My e-Cigarette Experiences…

Posts Tagged ‘e-cig.com’

that I’m more than a little disappointed in Blu.  If you’ve seen their website today you know that they have opened their system to taking orders once again.  The downside is that they are actually warning clients that they are looking at 4 to 6 weeks to SHIP the order.  The upside is that will only reserve a one dollar pre-authorization on your credit card until they are able to ship your order.  Now… I appreciate the honesty here folks – really I do – but it just seems pointless at this stage to proceed.  I might be wrong – and hope I am – but I don’t see a bright future here. 

Further – by the time things are all smoothed out at Blu, and perhaps a few other sellers of e-cigs online in the US, the rest of the world will already be using the 3rd or 4th generation of e-cigs.  I’m finding that I really like the disposable cartridges.  But I do need to find something better than the E8.  I’m watching my short battery die already (yes I’ll be testing their Customer Service!) and I’m also finding that there is a slight taste of burning plastic when I hit the end of a cartridge.   So I’ll be trying something else for the next round.  More reading to do this week!  Stay tuned for what I buy and from where as we go further down the road to find the perfect solution for my needs.

Cheers!

Woo-Hoo!!!  A whole week!  And still no negative signs to speak of.  I’m fully thrilled with my E-Cig (E8) and now that I’m getting better at using it, I’m really finding that it’s working better than when I first started.  There are most certainly a few things to do that you don’t with analogs, but now that I’ve got a pattern of usage taking form, I can honestly say that I KNOW this little device will improve my life in many ways.  I’ve got friends, acquaintances and more that are seeing me vaping and wondering about it, and I’ve even sat next to a smoker at an outside table at the local Starbucks and chatted for nearly a full hour while he killed of 4 or 5 analogs and I took a few puffs off my E8.  No desire to grab a smoke and go for it.  No issues at all except that I actually found the smoke that drifted my way was quite offensive.  In fact…  I’d like to apologize for that stink to those non-smokers around me.  It’s quite nasty!

At any rate…  I LIKE the Menthol cartridges.  They’re not as minty as I’d like them to be, but they are pleasant.  I also like the Flu Cured.  Pleasant and light with a flavour just somewhat familiar.  I can’t place it yet, but I might.  And finally, the Cherry.  They are sweet – but I find it quite nice.  I’ve already said how it reminds me of my old Cherry Cavendish blended pipe tobacco, which brings with the taste some fond memories.  So I’ll keep a few of those on hand for the quiet times.

I’m betting that the Menthol will be my main flavour for now…  and I am likely to try the slightly larger and higher capacity E9 in the next month or so.   But for now, I have to go and order some more cartridges for my E8. 

Happy Vaping!!   And please…  remember to use my link on the image to the right of the E8 kit.  It’s only about 5% that I get for this link, but it’s certainly going to help me to keep this blog alive and active.  Cheers!

njw

Well, the month of July 2009 is nearly over, and so is my first week of being tobacco free!  It’s been a very easy week, and I’ve had my E8 close at hand and ready for use at a moments notice.  The first week has taught me a few things that I will share with you in this post, so be sure to read the whole thing to ensure that you get the most benefit from my findings so far.  Also, I have an update from our friend Glenn.  You may recall he is the one that was waiting for his Blu order – and actually received it 10 days ago.  Well…  I received an email from Glenn this morning, and I’ll share some of his thoughts with you as well.  So…

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Yes…  over 100 hours have passed now since my last analog!  I’ve dealt with excess heat, family driving me insane, work issues and a few other matters of somewhat higher than normal stress levels, and still I don’t even feel like I need a cigarette.  So do e-cigs work?  MOST DEFINITELY YES!  I’m quite sure that since Friday noon when I started with m E8 I would have burned about $45, and I’m only down 7 cartridges in 4 1/2 days.  And this first few days have been a little better stress test than would be normal for me, so I’m pretty sure that 10 of these cartridges will last me around a week.  So that’s 8 packs (40 cartridges) per month at a total cost of around $60 – or about a week’s worth of tobacco!  Net expected savings – try $180+ per month – or more than $2,000 per year.  Not bad!

The one area that I’m finding the E8 weak is the flavouring.  I have to admit that I don’t really get the flavours at all.  I can’t tell you if I’m smoking menthol, cherry or flu-cured most of the time, as they all taste somewhat the same.  There’s a hint of tobacco taste in each cartridge, and they are all a little sweeter than I’m accustomed to, so it’s really hard to tell the difference.  Mind you, I’ve been working on the samples that were not labeled, and on a few of the ones in boxes but I may also have mixed them up during use.  So I have to pay more attention to which ones I’m actually using for a few days to see if I can get the flavours down.  But still…  cherry should be an easy one?!  There have been some times when puffing on a cherry cartridge that I’ve gotten a hint of that old Cherry Cavendish I used to smoke in my pipe so long ago.  Maybe the nicotine strength has some play in that part as well…  Still some learning to do, and I will of course share my education with you all here.

That’s all for now… I need to get out of my hotbox office (we hit 35 C today!) and into something cool – like a beer or 3!

G’night!

It’s been 54 hours since my last tobacco (analog) cigarette…  and I feel GREAT!  There’s been no battles or cravings.  Even the morning kick start has been easier than with any other form of nicotine replacement I’ve tried to date.  This morning I awoke for the second morning to take a few puffs off my E8 from e-cig.com and find that it is just as effective as that first smoke in the morning to start the engine and kick down that first morning craving.  And the best part is that I don’t have to go out onto the back deck to have that first hit.   I start the coffee, fire up my web and email software in the office and I’m settled and ready before I finish receiving all the spam! 

