Welcome , but the little batteries on the twists and spinners , are no better than you have now . That being said , The Provari , while very nice , is kind of expensive . ( I know , I bought one ) then there is the Vmax by Smok Tek . VV , tells you all the things that a Provari does , and hits harder , as well . all this for 1/2 the money . I have both the Provari , and a Vmax , and actually favor the Vmax , because it hits harder at a lower voltage . A carto tank on my Provari , is used at 4.2 volts , and on the Vmax , I run it at just 3.0 volts . In my thinking , less voltage used ='s longer battery life . I may be wrong here , but that my opinion . Good luck in your choice .
"the little batteries on the twists and spinners , are no better than you have now .... "
The Twists are available up to 1000mah, and the Spinners, 1300mah ... and they're VV.
I would go with the provari mini. Its small and has all the power. Trust me you will end up there eventually. Save your self the money of going through Egos and just get the provari. I have probably been through 5-10 Egos, they just dont last very long with me. Provari will actually be cheaper in the long run (at least for me).
My Twists (I've bought fifty of them so far and spread them around) have all been performing flawlessly. Yes, any lithium battery will wear out after X number of charge cycles; but by then, it'll probably be a little beat-up looking anyway. Spending $23 on something that lasts 9-12 months is still a lot better than spending the same amount of money on 4 days worth of butts. And again, I don't see this as a "ProVari vs. VV eGo" thing. I'd get both; VV eGo's now, ProVari later.
The cheap ego vv's are okay but ultimately I consider them semi-disposable. If I get 3-6 months out of one of these then okay. They're good, cheap, light and portable devices.
If I were in the market for something like a provari I would wait for a variable wattage version. Maybe the makers will offer an upgrade later but who knows.
I also consider them semi-disposable. To me, that's an acceptable part of the deal. And that's why there are Zippo lighters, and BIC's.
Great APV, the ProVari Mini. Again, based on what you've said, I'd go with the eGo VV's first.
Now that the Twist has been out for a while the problems are starting to emerge, and they are not without faults. Some folks have had no problems at all, and others have had nothing but problems. This would lead me to believe that there are some QC issues involved.
I held off buying a Provari as long as I could trying most of the alternatives instead. In the end I got a Provari Mini + the extended end cap. The difference in quality was evident the moment I had it in my hand. I hate sounding like a "fan boy", but the reality is that there is the Provari, and then there is all the rest.
As far as a Vmax hitting harder at the same voltage, that simply means that it isn't the same voltage. The first run of Vmax'es when set at 3v were actually more like 5v even tho' the voltage indicator said 3v.
I just haven't heard of widespread problems with Twists, but maybe I need to get out more. And I have four of the original VMax, and I'd say that 3v vs. 5v is a bit of an overstatement. As PBusardo and someone in this thread said, I'd put it more like 3v vs. 4.2.
And "voltage" isn't necessarily always simply just "voltage" IMO. Try putting any attachment on a plain old Joyetech 3.4v constant-voltage eGo battery, and then on a 3.7v e-Power. The Joyetech battery will power it noticeably better. I think it has to do with the pulse width modulation of the current.
"I hate sounding like a "fan boy", but the reality is that
there is the Provari, and then there is all the rest".
And that's why you guys rate an automatic "pass" on the "fan boy" label.
I'd also go with the provari. They really aren't THAT large, even the standard with extension cap is smaller than my Lavatube (though it weighs a fair amount more, even without the battery). Build quality is hands down perfect, I've dropped mine twice and the only thing that showed damage was the feed. I got mine before I spent too much money on other kit so I dodged a bullet a lot of folks get hit by. I tried to go with cheaper options, hesitant of the cost, but (like vapoor) if I could do it again I would just go straight to the Provari when I started getting tubes.
You won't have to lug too much around, one spare battery is all you'll need, though having a charger or fully charged spare battery @ work wouldn't hurt.
If a VV "hits harder" at 4v than a provari, then it's not running at 4v. Electricity doesn't become more or less powerful, Ohms Law isn't just a general guideline, it's the Law.
If the cost really puts you off, you can get an LT, they definitely work. How long they'll run reliably, and getting them repaired when they eventually give up, is hit n miss. In the end it's a tube that holds a battery that sends current to a coil. You can (with a bit of reading) mod a mint tin into a VV PV for less than any tube.
"If a VV "hits harder" at 4v than a provari, then it's not running at 4v. Electricity doesn't become more or less powerful, Ohms Law isn't just a general guideline, it's the Law".
Again, I don't think it's just about the raw number/amount of volts; I think there's something about the way the voltage is pulsed - or not pulsed - that affects the way it energizes a coil. Maybe we need Rader to weigh in on this. I'm gonna PM him now, come to think of it. As always, if I'm full of crap, I like to know about it.
*****
One more time: From my chair, this isn't about a choice between an eGo-sized VV battery and a more advanced (and indisputably better) device like the legendary ProVari; it's about which to get right now, for your stated needs. To me, that's the VV eGo class.
