Hi. Looking at the other reviews in this sub forum I can see that reviewing micro cigs and "noob" level starter packs is probably deeply uncool. However, some members and new vapers have shown some interest in this model as a bridge from analogs to vaping. I bought this product in UK and so prices are quoted in UK pounds. Hope this will be useful to someone out there, if not all (you can't please everyone!)
Full review with more pics on this link:
http://vapemeup.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-liberro-realis-electronic.html
REVIEW: REALIS STARTER PACK FROM LIBERRO
BOX CONTENTS:
1 Rechargeable Battery, 1 USB Charging Cable, 1 Charging Case, 6 Cartomisers (filled with Realis Regular juice), and 1 User Manual. I had also ordered a mains adapter, which I thought might come in handy as an alternative to charging from the PC. The basic kit itself cost me a total of £35; the mains charger, another £5 on top.
Once assembled, the Realis really is TINY! I fitted it up with one of the pre-filled cartos that came with the kit and just weighed it up in my hand for a few seconds- it was much lighter than my previous device and as claimed on the Liberro website, measured only 82 mm in length-the same as a regular "analog" or tobacco cigarette.
Before I could start puffing on my new Realis, I gave the battery a good long charge as recommended, and to do this I used the PCC, or Personal Charging Case which came with the kit. Like the Realis e-cig itself, this small and compact plastic charging case is cleverly designed to mimic the smoking ritual by looking almost identical in shape and size to a cigarette packet. It fits easily into the pocket, has a flip lid and will allow you to charge one battery at a time. There are several little slots inside the case allowing you to carry spare cartomisers, which is a handy feature. The case also has a simple power display built into the front of the box to remind you when to recharge it, and a small red light on the left hand side of the case goes off when your battery has finished charging. In total the case is able to store enough energy to charge up 4 batteries each time you charge it. For some reason, the PCC has a discreet torchlight set into the base (why not?) and the inside of the case can also be lit up, allowing you easy access to your nicotine-based contents in dark rooms, nightclubs, power cuts, etc (you never know!). All these simple features are operated from three neat silver buttons located on the front of the case below the power display.
TESTING
Once the Realis was charged and assembled, I took my first puff on it...instantly I got a cloud of thick, warm vapour that was infinitely better than that of the V2 I tested before. The throat hit was sharp-almost clinically efficient-and a really awesome depth of flavour in the mouth (though I didn't actually like the strawberryish juice that much, truth be told). I was amazed that such a small device could deliver such a big hit...so far, so good.
I managed about 80 puffs, or about 15-20 minutes of pretty continuous vaping on it before the battery LED started to flash telling me that I had to screw it back into its slot in the PCC for bedtime. I was cool with that, but wondered just how much such frequent battery charges might start to piss me off if I were a heavier vaper facing the prospect of two and a half hours or so with nothing to vape on...still, nothing can be perfect, I thought. To be fair though, I discovered that the PCC is certainly able to charge four batteries comfortably, and better still, I found that after the initial charge period, batteries often took only about an hour and a half or so to charge before the red light went off, which isn't such a long wait.
Unlike the batteries, I was surprised to notice that the prefilled cartomisers lasted for a very long time before needing replacing. I took the PCC and my battery to work in the morning with just one newly filled carto and was still vaping on the same one in the evening, and this was after four(!) battery changes, which I thought was quite impressive. I'm a bit tired of all the claims from some suppliers that "1 carto/cart = 1 packet of real cigs" etc, but the Realis cartos did seem to last amazingly long, especially considering their tiny capacity (0.70 ml). To be fair, I would say then that you can realistically get at the most about 7-10 cigs worth of vaping out of each prefilled Realis carto, which isn't at all bad.
