Wow Wow wow !!!! New to this !!!

[wjpjr]

Well ,
1st let me say Merry Christmas everybody !
My brain is turning to mud from all the reading I've done on this forum so far ! I spent 1st and educated 2nd ( Rare for me ) But, I was trying to get my stuff 1st of next week to try getting off reg cig's for the 1st of the year.
Seems I'm not the only one that pulls the trigger then self educates ( The older I get the less I do it) ......
Here's the deal . I'm 50yrs old grew up in the ky tobacco fields and been smoking 35yrs.
Started smoking Doral menthol when they 1st came out (mid 80s) A major cut back from the non filters I smoked as a kid.
I'm not looking to quit or ween off smoking ! Just change from tobacco to the non-tobacco thingy !

So I bought this : Safe Cig

ItemSkuQtySubtotalStarter Kit DeluxeStarter Kit Deluxe1 $137.95 Kit 1 x Starter Kit Deluxe Unit $0.000020 The Safe Case 1 x Black Safe Case $0.006010 Refill Pack 1 1 x Menthol High 18mg $0.001118 Refill Pack 2 1 x Menthol High 18mg $0.001118 Refill Cartridgesatomized-refills-11182 $25.00 Refill Pack 1 x Menthol High 18mg $0.001118 Subtotal $162.95 Shipping & Handling $13.00 Discount (5% Off) -$8.15 Grand Total $167.80

Yea , I really mean to swap over ! Hoping for as little withdraws from tobacco as possable !

I want to give myself the best chance to change over . The more I educate myself the more confused I'm getting ! Juice / No juice ? Throat hit ? vapor? taste ? I think the taste to start will be the biggest help . ****I have never tried an e-cig****
I'm not really worried about what I've already spent ( = to about 4 cartons of smokes )
I just want to try to make as smooth a transition as possible !

Any help would be greatly appreciated !!

Bill

 

[bornagainst]

Hey there! Congrats on making the switch!

Glad you are reading up on things. As with many new vapers, the big error many of us make is OVERPAYING for our first kits, which you did. That same kit can be had from other vendors for between 70-100 dollars depending on the components. However, lesson learned.

The most important thing is that you do NOT sign up for automatic refill programs via credit card. Those are the true scams.

Also, the "high" nic levels offered by these companies is not very high. As you read and learn, you'll find other things that may work better for you.

The more you read on the forums, the more you'll understand what all the lingo means...it's crazy at first, but I guarantee in a couple weeks you will be a total pro on how things work.

Lastly, if things don't work right away, don't fret. You've smoked for years, so integrate vaping into your life, and things will work out on their own.

Keep reading, keep investigating other equipment, juices, nicotine strengths, and you will find what works for you.

 

[BradSmith]

Welcome aboard and I hope all goes well. My advice is to just stock up on Juice, batteries and atties. You don't want to run out of stuff. Keep at least one battery charged and one on a charger.

Happy Holidays

 

[Sainted_S]

I'd suggest starting with a Riva from Liberty Flights Electronic Cigarette - Starter Kits - Riva 510. I suggest this because it is one of the best deals ($30) for a nice quality kit. Make sure you click in the upper left corner to get the 20% discount if you do decide to go with the Riva. It's the holidays, so I'm not sure how the shipping will be right now, but I have never waited more than a week with LF and it usually comes within 2-3 days. A juice that is very close to the Doral Menthol taste is Max Ultimate Menthol from Vaporbomb. However, taste is very subjective and juice is actually one of the hardest things to be satisfied with when it comes to vaping. It is good to order samples to see what kind of juice you like to begin with. I would suggest buying at least 30 ml to start so that you don't run out.

 

[5cardstud]

I smoked for around 45+ yrs and I tried everything to quit, unsuccessfully I might add ,until the E-cig. At first I thought No way, this isn't for me. But when you get accustomed to them no problem. I was within the first day, with the help of the ECF Members, off and running. I haven't smoked since. It's been almost a year.

 

[CES]

Hi Bill,

Welcome...first the bad news- you may have overspent. BUT, if you like it and it works for you then the money won't matter. Others will probably chime in about specifics and other options- there are lots of them as you've seen. The sticky threads at the top of the forum have lots of information- including definitions. Throat hit is the feel at the back of your throat when you inhale- it is stronger with some flavors and with higher nicotine levels. Though the information feels overwhelming now, it will fall into place for you.

Glad to see that you got the 18 mg cartridges- you may also want to purchase some 24mg. You can purchase nicotine liquid and refill the cartridges. Get backup batteries - the battery may or may not last as long as the website says they do. Most importantly, give yourself time to switch. Some people switch over completely the first day. Others of us take longer. There's a learning curve, and finding the right nicotine levels and flavors- and that varies for everyone.

Good luck! Ask any questions that come up, and let us know how it goes for you.

 

[Mudflap]

Look into getting a passthrough to use while at home. That way, you're not totally dependent on batteries and you can save them for on-the-go use. Most passthroughs connect to a USB port but some can be plugged into the wall socket, too. Best of luck!

