<clears throat>
Is this thing on? Oh, good. I'm new around here and I don't usually do a lot of internet correspondence, so this kind of feels like my first confession or that time when you crashed the Toastmaster's Club expecting free toast. Either way, here goes nothing.
I was (am?) a heavy smoker. If R.J. Reynolds owned Mt. Rushmore, they would probably give me an earnest shot at Theodore Roosevelt's spot. If I had saved all of the money that I have given them over the years, I would probably have enough to buy the monument myself. No regrets though, you can't continue to beat yourself up for the mistakes of your youth. I know it's overused and I'm probably beating dead horses, but honestly, forward is the only way to look.
I could give you the entire history in epic detail, but I'm sure if you wanted to read War and Peace, you would have done so by now. Either way, I started out like much of you—stealing cigarettes from relatives as a kid and having something of an addiction shortly before reaching adulthood. In addition, I took up up pipe smoking (and occasional cigar smoking) at the ripe old age of 19, but unlike most proper pipe smokers (and Slick Willy), I did inhale and by God, I loved it. By the time I reached 21, I was chain-smoking Dunhill Nightcap and Gawith 1792 on a daily basis. Later, I gave up both the pipes and cigars—primarily because pipes are not very easy to carry around all the time—and switched to cigarettes entirely.
I had no intention of quitting until a couple of years when I realized that I could no longer run without nearly going into cardiac arrest. The attempt, for what it's worth, lasted all of about a month, and before I knew it, I was back to my normal 30-35 per day habit. Soon after, I tried again and again, but nothing would do the job. I tried most things (gum, snus, strips, etc.) and stopped just short of cutting my right thumb off. I embraced the fact that I might die a smoker.
Now, let us fast forward to May of this year. A good friend of mine was on a mission to stop smoking and he showed me a Fin that he had purchased. I was familiar with the Blu commercials and the e-cig mall kiosks, but my only experience trying an e-cig was several years in Las Vegas. I'm sure they were very new at the time, but it reminded me too much of my ex's Marlboro Ultra Lights. In other words: no taste, no kick, no dice. Anyway, he had several of them and gave me one to take home. It wasn't terrible, but certainly no substitute for a real cigarette. That same week, I bought a Blu disposable for myself. I found it pretty bland and it died a mere 45 minutes into my lunch break. I thought it may have been a fluke, so I went back to the corner store and bought the menthol version, hoping for something with a little more punch. Well, it had about the same lifespan and tasted quite a bit worse. However, something told me to continue--probably the fact that I have had bronchitis twice this year for a damned good reason. It was time to take the rational step and do some research online.
June, 2013: I ended up in all the wrong places and found myself a couple of hundred in the hole with no clear goal. I read these rave reviews online about certain starter kits, but they were all of the basic “cig-a-like” variety. I landed on one—might not want to say which—plopped down over a hundred and was sent a kit with three batteries (two manual, one automatic) and an assortment of pre-filled cartridges. Sure, they were a hell of a lot better than the disposables, but as Mick Jagger once said, “I can't get no...satisfaction.” However, being a complete novice I tried pre-filled cartridge after pre-filled cartridge, hoping to find my holy grail. Yeah, right. You have to also keep in mind that I had not fully kicked the smoking habit—there were days when I would vape directly after having finished a real smoke. Terrible, I know, but that's an addiction, my friends. I think my time's almost up here, so I'll get on with it. Anyway, the cig-a-likes were not doing it for me, and all three batteries went bad within a five month span. I experimented with some clear tanks a few months ago, but they were not the ones you guys rave on and on about on here. To say the least, the experiment nearly put me off tanks entirely. I ended up with a clogged, defective mess. Ignorantly, I went back to the pre-filled cartridges and my usual habit, thinking I would figure it out eventually.
My life changed when I acquired a Halo Triton (and no, I don't work for them). This was last week, mind you and I have not wanted a real cigarette since. The tank system, battery life, and whole all around vaping experience has convinced me that hey, perhaps I can make the switch once and for all. I have not had a full cigarette in one whole week. I admit, I cheated yesterday and lighted one, thinking I should say my proper goodbye, but I took four draws and nearly gagged. Terrific, I thought. After all, smoking is like that reckless, care-free, hard-living bad girl you once dated—sure, she may eventually kill you (and you probably don't want her around forever), but she sure is a hell of a lot of fun when the stress levels are high. Thankfully (and hopefully) I have now said my goodbyes and am not looking back.
I apologize—that was not exactly War and Peace, but maybe a bit long-winded. I'm usually not quite this vocal. Although, I'm really glad I found this place—I hadn't a clue that you guys even existed or that there was such an avid vaper following. I have been reading quite a bit over the last few days, but since I am still a novice, much of the technical talk is still a bit over my head. I did order a VV Triton battery, but it has yet to arrive. Ok, scratch that—not only did I order that, but also a whole slew of e-juice and several more batteries, tanks, and coils. This puppy, which you all seem to love, will be my next purchase.
My questions: Which clearomizers do you recommend for this model (Innokin iTaste V2.0)? I would need something easy to re-fill (similar to Triton). And is it just me or are most cig-a-like batteries cut from the same cloth? There's still part of me that wants to hang onto a few because they seem to work well if you need a quick vape.
I'm looking forward to learning more around here. At this time, I tend to vape more tobacco-flavored e-juices, but I'm always looking to branch out. Halo's Belgian Chocolate is a nice, rich vape that I have been enjoying recently. Cheers to all!