MY VERDICT AFTER 3 WEEKS OF USING THE REALIS:
Plusses: I think the Realis is perfect for new vapers who want to get as close as they can to the experience of real smoking. It looks and feels like a cigarette, and if you fill it right, vapes pretty much like one too. You could get this device out in the smokers' den of any nightclub and it would pretty much go unnoticed to all but the most of observant of spectators. It's small, compactly designed, and thanks to the innovative PCC, extremely portable (though you might not need all those buttons, lights and slots). Its two-piece design means fewer parts to worry about and the lack of messy carts and easy filling all make the Realis a very nice entry level, low-maintenance starter kit.
Minuses: The Realis' short battery life is the one thing that got me down about it.You can't really rely on this device for moment-to-moment satisfaction of your nicotine cravings unless you remember to leave it on permanent charge, or, (like I did) get yourself a set of two or three extra standby batteries which you can rotate as you charge and decharge. Refilling is another small gripe I had with the Realis, and was the main reason why I eventually started looking for a more sophisticated device which would give me a bit more control. Because you suck vapour directly through a filled carto, the chances of getting a mouthful of e-liquid from a freshly-filled cart are, to be honest, pretty high, and this can be unpleasant when it happens too often. If I was giving this set as a gift to a wannabe non-smoker, I would definitely get them a pack of prefilled cartos (regular or menthol) to start off with- for some reason these don't leak juice and are totally fine for about a day or so, depending on use obviously. The only real downside with the filled cartos themselves is their price, which is pretty high, at £20 for a pack of 10 at the time of writing. However, I was able to refill blank carts about 5-6 times before they stopped producing enough vapour. Prefilled carts fared slightly worse, with only about 3-4 successful refills before they eventually bit the dust.
Final Thoughts! Overall, the Realis is definitely worth buying, but to avoid disapppointment, get a spare pair of batteries and a pack of prefilled cartos, especially if this is your first e-cig, and definitely if you are buying it as a gift for someone. Refilling is possible, but it needs to be done properly and patiently-max 6 drops at a time, and this may be a real challenge for recent ex-smokers or other similarly impatient souls! The good news is that once you have used up your first set of cartos (5-10 days max) you tend to feel more confident about experimenting with refilling etc- that was at least how I felt, anyway. This kit is a great bargain at £35 and is certainly worth the money I paid for it, though I only wish the cartomisers were a little cheaper, and that like some other kits, two batteries rather than one were included...one is just not enough!
Full review with more pics on this link:
http://vapemeup.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-liberro-realis-electronic.html
REVIEW: REALIS STARTER PACK FROM LIBERRO
BOX CONTENTS:
1 Rechargeable Battery, 1 USB Charging Cable, 1 Charging Case, 6 Cartomisers (filled with Realis Regular juice), and 1 User Manual. I had also ordered a mains adapter, which I thought might come in handy as an alternative to charging from the PC. The basic kit itself cost me a total of £35; the mains charger, another £5 on top.
Once assembled, the Realis really is TINY! I fitted it up with one of the pre-filled cartos that came with the kit and just weighed it up in my hand for a few seconds- it was much lighter than my previous device and as claimed on the Liberro website, measured only 82 mm in length-the same as a regular "analog" or tobacco cigarette.
Before I could start puffing on my new Realis, I gave the battery a good long charge as recommended, and to do this I used the PCC, or Personal Charging Case which came with the kit. Like the Realis e-cig itself, this small and compact plastic charging case is cleverly designed to mimic the smoking ritual by looking almost identical in shape and size to a cigarette packet. It fits easily into the pocket, has a flip lid and will allow you to charge one battery at a time. There are several little slots inside the case allowing you to carry spare cartomisers, which is a handy feature. The case also has a simple power display built into the front of the box to remind you when to recharge it, and a small red light on the left hand side of the case goes off when your battery has finished charging. In total the case is able to store enough energy to charge up 4 batteries each time you charge it. For some reason, the PCC has a discreet torchlight set into the base (why not?) and the inside of the case can also be lit up, allowing you easy access to your nicotine-based contents in dark rooms, nightclubs, power cuts, etc (you never know!). All these simple features are operated from three neat silver buttons located on the front of the case below the power display.
