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[daw840]

Update

I have now upgraded to the EGO-T and love it. So much better than the crappy one I bought the first time around, no polyfill to soak the juice in and much less of a hassle as it holds a ton of juice and the batteries last a long time. I thought I could update this OP with some trusted vendors and good research material as we find it.

Information:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/ *This is an amazing place to find any sort of information you want.
Message From Electronic Cigarette Association President Matt Salmon Former Congressman
www.tasteyourjuice.com This website is from a very well regarded web reviewer PBusardo. It's got an amazing amount of easily accessible information.

Research Studies:
Study by the European Society of Cardiology
UCLA Santa Monica Hospital, Chief of Staff, Dr. David Baron talks about Electronic Cigarettes and their safety: Part 1 Part 2
Recent E Cigarette Health Studies Suggest that Second Hand Smoke Dangers are Absent in Second Hand Vapor Produced by E-Cigs
Electronic Cigarettes Hold Promise As Aid to Quitting

Starter Kits:
Option 1
Ego-C Twist Battery Get 2 of these, doesn't matter what mAh rating. The 650 will be smaller and more pocket friendly but won't last as long
Charger Just pick one, the ups and downs are pretty obvious for each charger.
Atomizers I would recommend getting 2 of these. Just so you can switch juices without cleaning.

The last thing you need is some juice! You can get a sampler pack from the same website that I've linked for the components, or you can place a separate order from the listed juice vendors here in the OP. Enjoy!

Option 2
The Best Bang For Buck Starter Kit for Anyone -
$42.99 (2) SLB EGO 1100mah batteries / (2) SLB EGO Clearos and charging equipment. KGO | Hoosier Ecig Supply KGO kit1100maH by SLB

I strongly recommend option 1, however it will be more expensive than option 2 in the initial investment. The deal is though, you will like it and you will want to upgrade. If you go with option 1, you're already upgraded! The only next step woud be a mod, but that's definitely not for the starter!

Hardware:
High End Variable Voltage Joye eGo-C Twist Batteries -
MyVaporStore.com - I recommend the 1000mah version - $25.99 each
Texas Tuff Tanks User WhatRobEats indicates these are trash. The vendor however is a trusted vendor, just this particular tank has some issues. See THIS POST

Trusted Vendors:
www.myvaporstore.com Use coupon code 5ECF for 5% off any order.
www.vaporkings.com Use coupon code VKBC for 10% off any order.
www.okcvapes.com Use coupon code Awesome10 for 10% off any juice order.
www.smokelessimage.com
www.vapedudes.com There have been reports of them being slow, albeit reliable.
www.sweet-vapes.com
www.goodejuice.com
http://www.fasttech.com/category/1411/electronic-cigarettes This site is incredibly cheap compared to what else is available. Takes a little longer for shipping, but no one has reported any bad experiences. ***BEWARE: Apparently Hong Kong Customs has been holding their shipments and there has been some issues.***

Juice Vendors:
www.BackwoodsBrew.net
www.ivape.net
www.avejuice.com
www.vaperite.com
www.vermillionriverejuice.com
www.ecblendflavors.com

Shady Vendors:
Anyone making you have any sort of monthly fee, at all. Always a shady pyramid type thing.
www.volcanoecigs.com - Terrible customer service. I've gotten 2 messed up 950maH batteries from them and had to eat the cost both times because I used it with a non-Volcano branded atomizer. (such BS) All their batteries are are re branded eGo batteries. (Source: GAF Member "WhatRobEats")

Video Reviewers:
GrimmGreen
Doctor Vapor
PBusdardo

For our friends in the UK!

I've had great experience with these stores in the UK:

http://ukecigstore.com/ (Not as much variety, but great service, fantastic prices for Ego Twist batteries and I usually always get a free gift)
http://www.liberty-flights.co.uk/
http://www.safercigs.co.uk/

And for Juices:

http://www.houseofliquid.com/
Rawr
Grizwalds
Pink Spot
Enjuice
Waves of Vapour, T-Juice
Ace Vapers
Grant's Vanilla Custard
The Alchemists Cupboard
House of Liquid (natural tobacco juice if you want it to taste like a cigarette)
Switch-2-ecigs
Alba Vapers

/Update

First of all, thanks to Hari Seldon for directing me to an good website for e-cigs. I ordered one and I haven't smoked an "analog" cigarette since.

I thought I would make a thread detailing the different research I have done in the last few days regarding these tobacco alternatives.

Nearly every e-cig on the market will have three components. A battery, an atomizer, and a mouthpiece. The mouthpiece is where the cartridge containing the eJuice is placed and you can get eJuice in an enormous number of flavors and nicotine strengths.

