Stakes in the Ground

A little more than 90 days into vaping I've gone through quite a learning curve...much to the credit of members here. Never say never, but as of today, I have decided on a strategy for my vaping that gives priority to three things - simplicity, minimal cost and quality vape. Certainly there are trade offs in achieving all three.

Disposable Coiils - A nice luxury and they clearly have their place, BUT in the past 90 days I have burned through enough disposable coils to pay for a Kayfun on all 6 of my mods! With the exception of some very specific and quite rare situations, I do not plan to use disposable coil tanks any more. The amount of time it takes me to do a rebuild is negligible, when compared to the cost of toss away coils that don't come close to the quality of vape I enjoy with my RBAs.

Dripping - I have a moderate quality dripper that helps me evaluate a new juice, and what tank it will best vape in. That is of value to me. However, I don't enjoy the dripping process enough to do it all day long, as some do. I can appreciate why some like it, but its not my thing.

RTAs - Nothing is perfect, but I haven't found anything that beats the vaping experience I get from the RTAs. Currently I have two Kayfuns and two Aquas and I'm very happy with them. They have their nits, but compared to the disposable coil systems RTAs are the clear winners. Two other mods are wearing Kanger Aero thanks right now. Those will soon be replaced with a Kayfun or Russian. It looks like I'll be getting another Mini V2.1 ES and a Russian.

Wicks - I fully appreciate the popularity of cotton. However, both PB and the the Vaping Greek build and vape with silica, including RDAs. Every RTA and RDA I have looked at was clearly designed, tested, manufactured and often shipped with silica as the wick choice. I have tested both and find absolutely no difference in the vape quality. I can purchase coils wicked with silica for less than a half penny each. All I have to do is attach the coil and position the wick. There are a variety of configurations to choose from - number of silica strands, ohms, and wire thickness. When I first got into building I purchased 100 of them. Earlier this week I ordered an additional 150. For me, it works. I love it. I have no intention of going with cotton, or anything else. End of debate....FULL STOP!

Mods - I can appreciate why mech mods are popular with some. It seems they are most popular with those that like vaping at sub ohm and high volts. I call it extreme vaping. I don't extreme vape and have no plans to do so. I like the intelligent mods. I like vaping with a mod that allows me to set the watts and not worry about the volts. I like a mod that tells me how much is left of the battery. I have a mix of mods that are disposable and those that allow me to replace and recharge. I like both and see value in both. When the MVP and VV V3s die I'll have to decide if I'm going to replace them with same. If asked today I'd say yes. I like box mods. Other then the 2 VV V3s, I don't see myself ever purchasing anything but a box mod. I have an SVD and it works great, but I really don't like it. Its a big tower that tips over easily...not a good fit for me.

Juice - To me, juice and wine are very similar. I am, and always have been, a $10 bottle of wine kind of guy. The same is true for juice. There are plenty of great tasting juice selections in the 50b league. More than I can vape at one time. I have no doubt there are some fantastic juice options out there, for much more money. Its no different than the one time I was given a very expensive glass of French wine. It was truly wonderful. But I can't afford it, any more than I can afford the high priced juices. Frankly, every high priced juice I've had the opportunity to vape has been awful, but in fairness they were all juices that someone else had tried and discarded. Bottom line is my budget does not allow me the luxury to play in the high priced juice league. No argument for the higher priced juices will change that.

Like I said...never say never....but I'm reasonably certain very little of this strategy is going to shift for the the foreseeable future. After purchasing two new RTAs I plan to have a vaping budget that is less than a 1000 a month. Time will tell if that works, but its my goal, and I believe it is achievable.

The tone of this post may seem a bit harsh to some, but I hope everyone will just take it as me being very frank about where I'm at.

 

Harsh, not all all. I think everyone is entitled to find his own way in life, and that certenly applies to vaping.

I'm no extreme vaper at all, but don't use variable mods anymore, mech mod is my thing. For the simplicity and variation in them, but I really don't see any reason to make a debate out of that either.

If you have found the equipment and juices you are happy with at a budget you are comfortable with, then all joy to you. You enjoy it and it keeps you away from smoking, sounds really great to me.

 

Thank you for this great post.

I am still finding my way through all of this... The iTaste vv I first bought, well its OK but I would never buy another one, The battery is not strong enough, I have to re-charge it twice a day now.

I bought the ASPIRE Nautilus mini, which IMO is another waste of money very poor quality for 800B.

I bought 2 Aspire CE5-S Bottom Dual Coil 1.8ml Clearomizer and they are good.

 

When I started out (and this was years ago) th emost predominant ecig was the Ego, the Provari had very little competition in the VV market and Chinese manufacturers were starting to come out with cheaper VV/VW devices. The standard atomizer was the Ego CE4, and the best atomizer you could get was the vivi nova. My how things have changed. I don't think the new vapers realize how spoiled they are for choice and truly high quality equipment at an inexepensive price.

With that said, I am with Jon on the mechanicals. When I started out, it was the Egos...because really that was what was available. When the VV began undercutting the Provaris in price that I could afford to buy one (remember there was a time when if you wanted VV/VW your only choice was Provari), I tried them, and I liked them because they hit harder than the Egos. Then I discovered the mechanicals, and have not turned back.

I like the simplicity of the mechanical. I have had so many circuit board failures on my regulated mods that I do not want to deal with them. And frankly, I do not need what a VV/VW provides. 50 watts? 100 watts? 150 watts? Us mechanical guys already had that by the way we wire our atomizers. And even though I could, I never wired my atomizers to hit that hard. I know the level of vape I wanna be at. I wire my attys there, and it's done. Even when I was using VV/VW, I never really varied it. Like I set it for the max (which was 6 volts or 12 watts), and left it alone.

 

I originally got 2 of the VV V3s with the idea that I could rotate them. But I also liked that I could vape on them while they are charging. Now in a mix with 4 other mods they last a long time between charges. They are also handy for short out and abouts and I rely on them a lot for my supply runs into town.

One thing I've learned is certain juice flavors and/or formulas vape better in certain attys. I think it has a lot to do with why one person loves a particular tank and another one doesn't. Not the only reason, of course. I've even noticed that some of the celebrity vapers on YouTube are careful to say they like a tank, WITH the juice they vape.

To me, the most difficult thing about vaping is all the variables that have to be sorted through to find what works for me. It reminds me a lot of wine or smoking a pipe.

 

^ true about juices, tanks and personal preference.

I just bought Hansen juice and it smokes and wicks better than Feel Life or Thai stuff in my orchid. The freaking nicotine is also much faster absorbing, resulting in less use.

I think some of the thai juices are actually mixing sugar with the juice. Sugar is also used in making smokebombs.

 

I personally started with EGO type e-cigs like most of us, my first experience with VV batteries was not a success, the battery failed after less than a month and even if the performance was better than the regular ego battery it was still a thumbs down for me.

Then I purchased a mech (a nemesis clone) and I loved it, I was wondering how I could have vaped for more than a year on EGO before (with crappy coils I might add), the mech mod is what made me look online for what was available, I then discovered the VV/VW devices and decided to get a DNA 30.

I got the Cloudpor clone from Micky and I really think I don't need to go any further, it delivers a very satisfying vape on both my RTAs and drippers.

One more Kayfun in the mail (coming in 15 days-ish), I don't intend to purchase anything else than juice and DIY stuff in the near future.

As for juices I think I found what I was looking for with Mack juices, well priced and well made they can definitly become my everyday vape, I don't need some fancy high priced juices, the goal at the end of the day is to keep me away from analogs and it is doing that just fine.

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Hangsen juices are pretty high in PG, hence why they do wick better.

The juicy peach and banana flavors are great, but I usually cut them with VG, making 40ml out of a bottle of 20 (making the price of 20ml quite cheap also).

 

i bought the banana and cherry, the cherry (more like marachino cherries then fresh cherries) is too strong but works good to cut with other flavors for a citrus taste. I also bought some VG to mix with. I just refilled with banana and can still taste the cherry.

that cherry is strong !

 

Try the juicy peach, you won't be disappointed

 

Glad to see you found the perfect set up for your vaping experience, Byoung.

 

This has been bugging me for a few days now, ever since I read this thread like 2 minutes after you made it. I've watched every video Phil Busardo has put out on YouTube, and I've been visiting his site daily for over a year. He hasn't vaped silica in ages, all he uses is cotton (well, rayon now). Its been that way since he got onto the Kayfun bandwagon. Maybe you watched them out of order?

Here's a clip from 2 months ago. See his comment at the 4:00 mark.

 

OK...lets ignore what the celebs have had to say and look a little closer to home...

Cotton or Silica Wick? - Page 2

ryanmacl

Silica has it's place, and honestly lately I'm tempted to go back for a bit since I don't have all that much time to rewick every few days. Cotton has it's place, it's cheap and readily available. Rayon is an up and comer, and even SS mesh and rope are real hard to beat in a genesis atty. people are having good results with quartz, and there are really good ceramics that I'd like to try someday. Heck, some people even make wickless coils. You can ask all the questions you can come up with, but nothing will substitute experience. I know several people on here that have been using silica for years, why change.

 

What point are you trying to make exactly? Funny how you mentioned that, rayon certainly up and came. My sister just mailed me off a 1-lb box today, so I should be pretty well set for a few years.

