My review of the Sidesho

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Bandit

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Jul 17, 2009
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In your bushes, watching you undress
I had wanted to take pictures to accompany my review, but I simply have not had the time. My apologies, but Tony has taken some great shots on his website.

First, allow me to rehash what I posted in my preliminary review for the benefit of those who have not seen it yet (if you have, skip on down...)

Ok, tomorrow or the next day I'll be posting up a shootout between the Sidesho and the Blu, but for now I have some quickie, preliminary results to share.


  • Sidesho produces about 30-40% MORE vapor. I do not know if this is a result of the slightly longer battery or the inner carts that are 7mm larger and hold WAY more juice. Further testing is needed, but suffice it to say that the Sidesho performs much like an M401, but with a smoother, easier draw!


  • You CAN attach the Sidesho atty/cart to the Blu. This way you'll get almost the same compact size as the Blu, but with far superior performance in vapor production and flavor.


  • You CAN attach the Sidesho battery to the Blu atty/cart but there will be a gap. It does not hinder nor enhance performance, the only exception SOME might take is the visual oddity of the gap between the atty and batt.


  • The Sidesho outer cart (mouthpiece) is exactly the same size as the Blu outer cart.


  • The Sidesho INNER cart is 7mm longer than the Blu cart. It sits up higher in the outer cart and holds TREMENDOUSLY more fluid.


  • The Sidesho inner cart is easier to top off than the Blu or the M401 because of how high it sits in the outer cart (mouthpiece). It can be dicey trying to top off an M401 or Blu unless you use a paper clip to push the cart up, but with the Sidesho the paper clip is not needed.


  • The Sidesho cart uses pre-sealed foil like the Blu. Puncturing is about as easy.


  • Unlike Blu, you CAN buy BLANK CARTS for the Sidesho.


  • Unlike the Blu, the pre-filled carts from ModernVapor actually TASTE GOOD. I am vaping the M-Boro (Marlboro from other vendors) and it rocks. It is also more flavorful (in potency) than Blu cart juices.


  • The Sidesho atty bridge is slightly longer than the Blu atty bridge. This makes it great for dipping and for dripping as well.


  • Because the Sidesho uses an exposed atty, it is far easier to unclog than an internal bridge like on the 510. This means maintenance is much easier to perform.


  • I have been topping off and dripping with great success in the Sidesho.


  • For the first hour of vaping, I hit the cutoff fairly quickly... about 3-4 seconds. Now it seems to be breaking in and I am getting about 7 seconds out of it, so that means I will rarely have to worry about it cutting off. I suspect after another day or two it will break in even more. This is EXACTLY what I experienced with my 510s. So this is killer news.


  • Manual batteries are supposed to be coming soon for the Sidesho for those that only go manual. I do not know the ETA however.


  • The draw is not as "easy" as the Blu (which some find disconcerting anyway), but not nearly as "tight" as the M401 Dragon that I own and love. It is right in-between. Smooth, fairly easy, and you get a ....-load of vapor. Yes, ....-load is a technical term.


  • The Sidesho assembled is too long for the Blu PCC lid to shut. The Sidesho atty/cart on the Blu batt (to reduce length) is still about 2mm too long for the Blu PCC to shut.



I have conveyed my thoughts to Tony, owner of ModernVapor.com. I am awaiting the rest of my delivery that will consist of a red batt, white batt, and PCC along with more cart flavors. Right now I only have a blue batt, blue atty and red atty that I'm testing with.

I will file a more in-depth report when all of the components arrive. But so far the Sidesho will almost permanently retire my Blu. The Blu still only has one point that beats out the Sidesho (as well as EVERY OTHER e-cig on the market) and that is the fact the PCC can hold an ASSEMBLED UNIT. The Sidesho cannot do this in their own PCC, it will be as effective as a 510 PCC however with the exception being that the Sidesho PCC holds many more carts than the 510 PCC.


The Sidesho may be permanently replacing both my Dragon AND Blu. I am getting way more vapor with far less draw effort than my M401 (Dragon). Way more flavor & vapor with more batt life than my Blu.

Once broken in over about 2 days, the vapor production did in fact go up as I had anticipated. It is on-par with my 510 on an auto battery. When the Sidesho manual batts come in, I fully expect that they will perform equal to the 510 manual batt.

