The cloud chasing fad

[The Cloud Minder]

Well aside from the objective goal of keeping you from having a cigarette, isn't vaping an entirely subjective experience? I probably like different juices than you, I probably enjoy a different heat and density of vapor than you as well. I also enjoy the innovation and difference in quality caused by using a technologically innovative device as much as I enjoy rebuilding my coils in a new and interesting way to see how it changes the flavor, density, heat and quality of my vape.

I was just trying to say that I think you're both right.

Okay, agreed mostly, but one last thing to think about in the context of "innovative" and the build on a mech mod, as determined by the Vaping experience, ... since innovation means significant change, isn't the pursuit of the perfect personal Vaping experience more a product of small refinements rather than sweeping changes?

tl;dr innovation still isn't the best word there.

I'll shut up now.

 

[Dredge]

I think the main issue, is that vaping is only a few more incidents away from being hammered by laws and regulations. All it takes is one more youngster blowing his/her fingers off trying to chase a cloud and then the entire community will get slammed. It wouldn't even be far off to have the ATFE classify mods as destructive devices because They basically are pipe bombs when they are run unsafely at subohm with bad batteries. And if/when it happens no one will want to listen to the people that know what the issues are. They will look only at the bad and knee jerk away. The "old guard" is afraid if that happens then they may lose the ability to vape and relapse to analogs. Whereas the youngsters are puffing on 0 nic mostly anyway so they are really only out a financial investment, unlike those of us that quit could potentially be out a health investment.

What needs to happen is the vaping community as a whole needs to become educated on the dangers of subohm cloud chasing, mod use, and coil building. If we are better informed we can better protect our right to vape

 

[AndriaD]

I think the main issue, is that vaping is only a few more incidents away from being hammered by laws and regulations. All it takes is one more youngster blowing his/her fingers off trying to chase a cloud and then the entire community will get slammed. It wouldn't even be far off to have the ATFE classify mods as destructive devices because They basically are pipe bombs when they are run unsafely at subohm with bad batteries. And if/when it happens no one will want to listen to the people that know what the issues are. They will look only at the bad and knee jerk away. The "old guard" is afraid if that happens then they may lose the ability to vape and relapse to analogs. Whereas the youngsters are puffing on 0 nic mostly anyway so they are really only out a financial investment, unlike those of us that quit could potentially be out a health investment.

What needs to happen is the vaping community as a whole needs to become educated on the dangers of subohm cloud chasing, mod use, and coil building. If we are better informed we can better protect our right to vape

That's all true, but there is no way to eliminate the "10%" -- the 10% who screw things up for everyone, just by being stupid and too thick-headed stubborn to even recognize how stupid they are and try to do anything about it. They're everywhere, all the time, always messing things up for everyone else. Like rag boy.

Andria

 

[iz2sick]

I think the main issue, is that vaping is only a few more incidents away from being hammered by laws and regulations. All it takes is one more youngster blowing his/her fingers off trying to chase a cloud and then the entire community will get slammed. It wouldn't even be far off to have the ATFE classify mods as destructive devices because They basically are pipe bombs when they are run unsafely at subohm with bad batteries. And if/when it happens no one will want to listen to the people that know what the issues are. They will look only at the bad and knee jerk away. The "old guard" is afraid if that happens then they may lose the ability to vape and relapse to analogs. Whereas the youngsters are puffing on 0 nic mostly anyway so they are really only out a financial investment, unlike those of us that quit could potentially be out a health investment.

What needs to happen is the vaping community as a whole needs to become educated on the dangers of subohm cloud chasing, mod use, and coil building. If we are better informed we can better protect our right to vape

My issue with your statement is that you ignore the most common type of mod explosions... EGO batteries. There are countless cases of these mods exploding. One of the worst cases injured a baby.

So far, the only major known incident that involved sub-ohming was the VapeBlast incident. And that really had nothing to do with sub-ohming. The person modded his mechanical's switch. He also threw it to the ground when he felt it was hot and promptly ran away. He was a spectator in a cloud competition.

