Traveling with Halo Triton...

[stevegmu]

Part 1, of a week of vaping abroad with Halo.

Back from a week in Prague- for the first time tobacco-free. Arriving at the airport early, as we generally do, I headed outside for a vape before going through security. Although the airport was fairly empty- it is a small regional airport, I just don't feel comfortable vaping inside areas that are smoke free. Outside I had the choice of a designated smoking area, or everywhere else. I chose everywhere else and let loose a Triton VV loaded with SubZero. I got a few looks. A police officer walking by paused, I gave him the, 'Is this OK look?', he nodded and went about his business, as did I. Several people in the smoking area looked over- not sure anyone had seen such a beautiful midnight blue machine and I heard, 'quit smoking', 'safe', 'electronic cigarette', and various other references to e-nic. Some seemed curious, but none approached. Of course the wife was texting like mad on her phone, oblivious to the scene.

Back inside and through security- no issues at all with my Halo gear- I had 4 VV Triton batteries, 2 650, 2 900, 2 1300 a pair of 400's, 4 7ml bottles of juice and a couple loaded tanks in a tiny Pelican Case in my carry on- well, actually, my wife's carry on. She's a lot better at sweet talking than I am, so the case went in her bag. The rest of the gear- several large bottles of juice, tanks, pre-loaded cartos and wicks went with the checked baggage. I was a little surprised the TSA didn't give the Pelican case a second look, but they must have been trained on e-cigs.

Not long before boarding, I felt the urge for a quick stealth vape- flying doesn't bother me one bit, I just have a slight fear of crashing on takeoffs and landings. Out came a 400 mAh with a pre-filled carto of Menthol Ice. Now a 400 is small- even with a cone and carto on it. Fits just right in the palm. A couple quick, long drags, held just long enough so that virtually no vapor was visible on exhale. Hit the spot and I was ready to roll.

It was a short, uneventful flight to Detroit. Having done research previous to traveling, I knew DTW has a strict no tobacco policy- this includes e-cigs. Fortunately, DTW is a well-organized airport- surprise, surprise, so crossing terminals, exiting, re-entering and going through security is an easy task. 3 hours to kill until boarding, I dropped the wife off at a Duty Free Shop, which just happens to be next to a Starbucks, so I knew she'd be good for a while. 'Back in an hour', I said, and was off for a vape session. This time I chose the smokers area, given DTWs policies. How I smoked for 20 years, I don't know. A mix of stale tobaccos, a cigar, cheap perfume and sweat was almost too much, but a pair of VVs- one loaded with a fresh tank of SubZero, the other with Turkish was just too tempting. I fired up the Turkish, took a mighty drag, and the sweet aroma of Halo's finest began to overpower the stench in the air. Long powerful drags and slow exhales really put me in the right spot. I switched from the SubZero to the Turkish at will, both performing like the champs they are. At first, not a single smoker approached, yet I could see by the way they looked down at their filthy beasts and over at the beautiful VVs they knew they were missing out. Satiated after a delightful vape session, I powered down the VVs, placed them back in their case. As I was leaving, a gentleman in a suit approached, asking what it was I was smoking. I handed him a Halo card, telling him,' It's the future,' and walked off.

 

[PeteC2]

Interesting Steve, thanks for sharing your experiences vaping while travelling! I have to confess that I am not quite bold enough to actually vape on a plane...at the concourse, certainly.

 

[Myth Sammich]

As I was leaving, a gentleman in a suit approached, asking what it was I was smoking. I handed him a Halo card, telling him,' It's the future,' and walked off.

This. It made my day.

 

[VaporClouds]

Nice read, i was enjoying your adventure while vaping subzero mixed with cool mist. mmmmmm

 

[SeniorBoy]

Steve - What a great read. Inside your Part 1 is a very valuable takeaway for newbies.

Back inside and through security- no issues at all with my Halo gear- I had 4 VV Triton batteries, 2 650, 2 900, 2 1300 a pair of 400's, 4 7ml bottles of juice and a couple loaded tanks in a tiny Pelican Case in my carry on- well, actually, my wife's carry on. She's a lot better at sweet talking than I am, so the case went in her bag. The rest of the gear- several large bottles of juice, tanks, pre-loaded cartos and wicks went with the checked baggage. I was a little surprised the TSA didn't give the Pelican case a second look, but they must have been trained on e-cigs.

Be prepared! More/extras is better than less! You can't run down to the corner store and get your fix like you did when you smoked nasty cigs. Combined with the fact that we have a rather prevalent "out of stock" issue across the entire industry. This stuff breaks! This stuff malfunctions! That's part of life in the fast lane and the bleeding edge. Weather you are at home, out and about, or in your case, traveling. BTW, I'm sure you also had a few wall warts and Triton USB chargers with you. Cant wait for Part 2.

