Vaping isn't new user friendly yet

[Rymanjan]

Basically I started vaping a month or so ago and as I recall getting started was no easy feat. I started with the "Blu e-cigs" *shudder* and I hated the experience. I remember saying "screw this I'd rather smoke" and I did until some coworkers of mine informed me of actual pv options. I tried theirs out and I loved them. So right off the bat i think we need to inform people of the good the bad and the ugly. Because the blu ecigs are bad and ugly and if those are someone's first and only vaping experience I think we'll lose them to analogs. Next, when I wen out and looked at the better options, I found sky high prices for practically everything except the eGo series. Now I love my eGo twist but I had to get new clearomizers and tanks for it to work really well, and even then it was close to $100 for a starting setup that I knew was lower end and I remember having to force myself to look for other options. The price tag on a decent pv like the twist is still relatively high when combined with tanks and everything and it was a huge deterrent from getting started. Everything was kind of overwhelming with atomizers and cartomizers and clearomizers and tanks and vv mods and juice. It was difficult to make that leap of faith into the vaping world. Then there was juice. Juice cost $7 a bottle on average for 10ml and while maybe starting out that would be manageable I soon realized that I needed to mix my own if I wanted to stay out of bankruptcy. Vaping 5 mils a day I'd go through almost $100 in juice a month and that was not going to fly. It took a while to find a comprehensive guide to DIY e juice but thank god for Grimm Green and his YouTube channel or I would still be buying premade. Heck I'd still be smoking analogs. But the point of my ramble here is that it's hard for new users to get in to vaping, especially when they might have been tricked into a false idea of what vaping is like. Personally I ordered my mods from fast tech because for the price of one mod (body alone) off myvaporstore or provape I got a full kit of a vamo v3 with a charger and 2 sony 18350 batteries. For the price of a full set up (low quality mod, tanks, batts, chargers, atomizers) off a traditional online store or at my local store I got a full vamo v3 kit, protank, iclear 30 and 16, an atomizer, two Panasonic 18350 3400 mAh batts, AND an 1100 mAh ego twist with charger and lanyard for an adv to use at work (I work in construction). At the end of it all it cost almost $200 for my DIY supplies, mods and tanks. While that is a great price, I found it on accident. I never heard of people talking about it before, and I almost didn't want to make the switch from analogs because I saw no comparable price difference, I knew the health benefits but there's so much negative propaganda surrounding ecigs that it deterred me from getting any worth while ones, and the jump from something that's simple (you light it, you smoke it) to mods (you build it from a list of a thousand options, fill the tank from a list of a thousand flavors and tank options) figure out the volts to use with the ohms on the atomizer, and finally get to inhale only to find that you bought a low quality juice that tastes like feet. I think we need to come together as a community and make e cigs much more new user friendly as well as get information on what really an e cig is, because ATM I believe it's almost too much to make them completely entisive for analog users to switch.

 

[Talyon]

Yes Vapeing is a labor intensive alternative, I'm at 6 months and have a good handle and knowledge base now, so it gets easier with experience.

It's also cheaper now as I'm finally in the black.

I'm set baby.

Ps. The FDA and BT are working on a solution for all Vapers, let's be careful what we wish for.

 

[Rymanjan]

I apologize if anyone likes Blu ecigs but for me I could not stand them. They did not fit my needs at all but if they work for you, more power to you. But because I didn't like them and wasn't aware of other options available, I almost dropped vaping for analogs.

and Yeah i worry about what the FDA is going to pull out of their butts on this. They constantly bash the heck out of ecigs (along with everyone else that doesn't vape) as "dangerous and unsafe and marketing to kids". I have the feeling that they're trying to make them illegal or highly restricted even though analogs are still perfectly legal. I have yet to see a comprehensive independent study on the health effects caused by MODERN DAY ecigs. The old ones had the dg in it which was admittedly unhealthy but at the same time still 100000000000000000 times better for you than analogs. People keep bashing ecigs for "unregulated nicotine doses" and "marketing to kids" and "unknown effects" and yet few people seem to actually do comprehensive testing involving just pg and vg (I know a lot of people that dont even use nicotine in their juice, me being included) and battle these claims. Fruit flavors dont just exist with ecigs, hookah comes in flavors and I don't hear moms complaining about those. It is easier to get analogs than it is to get good ecigs as an underage person and people seem to still have the "gateway" mentality that if people vape they'll want to smoke later in life.

 

[Frankenmizer]

I agree in that it does take a willingness to explore the options. It can be a bit overwhelming starting out.
Speaking only for myself, though, I knew from the Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) experience that vaping was the last viable alternative I was going to see in my lifetime. So I made the commitment to listen and learn as much as I could.
Thanks to the ECF community, I've learned a great deal. My VapeQuest is well underway.

 

[Rymanjan]

That's nice to hear, and yes the ECF and Grim Green has made the whole process a whole heck of a lot easier. But, at the same time, if I didn't know about those resources, if I was flying solo on this and only had the high prices and confusing options to look at when I was considering switching I would have been boned.

 

[wv2win]

60+ years ago, people in general, did not expect life to require no effort. Breaking bad habits has never been easy. Unfortunately today, too many people have no stomach for doing the hard work required of any worthwhile endeavor.

 

[Rymanjan]

60+ years ago, people in general, did not expect life to require no effort. Breaking bad habits has never been easy. Unfortunately today, too many people have no stomach for doing the hard work required of any worthwhile endeavor.

I completely agree, and I think that is a problem that we need to address. People are getting lazier for sure but I believe we need to adapt to that and make things easier for analog users to switch because at the end of the day if I can get one, just one user to switch per day, I feel like I could have potentially saved their lives and the health of those around them. Imagine ridding the world of lung cancer and emphysema and SHS, not through medication and chemotherapy and nicotine patches but by providing an alternative that wont slowly kill you and the people around you. That's the kind of future I want to see.

