Review of N300 Revolver Package from Nhaler

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SpiritShadow

Full Member
Jun 15, 2013
15
27
Newark, NY
Introduction

This is my second review of an Nhaler.com product. I am not a paid shill. I am a person who likes good information and hates to waste time searching for it. Whereas this is a personal review of a specific product, it also touches upon the company selling it. My statements are as sincere and objective as I can make them.

I quit smoking cold turkey 30 days ago. I first learned about this technology 10 days after quitting. I am still learning. I have been programming computers for 41 years. My 2-pack a day cigarette habit was an integral part of my work for 4 decades. I occasionally do dumb things and am not ashamed to admit it.

I hope others may find this review to be as useful as I would otherwise have found it, as I would like to have read a review like this before acquiring this item.

Overview

The N300 Revolver package came well packaged in a quality drawstring bag with a 1300 mAh variable voltage battery, AC charger, and two dual-coil clear-case cartomizers. It is a simple and straightforward set, though no documentation was included (more on that later).

This was my first exposure to higher-voltage vaping and dual coil cartomizers (AKA "clearomizers"). I knew very little about them beyond what I had read. As usual, nothing beats firsthand experience.

First Impression

Opening the silk drawstring bag and removing the vaporizer was one of those "Wow" moments for me. Perhaps others who have been exposed to similar units might react with indifference, but I was nevertheless impressed.

I would characterize this as an "Executive Level" device. It has an elegant and sophisticated feel. It balances well in the hand. It is pleasing and comfortable to hold. It has all the earmarks of a well-engineered package that should last a long time with proper care.

The only downside I can see is that some people might consider its 7-inch overall length somewhat inconvenient for pocket applications. For myself, this is not an issue (I actually like it this way).

Getting Started

This part that will take a little explaining...

I knew nothing about this technology when I quit smoking. My first exposure to vaping was via the e-cigarettes sold in convenience stores a week after quitting. The first personal vaporizer I purchased was the N400 Package from Nhaler.com (reviewed here, highly favorable review, has performed admirably to date).

The important point is that both of these devices (standard e-cigarettes and automatic PV's) use an automatic pneumatic switch (operated via suction vacuum) which engages the battery and energizes the coil, which produces the vapor. You just pick up the e-cigarette or PV and take a drag. This mode of operation formed the basis of my experience.

Upon receipt of the new N300 Revolver unit, I plugged in the battery charger and screwed in the battery. It took longer than anticipated to charge (about 10 hrs) so it was apparently fully discharged. Eventually the green indicator came on. After filling one of the clear dual-coil cartomizers, I screwed it on and took a drag with anticipation.

(nothing)

"Hmmm." Then I remembered the Nhaler.com web page in which it explained about the 5-click battery on/off feature, so I rapidly clicked the button 5 times. It flashed slowly several times, so something had obviously happened. Encouraged, I took another drag.

(nothing)

I tried several other things but it just did not appear to work. Disappointed, I sent a message to "Drew," the owner/operator of Nhaler.com and explained the problem. He responded immediately and we began a series of email messages in which we explored numerous possibilities. Maybe the voltage adjustment potentiometer at the battery base isn't making contact? Maybe the cartomizer isn't making proper contact? Maybe the cartomizer is flooded? Maybe the battery is turned off? Maybe the unit is defective? We tried several remedies, but all were unsuccessful. Drew apologized and asked me to return the unit so he could determine by inspection what was wrong.

In the late evening, I received yet another message from Drew. He said he had been puzzling over this problem all day, it was really bothering him -- and he just wondered: "Are you holding down the button when you draw on the unit?"

:blush: DEAR GOD!!! :blush:

So simple. Working fine. MOUNTAINS of vapor. (stupid) Goes to show that even a guy who's been programming computers for 41 years and is at the top of his game can still be just as dumb as toast.

Operation


Vapor production is outstanding. The amount of vapor produced by this unit at 4.8 volts is incredible. If I pull heavily on the unit at this voltage, the vapor cloud will literally fill the room. It produces far more than I need and I typically run it much lower. However, I also find that I sometimes like a strong hit. Thus, the adjustable voltage capability is a really nice feature. After experimentation, I found that operating the unit at approximately 3.8 volts produces vapor at a level that's right for me.

An unexpected benefit of the dual-coil/higher voltage system is that it enhances the taste of the (555) e-liquid I'm using. The taste is cleaner, stronger, more vivid and lasts longer. Interestingly, although the N400 Echo unit does not produce a noteworthy vapor aroma in the air, I have now been told twice that the vapor aroma produced by the N300 Revolver unit is very appealing. Apparently the sweet-nutty-tobacco flavoring persists in the air somewhat and smells quite good to others, then it dissipates after 5-10 seconds.

Summary

This is by far the best unit to which I have been exposed and I am blown away by it. The site lists several models starting at $28, I suspect they're all well worth the price. The construction quality is excellent and I am extremely pleased with its performance.

I readily admit that I initially caused my own problem through lack of knowledge -- but it is precisely because I do NOT possess extensive knowledge that this review should be of interest to others, who may otherwise inevitably go down the same path.