Thanks again!

 

[stevegmu]

Part 2, of a week of vaping abroad with Halo.

$15.70 for a Grande mocha frap and Trenta iced coffee with milk, white mocha and peppermint! Really? Whatever one may save at Duty Free, they more than give back on food and beverages at most airports.

About an hour 'till boarding, we head over to the gate. When I was a kid living near DC, a plane crashed into the Potomac. Having grown up a military brat- meaning quite a few air miles by the time I was 7, I loved flying. My father flew F4s. I could identify every US military fighter jet by the sound and contrails they made. Back then the pilots would let me go into the cockpit of C130s for takeoffs and landings. Once an engine caught fire on takeoff. No problem. It was an adventure. After Air Florida flight 90 crashed into the freezing Potomac- basically in my back yard, I get a little nervous. Whenever the flight attendant says- and they say it every flight, "In the case of a water landing...," I always go back to the images and video of flight 90 I saw as a kid. Later on as an adult, driving by the 14th st. bridge always made me shudder.

The second leg of our journey is long haul. Airbus A330 from Detroit to Paris, then a hop on a regional aircraft to Prague. I hate the A330 with a passion. Compared to the Boeing 767, it is a hoopty. It shudders and shakes on takeoff, like no aircraft its size should. The engines momentarily seem to stall on liftoff, then correct themselves, always making me feel we will drop out of the sky, and wish the plane had more than 2 engines. It is a loud aircraft- even in business/first. I can't imagine the noise and shake at or behind the wings.

I know exactly how the takeoff will go, which is why I needed a vape. It is basically a full flight, so the gate is packed. No chance for a stealth vape. I have a 400 mAh loaded with a Hx3 carto burning a hole in my pocket, yet no quite corner. The wife has just picked up the largest issue of Cosmo I have ever seen. It is not only thicker, but physically taller and wider than the standard issue. She's good for the next 8-10 hours...

I am not, however, and walk over to the nearby bathroom. Of course it is packed. They will be calling pre-boarding soon, so I don't have time. I boldly whip out my midnight blue Triton shorty, and take a long, deep drag, then another. I blow the vapor straight up, so no one gets a face full. There must be 30 guys in there and no reactions, other one guy, who said, 'Wish I had brought mine.' All the anxiety about public vaping in confined spaces, where it isn't really allowed was for naught. I could have whipped out a Opus x, lit it, blew smoke rings and no one would have cared. For a second, I thought of the BLU commercial, "We're all adults here." Of course, this was Detroit, not San Francisco...

Satisfied for the moment, I return to my wife, who is enthralled with her Cosmo. How she can balance that giant magazine while texting is beyond me. Makes her look lilliputian. We finally board, and immediately the flight attendants start handing out water and champagne. Why they feel their guests need a drink seconds after boarding and before takeoff is a little perplexing to me. I guess it makes some feel they are getting their money's worth. I settle in and prepare for takeoff. Sunglasses on and a Triton in my pocket.

 

[GameDesigner]

Great stories.

To chime in on the flying -- just flew twice this weekend with my travel vaping bag in my carry-on and had no trouble whatsoever. They didn't even mention it. For context, I was carrying 4 bottles of liquid, one was a 30ml, the remainder were 15mls. I had 3 18650s, a Vamo, replacement coils, four protanks, charger, AND Halo Triton. I was certain there'd be an issue, but nope.

 

[stevegmu]

Steve - What a great read. Inside your Part 1 is a very valuable takeaway for newbies.



Be prepared! More/extras is better than less! You can't run down to the corner store and get your fix like you did when you smoked nasty cigs. Combined with the fact that we have a rather prevalent "out of stock" issue across the entire industry. This stuff breaks! This stuff malfunctions! That's part of life in the fast lane and the bleeding edge. Weather you are at home, out and about, or in your case, traveling. BTW, I'm sure you also had a few wall warts and Triton USB chargers with you. Cant wait for Part 2.

Thanks again!

I took enough juice to last 3 months, a dozen or so Triton tanks, 2 400mAh, 2 650, 2 900, 2 1300, 4 VV batteries, 4 USB adapters, 2 USB Euro plugs, 2 VEA batteries, 4 boxes of Premium 100 cartos, a 13500 mAh New Trent PowerPak(for a water landing) a Pelican case, 4 boxes of Halo G6 cartos and 10 coil-heads. Oh, and the address to a vape store near the hotel.

