To all the questions of what to buy to start out..
- Thread starter Zod
- Start date
- th_trl_thread_readers 0
- Status
I don't think everyone needs an Ego or Riva. Sure a lot of people end up there but not everyone does. Some people have no problem charging batteries during the day and don't mind at all. I don't. I love my M401. I like my KR8 too. They are both great tasting PVs with decent battery life for minis (M401 is 210mah and KR8 standard is 280mah).
if i was starting out today, knowing what i know now i'd probably go straight to a $20 box mod with an 808 adapter.
I think you forgot phase 0: I needed something that looked and felt like a cigarette...
I think a lot more newbies would be satisfied from the beginning if we found an effective way to convince them that this is stupid.
Actually, it's not always stupid. Where I work, they are paranoid about druggies, and anything that doesn't look like an analog could bring me under suspicion and make my life miserable. So I'll have to be content to vape "look alikes" at work and save my mods for elsewhere.
I would never start smoking, knowing what I know now.
20-20 hindsight is great but everyone has to find their own "sweet spot" of vaping.
Box mods and HV give you a warm vape, (ewww I like it cool), and lots of TH, (yuck, less
TH more flavor for me). If we listen to what a noob is asking for, their likes /dislikes
we can make an educated guess as to what they might like.
It took a lot of trial and error, but the left over parts and pieces, cartos, batteries and
pass thru are now my backup collection.
Same with juices, I now know what flavors I like and the rest are back up, if I were ever
to let my stash drop that low where I was stalking the mailman, thinking of an analog.
(not likely anytime soon
)
Wow, I have to admit I was expecting many more "Not true! I have xyz and it works great for me."
When I laid this out I never intended it to be the end all be all guide but more a much cleaner idea on where to start for the vast majority of vapers at the best possible price point. I didn't mention starting at a 510 as the Riva IS a 510 just with a bigger battery at a lower price point. For the money you could buy a Riva kit and a regular 510 battery for the money of the 510 kit alone. The idea is get that price point low enough to give vaping a real try but with enough performance to make someone say "I could actually do this!" Instead of "I knew this was a fluke."
I don't mention the "look" of the superminis as realistically 95% of us could give a flying walrus's left .... cheek about the look of a pv if it means you can vape in your cubicle or office. Once again, for the masses, not specified info personalized for you. Otherwise I would push LRs, cartos, and bigger mods, but that's for me, not the majority out there trying to find guidance on their first attempt to stuff the tobacco monkey in the closet. We can focus on beating the .... out of him once they're on OUR team.
General Zod
When I laid this out I never intended it to be the end all be all guide but more a much cleaner idea on where to start for the vast majority of vapers at the best possible price point. I didn't mention starting at a 510 as the Riva IS a 510 just with a bigger battery at a lower price point. For the money you could buy a Riva kit and a regular 510 battery for the money of the 510 kit alone. The idea is get that price point low enough to give vaping a real try but with enough performance to make someone say "I could actually do this!" Instead of "I knew this was a fluke."
I don't mention the "look" of the superminis as realistically 95% of us could give a flying walrus's left .... cheek about the look of a pv if it means you can vape in your cubicle or office. Once again, for the masses, not specified info personalized for you. Otherwise I would push LRs, cartos, and bigger mods, but that's for me, not the majority out there trying to find guidance on their first attempt to stuff the tobacco monkey in the closet. We can focus on beating the .... out of him once they're on OUR team.
General Zod
Last edited:
So you were in quest for the "Holy Grail" of vaping....
What will hook someone on vaping can be as diverse as what satisfies veterans.
My first was a M401, and I could have 4 batteries depleted and charging while
chewing nic gum. Some lighter smokers may not need my extremes.
I needed my NICOTINE and I wanted it NOW!!
Took a few missteps to find my sweet spot and maintenance that works for me.
Size, shape and color was and is unimportant to me (sans pink)
Any starting setup recommendation needs to be tailored to the individual, much
as vaping is even for a veteran.
I did a lot of research before I decided which 'stage' I wanted to go. One of my coworkers bought a 'Blue' and paid $125 for it and then got conned into another $100 in carts. I told her that for that much cash i could buy a GLV2 5v mod and enough DIY to last me a year and she about lost her mind.
Stosh:
Valid point but I fear its that "tailored to the individual" mindset that has everyone so confused by the .....storm of information that gets thrown at them. Personally I was told wrong twice. There's far too many voices going in different directions. This is one of the weaknesses of our beloved forums. Too much information is as bad as too little, especially when it's mostly OPINIONS and not all facts. In the same post you say different things work for different people but also each application needs to be tailored to the individual. This insinuates that someone else would know exactly what you need because of xyz. Obviously this is absolutely untrue. My op was to give someone who's lost some baseline guidance of what works for most to try and save themselves some of the costly steps we stumbled through. This is precisely why I recommended something a little short of what worked for me. My gf smoked a little less than I but now I vape more than I smoked and she vapes less than she smoked. After our costly learning phases we both are served true by a Riva through the day, just I stick to LRs only and rock a high volt passthrough in my home office (where I always smoked the heaviest).
The one line the majority of people are looking for is "an eGo is about the closest you're going to get to an analog without getting into complicated mods." That line alone made it worth my time as it gives someone new a baseline they can relate to.
TLDR: I respectfully disagree.