TESTING
Once the Realis was charged and assembled, I took my first puff on it...instantly I got a cloud of thick, warm vapour that was infinitely better than that of the V2 I tested before. The throat hit was sharp-almost clinically efficient-and a really awesome depth of flavour in the mouth (though I didn't actually like the strawberryish juice that much, truth be told). I was amazed that such a small device could deliver such a big hit...so far, so good.
I managed about 80 puffs, or about 15-20 minutes of pretty continuous vaping on it before the battery LED started to flash telling me that I had to screw it back into its slot in the PCC for bedtime. I was cool with that, but wondered just how much such frequent battery charges might start to piss me off if I were a heavier vaper facing the prospect of two and a half hours or so with nothing to vape on...still, nothing can be perfect, I thought. To be fair though, I discovered that the PCC is certainly able to charge four batteries comfortably, and better still, I found that after the initial charge period, batteries often took only about an hour and a half or so to charge before the red light went off, which isn't such a long wait.
Unlike the batteries, I was surprised to notice that the prefilled cartomisers lasted for a very long time before needing replacing. I took the PCC and my battery to work in the morning with just one newly filled carto and was still vaping on the same one in the evening, and this was after four(!) battery changes, which I thought was quite impressive. I'm a bit tired of all the claims from some suppliers that "1 carto/cart = 1 packet of real cigs" etc, but the Realis cartos did seem to last amazingly long, especially considering their tiny capacity (0.70 ml). To be fair, I would say then that you can realistically get at the most about 7-10 cigs worth of vaping out of each prefilled Realis carto, which isn't at all bad.
MY VERDICT AFTER 3 WEEKS OF USING THE REALIS:
Plusses: I think the Realis is perfect for new vapers who want to get as close as they can to the experience of real smoking. It looks and feels like a cigarette, and if you fill it right, vapes pretty much like one too. You could get this device out in the smokers' den of any nightclub and it would pretty much go unnoticed to all but the most of observant of spectators. It's small, compactly designed, and thanks to the innovative PCC, extremely portable (though you might not need all those buttons, lights and slots). Its two-piece design means fewer parts to worry about and the lack of messy carts and easy filling all make the Realis a very nice entry level, low-maintenance starter kit.
Minuses: The Realis' short battery life is the one thing that got me down about it.You can't really rely on this device for moment-to-moment satisfaction of your nicotine cravings unless you remember to leave it on permanent charge, or, (like I did) get yourself a set of two or three extra standby batteries which you can rotate as you charge and decharge. Refilling is another small gripe I had with the Realis, and was the main reason why I eventually started looking for a more sophisticated device which would give me a bit more control. Because you suck vapour directly through a filled carto, the chances of getting a mouthful of e-liquid from a freshly-filled cart are, to be honest, pretty high, and this can be unpleasant when it happens too often. If I was giving this set as a gift to a wannabe non-smoker, I would definitely get them a pack of prefilled cartos (regular or menthol) to start off with- for some reason these don't leak juice and are totally fine for about a day or so, depending on use obviously. The only real downside with the filled cartos themselves is their price, which is pretty high, at £20 for a pack of 10 at the time of writing. However, I was able to refill blank carts about 5-6 times before they stopped producing enough vapour. Prefilled carts fared slightly worse, with only about 3-4 successful refills before they eventually bit the dust.
Final Thoughts! Overall, the Realis is definitely worth buying, but to avoid disapppointment, get a spare pair of batteries and a pack of prefilled cartos, especially if this is your first e-cig, and definitely if you are buying it as a gift for someone. Refilling is possible, but it needs to be done properly and patiently-max 6 drops at a time, and this may be a real challenge for recent ex-smokers or other similarly impatient souls! The good news is that once you have used up your first set of cartos (5-10 days max) you tend to feel more confident about experimenting with refilling etc- that was at least how I felt, anyway. This kit is a great bargain at £35 and is certainly worth the money I paid for it, though I only wish the cartomisers were a little cheaper, and that like some other kits, two batteries rather than one were included...one is just not enough!
Last edited by a moderator:
