A while back, the folks at EcigWizard asked if I’d be willing to try some of their products and share with my readers what I thought about their stuff.  This is a first for me but as I love vaping and trying new things I figure why not?  So I said yes but made sure they know I’d be giving my honest impressions because I wouldn’t want to steer anyone astray.

They sent me two ejuice samples to try from Vermilion River. Now this is funny. Vermillion River is made in Minnesota USA. I was born in Michigan and moved to Australia several years ago. EcigWizard is based in the United Kingdom. So I’m sampling something made in the USA, sent to the UK and then sent on to me in Australia. Talk about some well travelled ejuice!

The samples came in two 10ml bottles and were both 20mg. I normally vape 18mg so this was a little stronger than what I’m used to, but not so strong I couldn’t enjoy it. I’ve been using the samples for well over a month so I feel I’ve given them a fair trial. There was one I liked a lot more than the other, but because my husband also vapes, I let him try the one I wasn’t keen on and he quite liked it. We definitely have different tastes and preferences.

Vermillion River Fresh Mint
30% VG / 70% PG blend

Back in the days when I used to smoke cigarettes, I smoked menthol. I was also very fussy. I stayed with the same brand and lord help me if it wasn’t available and I had to smoke something different.  Those days are long gone – it’s well over a year since I quit cigarettes. One of the most pleasant surprises for me with vaping is at any given moment I can change flavours to match my whim. When I first took up vaping I naturally migrated towards any ejuice that had menthol or mint in the name. I’m pretty sure if I looked through my bottles I’d find at least 20 variations of mint, menthol or a combination of tobacco and mint flavours.  I tried I really did, but I never found anything that I could relate to, and after awhile I was enjoying the variety of many different flavours and realised I didn’t need to replicate the old taste of ‘my’ brand of cigarette. Who needs that horrible taste?  So I moved on and left all the menthol experimentations behind me.

Then EcigWizard sent me a sample of Vermillion River Fresh Mint. I can’t tell you what it is about this juice that’s different from others I’ve tried, aside that it works for me. It’s not overpowering or overly sweet, it’s just well, perfect. I normally avoid eating mints because I never know whether it’s going to clear my sinuses (and taste buds) or burn my mouth.  I do like creamy type mints with chocolate such as Peppermint Patties, and that describes the taste of the Fresh Mint rather well.  It’s not far off from crème de menthe. Yum. This is the only mint ejuice that’s ever made it into my handbag when I’ve gone out. One of the things I really like about it is that it stops any nicotine cravings stone cold. Some of the menthol flavours I’ve tried are fine at the start but I find if I vape them exclusively too long I start feeling ill. Something about too much mint just upsets my system. I don’t have that problem with this juice. I’ve spent many a happy evening vaping this – it’s lovely with coffee after a meal. I give this juice a big thumbs up.

http://www.ecigwizard.com/e-liquid/vermillion-river/fresh-mint.html

Vermillion River Classic Blend
30% VG / 70% PG blend

This ejuice has a very smoky flavour which took me completely by surprise. I wish I had had this juice when I first started vaping and was looking for a taste closer to a cigarette, because this does the job. The description of it reads “Imagine a blend of all the best of traditional tobacco flavours in one e-liquid and you have the Vermillion River Classic Blend. The pinnacle of tobacco vapes, look no further if you want something as close to the real thing as possible.”

The reviews are mostly positive, but I’m not surprised to see that it’s a flavour most people either love or hate. I’m not “most people” though and I’m rather neutral towards it, but you’ll need to excuse me as I’m way past the point of wanting my vapes to taste anything near what a cigarette tastes like and when I did smoke I only smoked menthol.  I’ve given this juice to my other half who seems to quite enjoy it and that makes sense. He smoked regular cigarettes and has only been off the smokes for a few months now. He disagrees about it tasting smoky and feels it’s more a caramel, oak or woody taste. He likes it and gave it a thumbs up so I’ve added it to his vape stash.

http://www.ecigwizard.com/e-liquid/vermillion-river/classic-blend.html

Did I miss anything I should have mentioned in my reviews?  It’s important to realise that taste is a very subjective thing. What I love and rave about might taste like donkey juice to you and vice versa. If there’s anything you’d like me to write about regarding vaping, feel free to let me know in the comments.

 

13 December 2012

Last week I got into a little argument with someone about my using Ecigs vs smoking. He told me I’m still a smoker because I’m still getting nicotine. However, I’m not lighting up tobacco and burning anything. I’m not inhaling smoke or the 40,000 different chemicals that have been identified in cigarettes. I’m inhaling a regulated amount of nicotine that I can adjust myself, and the other 3 ingredients are flavour and what’s used to make the mist/vapor. Which are also used in the fog machines at concerts. Think of all the rockers who live on tour and spend hours in the stuff. The same ingredients are also used in asthma inhalers.

