Vaping and ecigs. - The Bear and Badger

bad_hair_day

Hey Moot, I put anything in the DynaVap, although the instructions warn against using tobacco!

Had a iPro60 which reviewed well, but a personal £90 nightmare to live with. Had to plan a vape, ensure it's charged, batteries conking out, ahh sod it.

Wanted a stealthy answer which never failed and that's the DynaVap M. Precision engineered, size of a cig, good clouds and because no batteries it will work after the zombie apocalypse has hit. There's something about applying direct heat to metal that enchants. Accompany with a reliable jet lighter, it's best way to spend £50 on a dry vape solution.

Kow

Personally, I prefer the rechargeable one. The Pax keeps its charge for hours so unless you're hitting it all day it never runs out. There's something great about just throwing it in your pocket and it's ready to go. Heats up in 15 seconds and turns the heat down automatically if you put it down on the table. I only use it once every two or three weeks really so I think I've only ever charged it once in over a year.

Moot_Geeza

I've gone the DynaVapM route while I consider snazzier options further down the line. Should arrive in the next couple of days. Thanks all.

bad_hair_day

Top tip: if you misplace your lighter, give it a twirl on a gas hob.

Gremill

Also, don’t heat past the click.

nick_md

Get a second battery

Kow

And make sure you heat it in the oven first.

Moot_Geeza

Conflicting tips guys. Someone on a Youtube vid swears by overheating past the click for 1.5 seconds.

bad_hair_day

Depends on how you like it TBH. Heating longer gets more cloud but less taste. Follow the enclosed guide and enjoy!

Moot_Geeza

Gremill wrote:

gives a clean, wonderful stone.

That it does. Rolling back the years here, I'm fucked.

bad_hair_day

£10 off DynaVap M 2018 version

£39.20

Amazing little ting. https://vapefiend.co.uk/products/dynavap-m

SonicBoomBoy

bad_hair_day wrote:

£10 off DynaVap M 2018 version

£39.20

Amazing little ting. https://vapefiend.co.uk/products/dynavap-m

Total noob but is this for vapour or fancy weed tube?

AJ

The latter. Needs a separate blow torch thing, too.

bad_hair_day

Or any heat source really. Used a candle and a gas hob before - mind your eyebrows/fringe though.

Minnesänger

With my health getting worse and worse, I finally decided to give e-cigs another try. Had one many years ago and it was ok, but fiddly and it was an arse to charge. Got myself one of those easy-peasy pods ones today.

It's an Apollo Brez and is a wonderfully made piece of minimalist kit. It's taking some getting used to, tbh - it lacks the mouth feel (oooh er!) and hard hit of a proper ciggie, and I find myself trying to drag some kind of sensation out of it far harder than I should be. But, now that i've had a little time to spend with it, I'm starting to settle in to using it slowly and regularly.

The true tests will be the morning coffees and drinking sessions. However, for now, I think I might be able to get it to stick.

It came with 3 flavours in the starter pack - a plain-ish one (I think), a tobacco flavour, and a lemon one. I also got some coca-cola pods and some mocha coffee pods to try. Apparently the pods should last me two days each, and there's 3 in each pack. If the numbers are accurate, it'll end up cutting my ciggie expenses by about 50% overall.

nick_md

Good stuff, chief. I find menthol or mint give the most cigarette-like throat hit, I was never into menthol tabs either. The tobacco flavour stuff does nothing for me, nor does all the cakey / sugary stuff. I grab a couple of menthol plus a watermelon for fresh variety.

How much vapour is produced by your gizmo? The more vapour, the more throat hit, I find, although I can't stand inconsiderate vaping arseholes blowing plumes in busy areas. Check your surroundings, etc.

Lord_Griff

Aisu cucumber.

Minnesänger

nick_md wrote:

Good stuff, chief. I find menthol or mint give the most cigarette-like throat hit, I was never into menthol tabs either. The tobacco flavour stuff does nothing for me, nor does all the cakey / sugary stuff. I grab a couple of menthol plus a watermelon for fresh variety. How much vapour is produced by your gizmo? The more vapour, the more throat hit, I find, although I can't stand inconsiderate vaping arseholes blowing plumes in busy areas. Check your surroundings, etc.