Valid point but I fear its that "tailored to the individual" mindset that has everyone so confused by the .....storm of information that gets thrown at them. Personally I was told wrong twice. There's far too many voices going in different directions. This is one of the weaknesses of our beloved forums. Too much information is as bad as too little, especially when it's mostly OPINIONS and not all facts. In the same post you say different things work for different people but also each application needs to be tailored to the individual. This insinuates that someone else would know exactly what you need because of xyz. Obviously this is absolutely untrue. My op was to give someone who's lost some baseline guidance of what works for most to try and save themselves some of the costly steps we stumbled through. This is precisely why I recommended something a little short of what worked for me. My gf smoked a little less than I but now I vape more than I smoked and she vapes less than she smoked. After our costly learning phases we both are served true by a Riva through the day, just I stick to LRs only and rock a high volt passthrough in my home office (where I always smoked the heaviest).
The one line the majority of people are looking for is "an eGo is about the closest you're going to get to an analog without getting into complicated mods." That line alone made it worth my time as it gives someone new a baseline they can relate to.
TLDR: I respectfully disagree.
Last edited:
I don't know if it is or it isn't, but I'm over $700 into this 'hobby' after 2 months and I just ordered the Riva starter kit for $30.
It is my hope that the Riva will do what I need it to do and I'll be done plopping down $100 per week.
Having said that, every time I start to get antsy about how much $$$$ I've spent, I just try to keep in mind how much money chemo, heart surgery, etc... runs.
Then the money I've spent trying to find the exact right personal vaporizer for me doesn't seem to matter too much.
I'm not smoking. That's what matters.
For many ABSOLUTELY!! For someone who "wouldn't be caught dead in public, if it wasn't white with a
brown carto and the diameter of a cig" not so much. For that person the wrong recommendation may
make them vape less, and have a harder time of it.
Love my ego, (could care less the size) for a 1 to 2 pad smoker, easy maintenance, customizable, great starter.
I agree with you that the average noob is overwhelmed with info and recommendations, we need to take
a breathe sometimes and think if our recommendation fits what they are asking about.
CAN I GET A HELLELUJAH!!
I'm sorry to say I'm morbidly curious what you could spend so much on and still not find your groove unless you fell for the traps in the mall. If it's not that and you really spent that much in hardware I'd think it's more your juice you hate than the hardware. That's one topic I'd never dare even try to simplify as juices are purely opinion. It's like saying everyone should buy blue paint first before you try anything else.
Gammuchi disposable: $10 x 3 = $30.00
ECigarette disposable: $15 x 4 = $60.00
SmartSmoker # 7 starter kit: = $70.00
Prefilled carts for #7: $14 x 10 = $140.00
(Found this forum at that time.)
KR808d-1 from Vapor4Life starter kit x 2, with extra batteries, and 16 flavors: $288.00
Replacement flavors from Vapor4Life x 15: $70.00
Replacement flavors from Backwoods Brew x 15: $85.00
Riva starter kit from Liberty Flights: $35
And I am still using the #7 (aka RN4081) as my go to daily vaporizer. *rolls eyes*
It's okay, though. If someone said I'd have to lay out $2,000 to save my own life, I'd gladly cut the check.
No kidding!
I bought my started kit dse 108 monday and it broke wednesday. I might get some money back but even if I don't, it's the cost of learning what is good or not.
Pretty cheap when all is considered.
Ouch. The KR is a pretty competent piece and a 510 is going to be pretty fairly equivalent just it will vape much longer on the Riva batt. If it still feels lacking grab an LR atty or carto and it will kick harder.
That's not what I'm after, specifically.
What I'm after is a cartridge or cartomizer or flavor that doesn't taste like burning garbage.
I forgot to mention, I just ordered a different brand of KR808d-1 cartomizers @ $20 and replacement flavors @ $50 yesterday. Kind of forgot about those little purchases.
The #7 (aka RN4081) does not have a funky burnt garbage bag flavor like the KR808d-1. Could be that the #7 vapes at a cooler temperature and so I don't perceive the plastic like aroma. Or it could be that I prefer atomizers plus cartridges over cartomizers, or it could be a common ingredient in Vapor4Life's offerings, or it could be a million other variables that would be completely insignificant to 99% of the population, but Are Really Very Very Important to my tastebuds!!11!!!!
Whatever the case, I'm sure I'll find the right experience for me. Just may take some time and/or money. I have made it a priority to free up both in my endeavor to remain smoke free. Other people's MMV.
Exactly! Last time I tried to quit smoking the doc visit was $75, the pills (not covered by insurance) were $90 or so and the mega package of mint gum was $5. None of that worked worth a d@mn. E cigs work. Period. It's like Zod said, just gotta find your groove.
Hmmm, could be something a simple as the filling in the cart. The filling that comes with the carts is pure $^#!&
tastes like burning garbage and wicks poorly leading to dry attys, (more burning garbage) But it is easily replaced
with a small piece of aquarium "Blue foam" filter material.
The foam wicks well and doesn't change the taste of the juice, same flavor as if you were dripping directly on the atty.
The blue foam also holds more juice, so you're not filling / topping off as often.
Another simple trick is be sure the edge of your cart doesn't touch the atty's bridge, line up the short edges of the cart
with the spaces on the sides of the bridge.
Hope this helps!!
I found this place first before I made my purchases. After re-assembling my head after too much info intake... I chose the V4L 808 mini shorty because to me it was close the analogs I am hooked on. Worked well I went from a PAD too 3 a week instantly. Now I have my 510 and no analogs! You did good with this post Zod. I think the change in context was warrented in helping new vaper-er-ers like me. For the many who have been here a long time it really would suck to see the same questions over and over. The amount of info here is AMAZING!. You really need to have an index of some sort and I think you started that well.
If one (me) has all the 510 basics can you just by riva batts and have it work or do you need to fork out for a kit?
AB
If one (me) has all the 510 basics can you just by riva batts and have it work or do you need to fork out for a kit?
AB
- Status
Similar threads