 

[BadThad]

Welcome to ECF!

Sorry to hear you pretty much got ripped-off on your first ecig kit. It happens all the time, don't feel bad.

I recommend the eGo kit from Liberty Flights. It's a great starter kit. Order yourself a 5 pack of cartomizers along with the kit. You'l find they are easier to use and produce great vapor on the eGo. The biggest challenge is finding a juice you like with enough nicotine to curb your desire for the stink sticks. I highly recommend trying a few flavors from Backwoods Brew....their maple tobacco got me off the analogs.

Good Luck!

 

[Stosh]

Merry Christmas and welcome to ECF

Since you've already read a lot, here's a link to help make sense of it all,
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/new-members-forum/120044-i-made-videos-newbies-particular-broke-newbies.html

There's couple of links for info about your Safe Cig, but YMMV

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/new-members-forum/133207-safe-cig-me-thing-just-horrible.html


http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/new-members-forum/128508-received-ego-thoughts-comparison-vs-store-e-cigs-newbie-advice.html

And if you have further questions, just post 'em up, friendly informative bunch here.

 

[son et lumiere]

Ypu over payed. Don't feel dumb we all did. I would highly reccomend a Janty Ego kit jantyworld.com with an extra atomizer so when one fails you will have a back up to send back. Janty has a warranty on their product that they will stand behind unlike 99% of the other vendors on here and a very professional staff. I highly reccomend you buy from them and be a satisfied customer instead of buying from other places and not getting the same warranty and customer service. Good luck.

 

[bornagainst]

If you are strapped for cash for the holidays, I do have some 24 mg tobacco vapes that are too strong for me that I don't use anymore. PM your address and I can send you some in the next week. May help get you through.

 

[f4ifrank]

Hi, Great decision to quit!! I started where you are a little over a year ago. Same questions, confusion(especially when I found this forum). We are the same age and smoked about the same amount of time. And I quit with these!!1

I wouldn't worry too much about overspending initially, it'll happen. Matter of fact, I have a bunch of atty's, batteries and juice laying around that I don't use anymore. I initially purchased a DSE901 device and thought I would be vaping that forever and guess what? NOT!!!

What you are going to find is that you'll eventually want a device that you don't have to fill with juice as often, that you don't have to recharge the batteries as often. So I have a small investment in devices I don't use anymore BUT, I turn smokers on to vaping by giving them a device to try, so it's all good.

I eventually move to a Chuck(Thagbuilt) in the vendor section. It's vaping at 6 volts and I love it. I also decided on cartomizers and that's what I use Exclusively. I drip now and then but not much. Now it's time for a new mod and the Provari(Provape) in the vendor seciton, is what I consider to be the latest and greatest.

As you progress in your vaping life, you'll find that it becomes a hobby. I wouldn't stress to much about it, you'll eventually find what you like, My Chuck has been awesome for a year now. You'll decide whether you'll drip, use carts, what atty you like, it just goes on and on.

As far as juice? Yep, trial and error again. The stuff one vaper loves the next one hates. For me, anyway, Back Woods Brew and Nhaler have to my favorite juices. Lot's of people swear by Freedom Smokes USA, I don't!! But that's okay, it's all trial and error. Just try some samples from different vendors(read up on the forum) and try some samples out. Then you can decide what you like and order larger bottles.

One more thing, don't worry about smoking and vaping. I did both when I first started and then moved on to strictly vaping, it was actually very easy. Just go at your own pace and don't worry about smoking an analog here and there, you'll eventually quit.

Good Luck and Merry Christmas

 

[mlinky]

You've gotten very good advice already, so all I can add is "Welcome!"

 

[wjpjr]

One thing I have noticed is ALOT of folks that start vaping to get off cigarettes stear away from tobacco tastes after a short time. I have to admit the plethra combinations, mixing and units is more than a bit overwhelming !
Cost to me takes a far backseat to getting the right unit/stuff to give getting off cigerettes a more than far chance !
35 years of smoking has done it's toll to my will power . The few times I've tried to quit were a joke at best .
I just crave them little stink sticks .

One thing I have going for me is when I deciede to do somthing . It's pretty much done !

 

[mlinky]

Funny, we have been talking about the tobacco flavor vs. other flavor thing lately. I'm in the "tobacco flavor doesn't match, so it makes me crave a real cigarette, group" but see http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/new-members-forum/147518-learn-my-mistakes.html

 

[Jessara]

Hi and welcome to ECF, Bill. Congratulations on your decision to live a healthier life!

You've already gotten a lot of great information here, so I'm not going to overload you with too much more. I think the biggest reason e-cigs worked for me is because I actually didn't *expect* it to ever replace cigarettes. I thought, if nothing else, it would just help me (and my husband) cut back drastically on the nasty-stix. WOW, were we surprised!