He fixated on nicotine being harmful, but I think some wires are crossed. Smoking tobacco products is harmful. The nicotine itself has it’s uses. As an example, here’s a link to an article from the American Academy of Neurology on the Growing List of Positive Effects of Nicotine Seen in Neurodegenerative Disorders.

The other day marked a year since I finally let go of the cigarettes and moved on to only using the Ecig. It took three months to reach that stage. It certainly wasn’t overnight. I let the day go by without fanfare because I was still upset to be told I’m dumb for considering myself a nonsmoker because I’m still inhaling nicotine in an Ecig. So today I’m feeling a bit grumpy with myself about it.

I know better than to let someone rain on my parade. I know I shouldn’t listen to that inner voice of doubt that got planted there from our little discussion. A younger, more impulsive me probably would have said and lit up the next available cigarette just out defiance and self hatred. Fortunately I’ve matured in my old age and just really no longer like cigarettes. They smell awful and the one or two puffs I’ve had in the last year caused me to rinse my mouth out, brush my teeth and take a shower. Blech!

It’s been a year. And that’s something to celebrate.

 

(This blog post is written for vapers – people who use electronic cigarettes – I promise to post a more personal update in the near future!)

A couple months ago, I won $100 in an online contest and decided to treat myself to some ‘pre-mixed’ ejuice from the USA. Ever since I started vaping last October, I’ve always used 0mg Nicotine ejuice doublers from Australian vendors and mixed it with nicotine. As there are many overseas vendors that sell ejuice with nic already added, I wanted to give a few new flavours a try. What a little luxury it would be to get some juice in the mail all ready to vape with no mixing or waiting a week or two for it to steep. Well that was my thought process. Things didn’t quite go to plan though.

When my box arrived from the vendor, it was empty aside from the invoice. I paid $20 for shipping and it showed up empty. I took photos immediately and sent an Email to the vendor and described the box condition to them. Their reply is that it must have either been Customs or the package was tampered with as there was an additional bit of clear packing tape that they never use. I’ve had parcels opened by Customs before and have even had something confiscated (my Sis sent me hot cocoa mix which was removed because it contains powdered milk). When customs opens a parcel, a sticker is added to the box and if anything is removed it’s itemised with the reason why it was removed. There wasn’t a sticker on the box and as mentioned, the only thing in the box was the invoice. I’ve contacted Australia Post and put in an official complaint about this saga.

Meanwhile the vendor, Juicy Vapor, was nice enough to offer a gift certificate for the amount I purchased, which was really nice, but I can’t justify the cost of postage to re-order.

So I have a gift certificate that I can’t use, but I know there are many USA vapers that would probably really enjoy trying some new juice so here’s what I’ve decided to do about it. I’m going to take nominations – use the form below to nominate someone you think would love to receive a $60 gift certificate from Juicy Vapor and what makes them a good candidate. You can nominate yourself if you wish, that’s OK. But what I’d like to do is give back to someone who helps out in the vaping community or possibly needs a bit of a bit of a boost. The main criteria is that they live in the USA — because otherwise the recipient would be up for paying very dear postage costs and the idea is to avoid that if possible. I’ll take nominations until Midnight on 15 May (South Australia time), choose 5 top contenders and then use random.org to pick the winner, which I’ll announce here on 16 May.

Make sure and use the form below to make a nomination, and also use the Twitter and Facebook links to share this blog post to give as many people as possible the chance to win the $60 gift certificate from Juicy Vapor. Let’s help make a fellow vaper smile!

Contest has Ended

A winner has been chosen and will be announced as soon as I hear back from them. Thanks to everyone who made nominations. You’re all wonderful caring people!

 

Today (22 March 2012) is World Vaping Day. I’ve been thinking about all the choices we have available when we use e-cigarettes as opposed to smoking ‘analogues’ or tobacco cigarettes. I’ve made the choice to continue to have nicotine in my life, but choose to inhale safer vapor instead of the dangerous chemicals present in cigarette smoke. It’s a choice I’m proud of and one that’s improved my health.

When I smoked, I bought the same brand of cigarettes and only rarely deviated from it as doing so brought more hassle for me than it was worth. I might not like the taste, it might have less or more nicotine, etc etc. Yet with vaping (using electronic cigarettes and inhaling vapor instead of smoke) there’s no restrictions I place on myself. If I want to have a banana nut bread vape when I first wake up, I can do that. If I want something closer to tobacco and menthol, it’s at my fingertips. If I’m upset, I have some eliquid that’s slightly higher in nicotine available. If I’m at the computer writing and find myself chain-vaping, I have some nice flavours with a lower nicotine level so I don’t make myself ill.

