Seebs

So today; I'm driving to a client's house for a Math tutoring session and I realize that I'm running low on battery and my last carto is almost dry (I'm still on a V2 starter kit until the eGo I ordered comes in)...

So while waiting at a red light; I punch e-cig, vape store into my GPS and it brings ONE result. Luckily this shop is located about a block away from my client's home. I stepped on the gas and made my way there with about 40 minutes to spare, I walk into the shop and the owner and his wife are puffing away at their leisure. I asked them if they had any empty 808 cartos for my V2 and bought a few of them. We then started talking about vaping, juices, mods and all that good stuff. All in all; I spent 40 minutes in the store, just shooting the proverbial "you-know-what". They pulled out a tray of juices, a Lavatube, a Provari and an eGo twist and let me go to town on them. Never tried to sell me anything, never even tried to push any of their juice on me. We just talked and had a grand time puffing away.

I left the place with a bunch of empty cartos, a 10ml bottle of honey-tobacco (their own mix) and they even recharged my battery while I puffed away on one or their eGos.

I don't know if this is allowed or not, and if it isn't; I'm sorry. But I'm a firm believer in giving credit when credit is due... And the couple at Boca Vapes deserve credit. They're the definition of a mom-n-pop shop (literally), their service is incredible and they have a nice selection of juices (they make their own mixes). The honey-tobacco juice I got from them tastes amazing by the way. So if you're ever in South Florida (Boca Raton area) do pay them a visit. Only thing I regret is that in the haze of all that vaping; I forgot to ask their names, but that's OK; I have to drive up there twice a week so I'll see them again next week for more fun.

So there; not all B&Ms are bad. You just have to get lucky and stumble into one where the people running it are as, or more, into vaping than you are.

Seebs

This is how nice this couple is (Hubby is the "chemist" and wifey takes care of customer service)...

I told them that I was after a tobacco flavor with a sweetness to it....

He said: I have my own mix of Honey-Tobacco; here's a 10ml bottle; take it home and have at it. Some time next week, if you have time and want to make an afternoon out of it; just pop in and we'll get to mixing some flavors until we get your mix just right... After that; we'll keep the recipe and every time you want some more just call me ahead of time and I'll have your bottle(s) ready when you show up.

The bottle he gave me is awesome by itself, but I do want to go back there and maybe ask him to put a drop or two of something with a bit of spice to it (maybe some cinnamon or some nutmeg) That would make this flavor just perfect for what I'm after and might even make for a nice base to make Clove. Every time I take a hit of it right now; I get a bit of a "flashback" to when I smoked Djarums... I think all it's missing is the spicy kick after the sweetness... I'm sure he'll get me there next week. Perfect timing for a meet that's going to happen on the 27th at a local bar.

I was like...

I could not agree more... There are a ton of eTailers out there that do provide us with a great service and I've purchased from a couple of them already... But there is nothing like walking into a place and having the owner just treat you like your royalty even if he knows you're not going to spend more than $20 in spare cartos and some juice...

These guys are going to get plenty of business from me for sure. Not that I won't purchase online... There are certain juices that I can only get on-line and some mods that the local store would never carry, but for the spare battery replacement, a tank here and there and juice made locally from all natural products... I'm going to them.
Nice couple, nice stock of juices, very affordable prices and superb service... You can't ask for more.

So today; I'm driving to a client's house for a Math tutoring session and I realize that I'm running low on battery and my last carto is almost dry (I'm still on a V2 starter kit until the eGo I ordered comes in)...

So while waiting at a red light; I punch e-cig, vape store into my GPS and it brings ONE result. Luckily this shop is located about a block away from my client's home. I stepped on the gas and made my way there with about 40 minutes to spare, I walk into the shop and the owner and his wife are puffing away at their leisure. I asked them if they had any empty 808 cartos for my V2 and bought a few of them. We then started talking about vaping, juices, mods and all that good stuff. All in all; I spent 40 minutes in the store, just shooting the proverbial "you-know-what". They pulled out a tray of juices, a Lavatube, a Provari and an eGo twist and let me go to town on them. Never tried to sell me anything, never even tried to push any of their juice on me. We just talked and had a grand time puffing away.

I left the place with a bunch of empty cartos, a 10ml bottle of honey-tobacco (their own mix) and they even recharged my battery while I puffed away on one or their eGos.

I don't know if this is allowed or not, and if it isn't; I'm sorry. But I'm a firm believer in giving credit when credit is due... And the couple at Boca Vapes deserve credit. They're the definition of a mom-n-pop shop (literally), their service is incredible and they have a nice selection of juices (they make their own mixes). The honey-tobacco juice I got from them tastes amazing by the way. So if you're ever in South Florida (Boca Raton area) do pay them a visit. Only thing I regret is that in the haze of all that vaping; I forgot to ask their names, but that's OK; I have to drive up there twice a week so I'll see them again next week for more fun.

So there; not all B&Ms are bad. You just have to get lucky and stumble into one where the people running it are as, or more, into vaping than you are.

Seebs

This is how nice this couple is (Hubby is the "chemist" and wifey takes care of customer service)...

I told them that I was after a tobacco flavor with a sweetness to it....

He said: I have my own mix of Honey-Tobacco; here's a 10ml bottle; take it home and have at it. Some time next week, if you have time and want to make an afternoon out of it; just pop in and we'll get to mixing some flavors until we get your mix just right... After that; we'll keep the recipe and every time you want some more just call me ahead of time and I'll have your bottle(s) ready when you show up.