I do want to point out though... Obviously, an e-cig is *not* like an analog cigarette. Therefore, it may feel a little strange at first, puffing away on an electronic device. It may even take you a few days to just find the best way for you TO "puff" on your chosen model. When I first got mine, I wanted to drag on it just like I did cigarettes for years. Nope, that just didn't really work with my model (a 510 manual). So I learned to take a nice slow (about 4-6 sec) steady draw - not too hard a pull, just steady.

THEN I learned why my juice didn't taste very good. When I got my starter kit, we charged up the batteries for a few hours, put our devices together and immediately started vaping. We didn't "blow out" the attys first. We didn't know they usually ship with a primer fluid in them that is, well, just not too pleasant.

THEN, on about our second day we learned something else. We had only ordered ONE Starter Kit for BOTH of us to use. That's ONE device for each of us. No spare atty's, no spare batts, ONE recharger. Every 3 or 4 hrs we were trading off who got to use the recharger first, then the other one was SOL for the hour or so it took for the battery to recharge, then *another* hour while our own battery recharged.

Even with all of this, we still never picked up an analog again after the day our pv's came in the mail. Until about two weeks later when our *one and only* recharger died. We had to go back to analogs while we waited for our replacement to get here (free of charge) - I absolutely hated smoking again. And I had smoked almost 27 years, sometimes as much as 3 PAD. Soon as our replacement recharger got here, once again, it was the last analog we ever smoked. Not everyone quits analogs the same day the get their e-cig. It just happened to work out for us that way. Like I said, I think it helped that we never *expected* it to happen.

Anyway, I've been much more long-winded here than I meant to be! Sorry about that. Merry Christmas and don't be shy about asking any questions you may have.

 

[f4ifrank]

You'll crave the vape soon and it doesn't stink!! My wife doesn't smoke and vapes a little just because she likes some of the tastes. I loved to smoke as well, now I love to vape. Just something about the smoke(in our case "Vape"), the Throat Hit, etc...

The best advice I got was from Jules on this forum. She kept telling me not to worry about smoking analogs, it'll happen. And she was right. There really isn't any will power to deal with, you'll just start vaping. This comes from someone who TOTALLY loved smoking!!! I didn't like the coughing, the irregular heart beats, all that crap that goes with smoking. It's all gone now that I'm vaping and that's a definite motivator. I can actually smoke inside and it doesn't bother anyone, too.

 

[passerbyeus]

Joye ego or Riva Kit Liberty Flights

 

[texastumbleweed]

totally agree. very good advice. but dont know if RIVA has mega cartridges and atomizers like the eGo does. as a former heavy smoker (and now heavy vaper), i couldnt do without mega cartridges or mega cartomizers, as they hold enough juice that i dont have to constantly be topping off or refilling. eGo's can be found in many places, but i like litecigusa as a good supplier. vaporbomb juices are awesome. i always order pg/vg 50/50 and anywhere between 18mg and 26mg nic strength. i was a menthol cig smoker. i really like Vaporbomb's menthols. my all time favorite is Fire & Ice. it has also become a favorite to many i have introduced that flavor to.

I'd suggest starting with a Riva from Liberty Flights Electronic Cigarette - Starter Kits - Riva 510. I suggest this because it is one of the best deals ($30) for a nice quality kit. Make sure you click in the upper left corner to get the 20% discount if you do decide to go with the Riva. It's the holidays, so I'm not sure how the shipping will be right now, but I have never waited more than a week with LF and it usually comes within 2-3 days. A juice that is very close to the Doral Menthol taste is Max Ultimate Menthol from Vaporbomb. However, taste is very subjective and juice is actually one of the hardest things to be satisfied with when it comes to vaping. It is good to order samples to see what kind of juice you like to begin with. I would suggest buying at least 30 ml to start so that you don't run out.

 

[dormouse]

According to this thread, Safecig is an RN4081
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/rn-4081-super-mini/123660-safe-cig-rn4081.html

So write that down because you should be able to use RN4081 parts and cartomizers which will probably be cheaper than buy them rebranded as Safecig. RN4081 is a decent unit with some fans though I think it might only have automatic batteries - if your batteries don't have a button on them then they are autos and you have to be a bit careful around wind and vibration - auto batteries can turn on by themselves if tricked into thinking you are dragging.

You can find some rn4081 videos on Youtube.

And here's a useful one - how to refill a cartomizer. There are sooo many nice juices around and you can get more than one use out of a cartomizer.
YouTube - How to refill your cartomizer
If the cartomizers from Safecig have removeable cap at the mouth end you can do that until the carto tastes bad or fails/weakens.

BTW - I smoked even longer than you did and switched so easily to ecigs. In the beginning, just having juice with some kind of TH was enough (I had a PG tobacco flavor) but then my search began for juices with flavors that reminded me of my old favorite smokes in some way - one had some of the cocoa scent of my old faves (Backwoods Brew Casablanca) and one smells a bit like a fresh unsmoked cigarette (FreedomSmokeUSA DesertShip) and I am still trying more. I do some fruity/desserty flavors too just for fun, but I still need tobacco-ish flavors for satisfying my craving. If you fill some of your own cartomizers, there are a ton of juices available.