I defer to the advice of dormouse as she's prolly one of the most knowledgeable here when it comes to starter kits and batteries among other things.
In regards to "Nicotine Hit" there are a number of points you should be aware of. The "effect" of
vaping is a combination of:
size of battery and if it's manual- 100 mah= 1 hour of vaping before recharge.
the percentage of PG to VG: PG= taste and throat hit while VG= vapor- most ex smokers appreciate a combination of these but it's all very personal and up to the individual to figure this part out.
The usual percentage is 80/ 20 or 70/ 30 PG/ VG. VG is very thick and if too much is in the juice it can clog the delivery devices ( cartomizer, cartridge, atomizer) quicker. Some will have a heavier amount of VG in their juice but dilute/ thin it out with distilled water.
Nicotine also plays a part in the throat hit and "lung hit". It also stabilizes the "Nic fits". If your nic is too high you'll get headaches and if it's too low your craving for nicotine will not be satisfied thus defeating the whole purpose of vaping.
Battery Info:
manual batts allow us to choose the strength of each individual vape- it puts you in control. There is also less chance of damage from juice. Loud sounds will sometimes activate auto batts.
The vapor comes from the water in our bodies and not the juice. Dehydration is common when first starting. Drink LOTS of water. I start my day with 2 large glasses and drink a total of 2 1/2 liters per day.
As for gas station and/ or corner store Ecigs they are extremely overvalued and I guarantee that you will not be happy.
It might be a good idea to post the brand you smoke and how many per day. This may give us an idea of what type of juice/ strength you would be satisfied with.
Good luck and I hope this helps, Vapoor.
Avoid automatic batteries - only buy manuals which give a better hit
And in general, the fatter the ecig, the bigger hits it can deliver. When you get up the 14mm+ diameter batteries like Ego and Riva 510 and mods - anything 450mah+, you can also use LR attachments which are hotter and generally make bigger drags with more hit
If you want a slim-ish Ecig I recommend Vapor4Life w/ manual batteries - allows up to a a 10-13 second drag instead of cutting off at 5 seconds. All decent slim ecigs are a bit fatter than a cigarette 9.2mm or 9.4mm diameter instead of 8.5mm diameter.