There are many different places to purchase an ecig online, although I have not seen many physical stores that stock anything but the disposable one-time use kind. Which I might add, I tried and they taste horrible compared to the good one I bought.

I am really enjoying it so far, and I have ordered a sampler pack of the different eLiquids. Apparently you can get these in just about any flavor you want. Someone on a board I was looking at said something about a Kung Pao Chicken flavor.....I don't know about all that though.

Now, I am not going to kid myself into thinking these are completely safe. They probably aren't, and they probably have some carcinogens in them as well. However, I am nearly certain that they can't possibly be as bad for you as regular cigarettes are. They also offer options to step down the nicotine content slowly until you are completely off of it and just vaporizing a flavor with no nicotine. That's my end goal eventually, for now I am just going to "vape" these like I used to smoke analogs. I thought this was an interesting picture.

You can purchase ecigs at any number of sites, I personally used www.awesomevapor.com and this guy has really come through. This site was recommended to me by our fellow GAFfer Hari Seldon, many thanks to him. Shipping is fairly priced and fast.

The one thing that I have absolutely loved is the ability to just vape wherever I am. I have been sitting at my desk at work and don't need to get up and go outside to smoke. I can just do it at my desk. There are also a ton of different accessories with these things. You can get a USB pass through device so you can just plug into any USB port and vape from there. Anyways, I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to get away from smoking tobacco. I haven't had the urge for an analog cigarette since I started. Which is quite amazing, since I normally smoke 20 a day.

Anyways, I thought this would be a good place for us GAFfers to share experiences with e-Cigarettes and make recommendations.

 

[JumpJeff84]

My buddy got one for his girlfriend a couple of weeks ago. She seems to like it.

 

[Keylime]

So is there no smoke whatsoever as a result of "vaping" these?

It'd be kind of pimp to have one in the office and suck on some blueberry flavored something that looks like a cigarette if there weren't any nicotine or whatever involved.

I usually put pen caps in my mouth or play with my phone or do something to keep my occupied...if these things are safe I'd probably get one just to play with it and try different flavors.

 

[daw840]

So is there no smoke whatsoever as a result of "vaping" these?

It'd be kind of pimp to have one in the office and suck on some blueberry flavored something that looks like a cigarette if there weren't any nicotine or whatever involved.

I usually put pen caps in my mouth or play with my phone or do something to keep my occupied...if these things are safe I'd probably get one just to play with it and try different flavors.

You can get eJuice in a ton of different flavors and nicotine ranges. The nicotine range goes from 0mg all the way up to 100mg (which is fucking insanely high, 18mg is supposedly the closest equivalent to a full flavored analog cigarette.)

edit: So the answer is yes, you can get eJuice with no nicotine in it whatsoever. Just flavor.

 

[The Big Rig]

I've been curious about this. Does it feel like your smoking a cigarette?

 

[daw840]

I've been curious about this. Does it feel like your smoking a cigarette?

Yes, it really does. You feel it in your throat and lungs just like you would a normal cigarette, just what you blow out is not nearly as thick and it disappates almost instantly.

 

[The Big Rig]

Weird. How is the smell. You said you could "smoke" it at your desk, but does it leave a stench?

 

[SmokyDave]

Not sure if want.

The nicotine range goes from 0mg all the way up to 100mg

Want.

 

[Get'sMad]

My friend had one of these and he liked it while it worked but they all kept breaking on him so he gave up.

 

[Javaman]

One thing to keep in mind is the the convenience might make it harder to quit. I switched to nicotine lozenges and the fact that I can "light up" anytime anywhere has made it much harder to give up than cigarettes.

Edit:then=/than

 

[orion434]

My sister is using the electronic cigarettes, not as cool looking as the one pictured... but she says she loves it as well.

 

[Funky Functionality]

My boss had one of these and went back to "analog" lol) cigarettes soon after.

I need to quit, but I'm not sure I'd ever want to do so with these... they're just a bit ridiculous.

Can't say that black one pictured above isn't dead sexy, though.


Oh, and there's no stench. You're exhaling water vapor, basically.

 

[daw840]

Weird. How is the smell. You said you could "smoke" it at your desk, but does it leave a stench?

It has no smell at all. Before I told anyone I was doing it, I asked people if they smelled anything weird right after taking a few drags. No one smelled anything at all. Now, the one thing I was a little worried about is that the vapor that comes out of the Ecig does look nearly exactly like smoke (before you inhale it and exhale it.) A couple of times I didn't get it all in my mouth (I know, that's what she said) and the vapor starting going up above my cubicle walls. I didn't want one of the upper management dudes seeing that, so I waved at it and it instantly disappeared.

 

[MilesWebber]

E cig is how i quit smoking! Wonderful invention!

