The cost of vaping or Knowing what I know now

[D1RGE.EXE]

I've spent about $650 in two years now. Mostly on cheap cart tips and Ego batteries. Since I stepped up and paid the bit more, I replace stuff MUCH less. Recently I did a lot of research and found a few very good clones of mods and RDAs and can be at a great dependable setup for under $50 that hits like a $400 rig. Hindsight is 20/20.

Now considering all that, when I want to get a new piece for the collection or for the hell of it or I'm replacing something i hooked someone up with, the wife really doesn't mind since she's the one that tracks the money and knows I put over a grand into my baby's college fund solely from what I would have spent before on tobacco last year. She sees me spending $50 to scratch my toy itch as nothing in comparison, and its not killing me while I do it.

I could save a little more or work a couple side jobs to get enough for a true high-end piece if I want, but I'll research the best clones and go cheaper if I also need to scratch my Honda parts fix

 

[AlteredReality]

I admit I have dropped a huge wad of cash this first month of vaping -- but I consider it worth it -- my health, my kids hug me now when they come home from school and play a funny guessing game called "what's Mom been smokin today" LOL -- they crack up over the names of some of the juices -- they are so proud of me

Plus, I am proud of me. 25 yrs of stinky cigs have been painlessly eradicated by 33 days of vaping @12mg..and I have been converting my friends and family like wildfire.. none of us really wanted to smell like that - we just didnt have a better alternative method of stress-control...hahaha..oh! and the SUPER bonus -- I'm getting major amounts of kissing from the DH now -woohoo!

Just my 2

 

[SABOTEUR]

We've all been there. But 4 years ago there was a huge variety of vape gear to choose from. Vapers from that period wasted money on stuff to get what they had already purchased to WORK PROPERLY.

2 years in came the "eGo explosion". THE GAME CHANGER. Soon after came the plethora of all manner of vape gear. So many choices your friggin' head spins. But, the eGo was a turning point for me in a different way. I became frustrated with the many different batteries I was required to carry. Some worked....some worked OCCASIONALLY...some worked not at all. I looked at all these friggin' batteries back across the trail of kits and accessories I'd purchased to obtain the "ultimate vape"...to by tool box of stuff to prod these things to work...

...and trashed them all.

I got into vaping to SAVE MONEY. But I realized 2 years in that any money I might has saved was wasted in the lure of "the Ultimate Vape". At that time there was ONE device that was almost universally accepted as superior to all...but almost universally dogged for being over-priced.

The Provari.

So I purchased a Provari, stuck a Boge standard carto on it, put my favorite menthol juice in the carto and I was DONE with throwing away my cash.

"Knowing what I know now" one would think that I'd advise my sister on a short cut to saving money when she became interested in vaping.

Nope. I kept my mouth shut.

Because I've learned that it's necessary for vapers to discover their OWN path. So I guided her through the Blu-cig, the eGo and finally to inexpensive vv devices. I told her next year we might look into getting her something "like" the Provari.

"NEXT year? I want a Provari for Christmas!"


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

 

[rodsky77]

I hear what your saying. For me I bought the little Ego starter kit on Day one......Day two, I ought an Evic for me and gave the Ego to my sister, plus batteries charger, tanks, coils and 90ml of juice from the local B&M. Less than a week later bought a Svd for my sister and another SVD as my backup. Lomg story short, i have spent over $700 on all the various components of vaping. Ut it is still priceless because I have no desire to smoke anymore.

If I had known now what I knew then? i would have bought a Provari.


That will be my next purchase unless I find something just as tough that does VW.

What's important is that you start vaping and ditch the cigs. I started with Liberro Realis - bought 1 set, liked vaping, bought another as a backup, they looked and felt like cigs. Unfortunately, they did not stick. But then a few months later I realized that I still don't like analogs, so, I got the ego-c starter kit, bought 2 more batts, a charger and a few carto tanks - this lasted me 2 months, went back to analogs again. Then a few months later, I decided that I really need to quit analogs and saw some reviews of the Swig varivolt, ordered that and a Vamo from healthcabin and fasttech. Then I saw pbusardo's lackluster review of the varivolt and the thread stripping issue of the vamo on the forums and decided that I really need the ProVari and ordered the mini. A week later I got my ProVari and a ProTank 2, and this is when I realized what I've been missing all along - the taste and the vapor I was getting from the ProVari and the ProTank is what I was really missing from all the other equipment before.

Now I have a Semovar, 2 Kayfun Lites, 3 ProTank 2s and a ProVari. I could've saved $300-400 if I did not buy the starter kits, the Vamo or the Swig varivolt, but could I buy a ProVari instead of those cig look-a-likes when I was starting, probably not. Should I've just gone for the ProVari once I decided to really stick with vaping - that's a definite yes. The moral of the story is, once you know that you'll stick with it, buy the better quality equipment as you will not be disappointed and will not have to pay more in the end.

