Wow, this is kinda overwhelming...

[MickeyRat]

One of the drawbacks of look-a-likes (apart from battery life and capacity) is that if you go in a no smoking bar and start puffing on one, you are likely to be thrown out. On the other hand, if your vape looks like a strange medical device people tend to look the other way (like you were using crutches).

I'll grant function is all that matters to me but, if you're a smoker, you understand the disdain with which smokers are treated. I can't imagine why anyone would want to look like they are smoking. As for making yourself more comfortable, maybe it helps while you are looking at it but, that illusion is burst the first time you pick it up. It's a LOT heavier than a cigarette. Nothing can change that.

 

[washvap]

Welcome, pretty much in the same boat as you. Bought the damn trio at the mall that looked like a real cigarette. That thing didn't even give me enough smoke and always died on me. Used two batteries up in one driving trip.

Learned my lesson and got the ego-t type b after reading some info on here and youtube. Hopefully it'll be what I'm looking for.

 

[Digs]

The standard 510 and KR808's are both great choices. The KR808 is slightly larger but they are both about the same size as an analog. I don't think you can go wrong with either one.

 

[jlove381]

Hi jlove,

I've only lurked on this site until I read your post and decided to register so I could reply. I felt a connection to you since I was exactly where you are a month ago.

You are SO right. All this info is overwhelming but it was worth it for me, I hope for you, too. I bought my first e-cig at a mall kiosk last month and quit real cigs over the next 3 days. I would NOT suggest the model I purchased, the "Fifty-One Trio" by vapor-corp.com. I spent $190 for the starter kit, extra battery, cartridges, etc. I could tell within a day that it didn't have enough umph, you know? It didn't taste real enough, not enough vapor and had a plastic aftertaste. I could have gotten a comparable starter kit online for about $40. Hindsight is 20/20, right?

After many hours of reading in this forum, watching YouTube videos, etc. I searched Craigslist for electronic cigs and found a guy that had a modified e-cig for sale. It's a higher voltage (5v) so it's got more power, more vapor, more taste. He sold it to me for half-price and included new atomizers, cartridges, juice samples - everything. The best deal was all the knowledge he shared.

You can find modified e-cigs online but they don't look like real cigarettes so they might not be a fit for you. You can make any kind of e-cig that you get work better with good juice and a little know-how. YouTube and this site are great resources. Vaportalk.com is good too but not as many users. Search your specific e-cig model for tips and tricks to get the most out of it. I did that with the 51 Trio from the mall. Using a guy's tips from YouTube worked wonders for my Trio. I would have never known to put my finger over one of the air holes and to cup my hand around the end to get more power/flavor/vapor. It worked!


Here are a few tips I've learned:
Search online for a promo-code before making a purchase. I found a code for half-off juices and 10% or more off other supplies and e-cigs
If you buy an e-cig and change your mind, try to stick with the same # like 510, 901 or whatever. That way your supplies will fit your new e-cig.
Dripping directly onto an atomizer works better than cartridges for taste and vapor
Pre-filled cartridges don't seem to last long. I have a better result buying empty cartridges and filling myself.
Depending on the voltage and e-cig you're using, juices taste different
The double-flavored juices are best in my opinion. I like to taste the flavor rather than just get a hint of it so I only buy double flavor.
I'm not using much of the tobacco-flavored juices. I bought too many. I thought I would 'need' to taste tobacco but I don't.
I enjoy the juice from Sweet-vapes.com, the peach and english toffee from bluemistvaping.com, and several from tteliquids.com. I do NOT recommend wetyourstick.com for juices. Really awful tasting for me but great customer service. I might buy other supplies from them. I read a lot of good stuff about strictlyejuice.com. I didn't enjoy the flavors I got.

Hope something here helped. Best of luck to you

Jen

Hey Jen, I'm a Jenn as well. Thank you so much for all the info and insight!!! I really appreciate your reply, loads of info and easy to understand! Thanks again!

-Jenn

 

[jlove381]

Thanks to all for the responses, you have all been very helpful.