 

[stevegmu]

Part 3, of a week of vaping abroad with Halo.

The flight to Paris was long. Having stayed up the night before, I was still unable to sleep. My wife, however, curled up after dinner and woke up upon landing. I'me not brave enough to discreet vape on a plane, so to the restroom it was. I think I took 3 vape breaks on the 8.5 hr, or so flight. I used a 400 mAh with a pre filled carto of Turkish. Not as spicy out of a carto as in a tank, yet still satisfying. I inhaled deeply and held it until I almost passed out. I have read too many stories of vaping setting off the smoke detectors in airplane bathrooms.

Charles De Gaulle airport is a hole, literally. It looks as if it were bombed in WW2 and never repaired. There are literally chunks of concrete and trash randomly piled about. The runway is as bad as that of any in Russia, which is poor. How often do you see grass growing through cracks on a tarmac? 2 hrs. and 45 min. until we catch our transfer to Prague. Almost there, yet so far away. I haven't been to CDG in years. It is as bad as I had remembered. After deplaning, we made our way to where our gate should have been- after a quick stop at a Delta counter. After getting our boarding passes for the next flight, we were directed to our gate, which turned out to be a stairwell down to ground level. Oddly, the waiting area for a shuttle bus didn't appear to have electricity, or working lights. Terminal D, it turns out, required a shuttle bus to get to. Only 200 people ahead of us, waiting for a bus that holds maybe 45 and only arrives every 12 minutes. My wife points out Terminal D is just across the way. We could probably walk there in 4 minutes. After an hour, we catch the bus. A 20 minute ride around the airport- with no stops, and we arrive at Terminal D.

Passport Control. What? We never left the airport. Vape gear still stored in my wife's carry on, we make it through security in half an hour and get to our gate. Our plane boards in 10 minutes and I'm ready for a vape. I retrieve a 400 mAh from my wife's purse and look for a quiet spot. None in sight. The gate area looks like a refugee camp and smells like one. Apparently a plane was late or cancelled, so there were people sleeping in chairs and on the floor. I step into a bathroom, and step right out. I caught a whiff of what I imagine the boy in Slumdog Millionaire smelled like after diving into the outhouse. I vape openly on the way back to the gate. No one cares. Fortunately the wife has managed to get us a couple cups of coffee at a cafe near the gate on my adventure to the bathroom. Boarding is announced. Next time, I'll route us through Kabul before I ever step foot in CDG again.

On to Prague!

 

[SeniorBoy]

Steve Fantastic stuff. You must be a writer? A wordsmith for sure! Can't wait for Part 4. My guess, you opened a B and M in Prague. lol /joke

 

[stevegmu]

Steve Fantastic stuff. You must be a writer? A wordsmith for sure! Can't wait for Part 4. My guess, you opened a B and M in Prague. lol /joke

Thanks. No writer here. We do plan on moving to Prague at some point. Opening up a high end vape shop and lounge would be fun. E-nic is very big in Prague, and growing.

 

[stevegmu]

Part 4, of a week of vaping abroad with Halo. Welcome to Prague- part-1.

It is a short hop from Paris to Prague, so the flight attendants roll out the serving carts shortly after takeoff. A Heineken for me and a white wine for the lady. A vape would be nice, but the opportunity doesn't present itself. On this leg, I always choose the window seat, cramped as it is. A quick hop over Belgium, Germany, then the Czech Republic. It always seems odd to me we never seem to go over any cities when connecting from another city in Europe to Prague. Rolling hills, farms, quaint towns, then the familiar city of Prague comes into view as we rapidly descend. Vaclav Havel is north west of Prague, yet we always seem to end up circling Prague on every trip, which is just fine by me. Prague is as beautiful from the air as it is on the ground. Prague looks like a SIM city- modern buildings surrounding a historic city center. I immediately pick out the castle and other familiar landmarks. For once, the landing doesn't bother me one bit. I feel as if I have arrived home.

Vaclav Havel airport is a gem. We are at the gate minutes after landing. No circling around tarmacs waiting for a gate or riding around for miles to a terminal at a far corner of the airport. It is fairly small for an international airport serving a tourist city. We quickly deplane and head over to baggage claim. My wife, full of energy after a 10 hour nap, immediately begins texting her mother, sisters, brother, cousins, hairstylist... saying we have arrived.

