VERSION 2.5 Vision ViVi Nova Is IN STOCK Now, VIVI NOVA Review Thread

[dannoman]

It is CLEARLY stated on our website and with any vendor that replacements are made for DOA on coils. Nothing has changed in that respect. We CANNOT start makign wholesale exchanges as though the design was critically flawed and unuseable. This is not the case, we have some feedback with an issue of muted flavor or a coil beign wound too tight (and some with followups that were able to tweak soemthign here and there to satisfaction), so the solution is we might as well go out of business and take up something else because you are going to have issues no matter what, if God himself made a carto for us.

So to sum things up, Caveat emptor.
Having worked in corporate retail for several national retail chains, it saddens me to see statements like this made.
I can only speak for myself, but don't believe anyone posting feedback within this thread meant any ill intent, or were looking for handouts. I would have been happy to hear that problems with the coil were experienced, will be resolved by the following actions, etc...
I don't believe any of the comments were looking for any extravagant functionality.
Personally, I was looking for only a few key features:
- No leaks (success)
- Reasonable wicking (seems to be a success, even with high VG liquids, I commended this in previous posts)
- Good flavor - Possibly somewhat subjective, and often based on liquid as well, but many posts have been made here stating muted flavor. I don't think any one of us has taken negatively to any suggestions made, and we've openly tried all recommendations made to improve this.

All this would have taken is a statement asking for continuing feedback, a strong statement as to what would or would not be done (replacement heads, no replacements, are you putting the replacement heads due to be up for sale soon on hold until problems may be resolved should any be found, etc...)

All I ask for is clarity, honesty, and respect.

Clarity has not truly been provided, Chris made statements that you would "make good" on any issues discovered, but its never been stated what that means. Clearly from your post above, no replacements will be made except for DOA, understood, but state that clearly up front.

As for respect, calling out this "RIDICULOUS".. "hysteria" is not how I would ever expect my employees, or our store team members to treat our customers. Surely we wouldn't have them for long.

Several, myself included stated that we do indeed feel like guinea pigs... The reason boils down to how these products are launched and hyped. They are never announced as v1, etc.. Only that they are the next perfect big thing.

If you want feedback outside of ECF, how about a very pointed survey on your storefront for new items asking to rate the key categories of leakage, wicking, vapor production, and flavor?? There are plenty of ways to promote feedback if you guys aren't open to receiving it openly in forums.

Apparently, its time to seek a new vendor who can respect the needs and opinions of their customers, and who may encourage honest feedback as opposed to speaking out against it.

Regardless, thank you for the strides you continue to make for the community, and best of luck in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,
Your former customer...

 

[Vapor2112]

I have absolutely no interest in bantering about this for hours. But to be clear, there was absolutely no request (at least from myself), or expectation for replacements...... This is not the first new product I had purchased from you which had a first round launch with minor bugs (sometimes major aka Sapphire, did anyone enjoy the first go on those??)... I don't think anyone in this forum expects perfection in round one, but I'd hope we all expect a little respect from the folks we give our money to, and spend time trying, providing feedback, and tweaking...
If you'd like to discuss further, feel free to PM me, this no longer belongs in open forum..

 

[dannoman]

And that passive-agressive post laced with general indictments on our products was respectful? You are right, we don't need to discuss it any further. Seriously.

What does "we will work something out" mean....
Things will be "fixed" and a new version will be come available for us to purchase and essentially test again?
I'm down that road now on v3 of the Cryptonite and I haven't gotten a single decent hit off of that $11 cart...
Or does this mean that those who have had problems will actually be sent replacements?
Sorry, but I've spent a fair amount of money with you guys and have been through just too many duds.
Ordered the Sapphires the night you released them, never had one last more than one fill without blackening the juice gurgling,etc...
Answer just always seems to be wait for and pay for a new version...
We've got 11 pages and over 103 posts here, clearly there is a problem...
And I've still gotten no real response on that C8 either....
Please help us all understand what actions will be taken here to help your loyal customers.
I've stuck it out through several of these releases, and I'm unfortunately reaching the end of the line here...
I've not put 7+ml's of good juice through this without any flavor just hoping this would come through...

I have absolutely no interest in bantering about this for hours. But to be clear, there was absolutely no request (at least from myself), or expectation for replacements...... This is not the first new product I had purchased from you which had a first round launch with minor bugs (sometimes major aka Sapphire, did anyone enjoy the first go on those??)... I don't think anyone in this forum expects perfection in round one, but I'd hope we all expect a little respect from the folks we give our money to, and spend time trying, providing feedback, and tweaking...
If you'd like to discuss further, feel free to PM me, this no longer belongs in open forum..