I just recieved my prosmoke today. So far I'm very impressed with the vapor production, size, weight, etc. I didnt like that apparently you have to let both batteries charge for 8 hours the first time to "prime" the battery but only 1-2 hours to charge after that. I cheated and let one battery charge long enough to try it out... it died about 30 puffs later.... looks like I wont be able to vape until midnight tonight... bummer. Everyone does seem to be right about the stock carts having no flavor or throat hit. So I went to a local vape shop here in Indianapolis (surprisingly enough we have a walk-in shop here which is awesome) and bought some halo e liquid samples in cool mist, trupure, and belle something or other (cigar flavor) at $4.99/each... this seems to have improved the flavor to a very satisfactory level and improved the TH just a bit but the TH is still not quite where Id like it... might just take some time to find the right e liquid for me. I'll look into the 510 and the Joye eGo... just out of curiosity... Oh and by the way, I havent smoked since friday night (2 1/2 days or so) until now (cause im waiting for the battery on the prosmoke to charge) and I must say.... analogs are already disgusting to me... I can confidently say that I'm am a smoker no more and from now on, its just vaping for me... Im so excited!

 

[dormouse]

Grats! High-PG liquids let through more of nicotine's TH.

 

[subversive]

Just got a 510 from Totally Wicked 2 weeks ago. I haven't tried all these other awesome sounding models, but I'm happy with mine. It's longer than a cigarette and heavier, but it's thin and I can hold it like a cigarette. It's all black, so doesn't have the cigarette color to it, but I don't mind. Only drawback is that when sitting at my computer desk and reaching for a pen, I've picked it up a few times : P

I got the mega battery, though from reviews apparently it only lasts an hour or two longer than the standard 510. I go through three batteries per day. I have a 5 slot charger, so I always have 2 fresh batteries ready to go ( I own 3 batteries total). It hasn't bothered me at all. Haven't had to deal with it on a long car trip yet, but I imagine they sell car chargers.

But maybe as time goes on I'll decide I want one of the giant, funnier looking models. Who knows?

 

[want to quit]

Wow, this is kinda overwhelming... There is so much information on types of models, liquids, PG vs VG, attys, carts, etc etc etc... so I'm glad I found this forum. Granted, I already purchased the Prosmoke which, from what I have read, is a m403 unit. It hasn't arrived yet so in the meantime, I'm using a generic brand e-cig (21st Century) that I picked up a few days ago from the walmart gas station to satisfy my curiosity about e-cigs... I've never "vaped" before but after taking the first puff off this e-cig, it seemed to be something worth looking into to help me quit real cigs... Naturally, I still have a number of questions... First being, I want an e-cig that is of similar shape and size to a real cigarette... I'm not crazy about the Ego or other units that look like something other than a cig altogether... maybe this preference will eventually become less important the more someone vapes but for now while I am transitioning from real cigs to a PV, keeping the unit as close to the real thing is important to me. So, with that preference in mind what unit would some of you suggest? m401, 402, 403, 510???

Also, what are the best smoke juices? I'm not concerned with price as much as I am with quality, flavor, TH and vapor production.

Thanks for any help or suggestions!

Have not read any of the replies but let me tell you don't buy a e-cig in shape of a real cig. You will have to have tons of batteries on you and carts and what not. I just started last week with the whole e-cig thingy and bought the Ego-t. Yes it looks nothing like a cig, however you can smoke it all day without having to worry about spare bats and what not.

 

[whatmonkey]

I just thought I'd add my noobie experiences to the mix. I'm about 1.5 weeks into vaping...

I actually ended up getting something different than I'd planned -- didn't do quite enough research and had ordered a somewhat overpriced (IMO now that I've done more reading) KR808D-1 kit from V2cigs. I'll restrain myself by saying only that I canceled the still unshipped order 11 days later and would not recommend them -- for reasons that go well beyond the shipping delay.

During the time it took me to cancel that order, I had discovered this forum and was doing a lot of lurking. Like you I wanted something that looked like a cig -- partially because I don't really want to discuss it with everyone who sees me doing it. I'm completely fine with others thinking it's a cig until/unless I need to demonstrate to them that it isn't.

Anyhow, I was still pretty sure the 808 was what I wanted, but also pretty convinced that I wanted to fill my own cartos.

So I got my hands on 2x generic (in the sense that I don't know what mfr he uses) batteries + charger + 2x 10ml juice + syringe + 5 empty cartos for about $50 shipped from litecigusa.net. He's got a kit there, which is very reasonably priced, but since I wanted to jump right into filling I basically put together my own.

