At this point in the Vape World we've got so many options when it comes to purchasing a vaporizer that it's very much like purchasing a car. There is no one true answer for everyone.
Just like cars you've got a lot of criteria to consider...
Size, MPG (battery life), looks, durability, materials, American made or not, reliability, compatibility, etc, etc.
When you start looking for a car you think about what you're after in a car. Do you want awesome looks, bragging rights, and fast speeds and don't care about gas mileage or maintenance costs? You'll probably buy a top of the line euro sports car. You want reliability, easy maintenance, decent gas mileage and you don't care so much about looks or power? Probably a small sedan or compact. The same applies to vaporizers.
You've got a lot of the same criteria actually, just slightly skewed.
Mileage can be a combination of juice capacity and battery size, are you looking to vape all day without having to fiddle with anything, don't want to refill, recharge, or replace batteries? You're gonna want high mAh and either a feeder or tank type of set up (big tank, a lot of people will still kill a standard tank in less than a day).
Durability is pretty self explanatory. Your provari or reo is gonna take a lot more of beating than an ego or lava tube, that's not sayin egos and lava tubes are 'bad' but they're just not as physically durable.
Reliability, a lot of people will say "Mechanical!" and have no idea what they're saying. They should mean there's no circuit board or 'electronics' outside of battery and possibly a couple wires with a switch thrown in for good measure but the reliability of some mods that fit that description is worse than a much more complex mod like a darwin, provari, or even a lava tube. Build quality determines reliability, if the manufacturer uses quality parts, has good quality control in their manufacturing process and stands behind their work you're better off than getting something that just has 'less parts' but was thrown together by some random joe with no concept of what quality control is and has no manufacturing standards (that said, some of the 'random joes' that make mods in their garage make a higher quality product than some of the big names out there).
Which brings me to my personal favorite... Made in America. I'm sorry if this part offends any of our lovely non American ECFers, I'm an American so I'm writing from this perspective, feel free to replace America with your country of choice
. I prefer American made products, not because they're always the best quality but because I support the concept of "home grown" and hope that in my lifetime american manufacturing can make a come back. If that matters to you, look into your mod or vaporizer of choice. You'll find a lot of "american" companies are just selling rebranded chinese vaporizers. I'm not saying they're bad, I'm just saying if it matters to you, double check.
You also have maintenance level. My provari is easy, I change the battery, refill the tank, occasionally punch a carto.. very little maintenance. However, if a part inside the thing gives up the ghost, I'm hosed. I'll have to send it back for repairs/replacement. There are a lot of mods out there that you can service yourself, they sell replacement switches, springs, end caps, etc. You can keep a spare of random sundry parts laying around and never be more than an hour without being able to kiss your steam belching baby. For some this is very important... for me, I just bought a back up
Size matters, don't believe otherwise... Unless you're a woman or a guy with a murse (I carry a murse) then you are probably gonna want to toss your vaporizer in your pocket if you are walking around. Some mods are much more pocket friendly than others.
Compatibility. The 510 connector is probably the most prolific connector type on the market right now but there are other options, you'll have to look at what's out there an what you want to have available to you and pick a vaporizer and equipment that are compatible.
Looks. Does it matter if your vaporizer looks like a cigarette to you? Really? Do you care if you're seen in public "smoking" something that looks like a walkie talkie? Looks do matter to some people and that's something you'll have to keep in mind. The coolest looking 'thing' in the world can suddenly become very weird looking when you shove it in your face in public and blow smoke a few seconds later.
And finally.. Quality. Not quality of the device but quality of the experience. Some people are perfectly happy with wine in a box, others can't be bothered to drink unless it's older than their grandpa and has been allowed to breath properly, has been aerated and is being served in an appropriately shaped glass at the appropriate temperature. Theres nothin wrong with wine in a box but if you're out for that ultimate experience because anything less would be uncivilized then you're going to need some special equipment. For some it's just a solid carto like a Boge or one of the specialized cartos out there. For others they require that + a variable voltage/power regulated device to fine tune. Others must have custom juice they've made themselves. Others yet need a rebuildable atomizer with SS mesh wick for the 'pure' taste of the juice, many use all of the above. Some people like Sarge and Classwife can only vape pure liquid vaporized via natural gas torch lighter in the recesses of a silver bowl. Ya know, different tastes and all that.
Whatever your choice is, don't be offended on these forums when you're new and ask "What should I buy!" and get answered with a series of questions and then your thread turns into a debate about how vaporizer X is better than Y and Z beats them all by a bunch of vaping veterans. Many of us have already evaluated our tastes and many of our tastes have evolved over time. Humans tend to forget that 'right for me' does not mean 'right for everyone'.
