iQuit

Great topic! It is a little hard for me to classify "best", as my favorite changes from week to week... and I am both mouth-to-lung and direct-lung vaper. My best for the past couple of weeks so far are: Best Battery - LG HG2 and Samsung 25R (I vape from 18W to 90W and everythng in between) for reliability, performance and price point. Best Mods Kangertech KBOX(1st version)for my out and about mod. Wismec Realeaux RX200 for battery life, power range, and TC function - used mainly at home and in the office. Best Tank Tube RTA (Limelight) deck with Kayfun V4 tank and chimney for a slighlty airier MTL experience, and one of my top flavor tanks. Steam Crave Aromamizer RTDA for my lung hitter. Great in both flavor and vapor production. Best Starter Kit - I cannot recommend what I used. haha But if it were available when I started, or now just starting vaping I'd go with a Kangertech Subtank mini, and Joyetech evic VTC mini combo for it's versatility, affordability, and proven track record.

I think you may like it. We have almost the same taste in vaping gear.

Vape gear can be very confusing to new vapers. I was when I first started. Even though I did some research online (not on any forums, just googled starter kits), I felt that I could have made a better choice. For anyone looking into vaping, I would recommend going into a vape shop and see which ones feel right to you. Below is just an abridged version of different types of mods and atomzers. Pros and cons on each are not covered, and neither is safety nor battery info. I think we have stickies for that, if it is a tad dated just ask as plenty of helpful and knowledgeable folks here. Cigalikes - These are the ones commonly found in gas stations and convenience stores. As the name implies, this mimics a cigarrette in appearance and size. They come in both disposable and rechargeable variety. These are closed-end systems which means you have to buy pre-filled carto for juice. Vape Pens - These are the bigger cousin of cigalikes and commonly called ego batteries. Some have variable voltage although limited. It is paired with disposable clearomizers with ego threading just like CE4, CE5, etc. There are also clearomizers where you only replace the coils just like Evods, Aerotank, protank, etc Mechanical Mods - These are simple devices that gives you a more customizable experience compared those mentioned above, but requires good knowledge of Ohms Law and battery safety. In short, the atomizer resistance you use dicates how much power you draw from your battery cell. They also come in tube or box configuration. Usually used by intermediate vapers. APV (advanced personal vaporizer) Mods - These have at least one or more of the following features - Variable Voltage (VV), Variable Wattage (VW), and Temperature Control (TC), and they also come in both tube and box type mods. Some have built-in batteries, and others have replaceable Li-ion/Li-Po batteries. Variable Voltage - Just like a mech mod where the resistance dictates the power draw on your battery cell but now you can set the voltage to fine tune how much power you are drawing consistently. The range of voltage you can choose from depends on the circuitry of your mod. For example, if using 1.8 ohm atomizer @ 3.7 gives you 6.8 W. The same resistance @ 4.2 gives you almost 10W Variable Wattage - The circuity allows you to choose from a range of wattage rgardless of what resistance you are using. The mod circuitry adjusts the voltage accordingly for you to reach the desired wattage. Temperature Control - This is the newest evolution in vaping. As the name implies, the mod controls the power draw once the set temperature is reached. This is achieved by using special reisitance wires like Ni200 (Nickel), Titanium (T101), and Stainless Steel wires. Atomizers - come in both open-end and closed systems, and can be very confusing. Cartomizers - I will only refer to the ones used in cigalikes. These are pre-filled with usually 1-2ml of e-liquid, and disposable when it runs out. Clearomizers - You have disposable and replaceable stock coil and wick variety. CE4, CE5, etc are disposable kind. These are ego threaded and meant for ego mods but can be used with 510 threaded mods with an adapter. Nautilus and Kanger aerotank, protank, etc have replaceable stock coils. However, some categorize sub-ohm tanks as clearomizers also. I do not know why. But I think anything that has a replaceable stock coils is a clearomizer (and the disposable too). All else can be can be categorized in RBA (Rebuildable Atomizers). RBA - Anything that does not use a stock coil. You build and wick it yourself. Under this category you will hear/read about RDA, RTA, Genisys and RDTA. RDA ( Rebuildable Dripping Atomizer) - An atomizer where you drip the liquid onto the coils directly. RTA (Rebuildable Tank Atomizer) - Just like an RDA but it has a tank or resevoir that holds e-liquid, and it is refillable either from the top, side or bottom. RDTA (Rebuildable Dripping Tank atomizer) - In essence, it is RDA with a reservoir. Earlier versions of it has spring mechanism that when pressed feeds tiny amount of liquid onto the coils or the deck where the wick feeds from. Newer generation of RDTA has no need of lever mechanism to release liquid. I do not know how to explain it haha. In short, some sort of gravity/pressure feed. I am sure I missed a few things so please feel free to add or correct any mistakes.

