Vaping Diaries Archives - Page 21 of 39

Vaping Diaries #184: Angelcigs Preview

Angelcigs is a relatively new player in the vaping space. It’s an online retailer based in China. As you’d expect from a Chinese vaping retailer, the company offers rockbottom prices. However, there are a few things that Angelcigs is doing differently that make it stand out.

First up, the company has a very generous replacement and warranty policy. The standard policy is, “Return for refund within: 45 days. Return for replacement within: 6 months. No restocking fee. Shipping charges may apply if returns are not results of Angelcigs’s error.” On paper, Angelcigs appears to offer superior service.

The really exciting aspect of Angelcigs (for American vapers, anyway) is that the company utilizes a Los Angeles warehouse. Currently, three popular products are being shipped from Angelcigs’ Los Angeles warehouse — replicas of the Aqua, Kayfun 3.1, and Kayfun Lite atomizers. Items shipped from this facility are typically received within two to seven business days.

Many vapers purchase replicas and clones from the popular Fasttech web site. While the company has great prices and strong customer service, shipping often takes several weeks, as the products are coming from China. Angelcigs offers low prices and generous customer service policies, but with much faster shipping, thanks to its Los Angeles warehouse. On paper, Angelcigs appears to be a great alternative to Fasttech.

That being said, great customer service and fast shipping are meaningless if the products aren’t any good. I have the three aforementioned Angelcigs atomizers and will be reviewing them in the near future. At a glance, two of them appear to be solid clones, while I have some concerns about the other product. Having said that, I need to spend more time with these atomizers before making any meaningful judgements.

Stay tuned for reviews of the Aqua, Kayfun 3.1, and Kayfun Lite atomizer clones being sold by Angelcigs. For now, check out the company’s web site and let me know what you think.

Vaping Diaries #183: Drip Club Review

E-liquid subscription services are the rage right now. They offer vapers a convenient way to try a variety of juices from a number of vendors. The latest juice subscription service I tried was Drip Club. This company aims to bring the experience of a high-end Southern California vape shop right to your door.

If you’re not familiar with the Southern California vape scene, the region has the highest concentration of vape shops in the world and a large number of e-liquid companies. As a SoCal resident, I feel fortunate to have easy access to great vape shops that let me sample e-liquids from loads of quality juice makers. Drip Club offers a similar sampling experience and lets you pick up larger quantities of the juices you enjoy.

Like competing e-liquid subscription services, Drip Club has you start by setting up a flavor profile. From there, the company sends you a selection of more than 45ml of juice. Current plans range from $27.99 to $29.99, depending on the number of months you commit to.

My Drip Club subscription box came with e-liquids from Fearless Vapor, Gemini Vapors, Potion Vape, The Mitsu, Trabuco Vapors, and Vape Craving. All of the flavors fit with the flavor profile I set up on the Drip Club web site. I enjoyed all of the juice selected and would buy larger bottles of three of them — that’s a pretty good percentage. I’ve gone to vape shops and sampled dozens of juices, only to like two or three. I was impressed that Drip Club sent me some several juices I liked and some that I loved.

In addition to the e-liquid brands from my sample box, Drip Club has a number of quality juice makers in its roster. Alpha Vape, Vape Chemist, Dr. Mike’s Rad Vapors, Cyber E-Liquids, Long Beach Juice Supply, Organliq, and E-Juice 2 Die 4 are some of the vendors you can sample. Since the e-liquid market changes so fast, the owners are constantly considering new vendors and adding new juices to the roster.

In the past, I’ve covered the Craft Vapery subscription service. The Craft Vapery approach is very hands on — like having an e-liquid personal shopper. As I mentioned earlier, Drip Club is like having a great vape shop’s juice section brought to your door; you can try a number of great juices and buy the ones you love. While Craft Vapery and Drip Club are similar, the approaches are a bit different. I don’t think one is better than the other — it really depends on which approach works better for you.

Overall, I was happy with my Drip Club experience. The juices fit into my flavor profile and were from top companies. I enjoyed all of the e-liquids that were selected for me and love that the company makes it easy to buy the three that I found especially tasty. The owners of Drip Club want everyone in America to experience the juice section of a top notch SoCal vape shop and they’ve succeeded with this e-liquid subscription service.

Vaping Diaries #182: 2Puffs Interview (Munstro Mod and More)

Many vapers love 2Puffs pyrex tanks and drip tips. The company is still cranking out those products, but is taking its game to the next level with the Munstro. This mechanical mod comes with three tubes that use three different metals, a tritone drip tip, and a wood stand. At Vapers Exhibit, I caught up with 2Puffs partners Arnel Ang and Charles Tan. The two gave me details on the Munstro, shared some company history, revealed what was behind the 2Puffs name, and told me how a Johnnie Walker Black drinking sessions lead to the name of the Munstro mod.

Vaping Diaries #181: Naughty by Vapor Interview (Vapers Exhibit)

I never thought that I would post an article or video that combined vaping with adult film stars, but Naughty by Vapor took care of that! I’ve been wanting to meet the company for some time, as it’s a Filipino-American crew that has some cleverly named and delicious e-liquids. While the Naughty by Vapor Classic Line has a lot of fans, the new Luxury Line is getting a ton of buzz. The new juices are named after and inspired by actresses in adult films — genius!