I like the PCC, it holds 6 carts, an extra atty and a charging battery. This beats the hell out of the 510 PCC because of what it holds plus it looks and FEELS like a pack of cigarettes. Now to be fair... there IS an M401 PCC in production right now that will be identical to this Sidesho PCC, so the two will be pretty much equal when that does release.

Topping off, refilling and dripping are super easy. No need to use a paper clip like on the M401 or Blu. You certainly can use a paper clip to be perfect, but after a couple tries you'll be able to top off easily without the paper clip. This is impossible with the Blu or the M401.

The extra long inner cart holds more juice than the Blu obviously, but also more than the M401. I tend to vape through it faster than the M401 however, but I don't know if that is due to the strong battery, or the fact that the draw is so light, I am hitting it harder.

For whatever unexplained reason... WHITE batts hit harder and provide more vapor than the red or blue. No BS, they do.

Batts are as ridiculously sensitive to sound/wind as the Blu, but manual batts are available next week, so who cares.

You cannot put a Blu batt into the Sideshow PCC to charge, it is too short and falls in too deep. You can put a Sidesho batt in the Blu PCC to charge, but then you cannot close the lid.

Sidesho and Blu work as completely interchangeable systems, but please note the atty difference I listed above in my preliminary review.


Aesthetics:

Damn do these things look awesome. No, really... they look amazing. Very high-tech and sleek. The rich colors are applied with a glossy finish. I feel like I'm vaping a Ferrari or something. I have red, blue and white but plan to add a steel one as well. I also plan to buy one of each in manual (because I'm a consumer .....).

Vaping on an all red Sidesho will probably get you laid. Now I have no actual proof of this, but the red looks so sexy that if you DON'T get laid for some reason, you'll probably end up touching yourself anyway... it's that damn sexy.

I like the idea that Tony has color-matched mouthpieces for each, it's a nice touch really.


Pre-filled Carts tested so far are really good. The Marlboro kicks ..., I love this one. I HATE RY4, but this RY4 is a bit tamer and smoother, so I was able to vape one dry without gagging :)

The best part about the Sidesho for many that are coming out of Blu is the fact that unlike Blu... you can buy blank carts. I do have to say though, at $5 for 5 blank carts, the price is a bit steep. It should be less, but with the overall pricing being lower on everything else, I can justify it due to the savings on everything else MV offers. Over time though, I will want lower prices on these carts, I know that already.

So that's a LOT of good. But like any fair review, there has to be some bad. Although admittedly, the bad is only nit-picking, and not serious enough to prevent me from buying more from MV.

As mentioned earlier, the auto batts are crazy-sensitive. Moreso than my M401s and just as bad as the Blu. Forget going outside on a windy day with these. Luckily the manual batts are coming soon.

Be careful topping off. Even when NOT getting to the point of pooling, you can easily overfill. Due to the easy draw you can sometimes end up with juice in your mouth. I catch it spitting out at me for about the first 5 vapes after topping off. Yes, even when drawing very, very lightly and slowly... you just have to be careful and "learn" this PV to avoid this. It took me most of the day today to 'get it'. You can almost never point the tip downwards and vape or it will gurgle, pop, and shoot some juice in your mouth (yes I know that sounded dirty)... so be careful.

Batt life. Pretty much the same as a 510. So honestly for the size, it is commendable, but we are always looking for better batt life I suppose. Luckily the PCC is very handy, and will do 6 batt recharges on a single PCC charge. Before I have killed my active batt, my charging batt is ready to go anyway.



So overall I do believe my M401 is fully replaced due to the convenience of the Sidesho as well as the smoother, easier draw producing more vapor.

The Blu is replaced, but I will hold on to it because I can create a Franken-cig by mixing the parts. I can use a smaller Blu batt on the better quality Sidesho atty/cart for more flavor and more juice while still maintaining the smaller size of the Blu.



For the past two days the Sidesho has been my go-to vape over all of my others. Being a die-hard 510 lover that really speaks volumes for the performance of the Sidesho.
 
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IanS

Full Member
Aug 31, 2009
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Holy balls, this is what Im talking about!!! So basically this thing works "just like" the Blu only has better flavor and more vapor. This is excellent. I have noticed that I must "straight inhale" instead of just draw into my mouth like an analog to get a good amount of vapor from my Blu. Also a red atty with a Black Blu battery with a black cart would look hot I think. Future customer for sure!!!