From the very first puff I was done with cigs - and haven't even almost wanted one since then.

Here are some things I've observed in these past few days -- hopefully some of this will be helpful!

• As someone else pointed out, the battery IS noticably heavier than a cig -- but I already don't notice that. It seems super heavy at first, but you get used to it quick.

• I was a pretty light smoker (about 2.5 to 3 packs per week) but still agree that there's no way I'm getting a pack out of a freshly filled carto. It feels like more than a half pack to me, but definitely well under a full pack. I suppose you could count your "puffs" but I haven't cared enough to do that.

• One thing I didn't read up on much before the purchase was juice. As a result, the juice I've ordered was Dekang brand, which I've since learned is chinese mfr'd and not very well regarded. That said, I've been pretty happy with it. I did get some Backwoods Brew Peach juice late last week which is noticeably better though.
  
  
• Allow me to plug Litecig again -- I know there are other good sellers, but my order was shipped the day I placed it, and I had it in two days -- all with standard shipping -- a breath of fresh air compared to V2. If he has something you want, I recommend Litecig strongly.
  
  
• I got two batteries, and though I haven't run one dead yet, I typically put the morning battery on the charger at lunch just as a matter of course. I only smoke at work, so doing it this way I never use a battery for more than 4 to 6 hours before charging. As I understand it though, the 808's do need recharging more than some of the higher capacity batteries. Luckily buying 2 is not a big deal since:
  
  
• KR808D1's are cheap from a lot of places. Apparently there can be the risk of poor quality when getting the cheap ones, but both of mine seem perfectly fine (though I've nothing to compare them to except the amount of vapor I'm seeing people produce in videos -- which is comparable to what I'm getting) Some companies seem to sell a particular brand or improved design which may or may not be worth more, I don't know. I'm happy enough with mine at 9.95 each that I can't imagine why I'd replace them with a more expensive 808 unless they go bad REALLY soon.
  
  
• The "premium soft cap" cartomizers I got from litecig work well enough, and are easy to fill. On a lark I ordered a pack of the "horizontal coil" cartomizers from elitevaporworks.com last week just because I saw a few posts here where people were excitedly trying to find a place to buy them. I must admit they are really noticably nicer than the cartos I had from litecig -- smoother and more consistent draw, quieter, just generally more like a cigarette. I also got more vapor, but this may not be due to the carto -- I've not yet tried the same juice in both the old and new cartos. So no complaints at all about the cartos from litecig, but the horizontal ones (look identical from the outside) may just be worth the extra couple of bucks.

I'm also generally surprised at how receptive (as opposed to scornful) many of the smokers at work have been to the idea. Two of my friends are placing orders with no real salesmanship from me -- one getting an Ego-T and the other getting a KR808D-1 based set similar to the assortment I ordered.

I can see from lurking here that there are lots of different preferences as far as the equipment goes, but for a drop-in cigarette replacement, I've found the KR808D-1 to be more convenient, more enjoyable, and equally as craving-satisfying as the cigs I was smoking before -- plus it's pretty damn cheap -- though maybe I've just been lucky with my no-name batteries...

 

[jlove381]

I just thought I'd add my noobie experiences to the mix. I'm about 1.5 weeks into vaping...

I actually ended up getting something different than I'd planned -- didn't do quite enough research and had ordered a somewhat overpriced (IMO now that I've done more reading) KR808D-1 kit from V2cigs. I'll restrain myself by saying only that I canceled the still unshipped order 11 days later and would not recommend them -- for reasons that go well beyond the shipping delay.

During the time it took me to cancel that order, I had discovered this forum and was doing a lot of lurking. Like you I wanted something that looked like a cig -- partially because I don't really want to discuss it with everyone who sees me doing it. I'm completely fine with others thinking it's a cig until/unless I need to demonstrate to them that it isn't.

Anyhow, I was still pretty sure the 808 was what I wanted, but also pretty convinced that I wanted to fill my own cartos.

So I got my hands on 2x generic (in the sense that I don't know what mfr he uses) batteries + charger + 2x 10ml juice + syringe + 5 empty cartos for about $50 shipped from litecigusa.net. He's got a kit there, which is very reasonably priced, but since I wanted to jump right into filling I basically put together my own.