There’s more to it than flavours and nicotine strength though. There are a myriad of devices (e-cig types) that we can own and use, and many different ways of putting the flavoured eliquid together with the e-cig such as the plastic refillable tanks that work with the 510 or Ego ‘T’ models, the newer Stardust tank/cartomizers, several brands and styles of cartomizers, or even cartridges which were the norm a few years ago.  It’s no wonder that people just looking into switching from cigarettes to electronic cigarettes get a bit overwhelmed. Yet it’s also this ability to go with circumstances or the whim of the moment that makes vaping so much more satisfying and yes I’ll say it – fun.

We have the choice to stick with only one flavour, one type of device or one type of cartomizer. We also have the choice to explore everything that’s available within our budget. Even with buying new devices or flavours it still comes out cheaper than smoking, and our nicotine addiction is abated while we choose to use a safer means of getting it into our systems.

Nicotine itself isn’t evil. There are many things it does for people that has benefits, such as helping prevent Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimers. It’s the method of how we get that nicotine that’s the key though. Smoking – the act of burning dried tobacco leaves and inhaling more than 4000 additional chemicals that are added to cigarettes is unhealthy. I made the choice to continue to have nicotine in my life but on my own terms.

The vapor inhaled with e-cigarettes contains liquid nicotine, Propylene Glycol (PG), Vegetable Glycerin (VG)   and the same flavouring as that used in food flavouring. Aside from the flavour it’s the same compounds that are used in fog machines at concerts, which have been in use for many many years. I strongly believe that less additives must be better for my health and lungs. I used to smoke about 40 cigarettes a day or more and had a deep, persistent cough. I’ve been off the cigarettes and have been vaping exclusively for three months now. I no longer have a cough. I can take deeper breaths. My voice is less gravely, and I feel so much better.

So today I’m celebrating all the choices available to me as someone who uses electronic cigarettes and vapes instead of smoking. I know I made the right choice for myself and I love being able to choose what suits me at any given time. This post was written while vaping 3 different e-cigs, each with different flavours, at 18mg.  No lighters were flicked, nor ashtrays sullied during the course of writing this blog post!

Links to more information:

AussieVapers.com (AVF) Forum 
Electronic Cigarette Forum (ECF) 
ATACA – Australian Tobacco Alternatives Consumer Association
ATACA Educational Flyer (Trifold – double sided optional) 

 

I haven’t had a cigarette in 3 months, and it hasn’t been anything near as difficult as other times I’ve quit smoking. So I’m celebrating by making us a nice dinner tonight and reminiscing about how far I’ve come since I started vaping 5 months ago.

In the three months since I switched to vaping full time, I had two times that were a little hard. The first time was when I came home and we had friends visiting who were outside smoking.  What finally killed the craving for me was sitting down with a dripping atomiser and dripping some of my favourite ‘most like a cigarette to me’ e-juice. Dripping will often give me that satisfied feeling faster than anything else and normally I don’t need that, but this time I did.  After that, I made up a small batch of extra strong juice – 24mg Nic when normally I vape 18mg.  I did this so it would be available if I needed something extra. That day came on 3rd February when a very dear friend of mine passed away. She’d come back and kill me if I had the cigarette I was craving so I pulled out the stronger juice and that got me through the next few days.

Looking around my desk, it’s easy to tell I’m a vaper. There are four PVs with assorted tanks and cartomizers attached to them, a couple bottles of e-juice I’m testing. a bag of tiny coloured rubber bands I use to mark my cartomizers so I know what flavour it is, a bag of silicone end caps to use for filling up cartos and a folded up paper towel to wipe up any drips.

One of the biggest changes I’ve noticed is when I first started vaping, I could fill a Boge carto and have it last me most of a day before it needed filled. Now I only use them for testing and can empty one in an hour or two. If it takes me any longer than that, I know it’s not a flavour that I really like.  Most of my favourite juices are now in SmokTech 3ml tanks as I’ve found these to be so much easier to deal with – I only need to fill them every other day or so and find refilling them easier than filling cartos.  At one time I thought having 10ml of juice was quite a lot. Now I tend to make up my favourite juices in 30ml batches and think I’m getting a bit low when it’s down to about 10ml.

When I started out, I mainly vaped just menthol, then switched to tobacco flavours with menthol added, and now have an assortment of all types of different flavours. I’ve been surprised to find that one of my favourites is ‘Cold Pressed Lime’ which is a concentrate that I make up at 10%. It has a nice taste and a great throat hit. I also like Cherry, Citrus, Lemon, and for awhile was on a Vanilla kick but that’s waned in the last few weeks with the tart fruits and mellow tobaccos more in use. I’ve also found that my tastes do change from day to day. Sometimes I want something sweet, other times I prefer tart or even back to menthol again. That’s something you can never really have with smoking – variety.

It’s time for me to make our tea – I’m making coconut curry prawns – which I haven’t had since before I quit smoking so they’re sure to be tasty now I have my sense of smell and taste back.  Thanks for stopping by!