Good information on this subject is hard to find. Even this forum makes finding good information difficult, as one has to paw through myriad personalities to get to hard facts. Conversely, the general awareness level is low among consumers and few people have any real knowledge of this technology. I know this to be true because virtually every person to whom I have showed my PV has stared at it and said "Wow, what's that???" Subsequently, I took the time to do research and learned all that I could learn by reading.

Obviously I still have a lot to learn. But, I also think the same marketing rules that apply to most consumer products apply here as well. A proper User's Guide is central to that concept. A simple folded piece of paper with basic instructions would have saved me 2 days of frustration and a lot of wasted time.

The other issue central to the issue of customer satisfaction is the quality of service received from the seller. In this instance I am happy to report that "Drew" and Nhaler.com provide exemplary service.

As a further example of follow-through, Drew modified his web pages the day after my experiences such that all of their instructional videos now appear directly on the related product pages themselves. Thus, you no longer have to "go" anywhere to find them -- the information is readily available by inspection. He even took the time to send me a message advising me that he had made these changes and he thanked me for my input. Buyers take note: This is a conscientious and highly professional seller!

Conclusion

In my previous review, forum member jtracc said "Actually, we all jumped through the same hoops that you did. We all started off the exact same way."

I wish it didn't have to be that way. After this experience, I believe more strongly than ever that much of what we're all going through is unnecessary. There are fantastic products out there (like this N300 Revolver unit), but few people know anything about them. Furthermore, I'm living proof that operation is not intuitively obvious -- and some of us aren't as smart as we thought... :confused:

I think we can all agree that the disposable "electronic cigarettes" sold in convenience stores are poor performers and prohibitively expensive by comparison. Most people I know either haven't tried them at all, or tried them but rejected them due to cost (far more than tobacco). Thus, general knowledge of more sophisticated products is maintained at a low level among consumers. The market will grow, but much slower than it otherwise might. Education and better documentation will remedy this in time, but it will take years.

For myself, as of today my lungs are clear and clean, no wheezing, no coughing, no hacking, no phlegm, I have boundless energy, there is no smoke, no smell, no more burn marks on upholstery or counter tops, no fire danger, no second hand smoke, I'm saving thousands of dollars per year -- and have probably added years to my life. Doesn't get much better than that. I'd have been using PV's 10 years ago if I'd known they existed.

I am a hugely satisfied customer -- but admittedly I had to work to get there and I had some help, for which I am most grateful. Thankfully, there are some real professionals ready and willing to assist. However, I also look forward to a time when we don't have to "go online" to find information that should be dead center mainstream in our society.
 

VprNomi

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
Jan 2, 2011
210
64
WI
I recently bought an Nhaler N300 mini (300 mah) kit with extra 650 mah battery and I am in LOVE with it.

Let me start off by saying that I consider myself a relative noobie despite the fact that my e-cig journey began over 2 yrs ago because I only tried them for a few months without much success before I recently returned.

My background is starting with a Bluecig kit given to me, which was the first time I ever heard of e-cigs and I thought it was a fabulous idea but the Blucigs themselves didn't work for me so I did a little internet research to find something better (only a few days & hadn't found this forum yet). I ended up buying a V2 cigs kit and it was better, but still not what I wanted. The batteries performed okay but I didn't like any of the flavors /TH (variety pack with different nic levels & flavor cartridges). Then I found the forum and went with V4L, mostly because they were prettier (I'm sort of a girly girl). I learned about the variety of juice flavors, PG/VG rations, nic levels and vendors and tried lots of them (too many) as well as a lot of different types/sizes of cartos. I spent a lot of money experimenting, had an entire Caboodle full of stuff (think standard tackle box for you men out there) and it was still hit or miss (only found one flavor/TH combo I really liked). Besides the juice, the problem was that I had to charge the batts every 2 hours, which was a chore even though I liked the V4L batts, so not wanting to waste all my 808 cartos, I tried a Pigcig (750 mah 808). Very disappointed overall. The battery performance was fine with a somewhat airy hit which I liked at the time but the chrome band tarnished and looked extremely ugly after only a few days. I talked to the vendor & they said there was nothing that could be done about it - they just came that way. So then I bought an Elegant Easy (650 mah 808 with goldtone trim rather than silver/chrome). I loved the look - especially the shorter battery & cone, but none of it was enough to get me to stop smoking at any significant level (2 PPD Marlboro Red 100 smoker for about 25 yrs). Then I discovered that I was pregnant and decided that I should go with 0 nic juice. Of course, that didn't get me off analogs either (I suppose that was to be expected if nic liquids didn't) and while it probably would have been a better choice to go back to nic liquids, it was just easier and simpler during this complicated time to return to smoking completely and unfortunately, that's what I did.

Now, 2 yrs later, I'm ready to try to quit smoking again. I lost most of my e-cig gear in a move so I needed something new and I found the N300 series at Nhaler (where I previously bought a TON of their colored/twisted drip tips mostly to keep track of which flavor was loaded in which cart, which worked fabulously and I liked the mouth-feel).