The bottle he gave me is awesome by itself, but I do want to go back there and maybe ask him to put a drop or two of something with a bit of spice to it (maybe some cinnamon or some nutmeg) That would make this flavor just perfect for what I'm after and might even make for a nice base to make Clove. Every time I take a hit of it right now; I get a bit of a "flashback" to when I smoked Djarums... I think all it's missing is the spicy kick after the sweetness... I'm sure he'll get me there next week. Perfect timing for a meet that's going to happen on the 27th at a local bar.

I was like...

You *almost* got it right. Think of an atty as an engine you put into your car. The cartomizer is also an engine so if you have one under the hood there isn't room for the second one. You use one at a time. Notice how I didn't even try to make a reference to, "...you don't want to put the second engine under the hood."

The Vivi Nova and Vivi Nova mini aren't hard to use at all. Open top, pour juice in making sure none go into the center post, screw top back in. Screw onto battery. Let the tank sit a few minutes to allow the wick to soak up the juice and vape. Not hard at all. Same goes for the Vision Stardust/CE4, T2, T3...

Thank you all for your suggestions. It has been a bit overwhelming to say the least and I've changed my mind so many times; I'm starting to piss myself off.

I have some prefilled cartos and some empty ones for the V2 from myvaporstore (Smooth tobacco and RY4) and a 10ml bottle of juice (free from vapedudes) on the way to hold me over until I finally make up my mind about what gear to get.

The problem I have is; I want them all... Two nights ago; I was set on getting the eGo-T kit and taste testing juices on it until I find what I like... But every suggestion you guys make, every thread I read over at ECF, every YT video I watch... They all make me want to get everything. I'm getting some sort of "pre-buyers remorse" where I put everything into the shopping cart and I can't make myself push through to the checkout... It's my OCD telling me: "YOU CAN DO BETTER".

Case in point: I'm at ECF earlier today, just browsing around and trying to learn.... And I run into a thread about these "Caravela" stuff... That word immediately caught my eye (I was born and raised in South America and we learned about Columbus and his three caravelas in middle school history) and I went in to check it out... Let's just say I spent about two hours just looking at the pictures and drooling all over my keyboard. Now; I know that the chances of getting one of them things are slim to none at the moment, but man... Sexy is not even close.

Now; I know I'm going to need some sort of a atty/tank system if I want to do flavor testing since doing that in cartos would just be too much of a waste... I know that the Vivi Nova tanks have been recommended a couple of times on this thread, but I also read on this thread (I think it was Uma) that certain flavors will damage plastic tanks (clove, citrus, cinammon, etc) and as far as I can tell; the Vivi Novas are plastic. I see some metal ones, but not sure if they are just a metal sleeve around the plastic tank or if they are full metal... That's the stuff that goes through my head right as I am about to do the checkout and stops me from going through with it.

You can rest assured that in a few months time; I'll be up to my ears in liquids, bottles, flavorings, safety glasses, nitrile gloves and all them other goodies. I can't help it; it's always been like that... As a kid; I never owned a toy that did not end up tore down for its pieces so I could build a "more fun" toy out of them.

Gotcha... I'm not going to be buying large quantities of juice just yet so I think the juices will be OK in their original bottles for the short periods of time that they'll last me. I'm going to be looking for a bunch of flavor samples from different makers until I find the stuff I like.

I'll definitely have a look at the IBT place..

Seebs

Ok... But that brings more questions then.

When I do order the juices; are they not shipped in containers that won't be damaged by the contents? I figure they would not ship them in something that would crack and spill all over before it was delivered.

My guess is you mean the carto/tank units need to be SS or "special" glass... Does anyone even make tanks from the "special" types of glass? I can find SS cartos, but haven't ran across a single site that specifies "special" glass tanks.

Thanks again
Seebs

I get what you're saying. The reason for my upgrade is that with a device such as the V2 ~ 808 type? ~ the "menu" for parts is a bit limited, or maybe I'm looking in the wrong places. All I know is that devices like the eGo and all the different 510 models is where the bulk of the selection is so I want to eventually have at least one of each so I can pick and choose what suits my needs for the particular moment.

As a bit of an example so you see where I'm coming from: Most people, when they need a computer, they go to Dell and order one of the models they offer.
Then; there are some people that would rather build their own PCs than just choose from a list of options. And then; there are those of us that like to take it to the extreme; I own enough computer HW to set up a small datacenter. Look up "sub-zero overclocking and benchmarking" and you'll get an idea of what I do to the computer parts I buy.

Just so you get an idea; this is what I do to my computer gear.






So basically; I'm never content with just the "stock" or "bare minimum" of anything and that means I will always be looking for the "next best thing" out there. It's just how I'm wired in the head.



Thanks for the info Uma. I will keep the glass/ss thing in mind for when I order the juices and other gear.

@ Jeffb
Thanks for the advice. I will check into the suggestions you mentioned.

You're gonna like it here "K"...

I've only been here for two days and already feel at home here. Plenty of super nice people here and all willing and able to help.

Ohh... I think I like your style. I've only just given up the little cancer sticks ten days ago... Still haven't done the e-Cig thing yet (just ordered my first starter kit tonight), but I can guarantee you that if I ever get the comment about the gum or the patches; my reply will be something along the lines of "Do you get up every morning and the first thing you do is turn the coffee pot on?... Yes?... So you're like me and can't go on with your day if you haven't had your caffeine fix!.... Ok... This is what I want you to do... Tomorrow morning, instead of turning the coffee pot on; simply grab one of the grind pouches and chew on it... you can even chew on some sugar and creamer if you want... You know; for taste. And that will be the way you get your caffeine fix from now on... no brewing coffee, no tasty Starbucks grande lattes, none of that nonsense... From now on you take your drug by chewing on it just like you want me to take mine."