 

[seahawkin]

Yup agreed the hunt can be tough. Luckily I had a friend help me get started then I found this place. She has a good laugh that I was vaping the lame for over a year then a month after meeting her I had a Provari and rebuildables. But hubby still struggles with ease of use, he just wants to light it and smoke it ya? Got him an iTastte SVD, should arrive soon hopefully that helps

 

[Uncle Willie]

The quest can be long, yet the reward is worth whatever it takes to get there ..

 

[bosun]

"Gimme a pack of Camels" was certainly a lot easier. Vaping has its own secret language, with different makes and models not interchangeable. A lot of recommendations about what is bad, good, and better from everyone. Me, I'm a newbie. 808 system, cartos, clearos, atomizer for dripping. Next step is a larger mah with VV (secret language eh?). Maybe DIY liquid blending, will try a nic only liquid with no flavors?
But I'm off of coffin nails!!

 

[Rymanjan]

It also feels, and I dont know if I'm just misinformed or something, that its a bit like music players. Sure, you can get the cheap off-brand mp3 player and it'll work, but it wont work well and as soon as you see someone with an iPod you realize how much you've been missing out. only the iPod costs hundreds of dollars and you're on a tight budget you know? You could get the cheap disposables or an eGo-C and it'll work to an extent but as soon as you see someone with a darwin or an evic you realize how much better the experience can be, but price wise i feel that there's very few "in between" options. Like you could have a disposable or a 510 and those kind, you can get an eGo Twist or Spinner, or you can get a mod. That in between class, the under $100 club is very small IMO and it made the decision to start vaping really difficult because I didn't want to dive into the deep end when all I was doing was dipping my feet in the shallow end. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of wading your way between the two ends of the spectrum price and skill wise. I'm glad I did it but still it was a hard fought decision.

 

[suspectK]

Not everyone can just pick up a Linux operating system and run with it. There's a reason people tend to stick to apple and windows...

 

[rexy]

I'm surprised how much people balk at the price of devices. I mean unless you were rolling your own, analogs are really expensive!

 

[Rymanjan]

Not everyone can just pick up a Linux operating system and run with it. There's a reason people tend to stick to apple and windows...

Haha I agree with that (though windowns 7 works good for me). I just think that if we're trying to get more people to switch and to get the community to expand we need to find a way to inform people in simple yet concrete terms about vaping. How it's not poisonous (heard that one before), illegal (heard that too), stupid (way too often), complicated (kinda agree with that one), etc. and what options they have past the 7-11 and walmart ecigs.

 

[Rymanjan]

I'm surprised how much people balk at the price of devices. I mean unless you were rolling your own, analogs are really expensive!

It's the all at once factor that I think intimidates people. I know a lot of people that are willing to pay $200 over the course of a month but not all at once

 

[suspectK]

Ohm's law and cartomizers seem to be the biggest issues of people just starting out. I love and use both everyday.

Another big argument is propylene glycol. While it does seem to cause reactions in a lot of people, it is a very good solution. I mentioned in another thread that PG is used in injectable pharmaceutical solutions, and I know a lot of people that use it for a solution for non-water soluble compounds. If that isn't good enough for an inhalation side of PG, it is also used in asthma inhalers.

Vegetable glycerin has also been shown to be beneficial to lungs. Studies have shown that people that use to smoke, started vaporizing VG, they actually have healthier lungs than people that don't smoke. I wish I could find those case studies. It is actually preferred to be used over PG in inhalation medications.

Propose a FAQ to a moderator, and they will have proper people contribute to answers for the questions for newbies.

 

[Spazmelda]

It's the all at once factor that I think intimidates people. I know a lot of people that are willing to pay $200 over the course of a month but not all at once

Well, another issue is that people can (understandably) be reluctant to spend that much money on something they don't know if they are going to like and stick with. $200 for something you could potentially end up throwing in the trash can be a hard hurdle to get over.

 

[txgtr]

There is definitely a learning curve. The technology behind ecigs is evolving at a pretty rapid pace. What works great now could be obsolete within months. Personally I like having options, but I understand that a large number of people just want something to replace the analogs.

I was showing a friend how I learned to rebuild the heads in my protanks. He said there is no way he is ever going to do that and he'd rather just have a marlboro and be done with it. I showed him the blister pack of pre-built heads and explained that they could be treated as disposable. He found that far more appealing.

You can have a great vaping experience with a vamo and a protank(or vivi nova, or evod, etc.) that isn't going to break the bank.

 

[Dammage]

I agree that it is a little harder to start vaping than to start smoking. its not like you can just walk off with the old mans e-cig.
I find the new lingo and options are great I love learning new stuff. the thing I have loved the most is the community the net is awesome and vapors are moer than willing to help. Woo Hoo vape on.

 

[Uncle Willie]

Haha I agree with that (though windowns 7 works good for me). I just think that if we're trying to get more people to switch and to get the community to expand we need to find a way to inform people in simple yet concrete terms about vaping. How it's not poisonous (heard that one before), illegal (heard that too), stupid (way too often), complicated (kinda agree with that one), etc. and what options they have past the 7-11 and walmart ecigs.

At this point, unless you live under a rock, you know about the PV, especially if you are a smoker and you are generally convinced it is a safer alternative to analogs

.. counter displays at retailers, TV ads, numerous magazine ads, word of mouth, Web sites to numerous to mention and new ones springing up like weeds ..

And, folks prefer a cig-a-like .. we here on ECF that are heavily into the other options are in the minority ..