Choosing an Electronic Cigarette
As electronic cigarettes gain in popularity so the number of models increase, as manufactures scramble to get our custom. A few years ago there were only a handful of different electronic cigarette models available, making selecting your first one a fairly simple process. Today however there are whole host of new models and variations on the market, with new innovations and terminology seemingly coming out on a weekly basis, which makes choosing your first electronic cigarette a bit of a mine field.
Before rushing in you need to ask yourself a couple of questions:
A lot of people when they start out with electronic cigarettes will want something that closely resembles a real tobacco cigarette, just like I did. But you want to ask yourself exactly how important this is, as a cigarette styled device does have limitations, and many people quickly move on to something bigger, while others will stay with the ciggy sized devices. If you ask this question now you may save yourself some money.
The main reason people move on from cigarette styled electronic cigarettes is because they have small batteries, so will need charging more often than a larger battery device would. For example the smallest sized cigarette styled devices have batteries rated at around 80 to 100mah which will last about an hour of constant use before needing a recharge, whereas larger fatter devices will have a rating of 650mah or more and give around 6 hours of similar use before recharging. The larger the battery, the longer the run time between charges.
I know that for myself, a cigarette styled device was important. I first started using electronic cigarettes in early 2010 and still use a cigarette styled device on a daily basis alongside bigger battery devices. I didn’t take to big batteries though at first though, as they just didn’t feel right in my hand, and to me, looked big and ugly. It took me a while to get used to them. Had they been my fist introduction to electronic cigarettes I probably wouldn’t be using them today.
I now tend to swap what I use to match the circumstances I find myself in. For example if I’m relaxing in the evening in front of the TV I tend to use a big battery device, as I don’t have to worry about recharging the battery. If I’m working though I prefer to use a cigarette styled device as it feels more natural and I use it less.
Many people though are happy to just use a bigger battery, and prefer their looks making a complete break from the style of a tobacco cigarette.
How much you smoke will also have a bearing on what style of electronic cigarette would suit you most. As I have said small tobacco cigarette styled devices have small batteries and fairly short run times between charges, so heavy smokers or people who smoke more than a pack of 20 a day may find they struggle with these types of electronic cigarette and are constantly charging batteries. For these people I’d recommend going straight for a larger battery device, or do as I do and use more than one style of electronic cigarette.
Whether you decide a cigarette styled or bigger battery electronic is the right choice for you, the next thing you’ll want to look at is how easy the device is to use, and under what circumstances you’ll be using it.
For instance if you spend a lot of time driving you won’t want to be having to top up cartridges every five minutes, instead you’ll want something that lasts a reasonable amount of time between refills.
My personal favourite setup is a battery and cartomiser. You can fill as many cartomisers as you’ll need for a day in the morning, without having to worry about them leaking or anything. Then all you need to do is unscrew an empty cartomiser from the battery when it’s empty and replace it with one that you filled earlier.
Other people prefer to use a tank system of some kind, as they can easily see how much liquid is left in tank. Depending on the design some can hold enough liquid in a single fill to last a whole day.
Once you have an idea of the style of electronic cigarette you want, don’t just buy the first thing you see, do a little research into what’s available, as not all makes or brands of electronic cigarette are of the same quality.
Make sure the retailer you buy from is reputable and supplies spare parts. Batteries, atomisers and cartomisers are all consumables and will need replacing at some point, so you will need to make sure they are readily available. You don’t want to find that when a battery or atomiser needs replacing that your only option is to buy a new full kit.
As I say take a little time to think about what you want from an electronic cigarette and do some research before diving in.
