Buying an Ecig

[Flaming]

Just some general advise........

Purchase by MODEL not by BRAND. All "manufactured" ecigs come from a handful of factories...and they are all basically the same thing. Paying 100-200 more for the fancy name, box, and label the supplier put on there isnt worth your money.

The smaller the battery the shorter the life, the less power it has.

If it's simply unbelievable..it likely is. Cigarette sized, 5v, lasted 48 hours and the cartomizer is equal to a carton ecigs..dont exist! (disappointing I know, but they dont...)

Watch out for mall venders, there is a whole One good one in the whole country that I've heard of. Typically they are rip offs, with employees who cant tell you the different between a cartomizer and a atty.

Juice averages around .50 a ml....a Few companies reach 1.00 ml, some are much cheaper at .30. Dont ever pay 30.00 for 15mls!
Know what your purchasing...is it US made? what type of facility was it made it? When was it made? PG/VG ratio?
Is it Dekang(chinese) lot of rip off places are purchasing DK and relabeling it...however DK puts a very small "DKNY" on the edge of their bottles. (nothing really wrong with dekang, some folks like it some folks dont...but it's cheap and to often peddled for way to much)

[Deadcat2]

Good idea for a thread topic...

The first exposure most people have to electronic cigarettes is from one of the following:
--Something from a mall kiosk, liquor store, or tobacco shop
--Something from a slick website for a company that does a lot of advertisting
--Something that pops up first when they Google electronic cigarettes

Although there are exceptions, these types of products are usually very underwhelming and vastly overpriced.

When it comes to trying an electronic cigarette is pays to find a good forum and ask some questions.
Solid information from a bunch of folks who have been there and done that is invaluable.

[Flaming]

[Flaming]

The most recommended Newbie Ecigs.... When folks ask "Which one should I get?" These are the Top three that keep coming up again and again.
Please note these can be purchased from Many different suppliers, not advertising for any one supplier.

The 510


Price: averages around 35 for a basic starter kit.
Size: About the same length as a 100 cig
Standard kits are a three piece system, a battery/atomizer/cart. *they also make cartomizers for the 510s
Come in both Auto and manual batteries. Auto is more smoke like meaning you just draw on it and it turns on, however can be a problem as it's an open battery and juice can get into the battery. Suggest the manual, the button takes a day or two to get use to but it's not as big a deal as one would think.
Pros: small size, the 510 atty size is pretty universal so upgrading(if you choose to) is pretty easy no need to purchase new hardware.
Cons: Battery Life, these dont last very long pending how often you vape(correlates to how heavy a smoker you are) last an hour to three hours.


The eGo/Rivas

Price: about 50.00 for a starter kit.
Size: Best comparison I have it's it's Not much taller then the 510 and the battery width and height is about the same as a chipstick.
eGo's are 510 threaded, so they use the same attys as the 510..have a several of different attys that can be used with them standards, low resistance(warmer harder hit then standards), 510 cartomizers and ego-Tanks.
Has a cone, covering the atty, this is for looks mostly but is also to control airflow.
Pros: Much longer battery life 4-6 hours. lots of accessories like the ego USB passthrough and mega ego which are 900mah instead of the standard 650.

Cons: can be a bit bulky for newbies, but these are what a lot of folks end up useing and are very happy with.


The 808-D

Price: Around 40.
Size: same diameter as a cig, similar height to eGo.
These are....Can be a less fussy system. Two piece and only use cartomizers(which are where the atty and cart are combined)
You can purchase prefilled cartos from several places or buy empties from just about anywhere and fill them yourself.
Pros: battery life is greater then the standard 510's
Cons: Battery life still isnt that much.
(personally never used the 808 so if any 808 user would like to throw in go for it)

[Misday]

Anyone know if it would be permisible to recommend a list of vendors for these? I don't want to cross any lines but some of the better vendors I might not have ever found if not for ECF.

[fonedude]

Anyone know if it would be permisible to recommend a list of vendors for these? I don't want to cross any lines but some of the better vendors I might not have ever found if not for ECF.

