In the hopes that it helps someone, here are my thoughts and experiences from researching and buying my first ecig up until using it for two weeks. I'm sorry this is going to be long, but if one person finds it helpful, then it was worth it to me. Here's some quick background first. My wife and I had been smoking for about 20 years. We've tried to quit before with no luck. Although we are still addicted to nicotine, we quit smoking the day we started using our ecig and haven't looked back. This is the first time we can truly say we've quit smoking for good. In the past, I wouldn't even tell anyone that I was "trying" to quit. I think I knew I would fail. I'm telling everyone now, in the hopes they can quit too, if they want to.
Now, onto researching and buying. I'm the kind of guy that researches every option before buying. This is usually for electronics or computer devices though. Then again, I guess thats what an ecig is anyway now that I think about it. Its "digital" as opposed to the analogs I no longer smoke. Which brings up the first issue with trying to buy an ecig. There were a lot of new and intimidating terms and slang to learn. Oh, an atty is an atomizer. Wait, what's an atomizer? A cart is a cartridge? What is it though? Oh, it's the "filter" looking thing. It has an inner cart? Oh, that's where the juice goes. juice??? Okay and the long part is actually a battery. Got it. So three main pieces… A long battery is connected to an atty which pushes down into the cart, which has an inner cart holding the liquid nicotine, which is usually flavored, but not necessarily like tobacco. The atty then atomizes or vaporizes the juice into what we smoke… er vape. My point isn't to explain all the terms or situations here though, but to point out that you will learn it. And guess what? It's not as hard or intimidating as you might first think - although, I still don't know it all. It did get more confusing when I realized there are either pre-filled carts or carts you can fill yourself with your choice of flavored juice. It also confused me when I realized there were two piece ecigs with a "cartomizer" as well. Yes, the cart and the atty are combined. There was also the choice of a manual battery that needed a button to be pushed in order for the atty to work, or the auto which you simply needed to inhale to activate the battery. No brainer, right? I come from smoking so I just want to inhale. Why would I want to push a button? Wait why do all the people who seem to know what they're doing seem to prefer the manual? How to choose? For me it partly came down to my wife. She wanted a cigarette like experience. She didn't want to push a button. She didn't want to have to fill things with juice, that was crazy talk. She wanted it the size of a cigarette - an analog. From the research I did though, I had a feeling that a manual battery would be better. I had a feeling we'd be happier and save more money if we went with juice, that not only comes in more flavors than pre-filled carts, but is cheaper. I also didn't want it so small that it hardly held any juice or battery charge. I felt a 3 piece was the way to go that could have pre-filled carts or blanks that I could fill myself with juice and a separate atty, rather than spending more money throwing cartomizers away. I'd get something a little bigger than an analog but not too big and had the option for a manual or auto battery. So I set my sights on these criteria, and got to work finding something that people were happy with. This isn't an ad, but I decided on a Sidesho from modernvapor.com. People seemed to be happy with its throat hit (TH) and vapor and battery (for its size) and unanimously thrilled with the customer service on Tony. I'm not saying this is the right choice for everyone and I have nothing to compare it to being this is my first ecig, but I will say that I've dealt with a lot of companies, and Tony is as helpful as people say he is.
So what did I order to get started based on all the research I did? For my wife, I ordered a kit with two auto batteries, two atomizers, four pre-filled carts and a PCC (charging case). I also ordered her 20 more pre-filled carts and an extra atty. For myself, I ordered a kit with two auto batteries, two atomizers, four pre-filled carts and a PCC in addition to 20 more pre-filled carts, and extra atty, five blank carts for filling with juice and two small sample bottles - one tobacco, one cherry. Hey, I had to try a flavor at least once. So we got our auto batteries and pre-filled cat of tobacco flavored juice.
First I'm going to tell you what we have now after almost two weeks, then explain how we got there. The pre-filled carts don't get used. The tobacco juice doesn't get used. The auto batteries don't get used, well sometimes. Even my wife who for days insisted on tobacco flavor and auto batteries, can't touch either now. The flavors are amazing and we didn't realize how much we disliked tobacco. Granted tobacco flavors are hard to get right. Also, if you want better throat hit and way more vape "smoke", get a manual battery. They're easy to use also. Don't be intimidated.
