Urgently want to try this

[brittasempire]

G'day there. First post, play nice please.

I really want to try an e-cigarette. I'm concerned about the health effects, but I have tried to quit before and it is just too hard.

I'm hoping this is an opportunity to cut down / stop whilst using this, and then eventually quit.

I'm trying to research, but no substitute for real experiences. I'm really looking for something that mimics the experience as far as possible. I know this sounds pathetic, but I love the feeling of having a ... in my hand, but all the e-cigs I've seen online look either really weird, or too big / heavy.

Have any been made that are more regular in size / appearance? If so, where can you buy one - not too keen on online, would much rather buy in a UK store.

Hope you can help.

 

[dormouse]

Hopefully someone from the UK will have suggestions.

From my US perpective -

Liberty-Flights.co.uk is probably the best hardware vendor in the UK, and make sure you are on the UK site. And Totally Wicked would be my second choice I guess Products / E Cigarette and E Liquid from Totally Wicked (BTW their Titan 510 Enic is 510 but may be a clone, not real Joye brand). I have used both of these shops' US sites.

Manual batteries are what most people here use and recommend - harder to damage or kill with juice leaks (and a fully sealed threaded end manual is almost impossible to damage with a juice leak). Won't turn on accidentally in wind or vibration. Makes it easier to get a good hit.

100mah in batteries - is about 1 hour of moderate vapor. The smaller the ecig, the less mah it will have.

The most popular ecigs in the US

Joye 510 manual - 180mah (not very long so have a charger at work and use a PCC when away from power)
Joye 510 mega xl manual (not sure if Liberty-Flights carries these - you may find elsehwere) - 280mah
And I recommend the above two with Boge cartomizers for your favorite thin (high PG) juices, instead of the atomizer+cartridge. I recommend a normal 510 or 510 mega manual over a 510-T because the T's charger can ONLY be used with 510-T aka tank batteries. But ona normal 510 you can always add a tank atomizer and tanks if you want.

KR808D-1 - a 2-piece model with prefilled and blank cartomizers (I do not know who sells this in the UK)
short battery is 180mah to 220mah, standard aka 78mm battery is 280 to 320mah

And more popular in the UK than in the US is the DSE901. WHen I don't like about the 901 in the US is I found it hard to clean the atomizers, they are not big on manual batteries and many of its PCCs won't work with manuals, hard to find cartomizers for it, hole in the side leaks juice on your fingers. If you like the look of the 901, you can get a very similar look with a black 510 manual, black Boge cartomizers and a black delrinn drip tip as a mouthpiece on the cartomizer.

Then for LONG charge and the ability to use the hotter low resistance atomizers and cartomizers - Ego or Riva 510

All use eliquid. When using cartomizers, you need to add liquid less often and you get a more consistent vaping experience. But cartomizers have limited lives - the stuffing cannot be changed, only some succeed at washing and drying them to get additional life out of each. I just keep mine damp and at least a week of use out of each.

 

[CBB]

You should expect a cigarette sized ecig to weigh about as much as an entire pack of cigarettes and they have a very short battery life, usually 2-3 hours for an average vaper far less for heavy use. A cigarette size ecig can also be light on vapor as well, so don't be discouraged if it doesn't seem like enough, you may have to move up to a larger ecig, it may not be the same feel in the hand but most people find that it is throat hit and the amount of vapor production that is most important to them. Juices from hardware vendors is not always very good, consider ordering some juice from a vendor that is primarily a juice vendor.

Good luck and welcome to ECF.

 

[eyebrook]

you can buy a Intellicig in some garages in the UK, it looks like a real cig, its a 401 atomiser and as a first PV I think its a good way to start, just my two pence worth

 

[brittasempire]

Hi eyebrook - thanks for the tip. That sounds like a great start. I'll have to try to find someplace near to me.

 

[eyebrook]

Hi eyebrook - thanks for the tip. That sounds like a great start. I'll have to try to find someplace near to me.

I saw them in a Texaco Garage, in Corby,Northants so they are out there, if you go to the Intellicig site I think they list locations, but not too sure of that Good Luck

 

[brittasempire]

There's a Texaco near me - worth a try. Are they on the ... counter or out on the shelves?

 

[Pammers]

When I first started vaping I thought I wanted an e-cig that felt and tasted just like the Salem Menthol 100's that I'd smoked for 40 years. People here told me that after a bit I would learn to like the larger, heavier e-cig and different flavored juices even more than I liked my cigarettes. I thought those people were bonkers. Turns out I was wrong.

