The Really Big RY4 Roundup (long)

[billherbst]

Have you tried Professor Marvels Master blend?

Yes, Professor Marvels Master Blend from NashvilleVapors has been on The Big RY4 List for more than a year.

Below are links to two reviews. The first (post #3326) is by the hangdude. The second review (post #3372) is mine:

Professor Marvels Master Blend review: post #3326

Professor Marvels Master Blend review: post #3372

 

[billherbst]

Ah, you beat me to the punch, dude, except that you didn't mention that your review was from December 2012, 15 months ago.

And yes, I do tend to change my grades over time---in both directions. The RY4s I fall in love with initially are usually subject to closer scrutiny and criticism later, after my ardor has cooled. Conversely, I tend to grade RY4s I hate more harshly at first. Later I may relent a bit and commute their sentences from death to life imprisonment. LOL.

On the other hand, all but one of the RY4s in the A group on The Big RY4 Report Card has withstood the test of time. Only Butterfly's RY4 is relatively recent. The same applies to my Personal Favorite RY4 List. All 14 of those RY4s are proven, long-term winners.

 

[thehangdude]

I did edit my post to read 2012.

My likes have melded towards the classic blends of RY4, but I still like the good custom blends like Master Blend and its NET cousin GJ4. The caramel in those two are about as good as it gets. Another good ry4 with excellent caramel is Killer juice. I am waiting for others to chime in their reviews on it. Anybody?

 

[billherbst]

Maybe I'm just getting conservative in my old age, but I too find myself leaning more toward Classic RY4s than Customs these days. All the Custom RY4s I like a lot at this point tend to be closer to Classic rather than pushing the envelope of the flavor profile into previously uncharted realms.

Many of the more adventuresome RY4s no longer feel like RY4 to me. Best example I can offer is VapeRite VR4, the first-ever NET-based RY4. For years I loved the ooey-gooey caramel of VR4. Not so much anymore. I no longer seem to be able to find the RY4-ness in that flavor profile, so it's fallen to a B on The RY4 Report Card.

One might think I'd feel the same way about BWB RY4, which is about as unlike a Classic RY4 as any juice I know. Somehow, though, BWB RY4 has managed to win my heart again. It's also in the B group, but mostly because it's discontinued and largely unavailable.

 

[Cool_Breeze]

I think we may be witnessing the Gartner Hype Cycle at work here...(invert for poorly rated RY4s).

http://www.neweurasia.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/nils_chart_kg.jpg

(in context... https://www.neweurasia.net/politics...for-kyrgyzstans-self-reinforcing-destruction/ )

 

[clnire]

When I first received my Killer Juice RY4 a few weeks ago I let it steep for about a week before trying. First taste was dripping in a little SR 510 bridgeless atty. I was not impressed. Not much flavor at all. So yesterday (about 2 weeks later) I pulled it out again and loaded up a newly coiled EVOD with cotton wicks (I believe 2.1 ohm). Put it on one of my MVPs at 8 watts. OMG! Flavor is still subtle but that is not bad. Walt had "warned" me that the natural caramel will taste different then chemical caramel and he is right. IMHO it is excellent! I find it well balanced, not overdone with any of the flavors. I don't get a specific caramel then tobacco then vanilla or some such flavor variation, just a nice balance of goodness. Definitely custom with the natural flavors but in a classic kind of way. Does that make sense? Won't replace my fave Mr Vape or Butterfly's or Mr E, but very good in a classic/custom way.

Oh, also, although I do not know the exact final mix ratio of pg/vg, from conversations with Walt I did request higher vg (standard mix is 60/40) and my vaping says at least 50/50, probably higher vg or it's the natural flavors because it does not throw me into a pg mind numbing thirst and sore throat that higher pg juices do.

I agree with Bill's B rating, B+ to me. A keeper for when I want a little different but still classic style/tasting RY4.

 

[Lombaowski]

Here is how I would rate the RY4s I've tried based on recommendations in this thread:

#1: Mr E
#2: Mr Vape


#3: Indigo Classic
#4 Vapor's Knoll Our-Y-4
#5: Butterfly's
#6: ECBlend Spicy Ry4


#7 Indigo RY4
#8 Hangsen RY4
#9 Halo Tribeca
#10 Indigo Eastwood

#11 Madvapes RY4

I might reorder those top two depending on the week, but those two definitely stand out over the others. I like Tribeca a lot, same with Eastwood so I'm not placing those juices low but reason that the recommendations have been so good, that they are just victims to the overall brilliance of the thread. My Frankenjuice ECBlend RY4/HHV Heavenly Tobacco would fall in the top three, those two juices on their own would be lower, but I think ECBlend's RY4 is one of the best out there and compares well with the other top dogs.

