Hi,
I have been lurking and learning here for a while but thought it was about time I signed up and said hi.
I've smoked for nearly 20 years and, at my peak, was getting through at least 20 (often 30) cigarettes per day. I started vaping in January this year as I am currently living in a non-smoking household and wanted something I could use in the house without stinking the place up. I didn't intend to quit smoking; just to have something to use in the evenings to save regular trips outside into the cold.
Knowing no better, my first purchase was an e-Lites kit. It seemed okay (at the time) but the manufacturer's claim of one cartridge being the equivalent of 40 cigarettes was clearly wildly overestimated (and £7.00 for two refills was working out expensive) and the battery life was poor, so, I made my first upgrade to a Vivid Vapours kit from my local corner shop.
The Vivid Vapours kit provided improved battery life and e-liquids were available just around the corner at £5 per 10ml (considerably cheaper than the e-Lites cartridges!). Vapour production and flavour were also both improved. I also noticed that the number of cigarettes I was smoking had (unintentionally) dropped significantly. This got me thinking I should probably research what else was out there.
After much online reading I decided my next purchase was to be an MVP2 - I liked the idea of VV/VW and also vastly improved battery capacity. I wasn't disappointed! The battery easily lasts me a couple of days and vaping at 11w was a massive improvement over the Vivid battery. Lovely thick, flavoursome vapour. My only complaint was that, owing to the large battery capacity of the MVP2, it took a long time to recharge which was sometimes inconvenient. Time for more online research...!
Purchase number four was a VTR, a Kanger Protank 3, Samsung IMR batteries and a Nitecore i2 charger. 15w vaping was noticeably better than the 11w of the MVP2 and swappable batteries was more convenient too. The 2600mAh Samsungs don't last as long as the MVP2's 2600mAh battery (presumably because of increased wattage?) but being able to swap and recharge at will more than makes up for this. I also prefer the Kanger Protank 3 over the iClear 30 and iClear 30S that came with the MVP and VTR - it seems to provide a cleaner flavour. By now I am vaping A LOT and smoking very little (at most 1 or 2 a day, some days none at all) and I haven't even tried to cut down the smoking. Vaping a lot means I get through Kanger coils pretty quickly, even with cleaning and dry-burning. Throwing away an entire head when only the wick and wire is bad seemed wasteful, so I went back to my internet research and read up on rebuildables.
The rebuildables available for the VTR are limited owing to the diameter of the VTR's recess. After a considerable amount of reading I opted for the BT804 Extended Dream. On it's first fill the Dream tasted FOUL. I mean truly REVOLTING. So I stripped it down, thoroughly cleaned it, including flaming the wick and coil, and put it all back together... much better! Even for a relative newbie like me, rebuilding this thing is a piece of cake. The vapour production and flavour rivals even my Protank 3. My only real grip about the Dream is it's a complete ball-ache to fill without having it flood. Sometimes I manage it, often I don't. I'm hoping practice will make perfect! In the meantime, if anyone has any other recommendations for rebuildables that fit the VTR, I'd very much like to hear them!
I'm also keen to cut down on my e-juice costs. If anyone can recommend any reliable UK websites they've used, that I can order larger/cheaper amounts from I'd appreciate a heads-up. I'm mainly vaping menthol (a difficult flavour to do badly I think!) so top-quality e-liquid isn't essential Cheap is what I'm after!
As things stand at the moment I haven't smoked for 72 hours and it's been easy. I haven't been trying to quit smoking altogether and I'm still not trying to do so. If and when it happens - great; if I have the occasional one - no biggie. Even with drastically cutting down I feel much healthier, so I certainly won't be giving up vaping and returning to smoking 20+ per day any time soon!
I have been lurking and learning here for a while but thought it was about time I signed up and said hi.
I've smoked for nearly 20 years and, at my peak, was getting through at least 20 (often 30) cigarettes per day. I started vaping in January this year as I am currently living in a non-smoking household and wanted something I could use in the house without stinking the place up. I didn't intend to quit smoking; just to have something to use in the evenings to save regular trips outside into the cold.
Knowing no better, my first purchase was an e-Lites kit. It seemed okay (at the time) but the manufacturer's claim of one cartridge being the equivalent of 40 cigarettes was clearly wildly overestimated (and £7.00 for two refills was working out expensive) and the battery life was poor, so, I made my first upgrade to a Vivid Vapours kit from my local corner shop.
The Vivid Vapours kit provided improved battery life and e-liquids were available just around the corner at £5 per 10ml (considerably cheaper than the e-Lites cartridges!). Vapour production and flavour were also both improved. I also noticed that the number of cigarettes I was smoking had (unintentionally) dropped significantly. This got me thinking I should probably research what else was out there.
After much online reading I decided my next purchase was to be an MVP2 - I liked the idea of VV/VW and also vastly improved battery capacity. I wasn't disappointed! The battery easily lasts me a couple of days and vaping at 11w was a massive improvement over the Vivid battery. Lovely thick, flavoursome vapour. My only complaint was that, owing to the large battery capacity of the MVP2, it took a long time to recharge which was sometimes inconvenient. Time for more online research...!
Purchase number four was a VTR, a Kanger Protank 3, Samsung IMR batteries and a Nitecore i2 charger. 15w vaping was noticeably better than the 11w of the MVP2 and swappable batteries was more convenient too. The 2600mAh Samsungs don't last as long as the MVP2's 2600mAh battery (presumably because of increased wattage?) but being able to swap and recharge at will more than makes up for this. I also prefer the Kanger Protank 3 over the iClear 30 and iClear 30S that came with the MVP and VTR - it seems to provide a cleaner flavour. By now I am vaping A LOT and smoking very little (at most 1 or 2 a day, some days none at all) and I haven't even tried to cut down the smoking. Vaping a lot means I get through Kanger coils pretty quickly, even with cleaning and dry-burning. Throwing away an entire head when only the wick and wire is bad seemed wasteful, so I went back to my internet research and read up on rebuildables.
The rebuildables available for the VTR are limited owing to the diameter of the VTR's recess. After a considerable amount of reading I opted for the BT804 Extended Dream. On it's first fill the Dream tasted FOUL. I mean truly REVOLTING. So I stripped it down, thoroughly cleaned it, including flaming the wick and coil, and put it all back together... much better! Even for a relative newbie like me, rebuilding this thing is a piece of cake. The vapour production and flavour rivals even my Protank 3. My only real grip about the Dream is it's a complete ball-ache to fill without having it flood. Sometimes I manage it, often I don't. I'm hoping practice will make perfect! In the meantime, if anyone has any other recommendations for rebuildables that fit the VTR, I'd very much like to hear them!
I'm also keen to cut down on my e-juice costs. If anyone can recommend any reliable UK websites they've used, that I can order larger/cheaper amounts from I'd appreciate a heads-up. I'm mainly vaping menthol (a difficult flavour to do badly I think!) so top-quality e-liquid isn't essential Cheap is what I'm after!
As things stand at the moment I haven't smoked for 72 hours and it's been easy. I haven't been trying to quit smoking altogether and I'm still not trying to do so. If and when it happens - great; if I have the occasional one - no biggie. Even with drastically cutting down I feel much healthier, so I certainly won't be giving up vaping and returning to smoking 20+ per day any time soon!