 

[timothy]

Danno you and Chris better not just sit back and keep a low profile I like how ya'll get the vendors to listen and try different ideas and it not only helps here but trickels down to others as well if you make something better the vendors sell those to other buyers too . So we try it give feed back and mod on. Now there are some that just rip into ya some times you can ignore them some times they make your blood boil , some times I don't see how ya'll remain calm . On a side note when is the top coil version coming

 

[Briar]

Well, what fixed mine was puling out one or two of the wicks. They were too tight in the coil, and weren't able to expand properly. Once they were pulled, after a few draws, the taste is no longer muted.

Huh. I'll try that with my other head... The one in it now is working well with the thinner juice. Chain-vaiping it. Taste so-so, but not too bad. Could definitely stand some improvement on that front tho.

 

[LordDavon]

Huh. I'll try that with my other head... The one in it now is working well with the thinner juice. Chain-vaiping it. Taste so-so, but not too bad. Could definitely stand some improvement on that front tho.

Let me know how it goes. The wicking seemed to improve greatly after I did this. Now, I didn't see the picture of the coil issue prior to posting, and I think that will most likely not work for that, but my muted flavor is gone.

These coils are made by, like, 26-year-old Chinese girls (Bad, please send me one. ), hand spinning the coils and wicks. So, I picture these girls are probably rushing to fill all of these orders, and some probably just got spun too tight. I also picture them tired, rushing, and wearing bikinis. Hmmm... I may need to start dating again.

 

[Briar]

Let me know how it goes. The wicking seemed to improve greatly after I did this. Now, I didn't see the picture of the coil issue prior to posting, and I think that will most likely not work for that, but my muted flavor is gone.

These coils are made by, like, 26-year-old Chinese girls (Bad, please send me one. ), hand spinning the coils and wicks. So, I picture these girls are probably rushing to fill all of these orders, and some probably just got spun too tight. I also picture them tired, rushing, and wearing bikinis. Hmmm... I may need to start dating again.

Arguing with myself on whether to try it now with the working one in the bid to strengthen the flavor, or to leave the poor wee working beastie alone...

"Spun too tight" - oh, there are puns there, but I won't indulge. LOL But I agree, tho.

 

[Briar]

After batting it back and forth in my head like a cat with a string, I think I'll gird my loins and reply to this.

I am not sure whom you are addressing here, Daniel, but it certainly comes across as if you are addressing all of us who gave initial and on-going impressions of the ViVi from opening the package to present.

Look - your message below is a bit harsh. A big bit. It hurt my feelings, frankly. Maybe my feelings are easily hurt, and you have a business to run and all that, but still...

You guys asked for honest feedback, good and bad, explicitly and specifically. A lot of us were and still are excited about this product. So we reported everything as we started using it - good and bad, just as asked. This was not hysteria - at least not from most of us, I'd say. Except for a couple of people, opinions were fairly balanced, and certainly not hysterical, mine included.

I re-read this thread as well. Yes, a few folks complained about being guinea pigs - but not all of us by a long shot. And some of us actually argued about this point - to your favor, I might add. Nor have I seen most of us even mention freebie replacements. Actually, I don't see any of us doing that - maybe one person hinted at it...

I, for one, did not use exotic juice or exotic equipment. Nor am I that exacting. What I am is a loyal customer who was and still is excited about the product, and working under the honest impression that she was actually helping you guys out buy pointing out some issues that might need improvement. This is what loyal customers do.

Bottom line is that I am reporting my impression after a day of use:

Great tank - no leakage, easy to use, wonderful engineering.
*In my package* - inconsistent coils. Resistance off on two of them. When dry burning, the connection wires light up before the coil does. One of these wicks, but gives funky/low taste on all voltages more or less, the other will not wick VG properly, but will wick PG-ish juice with slightly low taste. And when I say "low", I am comparing with the early run Stardust. Haven't tried the third coil yet.

Do with this info what you will. But, honestly, if you don't want public and detailed feedback, please don't ask for it. I sorta feel slammed for doing what I was asked to do, with the best of intentions.

I like you guys - otherwise I wouldn't be here. I go out of my way to recommend you to folks. I recommend your products, and enjoy many of them. I like this product - and I hope the issues I had with it were statistical blips. In fact I just ordered another one, and will order extra heads when they come in.

