me get a good flavor from the 801.
Still was not quite happy so I got the Prodigy and hated every minute of it. Did not like the flavor, feel, the weight, the heat, the look..nothing about it was pleasant for me (no haters please it would be a miserable world if we were all the same).
Sold that, got a 510..and again, thought it was a fussy little non event. Didn't hate it, but it left me kind of ..meh. I picked up a few of the m series when I found them on special and really quite liked those little things..again I occasionally still use one, but the rest I have given to people who wanted to try an ecig.
As they came on the market, I bought two VP mods, one 901 and one 801.
By now, for me at least, I was strongly pulled to the 901 for the flavor. Nothing else seemed to let the flavor shine the way the 901 did, but the TH and vapor production still fell short of what I felt I really wanted, so I was still falling back on the 801 for that, especially in the evenings.
The 10440 batts were better than the original ecigs in terms of punch and longevity, and I knew I did not like HV on so many levels, so I went along with the laser mods fairly happily for a good 2 or 3 months but they still fell a little short for me, although I don't think I could have said exactly what it was I was looking for, and seriously thought for a while it might be that "full spectrum of alkaloids" that others find they miss. It wasn't.
By now though I was a pretty competent mad chemist when it came to juice, and had tried lots of ready made juices as well as experimenting with PG VG and many combinations of the two.
I felt a lot like Goldilocks with the porridge at this point. I had narrowed down my preferences to those two attys, but was missing the "just right" part. I was also pretty motivated to find one set up I liked so I could start stock piling in case of a ban, and its a lot cheaper and more efficient to stockpile for just one type of device.
Then, somewhere around the fall of the year, I joined this group and discovered the Nico Stick box mod. Lol I never soldered a day in my life, so first I bought one someone else had made, and found that this was exactly what I was looking for.
The difference in the 14500 from the 10440 batts was phenomenal. I got the 901 atty with its full round delivery of flavor, but I also got the increased vapor production and the
slight heating of the vapor to a gentle warmth that felt right (see..Goldilocks, not too hot and not too cold) and I also found that I could draw on it while letting some of the vapor gently "escape" around the edges while I drew, which was how I used to draw on a cigarette, so that was just an extra little bonus.
So I studied the "how to" endlessly, followed with my fingers how it was done on the one I had, and finally took the plunge, bought the bits and pieces and made my own. In fact I made about 10 of them! I have played with decorating them, read up on safety issues and sealed parts in epoxy, given a couple to friends, and generally had a lot of fun with them.
I had by now also worked out exactly what niquids I liked, and have settled on just 2, an Anise/black licorice and a cappuccino. I vape the Anise 90% of the time and the Cappuccino the other 10%. I make these both up at 6%, a few at 0% and have a tiny 5ml bottle of 36mg that I keep by me to add a couple of drops for those times when I feel I need an extra nic kick. If I know I am going to be chain vaping, I reach for 0%
Once I found the combination I liked I stopped experimenting, just as once I found the brand of cigarettes I liked, I stopped trying out others.
Again my experience, (different from many others), is that I found the 801 attys died like flies (and I have tried most of them out there) but in the year since I started I have only lost one 901 atty. In both cases I rotated
through about 6 attys all the time, and I burn then off rather than any other form of cleaning.
Probably a lot less exciting than most people's journeys but it worked for me