Now just like about everyone else, I was chomping at the bit waiting for our package to show up. When it did, it was hard waiting to give the batteries a full charge. After that, we started out by popping a pre-filled cart onto the atty, making sure not to over tighten the atty to the battery. I'm sure I'll say things that don't apply to all kinds of ecigs, but remember my experience is limited to the Sidesho. Guess what? Immediately we were kind of let down. We didn't get much vapor or throat hit (TH), and the taste wasn't the tobacco we were used to. We emailed or talked to Tony several times over the first week. The first thing we learned was that the pre-filled carts come with a small piece of aluminum over the inner cart that the atty must puncture. Well, this aluminum doesn't allow full access to the filler and juice in the inner cart and it can even get stuck on the atty. The result is either a bad taste or just not much of anything. So if you stick with this kind of cart, take the time to fully remove all the aluminum. Puncture it, twist it, pull the cart off of the atty, remove anything from the atty, take tweezers and remove it from the top of the inner cart. Now it will become very obvious, but to get to the inner cart, simply open up a paper clip and push up through the hole that you drag through. This goes for removing a blank car to fill as well. So we did this. Was it better? Yes. Were we totally happy yet? No. I then was told that the atty will be better once its broken in after a couple days. I had read about this. Was this true? Surprisingly it was. Was it better. Very. Were we totally happy? Not yet. We still felt we weren't getting enough vapor and felt the carts weren't lasting long enough. We were then told about the blue foam mod. We were told it was ten times better in fact. I had read of this mod more than any of the others but it seemed very intimidating to me. Did I really want to go to a pet store and try to find this foam, cut it up myself and suck vaped juice from it? Well, it gave me a reason to try the juice so why not. Here's what it looks like.
Marineland Magnum Foam Sleeve "Rite-Size U" 3pk.
I went to the pet store and there it was, the exact same stuff. Over the next few ways, I cut it several different ways. Ultimately, I don't think it matters how you cut it, but if I had to choose a best way, this would be it. I cut it a little wider than the inner cart and not quite as deep. I twirl it in my finger like ear plugs and slide it in the inner cart. I then push it in with that paper clip I mentioned. Once its in , I push it down a little and fill it with juice. If it's totally dry, I put in about 12 drops. If it's not dry, I only wash it out every few days if I'm using the same flavor. So I just pop out the inner cart, push down the foam, then drop 8 to 10 drop in. In both cases, after I fill it, I push the foam down all the way soaking up all the juice then pull the foam up so it is flush with the top. I dab a paper towel on the top of it and push it back into the outer cart, using the paper clip on the edge of the inner cart to push it down. There are tons of descriptions and videos that explain it better than I. So was getting or working with the blue foam difficult? Not one bit. Did it actually work ten times better? YES. Also, It was easy to work with and refill. It seems to last longer. I definitely get more flavor, TH and vapor. Were we totally happy now? Almost. I definitely think it was good enough that we could have happily given up smoking for good. Even through all this, we hadn't even had a drag off an analog, but my wife almost got to that point in the first few days. Anyway, now I wanted to know what all the fuss was about with manual batteries, so I ordered one along with another order of juice now that we knew we'd be going that route. Well, I put that battery on and the TH and vapor was even better - much better. My wife was blown away on my first exhale. Starting the next day, I didn't get my manual back until I received her's in the mail. No kidding. So are we totally happy now? Yes. So much so, that I'm not sure I see the point in trying other models. Maybe I'll want better battery life or a cart that holds more, but honestly I have no problem in those areas. I'll explain below what to expect from a model like mine. I'm just happy that I found a combo that gives me enough vapor and at least as much TH as an analog. Although its a shame that it seems like everyone has to modify what they buy to get it almost perfect.
I think I've learned that I would rather not totally empty a cart of its juice, so I either top it off or try to swap it out early to top it off later for tomorrow. If I start to sense a different taste, I now know I went to far. At that point, I not only refill or swap carts, but I drop a couple of drops of juice into the atty, to re-prime it so to speak, from the side of the atty that doesn't connect to the battery. Don't put in too much, say no more than four drops. You don't want it to run out the other side and into the battery. In fact after eight days, I had a scare, perhaps because of running the atty dry. I'm still not sure. On the eighth day, I started feeling like I was on Nyquil all day long. My head was fuzzy and dizzy and I was tired. I was worried a little. The next morning I woke up fine - until two minutes after I vaped. I was noticing a funny taste as well that almost felt like it was leaving a film on my tongue. The only thing I could think of that was different was that time had passed and perhaps the atty was gummed up like I had read and need to be cleaned. But already? That seemed odd to me being only eight days had passed. I had two more attys though, so I swapped it out. Yep, that was the problem. I'm not sure what nasty stuff I was vaping, still don't, but the problem went away. So instead of throwing out the atty, I cleaned it, even though it had only been used for 8 days. After reading a lot, I wasn't sure I trusted cleaning it any other way than burning it off. So I connected it to a manual battery with no cart and would hold the button until the safety kicked on, shutting off the battery. I did this about 8 times. It smoked a lot and smelled terrible. After that I thought I ruined it by doing it too much, but at that point I didn't care anyway (I was using this atty as a test, prepared to throw it away). Anyway, I thought I ruined it because I couldn't get it to vape after even though it would obviously light up when the button was pushed. Then it hit me that it wasn't primed, or dry so to speak. So I dropped 3 or 4 drops of juice on it and what do you know, I have a good atty again that doesn't taste like crap or make me feel weird. Also, my wife had an atty that wouldn't vape any more after a week. This test gave me the idea to burn it off, only twice, and drop juice in to prime it, and now its as good as new.