There is another thing you might want to consider: it's your company, and, understandably, you are passionate about it. It's perfectly reasonable that you may feel defensive (I'm guessing about your feelings, but that's how you came across) about certain things that were said. But not all of us said them, and also, and I'll venture to say I am not the only one who feels that way, I also feel somewhat invested in your company doing well, and your products working well. I spend a lot of money (for me) at GV. Other than juice, I buy 99% of my hardware from you. Damn right I want it to work - and I want it to keep working well, so that my favorite things, like the Stardust, stay available and at the same quality level. If I point out problems, it is because I am trying to help, not because I'm trying to slam you guys or get freebies out of you. In fact, it's a compliment: I have faith that you care enough to listen and, if necessary, make adjustments.

I am not passive aggressive - if I feel bad about something, I will tell you. I don't feel bad about the ViVi. I do feel bad about your post. Sorry, but I do.

Readign through this thread I see very exacting type of vapors picking apart certain things that are not generally large problems (the Nova tested well and it has been generally very satisfactory for most vapors). Some of you guys try these with various PV's and at different voltages with exotic and various juices and everything may not be to complete satisfaction and this is true with any set-up. If after trying it and its not a great set-up for your vaping habits then it may not be for you. I have that experience with several pieces of vaping equipment that others imply love but I then do not go in and say, this is a failure, we are guinea pigs, etc. Thats RIDICULOUS.

You guys that are more exacting on every little thing tend to be more vocal and come in to the forum and slice and dice everything. Others see that, who will generally have a good experience with these, and say, "Hey there must be big problems with the Nova" and they are pre-prejudiced before they can even try the unit.

This has tested VERY well and especially our first feedbacks on bought units were VERY good. Some of you are very vocal if it hasn't worked out for you but that is not indicative that there are major design flaws. It could be that there is a coil that was wound too tight here and there, some of you are finding that with your juice, by trimming the wicks you get better performance, etc.

When Chris says he will take care of things what he means is he is ACTIVELY giving all feedback back to the Vision team to make it even better. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT THERE IS SOME MAJOR MAJOR PROBLEM THAT WE ARE GOING TO REPLACE VIVI NOVAS WILLY NILLY. It WILL NOT happen. If someone has a head atty that doesn't light up and is DOA you can submit a ticket but we are limited to what we can do until we get the replacement heads in. Generally the heads have had no major problems.

Please back off of this hysteria. This is RIDICULOUS. This item was tested and tested and generally has had a very good response. If it isn't for you it isn't for you and those of you who like to tinker and tinker with the unit to make it better for your situation go right ahead but that is not an indictment on the general state of the unit.

and btw--some of you who knee-jerk reactions often times come back and say, I did this and that and it seems to be workign much better now, etc., THIS IS THE NATURE of the beast...otherwise we will turn GotVapes into a single product store and mass-market like Green Smoke and Blu Cig :O

 

[Daunting]

I agree with Briar. Very well written post!

I did have a bad taste from my first coil & after reading comments here I discovered that the coils were not lighting up and tried another one (which worked). I just tossed the bad coil in the trash. I personally wouldn't try to return a $3 part unless there were a few of them.

I followed most of the suggestions here & now it is working pretty good. If it wasn't for the open discussion in this forum I think more people would be upset, because there would not be a place to go for solutions for their issues. Without the help here I think you would have more requests for returns.

 

[Briar]

I did have a bad taste from my first coil & after reading comments here I discovered that the coils were not lighting up and tried another one (which worked). I just tossed the bad coil in the trash. I personally wouldn't try to return a $3 part unless there were a few of them.

I followed most of the suggestions here & now it is working pretty good. If it wasn't for the open discussion in this forum I think more people would be upset, because there would not be a place to go for solutions for their issues. Without the help here I think you would have more requests for returns.

Yep. And I think Lord Davon is probably right (about the coils, not about mail-ordering girls LOL) - some person on the production line didn't wrap a few coils just right, they ended up in the same packages, and some of us unlucky doinks got those packages. Such is life. Coils are cheap.

 

[crashandburn]

I came here because I just got a ViVi and wondered why it's not the same as dripping... Now I cant get bikini clad, tired, vulnerable, impressionable, chinese girls off me brain.