Baggage claim isn't far, but I'm ready for a vape. We make a quick stop at a cafe. Out comes the big boy. A midnight blue Triton VV in all its glory, with a full tank of Halo's Turkish TOB. No leaks from the changes in pressure, thanks to the Pelican case. I take a long, steady pull, letting go of the fire button just before the cutoff and quickly take another 8 second draw. I slowly exhale, enjoying the spicy tobacco and the veritable cloud it produced. No worries about discreet vaping here. Smoking is allowed at cafes in the terminal. Not even a glance from others enjoying their coffees.

I do see an older gentleman dressed in a suit pull out a mod and topper I can't recognize and take a drag. Across the way, I see a younger couple walking toward baggage claim- each toking on eGos. 3 vapers in the wild within 10 minutes of landing, which is 3 times more than I have ever seen back home. The Czech Republic has embraced vaping. A large percentage of the population smokes; most of which probably want to quit. Vaping is seen as a healthy alternative. It is also considered cosmopolitan and trendy, so has become a big hit.

A few more satisfying drags and the Triton makes its way into my wife's purse as we make out way to the baggage carousel, just as the first bags are coming down the ramp. My wife runs off to get a cart- she doesn't pack light. I quickly spot one of her bags, then another, then another, all the while not seeing mine. I printed out blaze orange labels saying PRG on them before the trip, so as to make spotting our luggage easy. As I load my wife's 3 checked bags on the cart, I start to get worried. The luggage has stopped, seemingly for good. It appears about a dozen of us have arrived without luggage.


My wife calls the driver to tell him we'll be a few minutes. At the Czech Air counter, I fill out the lost bag form, as they make a copy of my ticket and assure me there are several more flights from CDG and that surely my bag will be on one of them. I also hand them a picture of my bag- I was a Boy Scout, so prepare for the worst, and we head to meet our driver. Passport Control and Immigration is a breeze at PRG. They ask us if we have anything we shouldn't, we say no, they look at out passports and wave us through. Not so much as an entry stamp.


I recognize our driver. Dobry den, welcome back to Prague Mr... I little disheartened at arriving at my favorite city in the world without my luggage, we board the S-class and head to the hotel. I ask the driver if I can vape; he pulls out a cigalike and says by all means...

 

[CafeDigitalDiva]

Part 1, of a week of vaping abroad with Halo.

Back from a week in Prague- for the first time tobacco-free. Arriving at the airport early, as we generally do, I headed outside for a vape before going through security. Although the airport was fairly empty- it is a small regional airport, I just don't feel comfortable vaping inside areas that are smoke free. Outside I had the choice of a designated smoking area, or everywhere else. I chose everywhere else and let loose a Triton VV loaded with SubZero. I got a few looks. A police officer walking by paused, I gave him the, 'Is this OK look?', he nodded and went about his business, as did I. Several people in the smoking area looked over- not sure anyone had seen such a beautiful midnight blue machine and I heard, 'quit smoking', 'safe', 'electronic cigarette', and various other references to e-nic. Some seemed curious, but none approached. Of course the wife was texting like mad on her phone, oblivious to the scene.

Back inside and through security- no issues at all with my Halo gear- I had 4 VV Triton batteries, 2 650, 2 900, 2 1300 a pair of 400's, 4 7ml bottles of juice and a couple loaded tanks in a tiny Pelican Case in my carry on- well, actually, my wife's carry on. She's a lot better at sweet talking than I am, so the case went in her bag. The rest of the gear- several large bottles of juice, tanks, pre-loaded cartos and wicks went with the checked baggage. I was a little surprised the TSA didn't give the Pelican case a second look, but they must have been trained on e-cigs.

Not long before boarding, I felt the urge for a quick stealth vape- flying doesn't bother me one bit, I just have a slight fear of crashing on takeoffs and landings. Out came a 400 mAh with a pre-filled carto of Menthol Ice. Now a 400 is small- even with a cone and carto on it. Fits just right in the palm. A couple quick, long drags, held just long enough so that virtually no vapor was visible on exhale. Hit the spot and I was ready to roll.

It was a short, uneventful flight to Detroit. Having done research previous to traveling, I knew DTW has a strict no tobacco policy- this includes e-cigs. Fortunately, DTW is a well-organized airport- surprise, surprise, so crossing terminals, exiting, re-entering and going through security is an easy task. 3 hours to kill until boarding, I dropped the wife off at a Duty Free Shop, which just happens to be next to a Starbucks, so I knew she'd be good for a while. 'Back in an hour', I said, and was off for a vape session. This time I chose the smokers area, given DTWs policies. How I smoked for 20 years, I don't know. A mix of stale tobaccos, a cigar, cheap perfume and sweat was almost too much, but a pair of VVs- one loaded with a fresh tank of SubZero, the other with Turkish was just too tempting. I fired up the Turkish, took a mighty drag, and the sweet aroma of Halo's finest began to overpower the stench in the air. Long powerful drags and slow exhales really put me in the right spot. I switched from the SubZero to the Turkish at will, both performing like the champs they are. At first, not a single smoker approached, yet I could see by the way they looked down at their filthy beasts and over at the beautiful VVs they knew they were missing out. Satiated after a delightful vape session, I powered down the VVs, placed them back in their case. As I was leaving, a gentleman in a suit approached, asking what it was I was smoking. I handed him a Halo card, telling him,' It's the future,' and walked off.

