! Help !

[rok]

I have always considered myself pretty intellegent, until I started trying to figure out which e-cig to buy. I was seconds away from entering my payment information for a $150 kit from V2, when I decided to do a little more investigation. All of the "e-cigarette review" sites seemed to say great things about the brand, but I have since realized that a lot of the reviewers seemed to be compensated for their positive reviews, which makes me skeptical. Once I started digging deeper, I found that this company had horrible reviews.

Here is what I am looking for:

I smoke a pack of Marlboro Lights a day.

-I do not mind spending $150 or so on a kit, but I am not interested in paying through the nose for refills.

-I would like a kit with many options. (extra batteries, a couple of atomizers (or whatever the heck they are) usb charger, wall charger, case, maybe a cig that direct wires to my usb as well, etc. )

-I want a good throat hit and a decent length of battery life

-Excellent customer service is essential.

-I am not interested in a device that I must refill every few puffs.

PLEASE HELP!!!! I know absolutely nothing about the technical side of these devices yet, although I am sure I will learn. I just want a good e-cig with affordable refills or juice!!

I look forward to your advice! Thanks in advance.

[mwsmith1778]

$150.00, In my opinion, is too much to pay for a starter kit. The best starter kit on the market would be the Joye Ego, which you can get here at Vapor Talk Store for about $70.00. Here is the link: http://www.vaportalkstore.com/products/Joye-eGo.html

Great battery life (I can get 6-8 hours out of a charge but I am an extremely heavy vaper). The starter kit comes with two batteries, two atomizers, two cones, five pre-filled cartridges (standard tobacco flavor), a wall charger, and a USB charger and a couple of cone covers. If you want the ability to use the PV while charging, you could also order the pass-through battery, which hooks directly up to a USB port to charge. If you're not interested in dripping frequently, you could always purchase cartos (the atomizer and the cartridge in one unit) or the Ego Tank, which holds more liquid and feeds the atomizer, but I find direct dripping produces the best flavor and vaper.

This was the kit I ordered to begin with based off of recommendations from this forum and I had quit smoking traditional tobacco cigarettes within a week of receiving it. It's a bit of trial and error at first in finding the right juice and the right setup for you, but everything I have mentioned is available here at the Vapor Talk Store with the exception of the Ego Tank.

[easilyamused]

the question is, do you want something that "looks and feels like a real cigarette" or do you want something with good battery life, because the better batteries are larger and wont look like a cigarette at all...

if you dont care what it looks like and you want something that is going to work go with an eGo or eGo clone such as Riva, the starter kits come with two batteries, you can refill the cartridges or get cartomizers

[mwsmith1778]

Oops, I forgot juice. You're going to need to get some of that too or else vaping will be very difficult

[steeldragon]

You had already ahead of the game by doing the amount of research that you did. You did better than me when I started because I started with V2. That was a nightmare but at the same time it started me down the path. I consider myself lucker than a bunch who started with the mall e-cigs.

Lets see if we can't do some pros and cons for everything and help you out. Please remember that these are personal opinion and each ones have those and are subjective to individual taste.

KR808-

Looks similiar to a real analog (which is vapor term for cig) size wise, Very simple to use. They use a cartomizer which is atomizer and juice storage area combined. The average length before charging is around 3 hours of heavy vaping. I would like to input that is very heavy vaping. A rule of thumb is when looking at mah of the battery a 280 mah battery would be considered around 2.8 hours of heavy use. i.e a 750 mah is 7.5 and 1100 mah 11 hours. There of plenty of companies that service this size but not many service it well. The carts you can by pre-filled or you can buy blank cartos and fill your self. My favorite KR808 company was vapor4life. Please not that is personal opinion only.

Joye Ego 510

The joye ego is the standard for the next lvl which a lot of people find that it is a good entry point also. The batteries come in 650 mah and 1100 mah. The joye ego is very versatile. They are mainly considered a 3 part e-cig. You have the battery, atomizer and the cartridge. You van drip 3-4 drops right on the atomizer which will a few good hits off the device. You can use the cartridge with about 15 drops of juice which also last a little bit. They make an Ego-t which is a tank which drips on the atomizer. I have no experience with it but it seems to be hit and miss with everyones opinion. You can order cartomizers for it. Overall battery life good real good throat hit. The standard for the 510 line. They didn't invent it but they set the standard and would only consider 1 knock off from that product. The two places I would consider is the store here or cignot. Once again that is personal opinion only.

Riva

This is the only knock off I would consider. The only differences with the Joye EGO and the Riva is the button and the finish. They are usually less expensive than the Joye Egos. The normal kit is a 750 mah and a 1100 kit that came out in the beginning of this March. All the parts interchange with the Joye Ego. I use a Riva 1100 kit that I just received from Vapor Junction.

I stress that I tried to be objective but a lot of personal preference slipped through which I apoligise for. I wish you luck in your endeavors. When you order make sure you order plenty of e-juice, if you plan on filling yourself on average figure 7ml to 10 ml per day worst case

Paul

[nana]

Welcome to Vapor Talk!! As far as what kit to start with, mwsmith1778 is right. The eGo is the perfect device to start with. Dripping isn't as annoying as it may sound at first. If you drip 3 drops into an atty, it will last approximately as long as a cigarette would. Once you need more, you drip again. That doesn't mean you are constantly dripping...you can vape for several minutes on 3 drops. Of course if you vape all the time (like some of seem to do), you would be dripping more often, but with drip tips it's not a big deal. But, as mentioned before, cartos or tanks work if you don't like dripping. If you don't mind what the device looks like, there are a few good juice box mods out there that hold even more juice.

steeldragon post appeared after I posted mine - very good advice there, too.

Edited March 17, 2011 by nana

[Beans]

Everyone has given you great advice. My problem is I dont like dripping. Its a personal thing, so I use Boge cartos with my eGo. VK sells for a good price and you only have to fill every hour or so of heavy vaping. Good luck and welcome!

[cheshyl]

Welcome rok to the Vapor Talk Forum. ..You can see that you have come to the right place. We all have our opinions and if you ask, we give. My only concern with someone just starting out is getting a kit that is just a little to weak (as in battery life) for the amount they really will be vaping. Some folks say that they will only use the pv once and a while, others while going out, well let me tell you, once you get the hang of vaping you will want to be doing it all the time. With that said, what you need is the eGO batteries and 510 regular or low res atomizers, or 306 regular or low res. The Vapor Talk Store is the place to get your vaping devices. Chris has the eGo kits in and the passthrough. He has great customer service and great devices. The eGO will keep a charge for about 4 to 6 hours depending on what size battery and how much you vape. It is a great device for anyone starting out. It's very simple to use. If you would like to use cartomizers, they are all in one, cartridge and atomizer and they are easy to fill using methods you can find in instructional videos on you tube and on this forum. At this time the VT store does not have the cartos you need and I would suggest Vapor Kings, good vendor. This is just my opinion and I sometimes think I have a million of them. Also with the juice you will need, again, the VT store. Chris has great juices. If you can't see what you like there, there are numerous vendors that have great juice and at reasonable prices. I have repeated some of what was said above but these are just my opinions. Good luck on your hunt and on your vaping journey.

[Erika]

I smoked about the same amount as you and i would splurge and the the 1000 mah kit. I have one of these batteries and several 650 mah batts. I much prefer the bigger one. Less charging and it tkes a lot longer for the drop in battery power to kick in. Good luck!

[Sharon]

Welcome, I am so happy for you that you did not make that final click. You would have wasted so much money. Members have already give you some great advise and I am sure some others will be along to fill in any missing pieces. IMO you can't go wrong with any one of these brands: eGo, Tornado (both are made by Joye), and Riva. There are a lot of options when it comes to the method of vaping the e-liquid. One you get your battery, it is going to come with an attomizer (the thing that gets hot and heats the juice) and either a cartridge or a cartomizer (the thing that supplies the juice to the attomizer). Cartridges have a small piece of fiber that will only hold a small amount of juice, cartomizers have a larger filler and can hold much more juice (less filling in between vaping). There are also devices referred to as Tanks, that can hold a mega amount of juice. Right now you just need to decide on a starter kit. If the kit you decide on comes with only cartridges, buy a pack of Cartomizers too. They only cost about $8 for a pack of 5. How the really hard part, which juice to buy. Sorry, we can't tell you which juice you are going to like. Flavor is subjective, so buy several small bottles (5ml size if possible). Read the description of the juice, see if it sounds good to you. You are not going to find a juice that taste just like Malb. Lights. Juice suppliers just can't reproduce the taste of all those chemicals in an analog!!! Since you smoked Lights, I would suggest you start with a nicotine level around 8mg - 12mg. Get a couple of tobacco flavored juices and get a few juices in other flavors. Just remember, you may not like all the juices you try at first. If you find that you don't like them right now, put them in a cool dark place and try them later down the road. When you quit analogs your taste buds will eventually kick back in and things are going to taste different then they did when you were smoking.