 

[kpms0n]

after reading to page 13, i decided to post what I found so far. Have run my vivi nova for a whole tank but i can't get past the weird taste. It's producing vapor but and has the TH but i dont taste the juice i have at all. I would describe the taste as grape-like with a hint of metal. right now i'm in the process of testing the 2.8 head but have also removed the wick that's on top. hopefully it'll work out. i have two of them (even though it was supposed to be 1 vivi nova and 1 box of phoenix xls) :/

 

[Bocephus]

And that passive-agressive post laced with general indictments on our products was respectful? You are right, we don't need to discuss it any further. Seriously.

Stay classy Sugar Land......

 

[LordDavon]

I came here because I just got a ViVi and wondered why it's not the same as dripping... Now I cant get bikini clad, tired, vulnerable, impressionable, chinese girls off me brain.

Glad I could help.

 

[dannoman]

Briar, I wasn't speaking of the type of posts you made, they were well thought out and not of the obnoxious variety. I was speaking of a piling on that started at some point with at least four different posters on the attack. My post did not have as much hinged or unhinged emotion in it as you might have perceived. I felt it was necessary as a check as it seemed to be getting out of hand and I wanted to put my foot down as to what Chris meant and to stop the momentum of the piling on I saw. At some point, if left unchecked, it turns into some sort of panic, spreading like wildfire, and word goes around, erroneously, that the ViVi Nova bombed out to the point the GotVapes is offering replacements, etc., and this is not at all reflective of the product nor was it intended with any of my partner's statements.

Chris at one point stated he was going to see what he could do about any issues that had been brought up and he started getting pushed a bit about it. He did not mean that there was some major problem with the unit that would deem it necessary to provide wholesale replacements and/or recall the unit. Issues. You have that with any release. China vapes with the juices they have and this team did test this product very thoroughly. But we still have their ear and they try to make it to where the unit will work with as wide of an audience as possible. But no one piece of vaping equipment is universal.

So we are back to taking feedback and issues to China and see if there is anything that can be done to help improve the product in areas we have received feedback after releasing it into the wild, with the infinite variables only the general public can bring. With that said we have been generally very happy that it seems to be working very well with most.

After batting it back and forth in my head like a cat with a string, I think I'll gird my loins and reply to this.

I am not sure whom you are addressing here, Daniel, but it certainly comes across as if you are addressing all of us who gave initial and on-going impressions of the ViVi from opening the package to present.

Look - your message below is a bit harsh. A big bit. It hurt my feelings, frankly. Maybe my feelings are easily hurt, and you have a business to run and all that, but still...

You guys asked for honest feedback, good and bad, explicitly and specifically. A lot of us were and still are excited about this product. So we reported everything as we started using it - good and bad, just as asked. This was not hysteria - at least not from most of us, I'd say. Except for a couple of people, opinions were fairly balanced, and certainly not hysterical, mine included.

I re-read this thread as well. Yes, a few folks complained about being guinea pigs - but not all of us by a long shot. And some of us actually argued about this point - to your favor, I might add. Nor have I seen most of us even mention freebie replacements. Actually, I don't see any of us doing that - maybe one person hinted at it...

I, for one, did not use exotic juice or exotic equipment. Nor am I that exacting. What I am is a loyal customer who was and still is excited about the product, and working under the honest impression that she was actually helping you guys out buy pointing out some issues that might need improvement. This is what loyal customers do.

Bottom line is that I am reporting my impression after a day of use:

Great tank - no leakage, easy to use, wonderful engineering.
*In my package* - inconsistent coils. Resistance off on two of them. When dry burning, the connection wires light up before the coil does. One of these wicks, but gives funky/low taste on all voltages more or less, the other will not wick VG properly, but will wick PG-ish juice with slightly low taste. And when I say "low", I am comparing with the early run Stardust. Haven't tried the third coil yet.

Do with this info what you will. But, honestly, if you don't want public and detailed feedback, please don't ask for it. I sorta feel slammed for doing what I was asked to do, with the best of intentions.

I like you guys - otherwise I wouldn't be here. I go out of my way to recommend you to folks. I recommend your products, and enjoy many of them. I like this product - and I hope the issues I had with it were statistical blips. In fact I just ordered another one, and will order extra heads when they come in.