I'd say I go through two or three carts a day and maybe two batteries a day. I figure around 20 drops of juice. I'd say I vape more than I smoked but its hard to tell. Its just feels like I always have the thing in my hand. Part of me thinks that's a bad thing, but I'm happy not to be putting cigarette smoke in my lungs, not to mention, from what I hear, I probably don't get nearly as much nicotine in a drag of an ecig as I did with a drag off an analog. Instead of having an analog from start to finish though, I may take three drags here, two drags there. Its a little hard to say being it's only been two weeks, but I think I go through about 5ml of juice a week. Speaking of drags, it must be said that at least with this model, you get way better output the easier you drag. I'm talking a nice easy inhale, just enough to light up the end of an auto battery. If you learn to inhale that easy and inhale slightly longer than you might with an analog, you'll be blown away with the difference of trying to inhale sharply.
Because of having to figuring all this out, I've placed too many orders in the past two weeks, but I think we now have a handle on it and can hopefully move forward making only one purchase a month. I'm hooked on the cherry flavor, which remind me of when I used to smoke some cherry pipe tobacco a long time ago in college. My wife got hooked on cola, insisting that it is RC cola. I finally have her filling her own carts and life is good. I know we may not ever quit this, but it is our plan at the moment. If we don't though, like many, it's not bothering me. I'm not smoking and that's what counts. I'm not sure I accomplished what I wanted to do for other people, or if I just made a novel for no reason, but I hope other newbies may find this helpful. Don't stress or be intimidated before hand, and after you get your order, don't dismiss it in the first day if it's not perfect. Take the time to do a couple mods. Good luck.
Now, onto researching and buying. I'm the kind of guy that researches every option before buying. This is usually for electronics or computer devices though. Then again, I guess thats what an ecig is anyway now that I think about it. Its "digital" as opposed to the analogs I no longer smoke. Which brings up the first issue with trying to buy an ecig. There were a lot of new and intimidating terms and slang to learn. Oh, an atty is an atomizer. Wait, what's an atomizer? A cart is a cartridge? What is it though? Oh, it's the "filter" looking thing. It has an inner cart? Oh, that's where the juice goes. juice??? Okay and the long part is actually a battery. Got it. So three main pieces… A long battery is connected to an atty which pushes down into the cart, which has an inner cart holding the liquid nicotine, which is usually flavored, but not necessarily like tobacco. The atty then atomizes or vaporizes the juice into what we smoke… er vape. My point isn't to explain all the terms or situations here though, but to point out that you will learn it. And guess what? It's not as hard or intimidating as you might first think - although, I still don't know it all. It did get more confusing when I realized there are either pre-filled carts or carts you can fill yourself with your choice of flavored juice. It also confused me when I realized there were two piece ecigs with a "cartomizer" as well. Yes, the cart and the atty are combined. There was also the choice of a manual battery that needed a button to be pushed in order for the atty to work, or the auto which you simply needed to inhale to activate the battery. No brainer, right? I come from smoking so I just want to inhale. Why would I want to push a button? Wait why do all the people who seem to know what they're doing seem to prefer the manual? How to choose? For me it partly came down to my wife. She wanted a cigarette like experience. She didn't want to push a button. She didn't want to have to fill things with juice, that was crazy talk. She wanted it the size of a cigarette - an analog. From the research I did though, I had a feeling that a manual battery would be better. I had a feeling we'd be happier and save more money if we went with juice, that not only comes in more flavors than pre-filled carts, but is cheaper. I also didn't want it so small that it hardly held any juice or battery charge. I felt a 3 piece was the way to go that could have pre-filled carts or blanks that I could fill myself with juice and a separate atty, rather than spending more money throwing cartomizers away. I'd get something a little bigger than an analog but not too big and had the option for a manual or auto battery. So I set my sights on these criteria, and got to work finding something that people were happy with. This isn't an ad, but I decided on a Sidesho from modernvapor.com. People seemed to be happy with its throat hit (TH) and vapor and battery (for its size) and unanimously thrilled with the customer service on Tony. I'm not saying this is the right choice for everyone and I have nothing to compare it to being this is my first ecig, but I will say that I've dealt with a lot of companies, and Tony is as helpful as people say he is.
