ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond
Flashlight Enthusiast
I have to say that I was afraid to ask about a Vaping sub-forum here on CPF as I didn't know how it would go over but I am glad the powers that be have created it.
My back story is that I quit smoking about 7 years ago after smoking close to 15 years. I did that using Chantix and hypnosis, but being on Chantix for 8 weeks was one of the worst periods of my life - a terrible drug that really messes with your head and body. But, it worked.
More recently I had taking to cigar smoking and it had become more than a daily habit so I decided to take control over it and give vaping a try to quit. I started with a very simple ego/Kanger setup that was recommended by a vape shop near me. Within a week I had no interest in cigars, and the few I did have tasted completely nasty in comparison to the clean flavors of the few e-liquids I had purchased. I've now not had a cigar for about 2 months and have no interest in them at all.
I've gone through many flavors and companies on my short journey but have begun to find my favorites. A good amount of money spent up front on everything - I think my flashlight hobby money has been going to vaping supplies the past few months.
I'll go into a my flavor preference and hardware preferences separately.
E-liquid flavors:
Flavor is subjective - that has become very obvious. What one reviewer online says is the most amazing liquid they've tried often tastes nasty to me. I think, like most people, when I first started I was drawn to the fruit flavors and didn't think that some of the more complex flavors would actually be enjoyable. But I've come to enjoy the more complex flavors and have found that I cannot just vape one flavor as an ADV. I'll typically carry 3 tanks with me through the day so I can alter my flavors and not get too burnt out on one taste.
My current favs flavors are:
Five Pawns - Castle Long/Castle Long Reserve - OMG amazing!
Mountain Oak Vapors - Heavenly chocolate
Lazarus Vintage - Nebulus chocolate mint
Mountain Oak Vapors - Cool Ice mint/menthol
Moon Mountain Vapors - Sweet Mother of Mars RY4 caramel/vanilla tobacco
Mount Baker Vapor - French Toast
Mount Baker Vapor - Ecto Cooler
Mountain Oak Vapors - Caramel Movaccino light coffee with caramel hints
Mountain Oak Vapors - Chai Tea Latte
Space Jam - Andromeda blueberry/pomegranate
etc......
Hardware:
As with most people I started with a simple Asprie Ego clearomizer and a fixed voltage EVOD.
I quickly found that I was craving more flavor and vapor production and upgraded to a Eleaf iStick 30W and an Aspire Nautilus Mini. Very nice flavor and not very expensive a setup.
Unfortunately there is a lot of controversy out there about the ceramic materials used in the BVC pre-made coils. Not going to get into it but search and you'll find a lot of threads out there. So I've decided that I don't want to risk my health and will stick with pure OCC (organic cotton coil) setups. On that front I've found that Kanger Subtank Mini and Nano with their OCC setup. Amazing flavor and vapor but it can be a lot of vapor - definitely for lung hitters as there is too much air flow for mouth hits.
For my mouth hitting pleasure I've found I really like the Russian 91% (a kayfun-like RBA) and have gotten a few of these. The coils are actually quite easy to build once you watch a few YouTube videos. Wicking the coils takes a little practice but easy once you get the hang of it.
I also bought a Provari P3 that I could run on 18350 batteries. Very nice mod but doesn't last very long on the small 18350 batteries. I've tried it with a 18650 but just way too long for me. My search for a more applicable mod lead me to the box mods but I didn't want anything big and don't vape at much over 15 watts most of the time. I've gotten myself a Hana Modz V4 Mini (very small and light, has a built in 1800 mAh LiPo battery, lasts nearly all day long with heavy vaping, this is my out and about carry mod) and a VaporShark rDNA 40 (heavier, has a swapable 18650 battery - just in case, a fast charge 2A USB charge slot, the battery lasts a really long time, too heavy for carrying out and about but my go to for home use). Both use the DNA40 40 watt chipset and are superior box mods in every way. Yes, there are cheaper box mods and I probably could've gotten along with just the iStick - but way are hardware geeks here aren't we? Whether it be flashlights or vaping it's fun to have cool things to tinker with.
Nicotine:
I started with 6mg and that really gave my head a huge nic hit. I quickly reduced down to 3mg and find that I still quickly get more nicotine than I want even at that level.
I'm trying to get down to 0mg nicotine so I bought a concentrated nicotine liquid and I buy 0mg liquids and then mix in a little concentrate to the level of 1-1.5mg.
On the Russian and the Subtank I find 1mg still enough to give a bit of a head rush and satisfy my cravings.
RDAs and dripping:
I bought one RDA with a dual coil setup. Personally not for me. The flavor wasn't that much better than the Subtank and just way to messy for me to deal with on a regular basis.
Cloud Chasing:
Watch the YouTube videos. This really makes me laugh! It's fun every once in a while but I find when you go for the biggest cloud you start to lose out on flavor and enjoyment.
I don't need an RDA to blow out a monster cloud. Open up the air adjustment on the Subtank Nano with the Hana set to 25 watts and you'll blow a cloud to fill up a room.
Safety:
Aspire - as I mentioned above there is a bit of a controversy out there about their BVC coils
Diacetyl - there is a lot of concern out there about inhaling diacetyl and something called popcorn lung. Apparently safe when ingested but very dangerous when inhaled. It is found in many creamy/custardy flavors. I have recently found Mountain Oak Vapors is one of the few companies that have each and every e-liquid lab tested for diacetyl and a few other harmful chemicals and post the test result sheets on the product pages - and their flavors are some of the best I've tried (they do need a steep period for best flavor - two days with cap off and another week covered)
Anyways - that's my two month journey. Please share yours.![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
My back story is that I quit smoking about 7 years ago after smoking close to 15 years. I did that using Chantix and hypnosis, but being on Chantix for 8 weeks was one of the worst periods of my life - a terrible drug that really messes with your head and body. But, it worked.
