The Bar Fly - a new direction

Status
Not open for further replies.

slopes

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Jul 19, 2009
616
210
London, UK
Introducing - The Bar Fly...

barfly1.jpg

(shown next to a regular Bic - for scale)

One of the things I miss most about an analogue is just holding it in whatever position feels natural... rolling around between my fingers, flipping it between fingers and thumb - all those gestures which just seemed to go so well with smoking. Most ecigs on the market are too long, too fat and/or too heavy to do this. And just about all mods disregard this important part of enjoying traditional cigs completely.

So for my first effort at modding, I looked at the way people smoke - as well as remembering my smoking days - and I realised it is quite common to enjoy a cigarette whilst comfortably holding a lighter (or keyring etc) in the same hand.

Using this as a starting point, I came up with a mod which not only looks incredibly like the real thing, but also 'handles' in many ways identically to an actual cigarette:

gesture1.jpg


I used a single 14400 protected battery concealed in a gold 2x AAA battery box, linked by a very discrete 2.5 inch, thin and highly flexible wire into the side of a shortened ('half-smoked'), super light-weight ecig (an M401 body). I made a realistic 'ash' end from translucent grey modelling clay and dotted it with some black ink so that when it lights up it is very difficult not to mistake it for the real thing.

It's all auto. It has a safety off/on switch only, and it is drip/tip into a shortened 'filter' end. It puts out very good vapour and the battery lasts much longer than the usual M401 does. I think the Bar Fly could be used anywhere and only someone with the keenest eye would realise it is not the real thing. I road-tested it yesterday out in the street and it feels very convincing.
 
Last edited:

Big Hitter

Vaping Master
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Sep 21, 2010
5,640
10,180
Binghamton, NY
Cool, personally I think a cool mod is way more entertaining than trying to re-create the feel of an analog cig.

I fancied myself as a smoker, but fact of the matter is I would have smoked dirt through an old garden hose if I needed a fix :)

Guess the fact that none of my PV's look anything like a cig is testament that I gave up on that time of my life. You know a Mini GLV-2 is way cool to hold and hit!
 

slopes

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Jul 19, 2009
616
210
London, UK
Thanks for the comments - much appreciated. My mod is really just a small passthrough hooked into a tiny powerpack. It's a 'going out' mod - for when I want to enjoy a social vape but don't want other people looking over at what is (for them) weird-looking kit. For that, I have found it works perfectly.

I did think about wiring 2 parallel batteries in the box - but wanted to keep the weight down. Instead, I might shorten the cigarette part by about 5mm and attempt to shift the on/off switch tight to the left side of the box - then the cig will fit neatly in there, right next to the battery - making a smart little self-contained pocket device to take out (I think talking about what might be made is usually called 'vaporware', lol).

I loved smoking, by-the-way... if I can make the vaping experience even closer to the 'real' thing - then I'm just less likely to miss it.
 

slopes

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Jul 19, 2009
616
210
London, UK
asdaq - the wire is actually a silicone sleeve from a set of headphones through which I threaded 2 very fine stranded wires. I couldn't find a suitable wire to buy - so I thought I'd better make my own! It was a bit of a nightmare, but the short length helped. The battery box choice is limited... as far as I know it boils down to the battery-holder type box (as I've used) or finding a way to wire up the battery terminals inside an adapted container - which makes it all the more complicated. I'd love to get the battery working inside an actual Bic lighter - and I actually hollowed out and prepared one to use... but working out an easy way to get the battery inserted, connected and working was beyond me.
 

WillyB

Vaping Master
ECF Veteran
Oct 21, 2009
3,709
591
USA

slopes

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Jul 19, 2009
616
210
London, UK
Glad you like it Zenfrogs. I must say, I feel totally comfortable using this device. It's so convincing I've even had a couple of people coming up to me in the last week asking for a light and trying to cadge a cigarette! It would be brilliant if a company made something like this (maybe one of the Chinese companies who make the ecigs) - I'm sure they'd make a far better job of it than I have... and I would definitely buy one too! I'd like to see a version with a plastic sleeve (instead of the heavier metal) and a softer mouthpiece 'filter' part.

WillyB - Zippo is an option. Over here in the UK they are not as common as in the US, I think... although we all do recognise the Zippo as a true classic American icon. Thanks for the link to Connman's mod - he is a modding master and I bow down to him in awe! Is there anyway those pictures can be made bigger? I'm really interested in what he has done with that lighter - but I can hardly read the text or make out the details.
__________

N.B. The battery in my mod is a 10440 (not a 14400, as stated). I'd edit my original post, but I can't find a way to do it.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread