Fake/phoney Vs. Authentic/legit Apvs - Really?

Is there anything more annoying than when people ask you if you're "smoking one of those fake things?"

I had 2 people today talking about the fakeness of vaping and how it's worse than smoking blah blah. I told them that the only real thing about cigarettes, is cancer. I also told them they smell like .....

End rant.  

My local B&M has an iTaste 134 in their display case, but this place is owned by the same people that own the "smoke" shop next door. Back when I used to partake in that other stuff, I was ripped off when they sold me FAKE hardware. It was labeled and branded as the real thing, but after some internet research, I found out it was very blatantly fake.

I'm a bit worried that their Innokin product may suffer from the same thing, since this shop is owned by the same people. Is there anything I could look for while examining it to know for sure if it's authentic? Are the clones actually branded with the iTaste logo? Or if it says, "iTaste" is it real?

Is it even worth taking a chance, since I know the owners have faked me out in the past? (I just don't know if the vaping industry might handle fakes differently with all these clones I keep hearing about.)  

so i just got an Xtar from EdisonBright, and the authenticity code is 18 digits, but its broke up into 3 sets of 5 not 4 like the site. i tried entering it and it said "does not exist" but it came in a pretty legit looking box, inside the box was a grey Xtar drawstring, inside that was the device, a phamplet, and a warranty card with a sticker with a 12 digit S/N on it... is there any other way to tell real v fake? it seems to work fine, i put a battery charged in a Nitecore on it and it charged it for a couple minutes, then said blinked "full" at me... btw its a VC2.... anyone know whats up with this?  

Back in the day it was always just, "get a Provari". Nowadays, it's, "just get an istick50w". This whole forum is full of istick this, istick that.

I don't give a stick.  

So I dropped by brand new MVP. I had the Eleaf Melo tank installed when it hit the ground. Didn't see how it landed or anything. But when I picked it up and tried to vape the resistance reads "-.-". The device seemed to be fine, so I thought maybe the coil or tank fell out of wack and tried it on my iStick 50w. It worked fine!

So obviously it must be the MVP then?? I installed another Melo that I bought and it works fine on the MVP. But after disassembling the older Melo (that was originally on the MVP) and putting back together it still will not fire on the MVP, just the iStick. I tried playing with the center pin on the Melo but have had no luck.

So what the heck is going on?  

So i continue with updates to my A-Z. One very useful site, which incidentally is in the USA, is "Element Vape". Probably, as far as i can recall, the "most" useful site for searching for vaping hardware i've ever come across. The reason i say this is because no matter what piece of hardware i'm looking at, whilst on the site, if i click on it, i'll enter the page it's on, and scroll down to the "description". Then at the beginning of the description i'll see the brand name. If i click on that i get taken to a page which displays all the hardware that Element Vape has of that brand. It's brilliant !. I'd imagine most sites do have a function in their main menu to search brands, i haven't seen this particular function anywhere else. It's just so useful !. If you land on this site when researching a mod this feature allows you to see everything else too.

So, Element Vape is my go to vendor site at the moment.  

So I have been vaping for a few months now. I started with the ego type battery starter kit bought from a brick and mortar ( you all know the deal, littile carrying case, 650mah battery, junk clearomizer, and bottle of funky juice). I knew after a week I would not stop smoking with that alone. I then went and bought the Vision Spinner 2 and a Protank mini 3. I was feeling quite happy with this setup and went from a pack a day down to 4-6 analogs. I was even feeling better health wise. I soon discovered the vast world of vaping and "needed" the iStick mod. I bought that and threw the Protank mini 3 on it and life was good. I had no problems with my iStick and it was a huge step up from what I was using prior. It "satified" my need of "smoking". Everything was going well untill one day I busted the glass on the tank. I was not gonna let that get me down though. My vaping buddy gave me a some sort of knockoff topper that used the aspire coils ( I beleive it was a Nautilus mini clone of some sort, branded with the local shops name ). Still it fed my habit well. Now let me say I live in a small town and there is 2 brick and mortar shops. I usally would buy my coils from them and a bottle of liquid every now and then but.....I bought my iStick online. Fast forward a couple months now and I live with 2 roommates (one is a total jerk, and the other is a party machine. We all are in our mid 30's). Well recently I get off work and come home to a "party" on a tuesday night (like usual). Now remember I live in a small town and everyone vaping is using the ego type with plastic clearomizer. The brick and mortar shops here selll those and $100 RDA (which only a few friends I know have). Well this particular night my iStick was the talk of the kitchen table. Everyone wanted to try it and push the buttons. "Who can hit it at the higest watt?" type conversations. The night is ending and Im getting ready to go to my room. I set the iStick on its "charger" (just a handmade cutout box I made for it) sitting on the kitchen counter. 8 hours later I hit the BREW button on the coffee maker and reach for the iStick. IT IS FREAKING GONE!!!!!!!!! Now here is the deal. Noone there the night before knew anything about using it or finding the "sweet spot". The thing is that the knock off tank I was using is a 510 thread and I was using the included adapter to ease the wear and tear on the threads. So I am left with a Vision 2 spinner and a tank that just does not fit it. I AM SO ANGRY! I bring it up to my roommate and she is like "no one stole it, you misplaced it". If anyone of you guys and gals are like me, you know where your setup is at all times. So that leaves me with a MARK 3 disposable for now.
Sooooooooo does anyone have a lead on a good deal right now online? I see threre is a 30 watt now available. So if anyone know of a great deal please PM me or reply. I have limited funds right now but do not want to go back to Parliment analogs. Thanks for looking and letting me vent.  