In the interview above, CEO Ryan Palma and chief strategist Peter Castaneda talk about how the company got started, the concept behind the Naughty by Vapor brand, and the flavors in the Classic Line. Adult actresses Chloe Amour and Daisy Marie talk about their flavors in the Luxury Line.

This was the most difficult interview for me at Vapers Exhibit. It was really hard to concentrate with Chloe and Daisy around (though it was certainly an enjoyable challenge). Ha!

Vaping Diaries #180: Trabuco Vapors Interview (Vapers Exhibit)

As a huge fan of naturally-extracted tobacco e-liquids and a resident of Southern California, I was excited to meet the Trabuco Vapors crew at Vapers Exhibit. In SoCal, the majority of the e-liquid companies focus on fruit and dessert flavors. As a tobacco guy, I was pleased to hear about a SoCal juice maker that focuses on naturally-extracted tobacco juices.

At Vapers Exhibit, I chatted with Trabuco Vapors co-owner Robert Fairrington and juice master general Chas Trowbridge. The two talk about Trabuco Vapors’ origins, the company’s juices, the tobacco extraction method behind the juices, the company’s sweet mod holders, and more.

Vaping Diaries #179: Tobh Mods Jay-Bo Interview (Vapers Exhibit)

The Tobh Atomizer is the hot atty in the business right now, so I was psyched to catch up with Tobh Mods owner Jay-Bo at Vapers Exhibit. It was fun learning about how the company got started, what the company name means, and his fascinating background. While I’m still trying to figure out how someone with a background in deaf education, a passion for linguistics, and professional barista skills made an incredible atomizer, it was fantastic meeting Jay-Bo and learning more about Tobh Mods.

Check out the interview above to learn more about Tobh Mods, the features of the Tobh Atomizer, and upcoming products.

Vaping Diaries #178: Five Pawns Mixology Review (Fifth Rank, Perpetual Check)

Back in Vaping Diaries #173, I reviewed three e-liquids from Five Pawns new Mixology Edition. Now it’s time to review the remaining two — Fifth Rank and Perpetual Check. If you’re not familiar with Mixology Edition, these juices were inspired by alcoholic beverages. Fifth Rank incorporates champagne flavor, while Perpetual Check has a taste that’s similar to black currant liquer. Both are quality juices with lots of complexity. I loved one of them, while the other didn’t work for me. Now let’s get to the tasting notes!

Fifth Rank: When I first vaped this juice, I had to stop and think about what I was experiencing. There are so many flavors going on and some of the notes are so distinct. This Mixology Edition mix is a melange of horehound, champagne, vanilla bean, sweat cream, almond, and lime. The horehound flavor really made this juice for me, with its combination of moderate mint and licorice-like bitterness. The other flavors complement the horehound marvelously for a fantastic mix.

While horehound was the most distinct flavor in Fifth Rank to me, two of my friends thought that the lime had the most presence. Since this juice has so many layers and we all have different tastebuds, it’s possible that people will have markedly different experiences with this e-liquid. As for me, Fifth Rank was one of my two favorites from Mixology Edition, along with the excellent Sixty-Four. Coincidentally, this juice probably has the second-most polarizing flavor next to Sixty-Four.

Juice Specs: 6mg nicotine, 50/50 PG/VG

Perpetual Check: This Mixology Edition blend features black currant, lemon, fig, barley, and cinnamon stick. While I really enjoyed the black currant flavor and appreciated the complexity of this juice, this was easily my least favorite Mixology Edition e-liquid. It was also unusual to vape. For me, there was a wattage sweet spot with this juice where the black currant flavor was more pronounced. When the wattage got a little too high or a little too low, the cinnamon flavor became overpowering. This made vaping it on a mechanical mod an uneven experience, since output changes depending on the battery’s charge level. I preferred vaping this juice on a regulated mod with consistent output.

While a few of my friends liked this one a lot more than I did, some of them agreed that the cinnamon drowned out the other flavors. While this juice didn’t work out for me nearly as much as the other four Mixology Edition e-liquids, if you dig cinnamon and complexity then there’s a great chance that you’ll enjoy Perpetual Check.

Juice Specs: 6mg nicotine, 50/50 PG/VG

Steeping and Review Notes (Updated December 29, 2013)
On the advice of Wlad from Ahlusion, I’ve been trying a new steeping method as of December 27, 2012. When the e-liquids arrive, I leave them uncapped for five minutes. Previously, I left them uncapped for about two days. After the liquids are given a few minutes to oxidize, the caps are put back on.

RPad.TV e-liquid reviews focus on the flavor of the e-liquids, since throat hit and vapor production can be altered by the PG/VG ratio and nicotine level selected. Each juice is vaped over a period of days in a bottom-coil silica atomizer (The Russian and Aqua), various rebuildable dripping atomizers, and a clearomizer.

