From One Noob to Another
Toward the end of my second week of vaping I had already invested over $250 USD and didn’t even have a Provari. For something that started as yet another attempt to quit cigarettes I knew I was going a little overboard. Especially given my track record with other attempts. Gum, patches, medication – some worked better than others but all ended the same way. A cigarette in my mouth.
I’m what you could call a tech enthusiast. I build computers for fun. Install a Linux distro on the weekend only to format it later that day. A tinkerer by nature. Vaping and all that goes with it is a natural danger for me. Too many goodies to play with it thus so many goodies to buy. Smoking was never a hobby. Vaping clearly is. For me I think that’s part of the appeal and why I’m confident I’ll never pick up a cigarette again.
Back to my temporary insanity in spending trying to start up this latest cessation method / new hobby. I made a series of purchases over 10 days. I’d buy one thing only to read about something else I “need” later that day or the next. The amount of options out there are overwhelming to say the least. There is no clear cut “winner” for a carto, clearo, battery and so on. Like your favorite brand of cigarettes its subjective. You can cite your compelling reasons for choosing Marlboro over Camel but those reasons will be lost on a Camel fan. The same applies here only more so given the amount of fragmentation and product options.
With this I bought, and bought and bought. Purchase after purchase I would find something else. Initially this was with batteries. Once you run through those you soon realize its just a battery. Some have more control over the vape than others but arguably the biggest contributor to the “vaping experience” and ability to find your own “sweet spot” is in the delivery device. Your carto, clearo, atomizer etc. This can also be the most dangerous to your wallet. Death by papercuts. These things are cheap. So cheap you have no problem throwing a few in your cart and hitting “order.” The same applies to ejuice. Deceptively cheap but oh so important to your experience. The greatest gear in the world won’t make bad ejuice taste good and even more important is its so subjective you can’t always rely on others opinions.
What does on do? Well I can only provide hind sight from my own experiences. Hopefully it’ll save you a few dollars from experimenting.
- Batteries. If you’re starting out buy two. The many recommendations for backups is legit. If you’re quitting tobacco and rely on this thing to keep you on the wagon then its wise not to count on a single product produced in mass out of China. If you’re not concerned with a size similar to a cigarette I’d recommend an eGo Twist or Vision Spinner. It’ll give you scale in performance that will help prevent you from wanting to immediately upgrade over a smaller device and can last nearly all day if not all day depending on vaping habits.
- Cartomizers. I strongly recommend Boge brand from my own experience with others. Single coil. If you enjoy the vape then invest in a tank (carto tank setup) that’ll allow you to hold 3-6 ml’s of juice with out refilling.
- Clearomizers. In my experience most of these are great. Stardusts, Kanger T3′s, Vivi Novas etc. all provide a solid vape thats easily refillable and in my opinion a simpler way to start out. I personally prefer carto tanks at this point but as mentioned – there’s a huge amount of subjectivity in this. Regardless I recommend starting here.
- Atomizers. One of the biggest things I wish I did in the beginning was get an atomizer for dripping. eJuice comes in so many varieties you’re going to want to try quite a few unless you’re lucky enough to find a favorite right off the bat. Easily the most subjective part of vaping since it involves flavor. Filling a carto with ejuice just to find out you hate it is quite annoying. You can clean and dry the cartomizer but it’s really a pain in the butt. Dripping directly into an atomizer will allow you to sample a few drops of juice at a time. For non-rebuildables the HH 357 atomizer is recommended but on the pricey end.
- eJuice. Read, read and read. Not so much for the reviews (don’t dismiss them though) but for the descriptions of the flavors. I bought too many juices off the name alone. Obviously I was a little trigger happy but do yourself a favor and read as much as possible. Make posts asking around.
Now I’m off to go buy something else.
Thanks for this. I agree with almost everything you’re saying. I’ve always said, the greatest gear cant make a bad juice good, but horrible gear can make a good juice not as good (not going to say bad, but in some cases it seems like it because the vape just sucks).
It’s very easy in the first couple of weeks to get so involved and wanna try every option out. My main reason to get involved was to say money… I had a really rough time the first 2 months before I hit my break even point. Eventually you find your setups and stuff though =)
Great tips but just like in my story even after doing all that you still don’t know what the vendor is passing off has good or even real. Please all new vapers do your homework on reliable vendors. The small increase in price at the initial purchase ends up being cheaper then buying junk labeled has good or the real deal by shady vendors. Never buy from a vendor that doesn’t use their own products.
The biggest mistake one can make is thinking one doesn’t need an atomizer because oen doesn’t drip.
1). Don’t drip? Wise up.
2). When a bricks and mortar opens in your town and you wanna sample juice, you think they’re gonna fill your T3 each time?
I always keep some 510 attys on hand for vape meets, visiting my local shops, etc. Get ya some!
cool blogging!
Great POST!!!
I have finally got to where I wanna be …after spending a good chunk of change…
WE(Have to think and shop…and charge batteries etc, for the wife ) have juice, back ups, atty’s , tanks …etc….
I had a lot of great help , so I consider myself Lucky
Yeah I feel ya I have spent $900.00 in a month for two people and don’t have a twist,spinner,provari lol
yes, sir–no way can you ever give me a benefit of marlboro over a camel and have it make any sense.
welcome to the wide wide world of vaping addiction
Haha thanks for the comments everyone
Great blog.
I was spending around $14 a day as a smoker. And in my first month I spent more buying stuff. I realize it’s difficult for someone who may only be smoking half a pack a day to realize they may spend as much as I did when they start out.
I found it definitely helps to budget yourself. I basically try to give myself a budget, and plan my purchases ahead of time. I did waste some money early on, I have things I’ve bought which I rarely use, but I’m now at the point where I know what works for me and I don’t need to keep searching.
The one positive I had after my first month was that I had enough juice on hand, batteries cartos etc. That I really didn’t need to buy anything for a few weeks. So compared to smoking I was already saving. I had the equivalent of four cartons of cigarettes in storage.
Good read
Excellent advice. Always appreciate a good share!
Its true what they say once you go vape, you dont go back.
alot of people get scaredwhen the inital price can be this much, but it happens,some are really happy with 510s,others want every way to vape…
i thinki might be happy with egos and clearos….
As many mods and APVs that have passed through my hands, I’d say 60% of my vaping is with a Twist or a Spinner. I have a Silver Bullet with a Kick when I need more oomph and a couple of box mods and such, but unless you’re routinely using 1 ohm coils for some reason, the T & S are awesome for what they are.
Great blog. I feel your pain. As soon as I get something I need new and better. Luckily I’m usually pretty broke so terrible spending sprees don’t occur as often.
1 month plus of vaping and i have yet to find mt “ideal set up”or a juice i love it is a bit frustrating and hard on the wallet i do hope to find the ultimate set up some day with some juice i love !!!! till then i spend and spend looking and trying SIGH !!!!!
Beautifully written! Makes me want to see the movie again. I hope Dakota and her pals find their Jack.
great tips!
Good tips for those getting started. Could save someone some cash.