RY4 is about 75 to 80 percent of my juice intake, so it's an important part of my daily existence. Not sure I would have gone back to the analogs without it, but it made me crave a cigarette almost never...and that's the bottom line right? Next up is the Volt RY4 and then the Janty's. Thanks for everyone's input and to Bill for doing such a terrific job explaining things for new people who are trying to change their lifestyle. I feel good, I'm saving money, and I think I enjoy vaping more than I did smoking. The key to not going back is the juice, all the delivery systems are just for show. RY4 is my savior!


#12 ITC Vapes RY4

 

[PRG4]

I have to agree with you about favoring the classic blends more these days. But I just purchased Killer Juice's RY4 and it's awesome especially for the price. I find it strange that they don't offer different size bottles though. I have a question for all of you out there. After reading your post I went through my collection and found my well aged GJ4 bottle. To my surprise and disappointment it has lost its awesome caramel flavor. Has that happened to anyone else? I know it's at least 8 months old, is that embarking on steeping too long?

 

[billherbst]

I went through my collection and found my well aged GJ4 bottle. To my surprise and disappointment it has lost its awesome caramel flavor. Has that happened to anyone else? I know it's at least 8 months old, is that embarking on steeping too long?

Yes. This is a sad liability of all the NET-based or otherwise naturally- or organically-flavored RY4s. Were they wines, they would be Beaujolais---best consumed when fresh. Natural flavorings simply don't age well. They are effectively reverse-steepers.

My bottles of GoodEJuice GJ4, VapeRite VR4, MOV Full Virginia Flake RY4, MyVapeJuice Rogue RY4, PrimeVaping PV4, and Want2Vape RY4---all NET-based and more than a year old, with some considerably older---are well down the road toward oblivion. QuickNic ouR whY qu4tro, my all-time favorite NET-based RY4---is fantastic when fresh, just a complete knockout Custom RY4, but it begins to diminish and lose its oomph at about the three-month mark. After one year, I still like it, but it's now a mere shadow of its youthful self.

The problem with RY4s made using natural tobacco extract is that the tobacco flavor gets stronger over time and overwhelms the caramel and vanilla, which lose vibrancy and fade into the background. And then later, past a certain age (after a year or so), the tobacco flavor itself begins to flatten out. The result? A dead RY4 that has shuffled off this mortal coil and gone to meet its maker.

That's one huge advantage of synthetic flavorings. Most Classic RY4s age very slowly. They improve with initial steeping, then plateau nicely for a long time. My bottle of 2008 Janty RY4---sent to me by Kent C. (thanks, Kent!)---is still about 90% of what it was five or six years ago when new, according to Kent. I wasn't vaping in 2008, so I never had it fresh (and probably wouldn't remember well if I had), but I can affirm that it's still darned good today.

Since KillerJuice RY4 is made with all-natural flavorings, I'd strongly suggest vaping it up as quickly as possible, because it's unlikely to have a long shelf life.

 

[PRG4]

Thanks for the insight, I will but killer juice to the front of my rotation.

 

[PRG4]

I've been reading through some old posts looking for my next purchase and I just read this one. What company's RY4 are you speaking of right here? $28 bucks for 250mL sounds awesome.

 

[Cool_Breeze]

I've been reading through some old posts looking for my next purchase and I just read this one. What company's RY4 are you speaking of right here? $28 bucks for 250mL sounds awesome.

I suspect, Heartland Vapes. ...pretty good stuff.

 

[PRG4]

Mail away, dude. I'll be happy to review "dude's RY4." As I re-state periodically, this entire thread is first and foremost about all of us having a good time. We're not doing rocket science here, and whatever rules we make up aren't cast in stone. There's nothing necessarily sacred about an RY4 on the Big List being commercially available or not. Heck, I might even add my own diy RY4s (I have four of them, and no, they're not gonna make the Top 10, Top 20, or even Top 30 of the Big List. But who knows? Yours might turn out be outstanding. If not, at least you'll have company with mine. LOL.)