Good luck in your vaping journey, and remember... always ask for the car fax!
Just like cars you've got a lot of criteria to consider...
Size, MPG (battery life), looks, durability, materials, American made or not, reliability, compatibility, etc, etc.
When you start looking for a car you think about what you're after in a car. Do you want awesome looks, bragging rights, and fast speeds and don't care about gas mileage or maintenance costs? You'll probably buy a top of the line euro sports car. You want reliability, easy maintenance, decent gas mileage and you don't care so much about looks or power? Probably a small sedan or compact. The same applies to vaporizers.
You've got a lot of the same criteria actually, just slightly skewed.
Mileage can be a combination of juice capacity and battery size, are you looking to vape all day without having to fiddle with anything, don't want to refill, recharge, or replace batteries? You're gonna want high mAh and either a feeder or tank type of set up (big tank, a lot of people will still kill a standard tank in less than a day).
Durability is pretty self explanatory. Your provari or reo is gonna take a lot more of beating than an ego or lava tube, that's not sayin egos and lava tubes are 'bad' but they're just not as physically durable.
Reliability, a lot of people will say "Mechanical!" and have no idea what they're saying. They should mean there's no circuit board or 'electronics' outside of battery and possibly a couple wires with a switch thrown in for good measure but the reliability of some mods that fit that description is worse than a much more complex mod like a darwin, provari, or even a lava tube. Build quality determines reliability, if the manufacturer uses quality parts, has good quality control in their manufacturing process and stands behind their work you're better off than getting something that just has 'less parts' but was thrown together by some random joe with no concept of what quality control is and has no manufacturing standards (that said, some of the 'random joes' that make mods in their garage make a higher quality product than some of the big names out there).
Which brings me to my personal favorite... Made in America. I'm sorry if this part offends any of our lovely non American ECFers, I'm an American so I'm writing from this perspective, feel free to replace America with your country of choice
. I prefer American made products, not because they're always the best quality but because I support the concept of "home grown" and hope that in my lifetime american manufacturing can make a come back. If that matters to you, look into your mod or vaporizer of choice. You'll find a lot of "american" companies are just selling rebranded chinese vaporizers. I'm not saying they're bad, I'm just saying if it matters to you, double check. You also have maintenance level. My provari is easy, I change the battery, refill the tank, occasionally punch a carto.. very little maintenance. However, if a part inside the thing gives up the ghost, I'm hosed. I'll have to send it back for repairs/replacement. There are a lot of mods out there that you can service yourself, they sell replacement switches, springs, end caps, etc. You can keep a spare of random sundry parts laying around and never be more than an hour without being able to kiss your steam belching baby. For some this is very important... for me, I just bought a back up
Size matters, don't believe otherwise... Unless you're a woman or a guy with a murse (I carry a murse
) then you are probably gonna want to toss your vaporizer in your pocket if you are walking around. Some mods are much more pocket friendly than others. Compatibility. The 510 connector is probably the most prolific connector type on the market right now but there are other options, you'll have to look at what's out there an what you want to have available to you and pick a vaporizer and equipment that are compatible.
Looks. Does it matter if your vaporizer looks like a cigarette to you? Really? Do you care if you're seen in public "smoking" something that looks like a walkie talkie? Looks do matter to some people and that's something you'll have to keep in mind. The coolest looking 'thing' in the world can suddenly become very weird looking when you shove it in your face in public and blow smoke a few seconds later.
And finally.. Quality. Not quality of the device but quality of the experience. Some people are perfectly happy with wine in a box, others can't be bothered to drink unless it's older than their grandpa and has been allowed to breath properly, has been aerated and is being served in an appropriately shaped glass at the appropriate temperature. Theres nothin wrong with wine in a box but if you're out for that ultimate experience because anything less would be uncivilized then you're going to need some special equipment. For some it's just a solid carto like a Boge or one of the specialized cartos out there. For others they require that + a variable voltage/power regulated device to fine tune. Others must have custom juice they've made themselves. Others yet need a rebuildable atomizer with SS mesh wick for the 'pure' taste of the juice, many use all of the above. Some people like Sarge and Classwife can only vape pure liquid vaporized via natural gas torch lighter in the recesses of a silver bowl. Ya know, different tastes and all that.
Whatever your choice is, don't be offended on these forums when you're new and ask "What should I buy!" and get answered with a series of questions and then your thread turns into a debate about how vaporizer X is better than Y and Z beats them all by a bunch of vaping veterans. Many of us have already evaluated our tastes and many of our tastes have evolved over time. Humans tend to forget that 'right for me' does not mean 'right for everyone'.
Good luck in your vaping journey, and remember... always ask for the car fax!