Quick question though. Do you think its possible to mod the Blu PCC to accept the MV atty and cart with Blu battery? I mean you say its only 2mm longer so it wouldnt really take too much to get it to close. I guess if I have to buy a MV PCC then I might as well buy batteries since it wont charge the Blu ones. I am interested in the manual batteries of the sidesho though... Man, Im trying not to spen d so much but I may just be forced to and may just have the Blu batteries as backups...

Enough ranting form me - I seriously appreciate the review as I am sure other Blu users will too.

-IanS
 

kaeo773

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Mar 10, 2009
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Bandit- I don't think you calculated the blank carts with the 25% discount code, they would come up to a price $3.71.

Good honest review-
You do need some time to figure out the Sidesho, it was the sooth draw that really threw me off at the beginning. The same thing happened to me when I first prefilled a cart, I took a hard draw as if I was using my M401, and I got juice in my mouth.

I found out that these were designed to have a smooth draw, you only need to suck as hard to turn on the LED, as it will not work any better the harder you draw.

I would say these batteries are sensitive, but not so sensitive you can't go outside, or going off in the car. I think it comes down to luck of the draw, because I have a blue
Sideho that I take out to the nightclubs, and it doesn't go off with the bass. I did try it with a White set, and it would go off the loud noise.

I would agree that if you plan on being somewhere loud like a nightclub, a manual battery would be the best choice for that situation. I should be getting those in shortly.
 

IanS

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I recieved the Sidesho starter kit today for my lil bro and some extra attys/cartidges for me. Being a Blu user I have to agree 100% with everything that Bandit says. Using the exact same juice in the Sidesho compared to the Blu I get considerably more vapor which is perfect. Also consistency of the atty seems better but will have to see what happens once it all gets used more. I doubt it will change much as the Blu atty was inconsistent right out of the box.

Very happy, THANKS!!!
 

kaeo773

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I recieved the Sidesho starter kit today for my lil bro and some extra attys/cartidges for me. Being a Blu user I have to agree 100% with everything that Bandit says. Using the exact same juice in the Sidesho compared to the Blu I get considerably more vapor which is perfect. Also consistency of the atty seems better but will have to see what happens once it all gets used more. I doubt it will change much as the Blu atty was inconsistent right out of the box.

Very happy, THANKS!!!


I am sure the atomizer will only get better, I am still using the same one for over 3 months, and it's still going strong.
 
Thanks for the review Bandit! Owing to your review, I decided to order one for myself. I'd been flirting with the notion of getting a Blu as my first, but didn't like the idea of being locked in to buying my stuff from only them (not to mention I didn't want to wait a freakin' month to get one!). I'll certainly be adding my 2 cents once mine comes in!
 

Backslash

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Indeed... great review. I wouldn't have even looked at Modern Vapor or the Sidesho if Bandit didn't do such a thorough and, may I say, humerous review. The "Sidesho will get you laid" section was especially lol-worthy :D.

I ordered one late last night. I ended up sending an email to Tony with a question. Not only did he answer immediately, it was after 11PM CDT. I was shocked. I was getting ready to go to bed and my BlackBerry buzzed with a new email saying that my unit would ship the next day. Indeed first thing this morning I received the shipping emails with USPS Priority Mail tracking numbers.

Thanks, Tony, I really appreciate this level of service and I know others do too. I'll be sending people your way.

I had ordered a Blu but cancelled the order due to excessive negative reviews I noticed after the fact. This morning, I got a shipping confirmation email from Blu. Gee thanks for cancelling the order like I asked. I guess I'll play around with it too, what the hell.

On another note, I'm a complete e-cig noob. If anyone has any Sidesho-specific tips and tricks, I'd love to hear them. I should read further into this forum before making such a request though.

I'll also post my noob-based Sidesho experiences when I receive the unit.;)
 

bornagainst

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Indeed... great review. I wouldn't have even looked at Modern Vapor or the Sidesho if Bandit didn't do such a thorough and, may I say, humerous review. The "Sidesho will get you laid" section was especially lol-worthy :D.

I ordered one late last night. I ended up sending an email to Tony with a question. Not only did he answer immediately, it was after 11PM CDT. I was shocked. I was getting ready to go to bed and my BlackBerry buzzed with a new email saying that my unit would ship the next day. Indeed first thing this morning I received the shipping emails with USPS Priority Mail tracking numbers.

