Cycles of tastes in Vaping.

[Rob]

Hi Folks,
As I have something of a reputation for mentioning how cyclical our hobby can be, I thought I'd give you a quick tour of what I am currently using to prove my point

"Squonking is dead!". How often have we heard that claim over the last year? Like me, how many sold off the Squonkers and now find themselves purchasing the very same sort of items as its popularity suddenly resurfaced?

I was amazed when I started to use squonkers again, it really was a case of "Hello old friend"
Similarly..... Using Genesis Atties. I had a reputation for using Mesh wicking in all sorts of things, RTAs, RDAs and of course Genesis RTAs, but in the last few years I suppose I concentrated my Mesh love on RTAs? Atties such as the earlier Taifuns, the Late, Lamented By Leo Calix, The Squape"R", even the FeVs have had their turn
But more recently I have come back to the mighty Genesis style RTAs and wow... Given some of the astounding Liquids that have appeared in more recent times, the Genesis has really come back into its own.

So.... Squonkers First.
I have the outstanding Art & Mods "DEA" DNA75.

Not the smallest Mod you'll find granted, but still an incredibly comfortable device to use. usually found paired with the amazing Atmizoo "The Creek" RDA which offers beautiful flavour and a smooth draw

Whilst dealing with the Regulated.....
The Palm BF DNA75.
This one is a slightly strange addition I suppose, but it suits my purposes. i had long been intrigued by The Palm as a Mod, a Dear Friend had several which I have played with briefly whenever we have met up. He is a Left Hander, so all of his have been made accordingly. I am Right Handed, so wondered how I'd get along with a device specifically made to suit him? Actually.... Remarkably well!! Especially when working on the computer Being fairly ambidextrous, it became second nature.
Long story short, he had acquired a second Green Juma Palm to use whilst his was away having various upgrades, so when his finally returned after being lost in various Postal Systems for several months....... he offered me this one.

Usually to be found with a Convergent RDA. And there's a case in point? I had 4 favourite Squonking RDAs in the past and then had to re acquire them, The Convergent, The NarDA, The KRMA and The Creek. Thanks to a friend I have now managed to secure them again.

The G Prov Bomber Pro:
This is a MosFet Mod that I have always hankered after. The Ergonomic Design always appealed to me, but they were so hard to find. The Maker shut up shop some time ago and no longer works within the Vaping Industry. This one popped up a few months ago and I jumped. Subsequently I have discovered that this is the last Delrin Bodied version he produced, so a bit of history.
The KRMA RDA is a perfect match for this one as it is a Top Air Flow and better suited to this Mod.



Wapari Fossil MosFet
I now have 2 of these delightful little Mods. The First one was an 18650 which was finished in a special finish which almost feels like an animal hide in the hand.

Top Fire Button, which I adore

And here it is with it's slightly Bigger Brother which is a 20700 version


And Finally..... A Limelight Freehand Gloom with The RAM Chip

Still one of my favourites! Tiny, yet so ergonomic!

There is one more, but it is now known as my "Lotus" Mod
Any Car Lover knows that The Lotus name is synonymous with... "Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious"
Unfortunately, MY Kimech SVA Mod is THAT to a Tee
Spent more time with @domejunky than it has with me! But hopefully will be returning soon..... For How Long? Remains to be seen!


I'll make a separate thread about the Genesis Atties as I have said quite enough for now

 

[BigCloud]

stunning squonkers you have there

 

[Cotswold Vapour]

Some wicked pieces in your collection @Rob

 

[Simon G]

nice collection....

No cycles for me, i'm the guy who's been vaping on the same atomisers for 4 years.

 

[rew]

What's happened? The page is all over the place and won't load properly.

Edit. Ok. Back to normal.

 

[Martvb60]

Some great and classy looking Mods there Rob. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Rob]

Happy MTL Vaping at a Heady 12 Watts!!
The In'Ax Mk3 Genny. What a treat this is! Loaded with Omerta Woody Tobacco

 

[scrumpox]

Like @Simon G , I don't go through cycles as I've been using Aromamizers for 5 years and SX Minis for 4 years. I just upgrade with the updated releases ... sometimes.

Cycles strike me as symptomatic of the lack of genuine innovation on the one hand and some degree of user boredom on the other hand. Moving on to something "new" then revisiting where you've already been before just feels like the perfect recipe for wasting a shit load of money ... which the vape manufacturers will love of course. I would think that if you vape as a hobby rather than out of simple necessity then you're constantly on the search for novelty even when your solution has been found. Novelty on the vape market is often just a rehash but collectors need to scratch that itch, don't they?

I delved into pods and eventually the Billetbox in 2019 as portability was a key driver ... Covid has totally wiped that need out for me in 2020. I find a contentment in continuing to use what works and spending my spare money on other things.

 

[memzey]

If most people are like me, then you initially get into vaping as a smoking cessation tool. Some stop there and others continue down the rabbit hole. I'm about half a mile deep at the moment

For me it was a journey of discovery; finding what actually worked as a first step and then exploring to then find what I liked best. My first vape was a vibe stick thing that was incurably shit. I was back on the fags within a week. Then I got a smok something or other with a MTL tank. That was better but awkward to use and ultimately unfulfilling - I was back on the smokes after a month or so. The big breakthrough came when I let go of the notion that vaping had to mimic smoking in order to work for me, so I got a G-Priv baby kit with a TFV8 tank and a load of flavours that I actually liked (rather than trying to find a match for Rothmans). I was able to enjoy vaping as a thing in itself and not just tolerate it as a facsimile of smoking. I haven't touched a cigarette since.

Knowing that vaping can be enjoyable, a curious mind will then ask "Can it be better? How good can it be?" which so far has led me to rebuildables, making my own complex coils and DIY juice. And away from smok. Far, far away from smok. I have a feeling that I will make a mod or two at some point but I'm not there yet. Maybe towards the end of the year.

In terms of trends; as I've been working from home during lockdown, I've moved from mainly RTAs to mainly RDAs. This led to me buying my first squonker which I am thoroughly enjoying. I'm not aware of what is trendy in the world of vaping (if such a thing even exists) so I wasn't across the fact that a lot of people had moved away from squonking (until reading this post) but I doubt it would have made a difference to me if I did. Flavour of an RDA with the convenience of a tank? What's not to like?

 

[TheLiqidator]

I said not too long ago that squonkers were a gimmick and they were just a daft way to get round the 2ml rule, so they were basically a fix for a problem that was at best a minor nuisance.

Bought a little mtl rda a while back not realising that it only came with a squonk pin. When it came I dug an old squonker I had out and cleaned it up not expecting much. From that night it's became my favourite tank and mod to use.

I've ordered another couple of squonkers for mtl RDAs and I'm going to dig out my old gbox and I think I have a kangertech dripbox 180 that I'm going to put a few dead rabbits on.

Looking through these though, I can see the squonk collection doubling by next week. I prefer regulated devices now. Had a collection of mechs and mech squonkers but I decided to stick to regulated stuff a few years back so I've spent about a week looking for small single battery regulated ones.

It's all just a gimmick though.