I pointed out that Phil Busardo uses cotton because he uses cotton, not because I am advocating for it. Like I said, it has it's place. You can use any type of wick in any device, I've even had mesh in a Kayfun at one point, but sometimes you have to play with it to get it to work right. You've posted several times about issues you've had with your Kayfuns that nobody else is having, and it comes down to your wicks. It isn't even the silica per se, it's that you're using those wicks and coils. One strand of silica doesn't provide enough bulk for the juice channels, 3-strand or Ekowool would perform better, but I doubt you'll find those precoiled.

Wick with shoelaces if that's what you like, you aren't bothering anyone. Just keep in mind, when you have a problem and people say try cotton, it's because cotton will solve that problem. It's great that you've found a happy place where you don't need to hunt for the next best thing all the time. You've learned to live with the benefits and shortcomings of the equipment you have. If you run into any more problems, feel free to ask and we'll do our best to help you out with them, as always.

If I'm doing all this typing, I might as well throw my stake in the ground.

Disposable coils - You might as well stick with CE4s and toss the whole thing when it gets clogged. I wish I skipped the whole replaceable coil nonsense and went straight to rebuilding. Too much garbage coming straight out of a blister pack. Even if price wasn't an issue, there is almost no reliability.

Dripping - Awesome if you have the time and want to sit at home, but I have no time for it when I leave my desk. Juices taste like you're drinking them at 60 watts, you'll get flavors you've never tasted before out of even the simplest juices. I hope I find the time to get back to it soon, it's a pain in the ass having to mix up extra low-Nic batches for the drippers.

RTAs - Kayfuns are all I need for now, single microcoils only please. Everything about them is easy and reliable, parts are interchangeable, a tank lasts me all day, vapor and flavor are great. 8.4 watts for my Moo Juice, 9.5 watts for my Butterscotch, I'm happy all day long.

Wicks - Was cotton, now it's rayon. At least in the Kayfuns, haven't tried it in the drippers yet. Nothing fancy, I just roll it in my fingers a bit, pull it through, snip it and shove it down. I'm assuming it will work just as well in my drippers, and for that I'll roll my wicks in the iTEO style. If I ever mess with any of my gennys again it'll be SS rope with a single wrap of 500 mesh at the coil. If I ever happen across them, I'd like to one day try quartz and ceramic out, just to see how they perform, but I won't go out of my way to order them.

Mods - I'm on mechanicals now, not by choice. Dead switch on the Vapor Shark (on its way with the rayon), brother in law broke one Kick, sold the other Kick, and the Zorba is wonky and has to go to Greece for repair. The Hydra and copper Nemesis clone are getting a workout. I'll probably never buy another mechanical, only because I don't see how these two would ever break. Moving forward, I'll never buy anything that uses less than 800hz PWM or a flat DC signal. I can taste the difference. Nothing less than 20 watts so I can push dual coils, but I'd prefer 100 watts so I can drip regulated. Spring-loaded center pin is strongly preferred, but at a minimum must be adjustable. Stainless steel 510 threading required. No unproven electronics. I don't care where they come from as long as they preform to spec, something I haven't seen from China yet. I love my Vaporshark, but an 18650 battery is a requirement from here on out, and I'd like to be able to change it without tools. The new Vapor Flask and the Provari 3 are strong contenders if I had to buy one soon, but there is currently no must-have mod on the horizon for me.

Juice - Juices suck. Here's what I mean: I'd vape anything if I needed nicotine, but I'm pretty lucky to have found two flavors that I really like. Now when I walk in to a vape shop filled with high end juices and none of them are better than my $4-a-bottle-of-concentrate juice, it's kind of a letdown. I've probably given away 100 bottles of juice at this point, because once you find something better you know you're never gonna fill a tank with the worse stuff anymore. I made 150ml of juice today, took about 15 minutes and couldn't have cost more than $8 in supplies. Best part is it's made exactly to my tastes. I feel bad for all the guys who don't have a choice, but dropping $20-30 on a bottle of juice I've never tasted is not something I'm willing to do anymore.

I'm happy where I'm at, and I know I'm not missing anything. I've made almost every kind of coil, tried almost all the wicks, tried every style atomizer, every juice ratio, additives, voltages, etc. It was kind of a nightmare getting to this point, I certainly know my wife hated it (particularly all those stinky dry burns). Lots of juice was wasted, along with what feels like miles and miles of Kanthal. It's a huge disappointment spending hours getting a new atty just right, only to realize the flaws are in the design. A bit better than playing video games and watching TV I suppose, I did make some pretty badass friends along the way. Lots of great people on this site.