So what did I order to get started based on all the research I did? For my wife, I ordered a kit with two auto batteries, two atomizers, four pre-filled carts and a PCC (charging case). I also ordered her 20 more pre-filled carts and an extra atty. For myself, I ordered a kit with two auto batteries, two atomizers, four pre-filled carts and a PCC in addition to 20 more pre-filled carts, and extra atty, five blank carts for filling with juice and two small sample bottles - one tobacco, one cherry. Hey, I had to try a flavor at least once. So we got our auto batteries and pre-filled cat of tobacco flavored juice.
First I'm going to tell you what we have now after almost two weeks, then explain how we got there. The pre-filled carts don't get used. The tobacco juice doesn't get used. The auto batteries don't get used, well sometimes. Even my wife who for days insisted on tobacco flavor and auto batteries, can't touch either now. The flavors are amazing and we didn't realize how much we disliked tobacco. Granted tobacco flavors are hard to get right. Also, if you want better throat hit and way more vape "smoke", get a manual battery. They're easy to use also. Don't be intimidated.
Now just like about everyone else, I was chomping at the bit waiting for our package to show up. When it did, it was hard waiting to give the batteries a full charge. After that, we started out by popping a pre-filled cart onto the atty, making sure not to over tighten the atty to the battery. I'm sure I'll say things that don't apply to all kinds of ecigs, but remember my experience is limited to the Sidesho. Guess what? Immediately we were kind of let down. We didn't get much vapor or throat hit (TH), and the taste wasn't the tobacco we were used to. We emailed or talked to Tony several times over the first week. The first thing we learned was that the pre-filled carts come with a small piece of aluminum over the inner cart that the atty must puncture. Well, this aluminum doesn't allow full access to the filler and juice in the inner cart and it can even get stuck on the atty. The result is either a bad taste or just not much of anything. So if you stick with this kind of cart, take the time to fully remove all the aluminum. Puncture it, twist it, pull the cart off of the atty, remove anything from the atty, take tweezers and remove it from the top of the inner cart. Now it will become very obvious, but to get to the inner cart, simply open up a paper clip and push up through the hole that you drag through. This goes for removing a blank car to fill as well. So we did this. Was it better? Yes. Were we totally happy yet? No. I then was told that the atty will be better once its broken in after a couple days. I had read about this. Was this true? Surprisingly it was. Was it better. Very. Were we totally happy? Not yet. We still felt we weren't getting enough vapor and felt the carts weren't lasting long enough. We were then told about the blue foam mod. We were told it was ten times better in fact. I had read of this mod more than any of the others but it seemed very intimidating to me. Did I really want to go to a pet store and try to find this foam, cut it up myself and suck vaped juice from it? Well, it gave me a reason to try the juice so why not. Here's what it looks like.
Marineland Magnum Foam Sleeve "Rite-Size U" 3pk.
I went to the pet store and there it was, the exact same stuff. Over the next few ways, I cut it several different ways. Ultimately, I don't think it matters how you cut it, but if I had to choose a best way, this would be it. I cut it a little wider than the inner cart and not quite as deep. I twirl it in my finger like ear plugs and slide it in the inner cart. I then push it in with that paper clip I mentioned. Once its in , I push it down a little and fill it with juice. If it's totally dry, I put in about 12 drops. If it's not dry, I only wash it out every few days if I'm using the same flavor. So I just pop out the inner cart, push down the foam, then drop 8 to 10 drop in. In both cases, after I fill it, I push the foam down all the way soaking up all the juice then pull the foam up so it is flush with the top. I dab a paper towel on the top of it and push it back into the outer cart, using the paper clip on the edge of the inner cart to push it down. There are tons of descriptions and videos that explain it better than I. So was getting or working with the blue foam difficult? Not one bit. Did it actually work ten times better? YES. Also, It was easy to work with and refill. It seems to last longer. I definitely get more flavor, TH and vapor. Were we totally happy now? Almost. I definitely think it was good enough that we could have happily given up smoking for good. Even through all this, we hadn't even had a drag off an analog, but my wife almost got to that point in the first few days. Anyway, now I wanted to know what all the fuss was about with manual batteries, so I ordered one along with another order of juice now that we knew we'd be going that route. Well, I put that battery on and the TH and vapor was even better - much better. My wife was blown away on my first exhale. Starting the next day, I didn't get my manual back until I received her's in the mail. No kidding. So are we totally happy now? Yes. So much so, that I'm not sure I see the point in trying other models. Maybe I'll want better battery life or a cart that holds more, but honestly I have no problem in those areas. I'll explain below what to expect from a model like mine. I'm just happy that I found a combo that gives me enough vapor and at least as much TH as an analog. Although its a shame that it seems like everyone has to modify what they buy to get it almost perfect.