Normally I do not like to recommend things that are entirely different from someone is looking for, especially when they already know what they want. But have you seen Aromamizer RDTA? It is literally an RDA with a tank. It is super easy to build even with thick coil gauges; it wicks great, no dry hits, and surprisingly does not leak despite of not having a proper AFC. I actually leave mine off. My only gripe is it does top-fill. Despite that, it is my number 1 overall atomizer. This may be good alternative without getting an entirely new setup before you are ready. @jasonculp: I enjoy your detailed explanations. It usually takes me several posts to make my point across whereas yours can be done in only couple.

Whoa... stop tempting me with the Arctic V8. Just kidding. They do look very appealing with it's wide range of coils. V-day is coming up. Wine and dine her...

Sometimes I can't help and think (with a tinfoil hat on) that it is by design. TFV4 coils used to last me 3 weeks, and 2 weeks on Crown coils. Lately it's a little over a week on TFV4 and 4-5 days on Crown for me. I even tried "after market" (lol knockoffs) crown coils just to compare, and sure enough I get a week out of it. So I am either very unlucky with a series of bad batches with my recent purchases, or getting knockoffs when I should be getting the real deal (purchased from reputable shops), or like I said by design... making us replace coils much sooner.

That's similar to what I vape on some weekends (.2-.25 at around 80-90W), especially when I have some great tasting bakery flavors. However, I run reg mods. The only drawback I see is when you have a bad coil, and your mod does not have the ability to adjust the wattage accordingly. For me, one very nasty dry hit was enough for me to put my unreg device on stand-by. I still use it with RDAs, or even subohm tanks but with moderate resistance. Realeaux RX200 is a good choice if you are thinking of getting a reg mod. Ohm wrecker I am not familiar with but have read that it does TC with Kanthal.

I hear you. I switched to RTAs/subohm tanks for that very reason. Coil wattage are guidelines. With Kanger Subtanks, even though some of their coils say can run up to 30W, I can't run it that high. I usually stay within 18-23W on stock coil. I am not familiar with arctic and herakles coils, and their recommended wattage range. But, if you choose a conservative resistance coil, run it in parralel rather than series, and most importantly know the limitations of your batteries, you will be fine. I am sure that our resident battery experts (jasonculp and earthling) will chime in, and give you more precise and detailed info. For example, I would not run a TFV4 0.15 ohm quad coil in 7.4V series configuration. I find more control with a purely variable voltage mod like Hexohm series.

I have had my share of bad coils lol. What I noticed, when a new tank comes out their stock coils are great. But after a few months it seems that QC goes down hill... and that is with every subohm tank I tried. That is why I stick with the RBA, and just have stock coils handy when I cannot be bothered with rebuilding. Anyone else notice that, or is it just me?

With unregulated box mod, I think you're fine. The main issue with subohm tanks are with hybrid mech tube mods. That is when the battery positive terminal is jammed up against the subohm tank floating center pin every time you fire it, and if/when atomizer floating pin gets flushed with the atomizer 510 threading, then you get instant dead short. Oh, and I think you will still be carrying juice everywhere with a subohm tank. Those suckers are thirsty, but you won't be filling it everytime as an RDA.

+1 to what earth said. VTC4s are great! It does have lower capacity compared to 25R and LG HG2, and twice the price point (sometimes more) of 25R. Others who are not pushing very high wattage find 25R, etc are good enough for their needs. If power requirements is more important than longer battery run and do not mind the price, authentic VTC4s all the way.

Ohm mAH lord. Watt will I do with my lengthy geeky reply to Jason? Anything but eFest. Jason made some solid cell recommendation. I'd go with those. Seriously, LG HG2 is good compromise with both mAH capacity and power head room to account for voltage sag. Samsung 25r is my second choice.

Lol. Reading my post again, I can see why as I am not verbose or not as technical. So I will give my real world experience with RX200. With lower wattage RTAs, like modified Kayfun 4 with Monster V2 clone base, or a modified SKX Wine, at 18w I do not have to swap cells till 3 days later. With RTA running 40W, it lasts me the whole day. Compared to IPV4 as an example, I would swap cells at least once. Welcome to VT, btw.

No worries, earth. Image is confusing as the first 2 cells run the same polarity and the 3rd is hard to tell. I'm no battery expert, but to my understanding parallel = same Amps but double or triple (however it is configures) mAH while series = multiply Amps with number of cells used but mAH remains the same.

RX200 is configured in series, not parallel. Come to think of it, most regulated multi-cell mods are configured in series. Mechanical boxes do come in parallel. I have yet to see a mechanical box in series, but with so many mods out there, there might be few that do.

I am with you on this one. For tinkering, DNA200 mod is real pleasure to play with. But I find myself wanting to play more with different types of wires, and fooling around with escribe. In that regard, it is really, really worth it. Having realized that I spent more time tinkering, rather than savoring my vape, I sold mine and got several mods instead ( Cuboid, evic VTC minis, Hexohm V3 clone, and RX200s). Big part of that decision is preparation for vapocalypse, in case it happens for real this time. But hey, if vapocalypse turns out to be just like the Mayan calendar prediction , I am all set for gear for a long while. I can then revisit DNA, or be highly selective on newer gear.