Best of luck and ask any questions you can think of. Check out the tutorials here on the forum. Lots of great information and you get a visual with the videos.

[rok]

I cannot tell you how glad I am to have found this forum!!! I certainly appreciate you guys taking the time to educate me. I am pretty sure I will go with the eGo, but I need to read back over this thread a time or two and let everything soak in.

Thanks again, sooooo glad I found this board!!!

[Beans]

Congrats rok, I totally get info overload, just wait till you get your PV. Lol your lucky you came here first. Sharon gave you great advice.

I will give my vote for the eGo, after spending hundreds on junk I am the proud owner of 8 eGos. I will never go back to the nasty cigs again.

If and when I get another kind of PV It will be a MOD teeehee. Something fun for you to look forward to.

I forgot the number one rule

Back ups Back ups Back ups!

Edited March 17, 2011 by Beans

[TroopX]

Welcome to VT! Looks like you got some great advice above!

Get a Reo Grand! ...I love my ego, but would really love a Reo Grand. We'll all be somewhat jealous if you do- I know I would.

[rok]

Just placed my order for the Stainless Steel eGo (I looked for the Reo Grande, but they were all out of stock!) along with a couple juices and a drip tip. I am sure I will get some mod stuff later, but I didn't want to waste money on things that I wasn't sure about. I can't wait for it to get here!!!

Thanks again, everyone, for all of your help.

[Morfeeus]

Throat hit(TH) is one of the most important factors for me with regards to the juice I buy. I see that you actually mentioned throat hit as a factor for you. If that is the case as it is with me, I would try either 18mg or maybe even 24mg nic juice. I have tried lower and it just doesnt give me the TH I need. Nic level is the most important factor in TH but as I have realized with some vendors, it doesnt matter the nic level as for some reason they just don't have a good TH. Personally, my fav juice vendor has been awesomevapor.com. They may not have the selection that some vendors do, but I've always liked most if not all the flavors I have tried and they have a good TH at 18mg or 24mg nic levels.

[cheshyl]

Congrats rok on your purchase of your new eGo. I know that you won't be disappointed. It is a great device. I'm thinking the next pv for me will be the box mod. I'm a 3.7 volt type and I think that a bottom feeder is what I need, well, sometime in the future. Still happy with my eGos.

[rok]

Thanks Morfeeus,

I actually did order all 24mg stuff. I tend to hot box or double hit my analogs for the TH, so I was worried the lower mg's would be too weak for me.

Any idea how long shipping will take from the VT store? I am ready to get going with this thing!

[Sharon]

Thanks Morfeeus,

I actually did order all 24mg stuff. I tend to hot box or double hit my analogs for the TH, so I was worried the lower mg's would be too weak for me.

Any idea how long shipping will take from the VT store? I am ready to get going with this thing!

Congrats on your purchase of the Stainless Steel eGo. Chris is as quick as the Energizer Bunny with shipping. The VT Store motto is "it ships in 24 hrs or it is free". Your new best friend "the Letter Carrier" maybe bring you a package by Saturday, Sunday by the latest.

[Beans]

((Sharon)) My mail man never comes on Sunday. But I'd be happy if he did.

[Sharon]

Congrats on your purchase of the Stainless Steel eGo. Chris is as quick as the Energizer Bunny with shipping. The VT Store motto is "it ships in 24 hrs or it is free". Your new best friend "the Letter Carrier" maybe bring you a package by Saturday, Sunday by the latest.

Opps, my bad, I meant to say Monday by the latest. Sorry

[Sharon]

((Sharon)) My mail man never comes on Sunday. But I'd be happy if he did.

Thanks Beans, I guess I was having a Senior Moment or I was still too sick or I don't know........, but thanks for catching my booboo.

[marymary]

Congrats on your purchase! I can't wait to hear how it goes! There's a learning curve but I'm sure you will jump right into it! You found the right place to come for help.

[rok]

That would be awesome if it arrives this week!!!

Sadly, I live in Arkansas and our mail is still delivered by horse and buggy. note:That was not a slight towards marymary, who lives in Amish Country! (@marymary - my mom and dad were born and raised in Lancaster)

I have been incessently checking my order, and it still says pending, but I just realized it is coming from Cali so there is still time to get it out today.