Vaping Diaries #177: Girls Who Vape and Boobs

One of the most popular vaping-related Instagram feeds is “Girls Who Vape.” The account owner posts photos of attractive women vaping. Recently, a naughtier competitor — called “Vape and Boobs” (seriously) — launched. As you’ve probably figured out, the account owner posts photos of scantily clad women vaping. That Instagram feed has been getting a lot of buzz lately, because…you know, vape and boobs. While I fully admit that I enjoy checking out photos from “Girls Who Vape” and “Vape and Boobs,” these Instagram feeds have me thinking about gender roles in vaping.

In many ways, vaping is similar to other nerdy hobbies I enjoy (videogames, comic books, pro-wrestling). In those hobbies, women are sometimes placed on a pedestal and sometimes unfairly dismissed. On the (arguably) positive side, women that vape get the benefit of being “gamer girl hot.” If a young lady vapes or builds her own coils, vaping boys will find her exponentially more attractive. It’s the same deal as nerds encountering a woman that knows her comics and/or games — guys find it hot.

While I’ve seen guys at vape shops drool over gals that can make nice coils, I’ve also seen guys that are wary of female employees at vape shops. I asked several vape shop patrons if they would rather have a guy or a girl build their coils at a store. All of them said that they would pick the guy. There’s no sound logic behind it and many of the people I chatted with own up to that, but the assumption is that guys build better than girls. It’s like gamers automatically assuming that females are inferior videogame players or comic-book fanboys automatically assuming that a woman can’t possibly be familiar with Jack Kirby’s Fourth World.

I’ve seen female vapers get hooked up with free gear and liters of free juice. That’s totally cool. I’m all about female vapers taking advantage of being “vaper girl hot.” It’s not cool that some male vapers are dismissive of their female counterparts, automatically assuming that they know nothing about mechanical mods, can’t build decent coils, etc.

So yeah, browsing photos on the “Girls Who Vape” and “Vape and Boobs” Instagram feeds lead to this column. Ha! Anyway, if you have any stories about female vapers getting props or getting dissed, please share your experiences in the comments section.

Vaping Diaries #176: Vaping Utopia Ronald Cachero Interview

Vaping Utopia is a relatively new e-liquid company that has been getting a lot of buzz. The company is off to an exciting start, with its Shangri La flavor getting strong reviews. Vaping Utopia makes natural-tasting juices that are made in the USA. Its e-liquids don’t contain any preservatives and additives. The flavoring components it uses were made with inhalation in mind, as opposed to many food flavorings used in e-liquids that are made for digestion. The juices come in square glass bottles that feature designs from local artists. The artwork on the “white label” series comes together to form ~~Voltron~~ a continuous image.

I recently caught up with Vaping Utopia executive director Ronald Cachero to learn how the company got started, learn more about its juice making philosophy, get descriptions of the company’s four initial flavors, and to see what’s coming next. Full disclosure: I know Ron from the excellent CaliVapers forum and our mutual buddy Marie Alvarez.

Check out the interview above to learn what Vaping Utopia is all about and stay tuned for a review on these juices in a future Vaping Diaries. Special thanks to Vaping Ape LA for letting us hang out and film there.

[Marie Alvarez b-roll photos by https://www.facebook.com/bgatebphoto]

Vaping Diaries #175: West Coast Vapers Review

West Coast Vapers is a Santa Fe Springs, California vape shop that has its own line of juices. The company names each of its e-liquids after different West Coast cities. I recently took a tour of three West Coast Vapers cities — Chico, Monterey Park, and Rolling Hills. While none of the juices blew me away, none of them were bad. Although none of these e-liquids dazzled me, some of them could be right for you. Read on for the full details.

Chico: This Northern California town is known for its major party college, where many students major in hangover recovery and minimization. As for the juice, it’s a mint-chocolate mix, similar to an Andes Candies and York Peppermint patties. Overall, I found the flavor nondescript. Many vendors have this type of flavor and the ones that stand out have a lovely creaminess (Ahlusion, Five Pawns, etc.). The West Coast Vapers version was lacking in this department. The creaminess here was tepid, making the juice a bit bland for me.

Juics Specs: 6mg nicotine

Monterey Park: Nearly half the residents of this Los Angeles County town are of Chinese decent. Some of the best dim sum I’ve had in SoCal has been in Monterey Park. As for the juice, it’s a mix of mango and guava. I enjoyed the bittersweet guava taste West Coast Vapers used in this juice, as guava one of my favorite fruits. Mango is also one of my favorite fruits, but the flavor here was rather ordinary. Several SoCal vape shops have excellent mango e-liquids from the likes of Bamskillicious and Vape Chemist. Compared to those juices, the mango here was pedestrian. I wish this juice had a better mango flavor to accompany the interesting guava note.

Juice Specs: 0mg nicotine

Rolling Hills: This Los Angeles County town is known for an abundance of rich people and a lack of traffic lights (rich people don’t need them). As for the juice, it’s a pleasant raspberry lemonade. Out of the three West Coast Vapers juices I tried, this was my favorite. A lot of lemonade e-liquids are too sweet for me, so I enjoyed the moderate sweetness of this juice. The raspberry and lemonade have a tiny bit of tanginess on top of the sweetness.

Juice Specs: 6mg nicotine