I think I've learned that I would rather not totally empty a cart of its juice, so I either top it off or try to swap it out early to top it off later for tomorrow. If I start to sense a different taste, I now know I went to far. At that point, I not only refill or swap carts, but I drop a couple of drops of juice into the atty, to re-prime it so to speak, from the side of the atty that doesn't connect to the battery. Don't put in too much, say no more than four drops. You don't want it to run out the other side and into the battery. In fact after eight days, I had a scare, perhaps because of running the atty dry. I'm still not sure. On the eighth day, I started feeling like I was on Nyquil all day long. My head was fuzzy and dizzy and I was tired. I was worried a little. The next morning I woke up fine - until two minutes after I vaped. I was noticing a funny taste as well that almost felt like it was leaving a film on my tongue. The only thing I could think of that was different was that time had passed and perhaps the atty was gummed up like I had read and need to be cleaned. But already? That seemed odd to me being only eight days had passed. I had two more attys though, so I swapped it out. Yep, that was the problem. I'm not sure what nasty stuff I was vaping, still don't, but the problem went away. So instead of throwing out the atty, I cleaned it, even though it had only been used for 8 days. After reading a lot, I wasn't sure I trusted cleaning it any other way than burning it off. So I connected it to a manual battery with no cart and would hold the button until the safety kicked on, shutting off the battery. I did this about 8 times. It smoked a lot and smelled terrible. After that I thought I ruined it by doing it too much, but at that point I didn't care anyway (I was using this atty as a test, prepared to throw it away). Anyway, I thought I ruined it because I couldn't get it to vape after even though it would obviously light up when the button was pushed. Then it hit me that it wasn't primed, or dry so to speak. So I dropped 3 or 4 drops of juice on it and what do you know, I have a good atty again that doesn't taste like crap or make me feel weird. Also, my wife had an atty that wouldn't vape any more after a week. This test gave me the idea to burn it off, only twice, and drop juice in to prime it, and now its as good as new.
I'd say I go through two or three carts a day and maybe two batteries a day. I figure around 20 drops of juice. I'd say I vape more than I smoked but its hard to tell. Its just feels like I always have the thing in my hand. Part of me thinks that's a bad thing, but I'm happy not to be putting cigarette smoke in my lungs, not to mention, from what I hear, I probably don't get nearly as much nicotine in a drag of an ecig as I did with a drag off an analog. Instead of having an analog from start to finish though, I may take three drags here, two drags there. Its a little hard to say being it's only been two weeks, but I think I go through about 5ml of juice a week. Speaking of drags, it must be said that at least with this model, you get way better output the easier you drag. I'm talking a nice easy inhale, just enough to light up the end of an auto battery. If you learn to inhale that easy and inhale slightly longer than you might with an analog, you'll be blown away with the difference of trying to inhale sharply.
Because of having to figuring all this out, I've placed too many orders in the past two weeks, but I think we now have a handle on it and can hopefully move forward making only one purchase a month. I'm hooked on the cherry flavor, which remind me of when I used to smoke some cherry pipe tobacco a long time ago in college. My wife got hooked on cola, insisting that it is RC cola. I finally have her filling her own carts and life is good. I know we may not ever quit this, but it is our plan at the moment. If we don't though, like many, it's not bothering me. I'm not smoking and that's what counts. I'm not sure I accomplished what I wanted to do for other people, or if I just made a novel for no reason, but I hope other newbies may find this helpful. Don't stress or be intimidated before hand, and after you get your order, don't dismiss it in the first day if it's not perfect. Take the time to do a couple mods. Good luck.
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