The Vaping Journey Begins

[davedbc]

I've been smoking now for the better part of 25 years. Recently a friend of mine made mention of an e-cig he had picked up primarily for his trip to Rome and the rather long trip on an airplane. At the time I thought it was a cute little novelty but didn't really think much more about it.

Anyway - I now find that I'll be moving - in with another friend (who doesn't smoke) and then into a new place all my own (ahh). The friend I'm moving in with isn't too keen on me smoking in his house (and I don't blame him in the least for that) - but when I talked to him about vaping (along with a little education) - he's cool with that. So I'm thinking, okay - I'll vape when I'm there and that way I don't have to pause a movie - go out during commercial breaks, middle of the night wake-ups, etc.

Then I started reading - and found my way over here. Now I'm thinking to myself that I can 'smoke' without the smoke - quitting tobacco - without quitting smoking. Okay, nicotine may not be great for you - but getting rid of the smoke has to be a huge part of the battle. And not to mention, even though I'm moving into my own place soon enough - do I really want to smoke in it? (I do in my current place).

Before I read enough - I ordered a Blu starter kit. Before that even arrived, I found the Ego-T vs. GoGo thread and decided that if I was going to eventually end up with an eGo type device anyway - may as well bit the bullet and grab a GoGo now.

Blu arrived yesterday (Thrusday). Charged it up - been playing around with it throughout today.
Cherry Crush - not a ton of flavor or smoke but not bad. Menthol - pretty darn good and strong sense of menthol. Java - not really a fan. Also decided that the battery life is pretty silly with that mini thing since during my work day had to swap out the battery 2x before getting home. Huh - this 'works' but it doesn't satisfy my want for a regular cigarette (although - I've only had 3-4 today and I'm usually just over a pack a day - so it's a start).

Got home today - GoGo in mailbox.
Start charging one battery - cool no problems and didn't have to file anything (at least not yet). Start playing with the blank cartomizers (PS - I had ordered some juice from Johnson Creek between ordering the Blu and the GoGo with the intention of re-filling the Blu Cartos). Tried taking the cap off of carto 1 with a paperclip as YouTube taught me. Think I put the clip in too deep as I ended up taking the filling out with me (whoops! - Hope I can find a way to put it back which it sounds like I should - but if not - call it a learning experience). Take condom off carto 2 - cap comes off with it. Fill (drip and spin) with Spiced Apple Cider from Johnson Creek. WHOA - this is night and day between the hit and the blu! Not sure it tastes anything like Spiced Apple Cider - but it's not bad and again, WHOA. Filled carto 3 with Marcado from Johnson Creek - and REALLY like that off the start. Should keep in mind that I bought the medium strength blu cartos (11mg I think) and low (11mg) strength juices from Johnson Creek (smoked light cigarettes for years before starting to roll my own for the last couple). I'm looking at the bottle of menthol that came with the GoGo at 24mg (I think) and I'm not sure I'll actually use something that strong. Good Grief!

So - the Blu is neat - and if nothing else handy. The GoGo however...is a beast.

I'll continue to play around with the Blu - and try refilling carts with the JC juice for a direct comparison and may hang onto it for either a juice test or if I'm just going to the bar for a few hours and don't want to carry the GoGo with me - we'll see. I do need to figure out how I'm going to carry the GoGo around however, as I'm not sure I want to just put in my pants pocket alone - and since I'm a dude - I don't carry a purse - and I'm NOT growing a fanny pack for an E-Cig I do, however like the laynard idea - or might just look for a quailty pen case that this thing fits into.

Cheers everybody!

 

[sea]

Cheers! It sounds like you have done your research!

 

[WalkerHound]

I started with blu 10 days ago, and haven't touched an analog. Smoked Camel Lights for almost 25 years. Just ordered the Joye Ego because Blu just doesn't do it for me with flavor or consistency.

Good Luck!

 

[aleyahevers]

Welcome to the wonderful life of vaping!

 

[davedbc]

The biggest problem I have with the Blu is that you have to work so hard to get a decent pull. That and I found that while I didn't *need* an analog after vaping on the Blu at work - I still kinda *wanted* one. Playing around with the GoGo tonight - I don't know that I'll feel the need to go back to my analogs since I can take a 'light hit' from the GoGo to replicate the hit I got from my analogs.

