Hi everyone.
Up until last week all I knew about ecigs were from the ones that I purchased from 7/11 or a gas staion. In fact I was not even familiar with the term Vaping. I have been using ecigs as mentioned above for about a year.
I want to step up but am confused with all the terminology.
I am starting to work my way through the maze of new terms. Carto, atimizer, clearamizer, tank, single coi,l dual coil. It all makes my head spin.
There are so many devices and I don't know were to start.
Not knowing much I have become attracted to the Provari and from what I have been reading seems to be regarded as the best.
Would a Provari be a good choice for a person who has only used the cheap gas staion variety ecigs?
I understand that it has variable voltage and though I don't understand why one would need variable voltage I guess it must be a good thing.
I also was atracted to the ZMax in stainless steel. Also a variable mod. Though I think I like a USA made product better.
There is a big difference in price between the two. Is the Provari that much better?
Thanks
Stu
Well, the Provari and ZMax are really cool and people who have them, love them. I catch myself drooling over a Vamo or Groove sometimes. But they're "advanced" devices. Sure you want to leap right into the "deep end of the pool"?
You might want to start simpler while learning about this whole "vaping" thing. There's a lot. I've learned a great deal here on ECF but still feel like I've just barely got started. There are lots of people around here that talk
way over my head all the time.
You can get variable voltage for a lot less money with a Twist or Spinner. Which are both eGo style batteries (eGo being a type not a brand). I see this kit recommended often:
Spinner/Twist Combo. It's actually the kit I wish I'd bought first (I bought a Blu then floundered a while before finding ECF and getting oriented better).
I'm actually working my way gradually to a set up much like that though I'm doing it piece at a time instead of a whole kit (having blown money on a whole kit I ended up just giving away).
The advanced ones, like Provari and ZMax and Vamo and all, there's a definite, bigger "learning curve" to deal with. Not to mention... the price? Wow. 'Course, the folks who have them, swear by them, and say the money's well spent but... WOW. Um... my checking account cussed me out at the very idea.
Twists and Spinners give you variable voltage that's done by turning a little knob on the bottom of the battery. Simple stuff. Not a lot of learning for that. And being eGo style batteries, they have dual threading. That is, they work with 510 threaded devices and eGo threaded devices. That's a nice feature. Gives you a lot of options to try out. And you're going to want to do some experimenting. There's no "one size fits all" in vaping. There's a lot of personal preference and you can go a lot of different directions with it. The batteries are just the base. The, oh, delivery systems are many and varied and each has fans and detractors and there are almost as many opinions as there are vapers.
Which is rather cool really. You're not stuck with one thing. You can find the right set up for you. Though that can make it confusing at first. Cigs are easy. They all operate exactly the same.
Anyway.
Variable voltage is nice because liquids are different. The VV option lets you adjust the temperature of the little heater (the atomizer) and that can change the... "experience" of the vapor. Some are better at a higher temp, some at lower. And taste is subjective so one voltage doesn't fit everybody. After learning a great deal here from experienced vapers, I switched to the Twist and have been very happy with it. Some flavors that didn't seem all that good on a fixed voltage battery turned out to be pretty good on the VV Twist. One has become a favorite now. I didn't care for it at the fixed, low voltage I had before.
Far as cartos and clearos and all, the cartomizer (carto) is just an atomizer built into a tube that has a spongy filling. The filling holds the juice. They're pretty easy to use and most of the "gas station" e-cigs are cartomizer based. You can buy "blanks" and fill them yourself with liquids you buy from various vendors. It's pretty easy. Lots of YouTube videos showing how to do it (just search "filling cartomizers", you'll get tons of videos listed).
There are more advanced versions that are encased in tanks that surround them with liquid so you don't have to refill them as often. They have holes punched into the carto to let the juice in. I know nothing about them. Never used them. Others could tell you about those.
The tank like systems like at the link I posted have things like little wicks that pull the juice up to the heater (oh, here's a pic where you can see the little wick (click for a bigger version):
Others have the heater at the bottom ("bottom coil"). I have a couple of inexpensive tanks on the way (in fact, should be in today's mail) to try them out. I've been using cartomizers exclusively for a while. If nothing else, they're cheap and I've been sampling lots of juices. I can set up a bunch of cartos with different juices and switch around during the day, see which I like. But as I settle on a set that I vape often, I'm leaning toward a tank system for those because I wouldn't have to refill so often.
Anyway...
A lot of this is personal preference. So one problem with jumping in at the "high end" is...
what if you don't like it?
I'd be curious to do a little survey of ECFers and see how many stuck with their first kit. I don't see a lot of folks who say they hit "just right" the first time out. I'm on my third set up and I started vaping only two months ago. I mean... urk! Wish I had that money back.
I'd blow it immediately on e-liquid samples.
That's the thing. You will be "sampling" e-liquids a lot before you hit the ones you like and which work for you. There are just way too many options out there to hit the right combinations of flavor and nic level and base liquid mix in your first order. Be shocking if you did. Also, part of the attraction of vaping that keeps me (and I suspect others as I'm nothing special and not likely unique) away from cigs is the variety available. You're going to want to save money for exploring flavors.
(Okay, I am getting way, way too long winded in my posts today. I've either had too much coffee or not enough, one of the two.)