I do agree that people need to be educated, but I think they need to be educated on ALL aspects of vaping. Placing your focus solely on cloud chasing is a danger within itself. This creates a false sense of security amongst new vapers. When I first started vaping, I was very scared to sub-ohm even to .9 ohms. This was caused by threads like this one. Little did I know that the ego battery I was using was the most dangerous piece of vape gear. Little did I know that an ICR battery vents flames and explodes. All because thousands of vapers were scaring me away from sub-ohming.

It was through the experienced cloud chasers that I learned about battery safety. It was through them that I learned about being as safe as possible. And like it or not, cloud chasers are the reason why mechanical mods and RDAs are where they are at now. They push modders to design products to handle the extremes. This benefits all vapers who use these products whether or not they sub-ohm.

 

[iz2sick]

I'd also like to at least tell my side of the story of why I am a cloud chaser...

I didn't start smoking cigarettes because of peer pressure or because it was the "in" thing to do. I was fascinated by the act of exhaling smoke. That fascination led me to other substance abuses... sue me, I was young, and what I considered at the time, rebellious. So naturally, with vaping, I chase the clouds. Cloud chasing is what satisfies me and keeps me from touching a cigarette. Unlike many vapers here, I didn't have a single problem staying off the analogs. The day I started cloud chasing is was the last day I ever took a drag off the cancer stick. The Blus and Egos weren't cutting it.

I will however admit that I am fully satisfied with the amount of vapor I get off a higher sub-ohm build. Do I have to build these super sub-ohm coils to be satisfied? No, not really. But vaping has become a hobby for me. I like to attempt to exhale the most vapor I possibly could. I like making videos. I like entering competitions. And I LOVE sharing any knowledge I have with others.

Let's flip this around on you all for a minute now... if vaping is purely to stay off the cigs, then why (for those that do) do you vape flavors? You don't have to vape flavors. Did your cigarettes contain flavors? Just vape the pg/vg with nicotine if that's the sole purpose of your vaping. Do you have to buy cool mods? In fact, you don't actually have to vape at all. There are other nicotine alternatives. But let's face it, vaping is as effective as it is because it mimics the physical aspects of smoking a cigarette. You get the vapor! So keep this mind the next time you judge a cloud chaser.

This constant split in the vaping community does nothing to help our cause. Vapers being so negatively judgmental of other vapers. You're basically calling me a child... I'm a 32 old man with two kids. That's quite insulting. That type of mean spirited attitude is far worse than anything you say of cloud chasers.

 

[stevegmu]

Are you the guy in the vids with the dirty baby diaper?

 

[iz2sick]

Are you the guy in the vids with the dirty baby diaper?

LoL what? Sounds like something I need to watch though haha.

 

[Ryedan]

Also if they would just listen, maybe the could be edumacated on the facts of vape. Where are the 1950's instructional videos when you need them? "I just built a .08 ohm coil!" "Hold on a second there Billy, we should talk about safety"

Not everyone would listen least of all vape towel boy, but if 99% of the vape world made safety the first priority it would IMO eliminate a lot of the potential problems.

 

[Ryedan]

It is the lowest tech form of vaping that exists; I just don't see the innovation...An eGo has more technology and innovation. Except for at a high end vape shop I visit twice a year, most mechs are PRC quality copies...

You're talking about mech mods, not cloud chasing. Cloud chasing does not require mech mods, though mech mods are the cheapest way into the activity. That is changing though.

 

[stevegmu]

Wouldn't the safety features of regulated mods be a turn off for the cloud crazed?

 

[Krashman Von Stinkputin]

Let's flip this around on you all for a minute now... if vaping is purely to stay off the cigs, then why (for those that do) do you vape flavors?

.

I vape flavors cause I can actually taste flavors again.
And I've discovered that tobaccos actually have flavor as well. (Who knew?)