More recently I had taking to cigar smoking and it had become more than a daily habit so I decided to take control over it and give vaping a try to quit. I started with a very simple ego/Kanger setup that was recommended by a vape shop near me. Within a week I had no interest in cigars, and the few I did have tasted completely nasty in comparison to the clean flavors of the few e-liquids I had purchased. I've now not had a cigar for about 2 months and have no interest in them at all.
I've gone through many flavors and companies on my short journey but have begun to find my favorites. A good amount of money spent up front on everything - I think my flashlight hobby money has been going to vaping supplies the past few months.
I'll go into a my flavor preference and hardware preferences separately.
E-liquid flavors:
Flavor is subjective - that has become very obvious. What one reviewer online says is the most amazing liquid they've tried often tastes nasty to me. I think, like most people, when I first started I was drawn to the fruit flavors and didn't think that some of the more complex flavors would actually be enjoyable. But I've come to enjoy the more complex flavors and have found that I cannot just vape one flavor as an ADV. I'll typically carry 3 tanks with me through the day so I can alter my flavors and not get too burnt out on one taste.
My current favs flavors are:
Five Pawns - Castle Long/Castle Long Reserve - OMG amazing!
Mountain Oak Vapors - Heavenly chocolate
Lazarus Vintage - Nebulus chocolate mint
Mountain Oak Vapors - Cool Ice mint/menthol
Moon Mountain Vapors - Sweet Mother of Mars RY4 caramel/vanilla tobacco
Mount Baker Vapor - French Toast
Mount Baker Vapor - Ecto Cooler
Mountain Oak Vapors - Caramel Movaccino light coffee with caramel hints
Mountain Oak Vapors - Chai Tea Latte
Space Jam - Andromeda blueberry/pomegranate
etc......
Hardware:
As with most people I started with a simple Asprie Ego clearomizer and a fixed voltage EVOD.
I quickly found that I was craving more flavor and vapor production and upgraded to a Eleaf iStick 30W and an Aspire Nautilus Mini. Very nice flavor and not very expensive a setup.
Unfortunately there is a lot of controversy out there about the ceramic materials used in the BVC pre-made coils. Not going to get into it but search and you'll find a lot of threads out there. So I've decided that I don't want to risk my health and will stick with pure OCC (organic cotton coil) setups. On that front I've found that Kanger Subtank Mini and Nano with their OCC setup. Amazing flavor and vapor but it can be a lot of vapor - definitely for lung hitters as there is too much air flow for mouth hits.
For my mouth hitting pleasure I've found I really like the Russian 91% (a kayfun-like RBA) and have gotten a few of these. The coils are actually quite easy to build once you watch a few YouTube videos. Wicking the coils takes a little practice but easy once you get the hang of it.
I also bought a Provari P3 that I could run on 18350 batteries. Very nice mod but doesn't last very long on the small 18350 batteries. I've tried it with a 18650 but just way too long for me. My search for a more applicable mod lead me to the box mods but I didn't want anything big and don't vape at much over 15 watts most of the time. I've gotten myself a Hana Modz V4 Mini (very small and light, has a built in 1800 mAh LiPo battery, lasts nearly all day long with heavy vaping, this is my out and about carry mod) and a VaporShark rDNA 40 (heavier, has a swapable 18650 battery - just in case, a fast charge 2A USB charge slot, the battery lasts a really long time, too heavy for carrying out and about but my go to for home use). Both use the DNA40 40 watt chipset and are superior box mods in every way. Yes, there are cheaper box mods and I probably could've gotten along with just the iStick - but way are hardware geeks here aren't we? Whether it be flashlights or vaping it's fun to have cool things to tinker with.
Nicotine:
I started with 6mg and that really gave my head a huge nic hit. I quickly reduced down to 3mg and find that I still quickly get more nicotine than I want even at that level.
I'm trying to get down to 0mg nicotine so I bought a concentrated nicotine liquid and I buy 0mg liquids and then mix in a little concentrate to the level of 1-1.5mg.
On the Russian and the Subtank I find 1mg still enough to give a bit of a head rush and satisfy my cravings.
RDAs and dripping:
I bought one RDA with a dual coil setup. Personally not for me. The flavor wasn't that much better than the Subtank and just way to messy for me to deal with on a regular basis.
Cloud Chasing:
Watch the YouTube videos. This really makes me laugh! It's fun every once in a while but I find when you go for the biggest cloud you start to lose out on flavor and enjoyment.
I don't need an RDA to blow out a monster cloud. Open up the air adjustment on the Subtank Nano with the Hana set to 25 watts and you'll blow a cloud to fill up a room.
Safety:
Aspire - as I mentioned above there is a bit of a controversy out there about their BVC coils
Diacetyl - there is a lot of concern out there about inhaling diacetyl and something called popcorn lung. Apparently safe when ingested but very dangerous when inhaled. It is found in many creamy/custardy flavors. I have recently found Mountain Oak Vapors is one of the few companies that have each and every e-liquid lab tested for diacetyl and a few other harmful chemicals and post the test result sheets on the product pages - and their flavors are some of the best I've tried (they do need a steep period for best flavor - two days with cap off and another week covered)
Anyways - that's my two month journey. Please share yours.