I don't think the current posting guidelines allow for that. But I think anyone interested can just do a search on the name of the product. I don't see that as a problem for them. We have to change our mind-set a little at this forum.

There are normal prices listed above. If anyone were to go to a site and see a product way above those prices I would recommend they keep on searching. Just my opinion.

[Misday]

I was only asking because I ended up buying a rebranded 510. I could get an ego for less than I paid for it yanno what I'm saying. The big sites that do all the advertising mark up their stuff and are unfortunately easier to find. Don't remember if I searched by model though.

[fonedude]

I was only asking because I ended up buying a rebranded 510. I could get an ego for less than I paid for it yanno what I'm saying. The big sites that do all the advertising mark up their stuff and are unfortunately easier to find. Don't remember if I searched by model though.

Good point. In my experience the slicker the site the more wary I am. It is definitely a learning experience. The first kit I bought was from a local smoke shop. The price was around $50 and its really not a bad e-cig. But of course now it's just a backup. But I also haven't smoked a cigarette since so I figure it was fiddy well spent.

[Misday]

Well perhaps this.... Don't pay more than $50.00 for your 1st kit unless its a large kit IE extra batteries, a carrying case, or charging case...?

[fonedude]

Well perhaps this.... Don't pay more than $50.00 for your 1st kit unless its a large kit IE extra batteries, a carrying case, or charging case...?

Great advice. And I might also add, because I don't see it addressed, that fifty bucks should include two complete e-cigs. In other words two batteries and at least two atomizers/cartomizers. Don't pay that much for just one.

If you are buying a disposable just to try it out then there will only be one of course. Even some of those are better than others. I don't highly recommend them but can see some use for them.

[SnoopyFish]

I was only asking because I ended up buying a rebranded 510. I could get an ego for less than I paid for it yanno what I'm saying. The big sites that do all the advertising mark up their stuff and are unfortunately easier to find. Don't remember if I searched by model though.

If you use Google shopping, sort by price, and only buy from vendors with good ratings, you can't go wrong.

[Misday]

I was only asking because I ended up buying a rebranded 510. I could get an ego for less than I paid for it yanno what I'm saying. The big sites that do all the advertising mark up their stuff and are unfortunately easier to find. Don't remember if I searched by model though.

If you use Google shopping, sort by price, and only buy from vendors with good ratings, you can't go wrong.

Good tip Snoopy

[Curvychic]

I think this is great information!! I only wish that this information would have been readily available to me before making my first purchase at one of the local gas stations. Like fonedude said though, it was money well spent because it picqued my interest in finally quitting the cigarettes for good since cold turkey didn't work for me (personally) the three times I tried!

[Roland]

A couple of points:

1) Never sign up for any form of free trial offer, they are without exception rip-offs.
2) Do not google something like "e-cg review" and expect to find balanced information. 90%+ of the results will lead you to sites which are doing no more than shill-ing their own over priced products.
3) Do not expect any e-cig to actually taste like smoking tobacco does. It's different, very different. (Personally I think that's one of the reasons e-cigs are effective, and don't lead you back to tobacco.)
4) If you're short of money don't discount the idea of buying from China, support local business if you can but if you need to save some money China is probably the cheapest way to go.
5) Spend several days researching and reading before you spend a cent, if you don't it will cost you money in the long run.

Cheers
Roland

[shc]

To me the biggest hurtle was not the equipment but finding the right eliquid.
I started like most folks with an inexpensive 510 setup. That turned on the lightbulb but I could tell that it was going to be a struggle unless I could find something that was easy to use, would last all day and give me the sensation of a tobacco cigarette. I was lucky early on to find one that was adjustable (variable voltage) and to me that makes a huge difference. It also had enough battery power to last all day. It cost me about $125 and at the time it seemed very expensive but it turned out to be cheap. It is the only device I have used for a year, it’s still going strong and I haven’t had to spend another dime on a PV.
It was a big struggle to find the right eliquid. That took six months.