Thanks for the tips - I'm also not a menthol type of person, but if they work for e cigs as a suitable substitute for the throat hit, then i'll give them a go.

Now that I know the right way to drag with it, it's producing a moderate amount of vapour and it's feeling a bit more satisfying. However, it's not a huge amount - it uses a Nicotine salt mix which, apparently, based on my less than 24-hours of research and experience, means that you get a gentler, smoother hit and less vapour. It's certainly nowhere near as much vapour as I've seen other e-cigs produce. Vapour wise, probably similar to a moderate drag on a normal cigarette in terms of quantity, and about half the "feel".

Did some reading up on the Brez (probably should have done that before I bought it) and it seems to have reviewed really well, and is seen as an excellent starter e-cig - which sounds about right. It's easy to use, wonderfully made, and minimal faff. I thought I'd really crave my morning fag with coffee, but I actually managed to skip it and just use the Brez, so I'm taking that as a massive win.

Minnesänger

Oh, there is one other downside, though...got me some dry mouth. Never thought a cool vapour would give me worse dry mouth than a dry, hot burning cigarette, but you learn something new everyday.

Yossarian

A lot of ecig mixtures use propylene glycol as an ingredient to increase the throat hit, I found that dried my mouth out a lot. I’ve switched to a pure vegetable glycerin one which I use with a lower resistance coil which means more vapour but reduced dry mouth.

Never tried one of these salt based ones (I believe that this is what Juul ecigs use), not sure what that does for dry mouth.

Kara_Jane_Addams

Currently using a pair of Jac Vapour S22s with a mouth to lung collar, blend the liquid myself, buying bulk packs of VG 18mg nicotine base, on a mix of Turkish tobacco, whiskey and a touch of cola, doesn’t taste anything like that but it gives it that semi-sweet American tobacco taste that works for me.

I’m considering an upgrade to the Series-B DNA 75w when I have the cash.

Minnesänger

How does the mixing work? Do you mix in “bulk” or just as you go? How often do you have to fiddle with a new batch?

Kara_Jane_Addams

I use 50ml tanks which last about 6 weeks, usually have a couple on the go, and a pack of syringes so I can replicate the flavour without having to wing it.

Minnesänger

Nice, thanks for that (and thanks to @Yoss for the info re. dry mouth and shiz - some good knowledge in this thread).

One of the appeals for me right now is how easy it is - my current setup requires zero knowledge and no cleaning. It's plug-and-play, effectively. I worry that, if I had to worry about cleaning, mixing and e-cig building, that i'd end up not bothering with the whole lot.

But, if i can get this habit to stick I might have a look into getting a more personalised setup. So, thanks again for the info.

Yossarian

I don’t make my own liquid (aside from adding nicotine), but even with that, it’s still probably less faff than going to the shops to buy cigs.

My entire maintenance routine is as follows:

Mix my liquid (10 minutes, less than once per month).

Clean tank by running under water and changing the coil (10 minutes, about once per week).

Topping up the tank (less than a minute, maybe once per day). Topping up the tank involves no more than having a piece of tissue handy for giving the outside a wipe once you’re done.

There really isn’t much to it.

Minnesänger

Yeah, I didn't think it would be a lot of hassle, it's just that right now the key is...you know, not smoking ciggies. Once I'm comfortable I'll switch up.

Had zero fags today. Absolutely chuffed.

Minnesänger

Seriously, great thread. Thanks Yoss.

Dark Soldier

Been on a vape for 9 months now bar a three week blip of back on cigs.

First couple weeks is the hardest so push through that and you'll be grand. Beauty is if ya do slip back and have a few cigs, you wont get the withdrawal when you dump em again for the vape.

Minnesänger

Nice work, 9 months ain't nothing to sniff at.

It's been easier than I thought, tbh. But I've been toking relatively constantly, so i've not had cravings to deal with. Biggest issues have been the habitual ones - morning coffee / just home etc. but they've been ok.

Like you said, not too worried if I slip as this ain't a nicotine cold turkey kinda situation.

nick_md

Christ I just change my coil thing once every week or two, rinse the chamber thing under the tap for 10 seconds and done. Whole process takes about 1 minute; screw all this manually changing the cotton etc.

I buy 3x 10ml bottles for £10-for-3 from my local vapourising shop every other weekend. A pack of 5 coils every other month or so.

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