Smoooooth Stevegmu! You're like a frickin' 'vaping James Bond'! Kudos dude! Good job!

 

[CafeDigitalDiva]

I took enough juice to last 3 months, a dozen or so Triton tanks, 2 400mAh, 2 650, 2 900, 2 1300, 4 VV batteries, 4 USB adapters, 2 USB Euro plugs, 2 VEA batteries, 4 boxes of Premium 100 cartos, a 13500 mAh New Trent PowerPak(for a water landing) a Pelican case, 4 boxes of Halo G6 cartos and 10 coil-heads. Oh, and the address to a vape store near the hotel.

You had some SERIOUS gear there, my friend. I'm curious, were you, by chance, a boyscout in your youth?...ya know....'the be prepared' motto and all? lol WOW

 

[CafeDigitalDiva]

Part 3



time, I'll route us through Kabul before I ever step foot in CDG again.

On to Prague!

...eating sunflower seeds...glued to laptop. Um, I'M glued to laptop, NOT the sunflower seeds! This is quite an adventure!

 

[stevegmu]

Oh, forgot to include the greatest 'picture' of Prague ever taken, for those who haven't been-

Prague - 34 Gigapixel Panorama Photo

 

[CafeDigitalDiva]

Oh, forgot to include the greatest 'picture' of Prague ever taken, for those who haven't been-

Prague - 34 Gigapixel Panorama Photo

Holy Moley! That pic is mighty impressive stevegmu! BEAUTIFUL

 

[AngiBe]

LOVE your narrative and vivid descriptions!!! And that Pic is gorgeous! I need to check out what this Pelican Case is considering I've read a lot about leaking tanks/bottles at 30,000 feet. I'm flying later this month to Arizona and nervous about taking all my gear (TSA area, leaks..you name it)

And since I'm an awful flyer and need 2 mg of Xanax (no joke...I need a ton of it but believe or not, it doesn't do much for me cuz my anxiety is thru the roof), bringing my vape gear may cause me even more anxiety. Are they gonna take it, will it explode, are my juices going to leak...I'm stressed now thinking about this flight and I don't leave until the 19th!

 

[stevegmu]

LOVE your narrative and vivid descriptions!!! And that Pic is gorgeous! I need to check out what this Pelican Case is considering I've read a lot about leaking tanks/bottles at 30,000 feet. I'm flying later this month to Arizona and nervous about taking all my gear (TSA area, leaks..you name it)

And since I'm an awful flyer and need 2 mg of Xanax (no joke...I need a ton of it but believe or not, it doesn't do much for me cuz my anxiety is thru the roof), bringing my vape gear may cause me even more anxiety. Are they gonna take it, will it explode, are my juices going to leak...I'm stressed now thinking about this flight and I don't leave until the 19th!

Most Pelican cases have a pressure release/equalization valve, which maintains air pressure in the case. While aircraft cabins are gradually pressurized to between 5000 and 7000 ft., the changes in altitude can cause expansion and contraction in liquids in containers, causing leaks. The Halo bottles won't leak, but filled tanks I put in tiny zip lock bags in a checked bag did, while the ones I had in the Pelican case in carry on bags didn't.

You won't have any issues with vape gear in the US; leaving Prague and Amsterdam, however...

 

[Boston Vapah]

LOVE your narrative and vivid descriptions!!! And that Pic is gorgeous! I need to check out what this Pelican Case is considering I've read a lot about leaking tanks/bottles at 30,000 feet. I'm flying later this month to Arizona and nervous about taking all my gear (TSA area, leaks..you name it)

And since I'm an awful flyer and need 2 mg of Xanax (no joke...I need a ton of it but believe or not, it doesn't do much for me cuz my anxiety is thru the roof), bringing my vape gear may cause me even more anxiety. Are they gonna take it, will it explode, are my juices going to leak...I'm stressed now thinking about this flight and I don't leave until the 19th!

I feel ya kid, I'm a white knuckle flyer too...and yet I'm not afraid of heights...odd