Some advice and help needed

[Syl]

Hello. I am in the process of quitting smoking and at the moment substituting it with IQOS. Fact is I did not have a ciggi for a month now and for me that's a success! However as in IQOS there are still number of chemicals and other unsafe stuff, I would really try and move to vaping. I did quite some research, watched lots of youtube videos and as you can probably imagine as a complete beginner, now it's a huge mess in head. I however think that I should start with a Pod Kit as I don't want too much hassle at the beginning. But yeah, there are so many pods and so many opinions.... And I know opinion is subjective , but I would like to ask for your advice and help. I am thinking of the following devices:

- Justfog Minifit. Watched many videos and read stuff about it and I think that might be it. I know I can use it with nic salts, but the max for EU is 20mg and I read that 20 mg for smokers is too little. I come from a pack and a bit more per day of Marlboro Gold. So I am not sure if 20mg nic salt will do it. I want to ask if it is possible to use free base nicotine and if yes, than how much mg would you suggest? Also what ration PG/VG. I know pod systems work mostly with nic salts and 50/50 ration, but with free base nicotine I wonder it this can or must change. Would for example 60PG/40VG be ok? The thing with nic salts is that they say is much more addictive and as my end goal will be to stop with smoking and nicotine eventually, I think may be I should try free base nicotine. But will it give me the same satisfaction? I don't really want to be vaping all the time, at the beginning at least I would like to stuck with my "smoking moments" - like the coffee, breaks at work, after meal and all in between of course

- Unwell Caliburn is another pod that I think will be suitable. The same questions as for the minifit apply here, so I would not write them again.

- Aspire AVP. The same questions as for the minifit apply here, so I would not write them again.

- Suorin drop.The same questions as for the minifit apply here, so I would not write them again.

- and so many more...


I know it's better to go to a shop but where I am there is only one little shop, which is always very busy and no time for all the questions of a beginner.

Which of the above mentioned devices do you think would be most suitable for me? Important for me would be the throat hit, the nicotine intake and satisfaction as well as the draw should be more restricted I guess, just like or similiar to a ciggi draw. Also can you recommend a good liquid to start with? I don't';t much care about the taste as long as it;s not something terrible I don't think I want something sweet and I wonder if there are liquids without any flavour or similar to a cigarette , at least for the beginning stage. I also don;t want lots of vape production and something small, that's why the pods will be good I think.


I am willing to invest money, but I rather ask before give money and then realise it's nothing for me or is totally the wrong choice. I would really appreciate any help and advice and I thank you in advance.

 

[Leni]

Hi Syl, welcome to the site, and well done for making the move away from smoking, good on you!

The thing with Nic Salts, is that it’s much smoother on the throat, so you won’t get the ‘throat hit’ you’re used to as a smoker. For that you would be better with freebase Nic. If you want to gives salts a go, I would suggest either the Aspire AVP or Nautilus AIO. I’m not familiar with any of these pods, so hang fire ‘til others chip-in, but I think the Drop and the Minifit might be a bit less restrictive than you’d like. @zouzounaki have you used both of these? Could you advise please?

In my opinion, you’d get a better throat hit with 18mg 50/50 freebase liquids. If you decide to try those, have a look at the Joyetech Ego Eco. It’s quite a small, basic device, with good battery life for such a compact kit. It’s a good transitioning device with a restricted, cigarette type draw.

 

[MrDJ]

Hi and welcome to the planet.

sadly i cant help with them kits as i only have the smok nord, vaporesso zero, blu pod and juul.

also i know ziltch about free base so have a read here https://vapeuk.co.uk/pages/nicotine-salt-vs-freebase-nicotine

 

[MiscoDatt]

I think another consideration for you should be battery life. If you’re a heavy ex smoker you want something that really will last all day! I would worry something like the caliburn won’t last you even though it gets great reviews.

I think either 20mg nic salt or 18mg free should suffice. If you’re not interested in flavour you could vape 50/50 nic on its own. It would be a lot cheaper! Otherwise I’d start with menthol perhaps as it’s pretty hard to mess that up flavourwise.

 

[Cliffyboy1962]

I would love to think that a Chinese vape company might accidentally call themselves UNWELL without realising the connotations here, in the English speaking west, but sadly they didn't and it is UWELL who make the Caliburn.

You have definitely come to the right place for POD advice. Lots of people here have tried most of them. I personally, have only tried a few as I am a big cloud vaper (DTL (Direct to lung))

 

[zouzounaki]

Hi @Syl , I have a minifit and a suorin air (which is similar to the drop).

The mini fit is good, but the battery life is pretty short, as you’d expect from it’s tiny size. You’d really need to buy a couple of these if it was going to be all you are using. But they are cheap, so that’s an option.

I have a few pods and the only one that gets any regular use is the suorin air. The draw is decent, it makes decent vapour and the battery life is ok for the size. You’d need to have charging available a few times over the course of the day with it. Or again, get two drops.

Maybe others could comment on other pod systems, I know @Vapaneezer Scrooge has been speaking highly of the aspire cobble. Aspire also have a nautilus pod system when you replace the coil, rather than the whole pod, which could work out cheaper.

I would also suggest ditching the idea of salt nic and getting some standard liquid in 12 and 18mg for a pod. Having just quit fags you’ll probably be glad of the throat hit, salt nic is extremely smooth. Like smoking air, to me, at 20mg.

I would also recommend starting with 50/50 liquids. As @Discomatt suggested, if you can find 50/50 18mg nic shots, just use them straight. It would be a cheap way to go. It would also save you a lot on replacement coils/pods, as it’s primarily the flavourings that gunk them up and burn them out.

 

[zouzounaki]

Ta for the tag @Leni

 

[rew]

Jacvapour Vim might be a good option. Great battery life and they do pods or a 2ml tank for it. Coils are decent too

 

[Syl]

Thank you all for your answers!
It's good to know that the pod systems can use free base nicotine as well. I was thinking indeed something like 12 or 18 mg and 50/50 ratio. I am a bit scared to read that this ratio might often cause leaking en spiting due to the high PG, which makes the liquid thinner. If I like the minifit, I can buy two as these are the cheapest ones and then I will have the battery problem solved I heard the suggestion about the Nautilus AIO before, but hearing about changing coils and wkking and.... just makes me panic lol. For a total beginner I think may be I best start with something as easy as possible. I was thinking that if I buy a pod kit, then I can buy 2 pods and try both the nic salts and free base nicotine. I am curious as to what is the difference in vaping them. Like with the nic salts you take 3-4 puffs and you get the rush and everything and you are good for 1-2 hours? And with the free base nicotine you need to take much more puffs to get the same amount of satisfaction and it will stay for less time? I am especially interested in this with regard to being at work and have limited time to sneak and smoke (later vape ).

 

[MHL]

As an ex smoker, I've tried quite a few pod systems and I would go for the Aspire Breeze 2. Better than the nautilus AIO in my opinion, in both looks and performance. Zeltu is also pretty decent., but coil availability is better with Aspire. As @rew says, Jacvapour are also good.

I second @Discomatt with regard to battery life. It's a real PITA having to recharge twice a day. If you're not wedded to the idea of a pod, I would strongly recommend a small mod with a replaceable battery. Then grab a tank like the Zenith or Aspire Nautilus 2s (The Naultilus 2 tank is decent, it's the AIO pod system that's lacking IMHO).

And welcome BTW