 

[PJV3]

I smoke 40 fags a day, how long does the battery last?

 

[JumpJeff84]

I should try it. I'll stick anything in my mouth at least once.

 

[jett]

I smoke 40 fags a day, how long does the battery last?

Probably longer than you. Jesus.

 

[daw840]

I smoke 40 fags a day, how long does the battery last?

First off, Jesus Christ, I feel like I would get lung cancer within the week if I smoked 40 a day. Second, mine came with 2 batteries. If you smoke like that, you would probably go through both batteries in a day. I just carry the spare with me.

 

[JumpJeff84]

Probably longer than you. Jesus.

My dad smokes 50 a day, no joke.

Aretha Franklin supposedly used to smoke 100 in a day back in the 70s.

 

[avatar299]

I should try it. I'll stick anything in my mouth at least once.

Ba dum tish

 

[The Big Rig]

I'm was just thinking that if you were in the 60's and at work (think Mad Men) and using one of these, people would either think you were really progressive, or just a pussy.

 

[Funky Functionality]

Silly goose, they didn't have electricity in the '60s.

 

[thedrizzle34]

before I knew what these things were, I saw some dude smoking one inside a Starbucks and it tripped me out (can't smoke indoors in California). For the shock/novelty factor alone, I think these are pretty interesting, and I've never smoked a real cig ever.

 

[MomoPufflet]

Maybe this is weird, but a part of me wishes these would become big with non-smokers (assuming they engineered them to be totally safe) so we'd start seeing high-end stainless steel ones, unique styles, etc. Or give them some sort of alternative practical application to counter the negative social stigma. There is something about them that just appeals to the creative/sci-fi part of my brain. Crazy I know.

 

[Wizman23]

The way you buy these things is a glorified pyramid scheme.

 

[Alucrid]

I don't smoke cigs, have had an occasional cigar (not a huge fan) but I definitely want to try these.

 

[daw840]

The way you buy these things is a glorified pyramid scheme.

Explain? I buy the starter kit that comes with all the pieces, then replace what needs replacing when it needs replacing.

 

[Hari Seldon]

Glad you are enjoying it daw840!

I have been smoking these for over a year now, and I definitely no longer have the "smokers lung" where I get out of breath quickly. Like daw840, I am not certain that these are 100% safe, but I am sure that these are significantly healthier than regular cigs. There is no tar at all.

Besides the health benefits and the things that daw840 mentioned (smell, indoors use, etc.), the cost of these are really good in the long run. $46 for the kit, figure $10/week for vapor if you smoke a lot. The batteries on these are pretty finicky though, so ~$16 for a battery maybe every 1.5 months.

That comes out to $13/week, which is 2 packs of cigs depending on where you live. That is if you smoke pretty heavily and have bad luck with batteries.

 

[daw840]

Glad you are enjoying it daw840!

I have been smoking these for over a year now, and I definitely no longer have the "smokers lung" where I get out of breath quickly. Like daw840, I am not certain that these are 100% safe, but I am sure that these are significantly healthier than regular cigs. There is no tar at all.

Besides the health benefits and the things that daw840 mentioned (smell, indoors use, etc.), the cost of these are really good in the long run. $46 for the kit, figure $10/week for vapor if you smoke a lot. The batteries on these are pretty finicky though, so ~$16 for a battery maybe every 1.5 months.

That comes out to $13/week, which is 2 packs of cigs depending on where you live. That is if you smoke pretty heavily and have bad luck with batteries.

I am definitely getting a couple manual batteries. I here they are less fickle and you get more vapor.

 

[Alucrid]

So with the 0 mg nicotine ones, I get no nicotine and just flavor? Also, I know you said the smoke is pretty thin, even when you exhale? Screwing around with the smoke is by far my favorite thing to do with I smoke.

 

[daw840]

So with the 0 mg nicotine ones, I get no nicotine and just flavor? Also, I know you said the smoke is pretty thin, even when you exhale? Screwing around with the smoke is by far my favorite thing to do with I smoke.

Its definitely thinner than cigarette smoke, but it's still there. It just disappers really quickly. Although I heard with modifications to the cartridge and using a manual battery you can get a lot thicker vapor.

And yes, no nicotine just flavor.

 

[Hari Seldon]

I smoke 40 fags a day, how long does the battery last?

If you smoke a ton, you need to get a few batteries and rotate. Some batteries might last an hour of continuous use, some 2-3 hours. It is kind of the luck of the draw with those things. You also can overheat it. If you are going to like continuously puff it, you will need 2 to rotate. The best way to use it is to do a few puffs, set it down, do a few puffs, continue.

 

[Javaman]

Its definitely thinner than cigarette smoke, but it's still there. It just disappers really quickly. Although I heard with modifications to the cartridge and using a manual battery you can get a lot thicker vapor.