If you're a heavy smoker like I was (2 packs a day) you will not be happy with a cigarette size e-cig. You won't get the battery life or the vapor you need. If you are a heavy smoker, I would definitely skip the smaller e-cig and go with something larger, like an Ego. You'll probably do it in a few months or less anyway. Liberty Flights has good prices and fast shipping. Be sure to hit the 20% off box if you order from them. I don't recommend their juices though, they're just not very good, IMO.

It's almost impossible to find one seller who sells everything you need. You'll probably have to buy your starter kit one place, your juices another, and replacement parts like cartos or attys from yet another. Believe it or not, the searching for vendors actually becomes part of the fun.

 

[eyebrook]

There's a Texaco near me - worth a try. Are they on the ... counter or out on the shelves?

I saw them at the back and to the side of the ... counter, not a lot of them but they were there

 

[PatrickG]

I've quit cigs twice with ecigs, with a 2 year streak nic-free. There are so many good products now compared to a few years ago, I'm amazed. When you finally decide on what to buy, don't stress about quitting the cigs as fast as possible. Smoke when you want and vape when you want, and eventually you'll prefer the vape, believe me...

 

[eyebrook]

I've quit cigs twice with ecigs, with a 2 year streak nic-free. There are so many good products now compared to a few years ago, I'm amazed. When you finally decide on what to buy, don't stress about quitting the cigs as fast as possible. Smoke when you want and vape when you want, and eventually you'll prefer the vape, believe me...

Words of Wisdom IMO

 

[TexFan]

My wife and I quit tobacco one week ago using ecigs. We had exactly the same concerns as you. What I've noticed is that, while it's impossible to truly mimic the tobacco cigs, our ecigs are a very good substitute. We also shared your concern about size, shape, etc. We are lucky enough to have a local brick-n-mortar store so we went in and looked at a few.
She settled on the 510-t, which is very similar in size/shape to the VSlims 120s she smoked. Her battery lasts several hours of moderate use, and the starter kit comes with a spare battery. She also got a "passthru" that plugs into a USB port on the computer, so it's very convenient while computing.
I was looking for longer battery life, and I ended up with a eGo-t. I had looked at these online, and didn't think I'd want one, but it is smaller than it looked online. The feel/shape is different, but I've found it very easy to adapt, and I'm not as adaptable as I used to be...lol.

I was overwhelmed with trying to figure out which to choose, I didn't want to waste a bunch of money on something I wouldn't be happy with, but we both have been very pleased with our choices. The advice that people give based on their experiences turns out to be valid - many thanks to all those who helped us!
I think you'll find, as we did, that the experience is so much more pleasant than tobacco cigs that it was very easy to change. We still occasionally smoke an analog, but not too much. We were both 1.5 pack per day smokers, and we've both smoked only about a pack in a whole week. My breathing as been noticeably better in just a couple of days.

Good luck and don't get discouraged, you'll find something you really like and do a bunch of reading on this forum. Good folks with good advice.

 

[Baldr]

Almost everyone, when they first start vaping, say they want something that looks/feels/tastes like a regular cigarette.

But the only things that come close to the look have tiny batteries. Batteries *always* weigh more than a cig, so you can't hold it hanging out of your lips like a cig. It's not a real cig and it's not going to taste like one. It's not the same thing, and there is more learning curve. Lighting a cig is far simpler than dealing with a vaporizer.

Almost everyone that posts who has been using any kind of e-cig or vaporizer for a few months is using something much more heavy duty than the mini-e-cigs.

Personally, I skipped all the little tiny ones like that, because I see no sign they are effective. Mostly, people try them, then quickly move to something better. To me that just means time and money wasted on those.

I'm very happy with my eGo-T, after 3 weeks.

 

[Astatine]

Don't stress about what you want in the first purchase. Pick a few that look good to you and come back to check if it is a rip off.

I had the same thoughts about the weird looking, heavy models when I started. So I bought a BLU. It was OK as a trial run (good product for what it is , in fact). But I ended up with the heavy, weird looking stuff anyway (eGo-T). And the advantages far outweigh the looks. Weight is really not an issue. I don't hold an ecig like I hold a cigarette.

In truth, I wouldn't be using my eGo if I hadn't started with the BLU and I learned a lot on the way.

 

[mckdragon29464]

I concur with Astatine, the heavier models definitely have more pros. The main one in my opinion is definitely battery life. But try out a few, if you get 2 different models at first, i would recommend 1 ecig (small) and 1 standard kit, like eGo.
My first was a DSE901 kit, now im vaping with a 510 batt, using a 510 to 901 adapter, for all of my 901 atomizers i purchased .
(My 901 batteries died) Also, if you are into making things, making mods for these can be a blast.