And I still don't have my Vamo and Swig 3 weeks later..... Shipping from China is a PITA.....

 

[Noble Gas]

So I am curious if other vapers, not new but not veterans would agree with this idea of "knowing what I know now". I remember coming across similar posts before getting my first and still decided not to jump in head first, but now wish I did, because I knew (this is key) from my first disposable that vaping could work for me.

Old thread but still relevant, probably to a lot of folks. My take on this issue is based on my experience in music. When a student sets out to learn a new instrument, they buy or rent a budget version of that instrument in case they lose interest during the initial learning process. Later, if they've stuck with it and their technique reaches a point where a better quality or even professional-grade instrument would be more appropriate, then they feel better about laying out the big bucks. If they don't get to that point, they haven't broken the bank. This is kind of essential in the process, as a lower cost beginning doesn't have the possibly paralyzing pressure of 'Here, I bought you a Steinway. Learn to play or we'll have to sell the house'.

This is how I approached vaping. I just went into a B&M and said 'I'm new, where's a good place to start?'. A Vision Spinner and an iClear16, and I was off and running. It's only been a month since I started and I've spent quite a bit of money, but like a lot of other folks have said, who cares when I'm not smoking? I certainly don't. I'm not up to APV's just yet, and so far don't really feel the need. I'm not in a social scene so there's no one around to impress with my super-cool mods, and the stuff I have works very well. I've got a small assortment of batteries, a small assortment of cartos and tanks, and I'm very happy playing mix and match and experimenting, now that I've had a little experience and I feel like I'm getting the hang of it all.

 

[Bunnykiller]

my problem as a newbie was listening to the vets who said "no! get something easy to use, get an eGo and protank, get this get that stay away from mods and RSSTs I should have trusted my gut feeling and gone the way of the SVD and RSST instead of the Evods and eGos
would have saved 200$ on hardware...

 

[cocacola31173]

I have been at it for over a year and have went the full evolution of vaping. First it was cig a likes...then it was the 650 mah batteries and I would prefill like 5 cartos and carry them around with me. Then I went to Vision Spinners where I discovered carto tanks. After that it was the various Bottom Coil tanks. Now I have a Vamo 3 and a MVP 2 and I regularly use carto tanks and bottom coil tanks.

I recently started DIY my own juice and my monthly cost has plummeted to about 20 dollars a month! That is for both what I need for juice and various hardware.

But judging by the way I feel now then when I was smoking I wouldnt have minded paying the same amount then when I was smoking.(which was about 180 a month) To me it is totally worth it!

 

[Mutescream]

I'm surprised no one else sees to be suggesting this. What I did was get my co-workers into vaping. They saw how heavy of a smoker I used to be, and that it was effective for me to quit actually smoking and that I am more energetic since I stopped the analogs. What's nice about that is that I am able to sell off my stuff when I upgrade (people actually ask me when my next upgrade is, so they can get my stuff for about half of what they would pay at the b&m). By gradually getting people to convert, I always have people in various stages of upgrade around me and able to make experimenting with new stuff a lot less risky. Also, the other nice perk, is that several of the ecig shops around me offer incentives of a bottle of ejuice for getting someone else to buy a starter kit.

 

[Taylork65]

My main problem as a newb has been the juice. I can't stop buying! All these boutique vendors just look so cool I find myself spending way more on juice than hardware.

 

[DavidAmonettNashville]

You are counting your cheapo beginner equipment as a loss when actually , because it got you to this point, it does have value...Transitional value but value none the less. It is up to you to affix a monetary value to those early devices but I'd say if they helped get you off the stinkies in any meaningful way...They certainly possess value...

 

[dice57]

Well I could of not bought a car last winter and just drove my old 4runner, or rode my bike, but really wanted the CR-Z. I really didn't need any more vape gear this year, already have a Provari, and a couple mech mod clones, but wanted a high end mech mod, and GOTSMOKE posted about a 26650 mech mod, and I just had to get that, and then I did have to get a new charger, because the one I own doesn't fit 26000 size batteries, and I really didn't need a Beast Box VV mod, but there was just something about a 8.4 volt 50 watt capable device that had 6000 mha batteries in it that well, yeah had to have that too, then, lo and behold, Evolv came out with the DNA30, so what the heck, lets get one or two of those too. Then a friend of mine said I just had to buy a Nautilus, even though I own several high end rba's already, so ... At least I don't have to buy juice this year, already have enough DIY supplies to last me to 2015, but hey....

Could of stopped at an ego and a PT, but what fun is that.

The cost of vaping is minimal, investing in great vape gear and a hobby, well that's priceless. But if you want, can always prorate it over 10-20 years, and it's just pennies a day. So stick that in you atty and vape it. lmao.