Thanks, Tony, I really appreciate this level of service and I know others do too. I'll be sending people your way.

I had ordered a Blu but cancelled the order due to excessive negative reviews I noticed after the fact. This morning, I got a shipping confirmation email from Blu. Gee thanks for cancelling the order like I asked. I guess I'll play around with it too, what the hell.

On another note, I'm a complete e-cig noob. If anyone has any Sidesho-specific tips and tricks, I'd love to hear them. I should read further into this forum before making such a request though.

I'll also post my noob-based Sidesho experiences when I receive the unit.;)

1. Make sure to twist the cart around a couple of times after putting it on. This will remove most of the foil. This is probably the only thing I hate about this model, is that it doesn't come completely off. Being .... retentive, I have to remove the cart, get all the foil off the cart and the atty first. This will ensure the best draw and vape.

Other than that, I have no real tips. Bandit covered it really well!

Lastly, I do appreciate the refillability of the carts....they fill easily, and are pretty damn fine with my liquid. I don't mind the pre-filled carts as well, and am going to order more for those days when I am just plain lazy.
 

kaeo773

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1. Make sure to twist the cart around a couple of times after putting it on. This will remove most of the foil. This is probably the only thing I hate about this model, is that it doesn't come completely off. Being .... retentive, I have to remove the cart, get all the foil off the cart and the atty first. This will ensure the best draw and vape.

Other than that, I have no real tips. Bandit covered it really well!

Lastly, I do appreciate the refillability of the carts....they fill easily, and are pretty damn fine with my liquid. I don't mind the pre-filled carts as well, and am going to order more for those days when I am just plain lazy.


Actually the foil only comes on the prefilled carts, all the blank carts have no foil. I agree the foil is a bit annoying
 

Backslash

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I received my Sidesho in the mail today. Woo! If I wasn't a complete e-cig noob, I would provide a review of substance - but since I have nothing to base it on I think that everyone would find it pretty useless. Allow me to provide what I'm experiencing for the first time, and you decide. Please forgive my giddyness, I am excited about this thing.

I will say this for all the other noobs considering a purchase: This is my first e-cig, and I've been using this thing for about the past hour or so and I love it. Haven't filled any carts yet, just been dripping so far. Have the PCC and the other battery on the charger, I'm sure I'll run this one down soon enough, I don't want to put it down! Vapor production is impressive - better than I imagined it would be - and has been increasing as the atomizer breaks in and I'm sure it will only get better.

At this point, and it's only been an hour or so... I'm pretty confident I'll be able to put the analogs down for good, which was my goal to begin with. This device is practically like an analog - without all the stuff that makes analogs nasty. There will no doubt be an adjustment period as I get used to the Sidesho, but it's not going be anything hard, I can tell already. I may hide the pack of smokes I have in my pocket so I won't be tempted. I'm a cig every 30 mins to 1 hr guy, and I don't even want one right now because I'm using the Sidesho.

I'm dripping Tony's menthol liquid. 24mg, 10ml bottles. Not harsh at all. As someone with no experience, I was initially concerned that it may be too strong but it's not at all. Very light, mellow, and smooth. The flavor is good but very light. The device does deliver a reasonably good throat hit, better than I was expecting, and I'm sure that everything will only improve as the atomizer breaks in.

Lastly, there's Tony's customer service, which dare I say, cannot be compared to any other e-commerce vendor I have ever used. And, I've used plenty. Answering my email at 11PM just impressed the hell out of me, and he was hella cool to boot. He tossed some business cards in the box, and I know I'm going to be passing them all out as all my friends ask me about this thing.

I highly recommend both the Sidesho and Modern Vapor. Thanks!
 

Backslash

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Just a quick update - been using the Sidesho in parallel with the Blu now since last Fri, and the Sidesho is infinitely better.

My Blu cuts off after 1-6 seconds, often, but not every drag. Very inconsistent. It's almost getting too frustrating to use. Just when I want the "big hit", I watch in horror as the LED turns off on the end. Defective? I dunno, judging by the amount of problems that folks have been reporting with the Blu I wouldn't be surprised.

The Sidesho wins in every category - but as Bandit noted above a fully assembled unit won't fit in the PCC. The good thing about that is, it doesn't really bother me at all. The performance of this device makes up for that (small) shortcoming.
 
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