There is another thing you might want to consider: it's your company, and, understandably, you are passionate about it. It's perfectly reasonable that you may feel defensive (I'm guessing about your feelings, but that's how you came across) about certain things that were said. But not all of us said them, and also, and I'll venture to say I am not the only one who feels that way, I also feel somewhat invested in your company doing well, and your products working well. I spend a lot of money (for me) at GV. Other than juice, I buy 99% of my hardware from you. Damn right I want it to work - and I want it to keep working well, so that my favorite things, like the Stardust, stay available and at the same quality level. If I point out problems, it is because I am trying to help, not because I'm trying to slam you guys or get freebies out of you. In fact, it's a compliment: I have faith that you care enough to listen and, if necessary, make adjustments.

I am not passive aggressive - if I feel bad about something, I will tell you. I don't feel bad about the ViVi. I do feel bad about your post. Sorry, but I do.

 

[dannoman]

Of course Hank...

Stay classy Sugar Land......

 

[dannoman]

Send a ticket on that and we'll get it worked out if you don't want both of them...

after reading to page 13, i decided to post what I found so far. Have run my vivi nova for a whole tank but i can't get past the weird taste. It's producing vapor but and has the TH but i dont taste the juice i have at all. I would describe the taste as grape-like with a hint of metal. right now i'm in the process of testing the 2.8 head but have also removed the wick that's on top. hopefully it'll work out. i have two of them (even though it was supposed to be 1 vivi nova and 1 box of phoenix xls) :/

 

[christopher6046]

well after reading through the threads, when I got home yesterday, I tried some of the tweaks that some people said were helpful. I dumped the rest of my juice out of the tank, Cleaned it, along with the wicks, and trimmed them like the startdust. I then dry burned until i saw the coils glow. For the rubber piece that sits on top, i trimmed it a little for they wouldn't touch the wicks. I also made sure the wicks were not that tight along the coils. Last thing I did, was put a drop of liquid on the coils and dry burned that. The vapor was better, but I still got a muted, odd taste. I did this with two heads, the 2.4 and i think the 2.8. Neither did the job. Its a good tank, For the whole day yesterday, not 1 leak. I guess it just has to do with the wicks, on how they are wrapped around the coil or something. I have another set, but guess I ll just wait till someone figures how to fix this. Other then the muted, sometimes odd taste, it is a great tank. I am new to vaping, but just want gotvapes to know i appreciate them trying to figure out whats going on, and their feedback. i will be honest though, i m just a little dissapointed because i thought I could use it stright from the box, without any type of modding to make it work. But i do want to say thanks to gotvapes for listening to all these posts, and trying to help us. They could easily turn their heads and not care.

 

[SIC08869]

I know that they say that you can fill up to 3 to 3 and half MLs.but mine works better when I only put 2.8 ML right at the line.

Mine was the exact same, anything above the 2.8 line seemed to cause problems.

Oh and I untwisted the wicks considerably as LordDavon showed on the V2 Stone. That helped a lot with dry burn taste.

 

[Aunt Cranky]

... which is why I suggested that the collective "we" put together something for the greater vaping community that collects our experienes with different carts/ tanks using different juice on x, y, or z voltage.

Just because I might experience an issue vaping x juice on a Stone III on an old Riva batt doesn't mean that someone else is going to have the same issue with a Stone III vaping y juice on a Provari.

In other words, it's not the Stone III that's the "problem" - it's the elusive "something else"

That's what cracks me up about hardware review threads. Nothing is particularly scientific in our varying approaches.

Then the modders come in and want to tinker.. (modders gotta mod )

We go through this with (what seems to me) all the new carts/ tanks that come out.

For a vendor this kind of stuff has to be maddening because you have no easy way to determine the (as we say in software) "root cause". Is it viscous thick chocolate coffee toffee 100% VG juice being vaped on a LR tank on a higher voltage ("why does it taste burnt?") vs. "my friend is vaping Menthol Mania on the same tank on her 1000 mAH eGo PH and it works awesome!!"

There's all these different variables invovled. Same tank, different juice, different battery. It isn't always (in fact, it isn't usually) about the QC at the factory or the product itself, it's some intangible combination of different elements that make up the user experience.

So yeah, I'm glad I've got a vendor like GV to go to. No, I don't work for them There's maybe a half-dozen vendors out there for supplies and liquid that I would honestly say I support 100% because I know they care about providing a good customer experience and Dan and Chris are in that list.

Not every product will work for everyone. If you've spent $7.00 on something that didn't work out, then use something else. Always remember how much money we spent on those stinky analogs (depending on where you live) - $7.00 is "chump change" to satisfy your curiosity about a new product.

sincerely,

Aunt Cranky