I have had several Dovpo units ( E-Mech, GX200, Guardian 1.5 and Punisher 80). Most of them have long since been PIF'd (given away to friends) and they are all performing well from what they tell me. I did keep one E-Mech for emergency power bank duty , and a couple of Punisher 80s.

VG has a boiling point of 290 C while PG is somewhere around 190C ( figure may be off by a few degrees since I am relying on memory), and 100C BP for water (some juice vendors use them to thin out their juice without adding too much throat hit (PG). So depending on the juice profile you are currently using, the wattage or temp, if using a TC device, should scale accordingly based on the juice ratio you have. Generally, higher wattage for high VG juice and lower wattage for high PG juice. Finding that happy medium is trial and error though. But burnt tasting vape could be by-product of other factors that Tam briefly explained... poor wicking, coils not primed well, or simply a coil just needed a replacement (sometimes prematurely due to heavy VG that could gunk up your coils quicker).

"Shiny-tus" disease is a common mis-diagnosis. There is a vaping mantra that you should have back-ups, for back-ups, for back-ups. @FXRich I tried Ti build before and I did not like it. Mainly because I could not (or should say would not) dry burn it and it is a hit and miss. There were only twice that I got it right, and it was awesome, but could not find that sweet spot again. Non-contact coil build was a no -go for me as I was using 24ga. Despite needing less wraps, the wire gauge I was using requires huge spacing because it was harder to bend. I tried TFV4 stock Ti coils but being a dual coil, it needed a lot of power. On IPV4, I was running it 80J (Ti mode) and still hardly produces anything vapor, let alone flavor. I stick to Ni200, SS or Kanthal only.

Size: 91.0mm X 43.0mm X 25.0mm Material: Zinc Alloy Surface: Rubber Paint 1. Operating Voltage: 3.4V - 4.2V. 2. Maximum Output Current: 28.5A. 3. Operating Wattage: 5.0W - 80.0W. 4. Temperature Control Mode Available 4.1 Nickel 200 coil working resistance range: 0.1Ω - 1.0Ω. 4.2 Temperature control range: 212°F - 572°F/100℃ - 300℃. 5. Standard atomizer working resistance range: 0.1Ω - 3.0Ω. 6. Punisher 80 will automatically detect whether a temperature sensing (Nickel 200) or standard (Kanthal etc.) coil is attached when in temperature control mode. 7. Short Circuit Protection 8. Low Voltage Protection 9. Over Voltage Protection 10. Overheat Protection 11. Battery-reversal Protection 12. Overtime Vaping Warning 13. Power-off memory function 14. Using 18650 external battery 15. Charger Required: DC5V / 1A 16. Charging time: 3 - 5 hours This is a very quick show and tell. I received this from Dovpo for review but did not have any time until yesterday to play with it, and will not have an in-depth review well after Thanksgiving. I think this has MSRP of $79.99 or thereabouts. Pros: Spring -loaded 510 is well made and buttery smooth. All my atties had no issues. Size is just right for me. Taller (but narrower) than a IPV D2, and shorter than IPV 2 mini Buttons are really solid and a nice tactile feel to it (clicky) and no rattle whatsoever. Rubber coating is great. No need for sleeves to hide scrathces and nicks, and the inconvenience of removing it to change cells. Battery door is well ventilated. It has 6 vents from top to bottom. It also has relatively large, and powerful magnets that hold the door in place. Battery terminals are solid. There are no external springs or tabs that could possibly ruin a cell's wrapping compared to other mods. Cons: Battery indicator seems off... really, really off. From a fresh cell, it goes to zero bar indicator in half an hour in moderate use ( dual coil 24g, 0.3 Ohms @ 50W). But you can still vape on it for an hour so until it tells you to replace the cell. Not sure if this issue is limited to the device I recieved or not. But have notified Dovpo on it. Menu is a minor con for me. I don't like it or better yet, I am still familiarizing myself with it

Great choice on Zeph, comp. I cannot take screenies ATM, but I will try explain better. I know I missed applying the code at least 3 times before. Once view your cart, there is a "Have a coupon code?" in blue just below the estimated shipping date and above the Secure Checkout button. Click on "Have a coupon code?", and a box will appear where you enter whatever promo code they have at the moment , and then proceed to checkout as usual. The price is automatically reflected on checkout. I know it;s a bit late for you , but might be useful for others. I know the code is active as I just used it a couple days ago for spare parts and sleeves.

Now making a choice on what to get just got a bit more interesting. :)

Happy days indeed! Looking forward hearing your impression or review on Reuleaux. I ordered one too but won't get mine until Dec.

You can use both. The credit is in the form of gift cert. and the code has to applied before that... before checkout

In case you are not aware, FT has a coupon code for 10% off for the whole month of Nov. Code is XMAS.