(It also satisfies food cravings and has kept me from gaining extra weight....emphasis on extra

 

[Markill]

Well I didn't take up vaping as a way to quit smoking, rather I tried disposables cause my friend had one, and found I enjoyed it. I vape purely because it's something I enjoy. Sometimes I enjoy blowing bigger clouds. Personally, I enjoy the more flavor and "feel" that comes with more vapor, so that results in bigger clouds. I don't blow bigger ones just for the sake of it however

 

[iz2sick]

Wouldn't the safety features of regulated mods be a turn off for the cloud crazed?

Come on... you're seriously still being judgmental?

Why would you even think that? I sincerely hope the future of cloud chasing lies in regulated mods. There are several coming out now that give you the mech performance. The main issue is that cloud competitions ban anything but a single battery, unregulated mod.

It's understandable as of now though since regulated mods are more expensive and not everyone likes the form factor. It would be cool to see the same performance and features be put inside a mechanical style mod. But that tech is far off, if ever...

Another safer alternative is to use a parallel series mod. This reduces the stress on the batteries and can handle anything a mech can, especially with a MOSFET. But again, these are banned in cloud competitions because while being safer, they give the user a huge advantage over a single battery mech user.

But, I am seeing a huge increase in popularity of these parallel battery box mods. They are becoming more and more affordable.

 

[Ryedan]

Wouldn't the safety features of regulated mods be a turn off for the cloud crazed?

No. 100 watt mods are already here (I think) that also handle low resistance. That's a steady 100 watts with no drop off as the battery charge drops. That's about what you would get with a 0.12 ohm coil in a mech mod with a fresh battery.

150 watt multi cell regulated mods are on the way. That's probably around 0.07 ohms on a fresh battery in a mech mod. For the cloud aficionado I suspect it doesn't get any better than that

 

[stevegmu]

I am just going by what I have seen in videos and have read on here. You'd be surprised at how many people who build coils and post on here don't even own a multimeter...

 

[Ryedan]

You'd be surprised at how many people who build coils and post on here don't even own a multimeter...

Sadly, I've been around long enough to not be surprised by that. I try to educate those people best I can when I come across them.

 

[iz2sick]

I am just going by what I have seen in videos and have read on here. You'd be surprised at how many people who build coils and post on here don't even own a multimeter... A good regulated mod wouldn't allow an unsafe atty to fire, thus reducing the potential for clouds...

Even a vape specific ohm meter works good enough to tell you ballpark figures. But the main benefit of them is to check whether or not you have a short before you fire the build.

And you're right about regulated mods. But keep in mind that even the best ones can fail (and they have). I still wouldn't pop a protected ICR battery inside a regulated mod. I strictly use safe chem batteries in all my mods regardless of whether or not they are protected.

And I often wonder if all the people who are against cloud chasing give this same type of attitude towards other aspects of life. Snowboarding? High-risk sport that many partake in strictly for leisure. You might say, "Well, snowboarding doesn't have something like the FDA looming over its shoulder." But you'd be wrong. There's a movement to make helmets a requirement and many snowboarders are against that type of governing for something that is their hobby. Well, there was last year anyway.

We can be the safest we can with vaping and the next day get into a car accident. I've already pointed out that the vast majority of vape-related injuries came by way of regulated devices like EGOs. Where's all this negativity towards EGOs? Where's the call to ban them?

 

[stevegmu]

I'm not against cloud chasing; I just think it looks silly... But I don't like drag racing, either. My Audi can beat the fastest top dragster- on a road course...

 

[iz2sick]

Seriously, why is it so hard for people to just let people be? Cloud chasing is a part of vaping. Just accept that and move on. Do your part whenever possible to educate.

This is seriously no better than those who constantly rag on people who vape Mt Baker Vapor. I mean really? It's so silly. In the words of some people in this thread... "childish".

 

[iz2sick]

I'm not against cloud chasing; I just think it looks silly...

And non-smokers think you look silly for vaping at all. Subjectivity at its finest.