Is this thing on? Oh, good. I'm new around here and I don't usually do a lot of internet correspondence, so this kind of feels like my first confession or that time when you crashed the Toastmaster's Club expecting free toast. Either way, here goes nothing.
I was (am?) a heavy smoker. If R.J. Reynolds owned Mt. Rushmore, they would probably give me an earnest shot at Theodore Roosevelt's spot. If I had saved all of the money that I have given them over the years, I would probably have enough to buy the monument myself. No regrets though, you can't continue to beat yourself up for the mistakes of your youth. I know it's overused and I'm probably beating dead horses, but honestly, forward is the only way to look.
I could give you the entire history in epic detail, but I'm sure if you wanted to read War and Peace, you would have done so by now. Either way, I started out like much of you—stealing cigarettes from relatives as a kid and having something of an addiction shortly before reaching adulthood. In addition, I took up up pipe smoking (and occasional cigar smoking) at the ripe old age of 19, but unlike most proper pipe smokers (and Slick Willy), I did inhale and by God, I loved it. By the time I reached 21, I was chain-smoking Dunhill Nightcap and Gawith 1792 on a daily basis. Later, I gave up both the pipes and cigars—primarily because pipes are not very easy to carry around all the time—and switched to cigarettes entirely.
I had no intention of quitting until a couple of years when I realized that I could no longer run without nearly going into cardiac arrest. The attempt, for what it's worth, lasted all of about a month, and before I knew it, I was back to my normal 30-35 per day habit. Soon after, I tried again and again, but nothing would do the job. I tried most things (gum, snus, strips, etc.) and stopped just short of cutting my right thumb off. I embraced the fact that I might die a smoker.
Now, let us fast forward to May of this year. A good friend of mine was on a mission to stop smoking and he showed me a Fin that he had purchased. I was familiar with the Blu commercials and the e-cig mall kiosks, but my only experience trying an e-cig was several years in Las Vegas. I'm sure they were very new at the time, but it reminded me too much of my ex's Marlboro Ultra Lights. In other words: no taste, no kick, no dice. Anyway, he had several of them and gave me one to take home. It wasn't terrible, but certainly no substitute for a real cigarette. That same week, I bought a Blu disposable for myself. I found it pretty bland and it died a mere 45 minutes into my lunch break. I thought it may have been a fluke, so I went back to the corner store and bought the menthol version, hoping for something with a little more punch. Well, it had about the same lifespan and tasted quite a bit worse. However, something told me to continue--probably the fact that I have had bronchitis twice this year for a damned good reason. It was time to take the rational step and do some research online.
June, 2013: I ended up in all the wrong places and found myself a couple of hundred in the hole with no clear goal. I read these rave reviews online about certain starter kits, but they were all of the basic “cig-a-like” variety. I landed on one—might not want to say which—plopped down over a hundred and was sent a kit with three batteries (two manual, one automatic) and an assortment of pre-filled cartridges. Sure, they were a hell of a lot better than the disposables, but as Mick Jagger once said, “I can't get no...satisfaction.” However, being a complete novice I tried pre-filled cartridge after pre-filled cartridge, hoping to find my holy grail. Yeah, right. You have to also keep in mind that I had not fully kicked the smoking habit—there were days when I would vape directly after having finished a real smoke. Terrible, I know, but that's an addiction, my friends. I think my time's almost up here, so I'll get on with it. Anyway, the cig-a-likes were not doing it for me, and all three batteries went bad within a five month span. I experimented with some clear tanks a few months ago, but they were not the ones you guys rave on and on about on here. To say the least, the experiment nearly put me off tanks entirely. I ended up with a clogged, defective mess. Ignorantly, I went back to the pre-filled cartridges and my usual habit, thinking I would figure it out eventually.
My life changed when I acquired a Halo Triton (and no, I don't work for them). This was last week, mind you and I have not wanted a real cigarette since. The tank system, battery life, and whole all around vaping experience has convinced me that hey, perhaps I can make the switch once and for all. I have not had a full cigarette in one whole week. I admit, I cheated yesterday and lighted one, thinking I should say my proper goodbye, but I took four draws and nearly gagged. Terrific, I thought. After all, smoking is like that reckless, care-free, hard-living bad girl you once dated—sure, she may eventually kill you (and you probably don't want her around forever), but she sure is a hell of a lot of fun when the stress levels are high. Thankfully (and hopefully) I have now said my goodbyes and am not looking back.
I apologize—that was not exactly War and Peace, but maybe a bit long-winded. I'm usually not quite this vocal. Although, I'm really glad I found this place—I hadn't a clue that you guys even existed or that there was such an avid vaper following. I have been reading quite a bit over the last few days, but since I am still a novice, much of the technical talk is still a bit over my head. I did order a VV Triton battery, but it has yet to arrive. Ok, scratch that—not only did I order that, but also a whole slew of e-juice and several more batteries, tanks, and coils. This puppy, which you all seem to love, will be my next purchase.
My questions: Which clearomizers do you recommend for this model (Innokin iTaste V2.0)? I would need something easy to re-fill (similar to Triton). And is it just me or are most cig-a-like batteries cut from the same cloth? There's still part of me that wants to hang onto a few because they seem to work well if you need a quick vape.
I'm looking forward to learning more around here. At this time, I tend to vape more tobacco-flavored e-juices, but I'm always looking to branch out. Halo's Belgian Chocolate is a nice, rich vape that I have been enjoying recently. Cheers to all!
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