The funny thing is - starting this thing - the point wasn't to quit smoking analogs - but just give me another option and not stink up the house. I still have 1.5 lbs of tobacco (roughly three cartons worth) and I have a feeling I'll end up either giving it to another friend who rolls - or just pitch some of it. Aw shucks

 

[bstedh]

I would suggest a funeral pyre to say good by to analogs. Just stay up-wind of the smoke.

 

[rushcreek]

I was a 2 1/2 packs a day smoker for over 40 years. Started with a mini e-cig two weeks ago and have never looked back. Today my new eGo-T came. I am a happy camper now! Haven't even thought of an analog since starting.

 

[swedishfish]

Binder clips are really helpful to take the cap off. You can get them at Walmart or even Dollar Tree.

Medium Binder Clips 1 14 Wide 58 Capacity Black Pack Of 24 by Office Depot

Just pinch and remove it from the black clip and it's perfect.

 

[Erfmann]

On the Gogo, I rerolled the stuffing around a piece of shrink tube that was slightly larger in diameter than the center post of the carto, I was able to slip it back into the carto, then pulled the shrink tube back out...worked pretty good for me...it's pretty easy as long as the stuffing is dry...I guess any little piece of tubing would work, and some have mentioned using the shaft of a q-tip as a guide by inserting into the center post with the stuffing rolled around it...
Happy vaping

 

[Trillius]

I think I can do this also... started with a 51 Duo. Not happy with it though. But vaping in general does show promise for me!

 

[davedbc]

Swedishfish and Erfmann - thanks for the tips. I actually have a couple of binder clips here and never even thought about pinching one apart - but as soon as you said it - it's one of those 'well of course' moments Now I'll just have to find a tube the right size to work on that pulled out carto. If I don't quite get it to work (my hands are not exactly 'delicate' I've come to learn) - then so be it. But if I can get it to work - and consistently even - that could have promise.

Trillius - I'm willing to bet you can. Get yourself a decent kit which doesn't involve spending a ton of cash either - and you'll find it's much easier. The 51 trio - was that first e-cig my friend brought over which is the one that I thought was a kinda cute novelty. As I said - my problem with the Blu - (outside of the just downright silly battery life) is that you have to work really damn hard to get a good pull - so it may *look* like an analog - but it doesn't *smoke* (vape) like an analog. As soon as I started playing with the Gogo tonight - I haven't even thought about lighting up another analog.

Everything I've read says that all the kits out there have their place as there isn't a single 'best' kit for *everybody*. From my (admitted very limited) experience, if you can mimic more the action (the inhale, TH, vapor production, etc) of smoking an analog cigarette instead of simply the look of it - you're already the majority of the way there. I found my way to the Gogo based on the raves it was getting in the Ego-T vs. Gogo thread along with a few other IMPRESSIONS I developed from looking at other options:

Atty vs. Cartomizer - for me, cartomizer. Why worry about having a separate atty burn out or taste like the last flavor (especially if any residue was left over in the atty's reservoir) when you can swap out the whole thing. And for the price of a 5-pack - they're easily replaceable once cleaning is no longer an option (however many cleanings that ends up being)

510 kit - Seemed like a great 'look-alike' contender. But - based on the 51 - I was worried again about the harder pull.

Dripping - seems messy.

Tanks (eGo-T type) - leaks, burning, and the idea of punching a whole in the bottom of something and it doesn't leak afterwards? If ya'll say so - but I just had a harder time wrapping my head around the idea.

eGo - this is the kit I expected to pick up. But since the Gogo is basically a bigger version and people seem to love it - figured why not just start there? Looking at steeljan's video review of the Gogo on YouTube (which is a great watch btw) it didn't look *that* much physically bigger than the eGo which basically meant that if I could figure out a way to carry around an eGo - should be able to with the Gogo.

It'll be interesting to see over the weekend what I end up with in analog consumption - if I want one, I'll have one. I'm just not that sure I will.

 

[MickeyRat]

Personally, while I'm sure the go-go is a good device, I'm not sure it's good for someone new to this. I haven't used one but, those that do, love them. The problem is you haven't found what you like to vape yet. The go-go is made for an all day trouble free vape. That means loading up a LOT of juice. If you load it up with something you don't want to vape all day, you're pretty much stuck with it.

 

[poemmimi99]

I have the blu too and like it. I am looking to save for the ego though. Should i get ego t or reg one?