From the very first puff I was done with cigs - and haven't even almost wanted one since then.

Here are some things I've observed in these past few days -- hopefully some of this will be helpful!

• As someone else pointed out, the battery IS noticably heavier than a cig -- but I already don't notice that. It seems super heavy at first, but you get used to it quick.

• I was a pretty light smoker (about 2.5 to 3 packs per week) but still agree that there's no way I'm getting a pack out of a freshly filled carto. It feels like more than a half pack to me, but definitely well under a full pack. I suppose you could count your "puffs" but I haven't cared enough to do that.

• One thing I didn't read up on much before the purchase was juice. As a result, the juice I've ordered was Dekang brand, which I've since learned is chinese mfr'd and not very well regarded. That said, I've been pretty happy with it. I did get some Backwoods Brew Peach juice late last week which is noticeably better though.
  
  
• Allow me to plug Litecig again -- I know there are other good sellers, but my order was shipped the day I placed it, and I had it in two days -- all with standard shipping -- a breath of fresh air compared to V2. If he has something you want, I recommend Litecig strongly.
  
  
• I got two batteries, and though I haven't run one dead yet, I typically put the morning battery on the charger at lunch just as a matter of course. I only smoke at work, so doing it this way I never use a battery for more than 4 to 6 hours before charging. As I understand it though, the 808's do need recharging more than some of the higher capacity batteries. Luckily buying 2 is not a big deal since:
  
  
• KR808D1's are cheap from a lot of places. Apparently there can be the risk of poor quality when getting the cheap ones, but both of mine seem perfectly fine (though I've nothing to compare them to except the amount of vapor I'm seeing people produce in videos -- which is comparable to what I'm getting) Some companies seem to sell a particular brand or improved design which may or may not be worth more, I don't know. I'm happy enough with mine at 9.95 each that I can't imagine why I'd replace them with a more expensive 808 unless they go bad REALLY soon.
  
  
• The "premium soft cap" cartomizers I got from litecig work well enough, and are easy to fill. On a lark I ordered a pack of the "horizontal coil" cartomizers from elitevaporworks.com last week just because I saw a few posts here where people were excitedly trying to find a place to buy them. I must admit they are really noticably nicer than the cartos I had from litecig -- smoother and more consistent draw, quieter, just generally more like a cigarette. I also got more vapor, but this may not be due to the carto -- I've not yet tried the same juice in both the old and new cartos. So no complaints at all about the cartos from litecig, but the horizontal ones (look identical from the outside) may just be worth the extra couple of bucks.

I'm also generally surprised at how receptive (as opposed to scornful) many of the smokers at work have been to the idea. Two of my friends are placing orders with no real salesmanship from me -- one getting an Ego-T and the other getting a KR808D-1 based set similar to the assortment I ordered.

I can see from lurking here that there are lots of different preferences as far as the equipment goes, but for a drop-in cigarette replacement, I've found the KR808D-1 to be more convenient, more enjoyable, and equally as craving-satisfying as the cigs I was smoking before -- plus it's pretty damn cheap -- though maybe I've just been lucky with my no-name batteries...

Again, another informative and helpful post! I love this site!!! Thanks for all the info, I'll be putting some of your suggestions to use for sure.

 

[want to quit]

I just want to say one more thing even though it might not help in your decision on what to buy. I also just started and bought an e-cig the Ego-T. After which I bought a e-cig that looks exactly like a analog cig for social things like going out and being in clubs, bars, and what not. Let me just tell you MY opinion. Don't buy a e-cig that looks like a analog it is a waste of money. You will run through so many batteries it will make you cry. Also you have to refill those .......s every hour or so depending of course on the amount you smoke. If I were you (which of course I am not) I would right away buy an advanced device that may not look like a analog cig but you will enjoy the vapor experience way way way more. The bigger the device (battery, tank, carto, atomizer etc) the better the taste, vapor amount and so forth. Yes people may look at you but at least you get the same TH that you get with an analog cig.

Again I don't try to talk you into things you will find the unit you like I just try to give you my point of view and try to help you safe a lot of money by just buying a good unit from the start.

Good luck and keep us updated on what you bought and how you like it.