Yes it is a handfull because it is a 4 x AA box. It is, however, much more comfortable to use than the flashlight mod. As for making my own atty, it is still in the works. My brother and I are experimenting with different gage nichrome wire. There are alot of variables. We can make a 3.7v that vapes like a 5v or a 9v that vapes like a 3.7. Of course alot of carefull planning and testing need to be done. Now I Know why the Mazerati is taking so long, lol. I'm still using 510 attys; I have had 7 attys from the bigining and 6 still work fine, including the 2 slb attys. The one that died is because I drilled 2 more holes in it thinking I would get better air flow. It worked for a while before it died. Of course after that I had to disect it. I have been using all 6 attys for 2 1/2 months and really abusing them with high voltage. I am very surprised how tough they are. I'm gonna put my attention back to the juice. I've got some creations "brewing". I'm really happy about my mods and I'll share technical info about it soon. I just want everyone to realize that rapid discharge can result in an explosion and want to make sure what I have is safe. And when I come up with a super-juice I'll let you in on that too. Happy Vaping!