Don't really know why im sharing this, guess im just wondering if anyone else has had this experience or not. The other day I was at the local B&M and a minivan pulls into the parking lot, im friends with the shop owner so I hangout with him regularly and noticed the minivan as soon as it pulls up, the guy sits there for about 10 minutes just sitting there and writing things down, our conversation goes "Are you expecting a delivery or something?" "no why" "This dudes been sitting here for about 10 minutes just writing away" "Maybe its my first audit or something" the dude finally gets out of the van and comes in "How long have you guys been operating here?" Jon the owner says "about 7 months now, what can i help you with?" "My name is Chris with the National Tobacco (i forget exactly what he said) and I cover everywhere from statesville to asheville, im from asheville but was across the street getting some food and seen your shop, i'd never noticed it before." We live about 2 hours from asheville, I dont actually think he just stumbled upon the shop but who knows. Then he says "We're trying to get into the electronic cigarette market and have started making a brand called V2, ever heard of them?" I said, "I've seen them in gas stations a couple times, but other then that I've had no experience with them" He then says "what about the zig zag kits? Ever tried them?" "never tried one, but i've seen them once or twice" "Well that was one of our lines, the v2 is our next level model to kind of keep up with the new stuff thats coming out, I have a box of them out in my van that i can bring in to give you an idea" the dude then walks out to his van, we just kind of wait on him until he gets back then he returns with this big v2 display box "We're selling these retail for 450.00 but we can sell you three for 150 each, thats around 900 dollars of profit if you buy today" Jon says" Well i've never heard of the brand so i'd have to look into it more first" "Alright thats fine but..." then he gave this super long sales pitch about how it will be better then anything else on the market and ahead of its time with the magnetic tanks and blah blah blah, then Jon went behind the counter and pulled out this huge box and says "This takes three batteries and goes up to 240 watts, starter kits are great and all, but they will never really be ahead of the times unless you can build a sub ohm starter kit and thats not cheap" the sales rep dude then says "Alright, well im just going to leave my card, just give me a call if you decide you need any of our products" And he left, I guess the best thing that comes out of this is i can ask, has anyone ever dealt with any v2 products? How are they with reliability, battery life ect. I'd like to get back to Jon with some reviews, maybe they could be better then the regular egos and this is a good deal for the local shop.  

Preferably the questions will be from vapers with the minimum amount of experience vaping being 6 months/preferably a year or more . What's a question that even a newbie or anybody might know but you never got around to knowing it or understanding it for yourself and now want to know.

I'll start it off : I've been vaping 6 years and I "failed out battery university".

What the heck does a "high drain" battery mean ?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk  

I was talking in another thread, and the question came up that may be a good topic... for the experienced vapers, if you had to recommend one vaping setup... both atomizer and battery.... what would you recommend to someone who had.. say.. a pack and a half per day habit? I am curious as to what you would recommend to get someone to stop smoking, and it be an "end-game" product.....one they wouldn't need upgrading later. Both atomizer and device.

And yes, I know some people may turn it into a hobby like me and want to buy a variety, but I am strictly speaking for the stopping smoking part.

I'll go first...

I'd recommend an Istick 30 with a subtank mini. I think that atomizer and battery combo offers a convenient size, good juice capacity, reliable, a wide variety of vaping options, and just a good "grab and go" setup.