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I have to admit that I am fully surprised.  I mean, I expected the e-cig to be a great idea, and was pretty sure that it could easily integrate into my life and my world, but I never expected it to be so easy.  It’s been 14 hours and more than 200 KMs of driving, along with a few beers at the end of the trip.  Normally, that would be about 30 analogs or about $15 worth of tobacco…  today I’m still on my first cartridge!  Seriously!  As I said earlier, I’m sure that this is HOW I smoke, taking small doses but doing so very often, which makes it appear that I am smoking 20 or more analogs a day, when I’m only actually consuming the equivalent of about 10 to 15 daily while wasting the rest.

More thoughts tomorrow as I start a new day – and day 2 of being analog free!

OK… so nearly six hours in and I’m still on my first battery and my first cartridge.  I’ve gone about my day fairly normally except for the fact that I’m not stopping all activities to have a smoke when I crave.  And in doing this I’m already learning something VERY interesting to me.  It seems that I crave a smoke often, but I don’t give myself time to finish the whole thing.   This afternoon, at the office, I felt a craving and I answered it by taking a drag of my e-cig.  Then a second.  Then I was ready to put it away and move on.  I’d have had to stop working – go outside and walk 50 yards from the building, in the back, out of sight – then light up.  Pull a few hard drags off the analog and then snuff out 1/2 of the smoke and dash back into the office.  Even hastier and more wasteful on ugly weather days.  So I think I might actually end up saving even MORE than I had thought.  I’m nearly 6 hours into my vaping experience – no cravings for an analog and still on the first charge and cart!  I wonder how long this first one will go?  So far… I’m 12 analogs into the day.  Stay tuned! 

(NOTE:  Updates will be staggered but quite interesting this weekend as I am at a family function that includes some drinking – so it will be a REAL test of the stamina of the e-cig hardware and cartridges.)

Have a great – tobacco free – weekend!

It’s arrived!  My package from e-cig.com actually arrived!  Those sleek little black batteries and the several boxes of assorted cartridges are all intact and safe in their cute little case.  So far, and it’s only been an hour or so, I’m excited!  I’m getting good vapor and the included sample cartridges have a nice flavor.  Takes a few puffs to get used to it since I’m accustomed to menthol, but I actually find it slightly reminiscent of my duMaurier days.  So the journey is finally underway – and I will be keeping you all posted as I try and learn and experience the changes between smoking and vaping.  Oh… and if there are any local readers that smoke Number 7 Menthol, I just this morning bought a pack that I don’t think I’ll be needing, and the store won’t take them back (and it was only 1/2 hour!).

So my first thoughts…  I have one beef right away.  The kit comes with a short and long battery, and with the long battery attached the unit won’t fit in the little case they shipped it with.  Minor pain.  And the writing on the cartridge boxes that tells you the flavour is TINY!  So out came the sharpie and I’ve marked them so I know which box is which.

I was able to draw a few puffs right out of the box so far, and I’m actually even more impressed than I thought I might be.  They really do emulate a smoke well.  These are the e-cig.com E8 product, which features the disposable atomizer built right into the cartridge, so each new cartridge and flavour is also a new atomizer.  Nice if you like to switch around from menthol, to plain, to flu cured, to cherry (the mix I have for this order) and even nicer in that you don’t need to worry about having an atomizer fail while you’re waiting for a replacement to arrive in shipping.  I was planning to have 3 on hand just to make sure I didn’t suddenly find myself running to the store for analogs.

It’s way to early yet to say a lot more about these, but I will be tracking the life and use of the E8, as well as my desire for a smoke and will be certain to keep everyone posted.  I’m actually… for the first time in a very LONG time, having a puff while sitting at my computer!  Fun!

Cheers all!

Happy Vaping!

njw

I just checked the status of my shipment from e-cig.com and it shows that my package was released from Customs this afternoon – about 9 hours ago!  There is a SMALL chance that it could make it from Vancouver to me on Vancouver Island by tomorrow’s deliveries, but more likely next week now.  Still…  as long as it gets here, I’m a happy Vaper in just a few more days!  Still crossing everything – but if it DOES happen to show up tomorrow, I’ll be buying lottery tickets next door to my mail drop! 

I was advised earlier today, and have just confirmed it, that the Blu e-cig products are no longer being shipped to Canada.  So…  after a three week wait (and if you’ve not noticed, they have extended their catch-up shutdown to August 1), and now this, it’s a REALLY good thing that I cancelled that order.  I’d have waited for more than a month and would just now be told that I can’t get the product, OR worse, I would have received my Blu kit and just found out that I couldn’t get more cartridges or parts from them.

Now… the question that remains is;  will I receive my other order?  Or will the Government that feels that Tobacco is safer force me to be unable to receive ANY e-cig product?  I see SOOO much potential for improvement in my life and health and overall well being by changing from tobacco to e-cigs, and am being told that I can’t.  Starting to smoke was my choice – EVEN WHEN WE WERE BEING TOLD IT WAS DEADLY!  So why are these any different?  Come on Health Canada!  If you want to see Product Safety sheets and such, I can send you to the links – just drop me a line and I’ll be glad to share.

Meanwhile… I’m hoping for some good news soon.  Fingers crossed… as they’ve been for four weeks!

njw