I bought the N300 mini (400 mah) kit with extra 650 battery (check out the site to see what it includes), a few extra re-buildable crystal clear cartomizers and a few drip tip adapters so I could continue to use the handful of drip tips I still had and let me tell you, I am phenomenally impressed! I work from home so I don't really need the 1100 or 1300 mah to get me through the day (I don't mind charging sometimes, just not every 2 hrs).

My review is going to be a little different from the one above. I personally don't care about packaging, so I won't address that here. However, I can tell you that within the 1st couple of days, I was able to drop from 2PPD smoking to 1PPD or less and now, a week later, I'm down to about 1/2PPD, so I really think this system is going to work for me (YAY!). My favorites are the mini 400 mah battery (I don't like a system that's too large - again, I'm kind of girly) and the crystal clear cartomizers.

The crystal clear cartomizers are awesome. They work really great with no cracking, breaking or fogging, are really easy to work with and deliver flavor FAR superior to any carto I ever had (and I tried a lot of them). Very rarely, I might get a tiny bit of "leakage" of juice into my mouth (not much and not a big deal) but they don't leak at all otherwise. The 1.6ml capacity is fine because I rotate 3 flavors at a time so 4.8ml overall is plenty for me and if I happen to go through that before then end of the day (on occasion), it's really easy to refell them. Again, I don't want anything too large. I've gone through 1/2 each of all 3 15 ml bottles of ejuice I have so far without changing clearomizers and they still show no signs of needing replacement. The wicks are short and at the top but I've had no wicking problems whatsoever (70/30 VG/PG 12 mg liquid which is relatively thick, but I haven't tried anything thicker, with higher PG levels in them yet - though I probably will soon and don't expect any issues).

When I first started vaping, I thought I wanted something that looked somewhat and felt like a cigarette. I quickly learned that turned out not to be the case, first because the mah on those size batts isn't enough for me not to be a hassle and second, because I really don't want anyone (including myself) to think that I'm smoking when I'm not. I think lots of noobies learn that what they think they want at first turns out not to be what they really want once they start experimenting with ecigs.

The N300's are beautiful and well made. I like the "rubberized" black matte finish and I like the button far better than that on any other manual battery I've tried in the past. It's more comfortable and feels like a higher quality. I haven't noticed a cutoff time on these batts at all. There might be one, but I haven't reached it (yet). The 400 mah is my favorite because it's small enough to please my aesthetic but still lasts a good amount of time (I probably charge it once a day and use the 650 mah as backup while it's charging - which by the way, only takes an hour or so for me, both sizes, unlike the reviewer above). I just wish it had the same 5 click on/off feature that the larger mah batteries do. The 650 mah is great too, it's just a little larger overall than I prefer because the crystal clearos are longer than the cartos I used to use (no more because the flavor from the clearos is far superior, they're easier to fill and I like to see how much I have loaded) - but I have no problems or issues with that one either. Of course, the system is slightly longer than it otherwise would be because I bought the drip tip adapters for the clearos, which adds maybe 1/4", and because I still like to use the drip tips mentioned above to identify which flavor is in which clearo. The draw is perfect - not as airy as the Pigcig (thus, not as noisy either) but not as tight as the Elegant Easy (which was too tight for me - the only issue I had with that unit).

The Elegant Easys are no longer available and I almost bought a new (and improved?) PigCig from LeCig when I decided to return to vaping recently but (not to badmouth a vendor but it's true), they still haven't responded to either the email or the voicemail that I left with questions over 10 days ago. Quite to the contrary, Nhaler has been VERY responsive to my calls, shipped my order the same day and I received it just a few days later (with a weekend in between - impressive!). I couldn't be happier with their customer service and the quality of the products I've ordered. This system is actually working to help me quit smoking and I will definitely be continuing to order from Nhaler. Drew - you and your staff are THE BEST!

Just as a final note, I have a case that's basically the size of a standard metal cigarette case (thin and only slightly longer & wider than a pack of cigarettes) and it perfectly fits the 650 mah battery, 2 extra crystal clearos & 1 xl carto (just in case), all with drip tips attached, and the USB charger all at the same time. I love this because it's small enough to be a realistic option to carry around instead of a pack of cigs (vs. a larger nylon zipper case I keep at home, actually a diabetic blood glucose meter case but about the same size as the nylon zippered case Nhaler carries, which is what I store the xtra gear in, like the wall charger, the larger juice bottles and extra clear coils of different ohms as well as extra drip tips and about 4 cartos I have left - just in case). Unfortunately, while I could probably replace the USB charger in the small case with the 400 mah mini so I could carry the whole days worth of gear together in one small case, that doesn't work because the mini doesn't have the 5 click on/off feature so the perfectly snug fit (not jammed in but not loose either) of all that stuff in the case, that drains the mini's charge (must be accidentally pressing the button) - so I keep the mini on hand and the case at my side.

Overall, the system (and Nhaler as a vendor) gets 5+ stars from me!!!
 
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