If I get enough homemade diy RY4s from different people, I might even start a separate "diy RY4" list---complete with its own rankings, categories, and creator credits---if for no other reason than to recognize intrepid diy'ers. I'll even list the recipes if folks will include the formula and ingredients with their sample. (Can't do that with my own diy RY4s, since they're all ongoing hodge-podges, like a stew you make, eat half of, then add more ingredients to end up with a full pot again...)

I have 2 concoctions of my own that I'm pretty darn proud of but like you I wouldn't know where to begin explaining what's in each bottle. As I look at my collection the DIY RY4ish bottle that I'm most proud of is black in color from so many times of, add a drop of X, four more drops of Y, oh, and don't forget to add more of Z to finish it off.

 

[billherbst]

I have 2 concoctions of my own that I'm pretty darn proud of but like you I wouldn't know where to begin explaining what's in each bottle. As I look at my collection the DIY RY4ish bottle that I'm most proud of is black in color from so many times of, add a drop of X, four more drops of Y, oh, and don't forget to add more of Z to finish it off.

Wow. That post was from more than two years ago. In "vaping years," that's a lifetime. My own and others' DIY from-scratch RY4s have come a long way since then. All the variations of DIY RY4 I made in 2013 have carefully documented recipes.

 

[Kaiser Bob]

Although I probably should have known better, two weeks ago I ordered two 10ml RY4s---RY4 Medium and RY4 Mild---as part of a larger juice order from NicVape, during an 80% off sale for all their retail juices. I don’t know if this was a “clearance” or “close-out” sale (as it turns out, I hope it was, for NicVape’s sake). 80% off sales aren't offered very often, the prices were seductive---$1.49 for 10mls and $3.79 for 30mls, with cheap shipping---and my curiosity got the better of me. I bought 10 bottles of their retail juice, including the two RY4s. So, NicVape got $19.29 of my money, and I got… uh, what did I get?

Specs: All ten bottles were 16mg nic in an unspecified base blend that I’d guess to be 80/20 PG/VG from viscosity and vapor production. Colors of eight of the liquids varied from pale to medium amber transparencies. Two were dark---Clockwork Orange (orange and chocolate) was a transparent deep auburn, while Cappuccino was a cloudy dark brown. None of the juices had any discernible scent. Expiration dates on the labels varied by month, but all were listed in 2015. Assuming a two-year lifespan, that means that the juices were all mixed in 2013. Testing was done by dripping into a standard 2.3 ohm JoyeTech 510 atomizer powered by a VAMO set to 9.0 watts RMS.

Two of the juices, Cappuccino and Mountain Duh (an attempt to emulate Mountain Dew soda), are marginally acceptable. Not that I’m very likely to vape them. All the others---Apple Cinnamon, Apple Pie, Clockwork Orange, Pepper MD, both RY4s, Pumpkin Spice, and Pumpkin Pie---are just plain dreadful. They’re headed for a fate as pesticide on my garden. (The squishy plastic bottles are fine, though, so I'll wash them out and keep them.)

Am I being overly harsh? If you vaped any of these juices, I’m sure you’d agree.

The RY4s in particular are awful, among the worst concoctions to ever be sold with the name RY4 slapped on a label. I can’t pinpoint exactly what they taste like (nor do I wish to try), but it sure as hell isn’t RY4---not Classic, not Custom, not even something vaguely related to RY4. I guess they're sort of vaguely fruity, with no hint of tobacco, caramel, or vanilla. I refuse to even dignify this swill with more of a proper review. In fact, I really don't want either of them on The Big RY4 List, so they won't be included. Every RY4 lover should avoid them like the plague.

My questions (and concerns) are about NicVape more than about these liquids. NicVape is a vendor that’s been around for a long time---a fairly typical if undistinguished ecig vendor---selling juice, flavorings (TPA/TFA), liquid nic, and hardware.

Did anyone at NicVape ever vape any of these liquids? Could it be remotely possible that they actually considered the juices to be acceptable or even---heaven forbid---good? I truly don’t see how.

I sincerely hope that NicVape will throw out every juice and flavoring in its inventory, burn the recipes/formulas, hire a new juicemaker/flavorist, and start over from scratch.

You know it's funny, I got in on their sale too and ordered the Double RY4, my first RY4 ever. I tried it in my kayfun @ 1.6 and it tasted a bit gross, not much flavor and an obnoxious hint of ashtray? I got a mech mod and rebuilt to a 1 ohm coil and now I love the stuff, sweet and rich, throat hit on the low end in 6mg. Now I need to try a top RY4 to compare.

 

[billherbst]

You know it's funny, I got in on their sale too and ordered the Double RY4, my first RY4 ever. I tried it in my kayfun @ 1.6 and it tasted a bit gross, not much flavor and an obnoxious hint of ashtray? I got a mech mod and rebuilt to a 1 ohm coil and now I love the stuff, sweet and rich, throat hit on the low end in 6mg. Now I need to try a top RY4 to compare.

Bob,

I've read enough posts detailing similar "miraculous transformations" to believe such reports without skepticism or doubt. Typically, they're about Juice Delivery Systems---detailing a dramatic change in the vaping experience between standard atties/cartos/clearos and rebuildable atomizers, usually outfitted with micro-coils and cotton wicks. This one's a little different, in that the "Before" version is a Kayfun using a 1.6 ohm coil, with the "After" transformation occurring because the coil resistance was lowered and the wattage presumably increased.

I've not personally experienced anything similar. Juices taste pretty much the same to me whether atty-dripped, clearo-loaded, or bottom-fed into an RBA with a low-ohm coil (1.0 ohms is about as low as I go, but many of my bottom-feeder are run at that resistance). I've certainly experienced the somewhat muted flavor produced by early-generation top-coil clearos, but I find little difference in flavor between atty-dripping, quality clearos such as a bottom-coil Kanger T3 or dual-top-coil iClear16, and a low-ohm micro-coiled/cotton wicked small-chamber RBA/RDA. The difference for me between those three classes of JDS is in the essence of the vaping experience itself, with the rebuildables providing what I might describe as a more "expanded" vape than the other two types.

Bottom line is my frank amazement that any hardware upgrade could salvage those NicVape liquids and transmute them from dreadful to delicious. I regard your experience as nearly magical and truly miraculous.

 

[PRG4]

Thanks for the heads up, I think I'll check them out right now.

 

[PRG4]

I've somewhat given up on the DIY world for now. As I was gaining interest in the DIY world I kept reading posts that it would save a person so much money in the long run. I never made it to that point. I did make it to the point where I had 2 shoe boxes full of flavors and such( I wear 17s too so that's a lot of flavors, nicotine, bottles of PG/VG, etc.) Anyway I couldn't find a sweet spot all I found were bottles all over my desk with labels all over the place to match. Out of all of that I have 2 30mL bottles filled with a tar looking liquid that I am so proud of it makes me laugh. Long story short I did the math and it was as if I spent about $50 for each of those bottles. No thanks, I'll keep buying from venders.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[billherbst]

I've somewhat given up on the DIY world for now. As I was gaining interest in the DIY world I kept reading posts that it would save a person so much money in the long run. I never made it to that point. I did make it to the point where I had 2 shoe boxes full of flavors and such( I wear 17s too so that's a lot of flavors, nicotine, bottles of PG/VG, etc.) Anyway I couldn't find a sweet spot all I found were bottles all over my desk with labels all over the place to match. Out of all of that I have 2 30mL bottles filled with a tar looking liquid that I am so proud of it makes me laugh. Long story short I did the math and it was as if I spent about $50 for each of those bottles. No thanks, I'll keep buying from venders.

Some knowledge is essential. Knowing what we're good at. Knowing what we're not good at. Knowing what works for us. Knowing what doesn't work.

DIY doesn't work for you. As a result, your decision to return to buying retail juices exclusively makes perfectly good sense. By contrast, DIY works for me. I'm good at it. So my decision to mostly DIY---and to make my own home-brewed natural tobacco and coffee extracts as well---makes good sense for me.

Keep those two shoe boxes of flavorings, however. Frankenjuicing can be a very good thing.

Vaping hasn't saved me a penny. I've spent far more on vaping in the past three years than I did on cigarettes over the previous decade. I won't say exactly how much I've spent, but it's in six figures. And that's fine. In addition to being an essential means of daily self-medication for me and a less harmful (we hope) drug delivery system, vaping is my hobby.

 

[clnire]

I dabble in a little DIY. I make several good (to me) fruit and dessert mixes. I still love trying new juices. Always looking for new flavor profiles I like. Currently on a mad Ahlusion kick. I have several fave juices from a handful of vendors (1 handful). But when it comes to tobaccos I am not ready to delve into home extraction. I do know I do not like the synthetic tobacco flavors overall. I don't know enough about the different tobaccos to make the right decisions. And RY4? Fagetaboutit! I have my faves and that is that.