And yes, no nicotine just flavor.

How can they have flavor and not be noticeable by others in the room?

 

[Darth Pinche]

A few of my friends "smoke" the Blu brand of e-cigs and they love them. They also rave about how it has allowed them to cut way down on cigarette use. The Blu ones look just like a real cigarette but have a blue led on the end when you inhale.

 

[Hari Seldon]

I am definitely getting a couple manual batteries. I here they are less fickle and you get more vapor.

Yeah I have a manual one and I definitely like it better than the other one.

 

[Hari Seldon]

A few of my friends "smoke" the Blu brand of e-cigs and they love them. They also rave about how it has allowed them to cut way down on cigarette use. The Blu ones look just like a real cigarette but have a blue led on the end when you inhale.

That is what I started with before I went with the e-cig shown in the OP. They are alright but the DSE901 is significantly better. Plus that Blu company has slllllllow ass shipping and poor customer service. I waited months for my starter kit because they had some issue getting stock, but took my order anyway and wouldn't respond to customer service emails.

 

[CharlieDigital]

And yes, no nicotine just flavor.

Probably chock full of carcinogens.

 

[daw840]

How can they have flavor and not be noticeable by others in the room?

I honestly have no idea, but no one around me can smell them.

Probably chock full of carcinogens.

I would bet my bottom dollar that it's less than a normal burning cigarette.

 

[CharlieDigital]

Just chew some gum, brah.

 

[daw840]

Just chew some gum, brah.

Tried that, it sucked. That nicorette shit is NASTY.

edit: The eJuice I am using is either made of Propylene Glycol or Vegetable Glycerin as the base.

 

[Thunder Monkey]

I just checked.

It would cost me $83 dollars to get myself started on it.

And $22 every week after.

That actually doesn't sound too bad.

 

[The Big Rig]

Hopefully they have this at my local smoke shop. I don't smoke much, but would like to curb the habit.

 

[daw840]

I just checked.

It would cost me $83 dollars to get myself started on it.

And $22 every week after.

That actually doesn't sound too bad.

I was going to say, it would take a few weeks to break even, but then you are saving money and your lungs.

Hopefully they have this at my local smoke shop. I don't smoke much, but would like to curb the habit.

I haven't seen any of this stuff at local stores. Only the disposable one-time use e-cigs, and I tried one. It tastes like complete shit compared to the one in the OP where you can pick what it tastes like.

 

[Hari Seldon]

So with the 0 mg nicotine ones, I get no nicotine and just flavor? Also, I know you said the smoke is pretty thin, even when you exhale? Screwing around with the smoke is by far my favorite thing to do with I smoke.

This review of the 901 shows how much smoke you can expect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laxZxXnNtJU

 

[chaostrophy]

Nicotine free clove liquid...I'm almost tempted to get one of these because I love the smell of clove cigarettes but never smoked them because I didn't want to get addicted.

 

[Solid Moustache]

Do you get to feel the lightheadedness/im-just-going-to-black-out feeling you get with the early cigarrettes (i'm on those right now)?

 

[daw840]

Do you get to feel the lightheadedness/im-just-going-to-black-out feeling you get with the early cigarrettes (i'm on those right now)?

I get the same feeling I get from smoking regular cigs. Except that I have been smoking for 10+ years so I no longer get the cig buzz.

 

[Solid Moustache]

Can someone who just started smoking tell me if they get the cig buzz with this?

 

[RiccochetJ]

First off this is the best place to do your research if you're interested in e-cigs:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/

I've been using the Titan model for about a year now. The biggest problem that I was having at the beginning was that the default filling in the cart (what holds the juice) wasn't giving a good throat hit or good vapor...

That was until I found this cart mod:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/cartridge-mods/53487-zfm-zero-filler-mod.html
It's as close to direct dripping as you're going to get.

I also like the blue foam mod as well. Both mods produce a great throat hit and great vapor.

I rotate 2 batteries and a passthrough and have had great results with that. The passthrough helps keep your batteries for when you're out and about.

 

[daw840]

First off this is the best place to do your research if you're interested in e-cigs:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/

I've been using the Titan model for about a year now. The biggest problem that I was having at the beginning was that the default filling in the cart (what holds the juice) wasn't giving a good throat hit or good vapor...

That was until I found this cart mod:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/cartridge-mods/53487-zfm-zero-filler-mod.html
It's as close to direct dripping as you're going to get.

I also like the blue foam mod as well. Both mods produce a great throat hit and great vapor.

I rotate 2 batteries and a passthrough and have had great results with that. The passthrough helps keep your batteries for when you're out and about.

Already a member, that's where I got 2 of the pics in the OP.