An electronic cigarette looks like a traditional cigarette, feels like a traditional cigarette, and tastes like a traditional cigarette. That’s what pretty much all of the electronic cigarette vendors claim, and for the most part they are right. Some of their claims are a bit exaggerated though.

Electronic cigarettes are a non–flammable, produce no smoke or odor, and do not have all the chemicals present in traditional cigarettes. There are many sellers offering these devises at various prices and including with them a multiple of e-cigarette parts and accessories.

I started this blog to give my opinion on some of the electronic cigarette brands on the market and attempt to explain the real experience offered by the various e-cigarette brands.

Blu Cigs Impoves Atomizer

I am very happy to announce that Blu Cigs has made an improvement to the atomizer that vaporizes the Nicotine solution in the flavor cartridges. It’s now longer so it reaches further into the flavor cartridge giving you a more consistent smoking expirience. Before you would get a few strong hauls and then it would taper off. Now you get one strong haul after another which really makes the Blu Cig feel even more like the real thing.

If you have ordered the Blu Cig Starter kit a while ago and expirienced the same thing,  I would recommend ordering new atomizers. It will make you love Blu Cigs all over again.

Last night I went out to a local club and brought my Blu Cigs electronic cigarettes with me. I have to say they are quite the conversation starter. I had a few people ask me what it was. I felt good talking about it and recommending it because I know it’s a healthier option than smoking tobacco products and I would love to convert everyone to  Blu Cigs smoker.

As expected, the included traditional looking style cigarette pack to carry everything was the coolest. It’s the same size as a pack of cigarettes and has the capability to charge your batteries on the go, which I did have to do last night as one of the (2) two included batteries did run out. I just screwed it in, the blue light on the pack came on to indicate it was charging and it gave a cool blueish glow to our table area where we were sitting.

I’m finding now that I have become a cleaner smoker I’m looking at others still puffing away on their “cancer sticks” and saying to myself how much easier it would be to breath in there if everyone was smoking these. After a while the smoke in the clubs stings your eyes and in general makes it harder for everyone to breath. You become human air filters, whether you want to or not. I bet the non-smokers would certainly enjoy their club time more if everyone where smoking Blu Cigs instead.

Still using the Green Smoke and getting the most consistent-feeling strength hauls. I’ve gone through a few cartridges now and have learned each e-cig has it’s own style of smoking or learning curve to use the product. I’m adjusting how tight I screw on the atomizer cartridge. Backing it off slightly from fully tight seems to give the perfect hit from the 6ml Nicotine level tobacco flavor cartridge.

Fully tightened it’s a bit difficult getting a drag from it, though it’s the strongest feeling puff that way. You should notice a definite “throat hit” from a fully screwed on cartridge and a slow full drag. The only things I find unappealing about the Green Smoke system are the cost for parts and the warm-up time for the cartridge when you first drag on it. It takes 1 – 2 puffs to get it warmed up. The 3 pieces units deliver vapor on the first haul each time. I’m having a difficult time deciding which brand I would prefer to use over all as each has it’s good and bad points.

I really like that, for me, Green Smokes cartridges last (2) two and a half days, but I find the flavor of the Blu cartridges to be a little more to my liking.

I still need to test out Green Smoke’s other flavors, yet another difficult choice. They all sound so good. Apple, strawberry, chocolate, coffee, and vanilla. Tobacco, tobacco marl (I’m assuming this means Marlboro flavored) and menthol are also amongst the choices. Also wanting to try a higher Nicotine level. Though they give a discount for ordering (4) four packs at a time, I think I’ll order just the apple 8ml today to make sure the strength is ok.

I am excited to announce that I received my 12ml Classic Tobacco and Magnificent Menthol cartridges. About (5) five days for them to arrive. I am pleased to tell you that they are the perfect strength. You get a nice “throat hit” but not to strong, and the flavor of both is delicious. The Classic Tobacco and Magnificent Menthol are my top favorites now.

To sum up my cartridge trial for a Marlboro Medium smoker, I would recommend the high strength or 16ml cartridges in the flavors Java Jolt, Vivid Vanilla, and Cherry Crush. For the Classic Tobacco and Magnificent Menthol I’d recommend the 12ml cartridges.

Battery Life

Blu claims one battery charge will last through (2) two cartridges. I find you get about 5 or 6 hours of moderate use before needing to be recharged. So it’s more like one cartridge will last through (2) two batteries. Seeing as it only takes about a half hour to recharge a battery this is not a problem at all.

The Pack

I’m finding that the pack is the item that makes this whole system the best in my opinion, as it acts as a recharger as well as a carrying case for your batteries and (5) five flavor cartridges. You could literally go a whole weekend with nothing more than a well stocked and charged pack.

The Conclusion

I am really enjoying the Blu electronic cigarette. It feels more like the real thing and it’s a really cool concept. I’m looking forward to trying the 12ml strength and will post the results when I do.

The Arrival

I ordered Blu Cigs electronic cigarettes for $59.95 on a Monday, Jan, 11 from www.blucigs.com and got them that week on Saturday, the 16th, free shipping.

Blu’s arrival was well anticipated because I had already seen someone using it and got a chance to try it myself first.

Blu e-cigarettes come USPS and are nicely packaged in the black box pictured on the left. When ordering you have your choice of white or black for the cigarettes and case to hold them, as well as the strength flavor cartridges you want to start off with. The flavors are Classic Tobacco, Magnificent Menthol, Cherry Crush, Vivid Vanilla, and Java Jolt.

The kit contains:

• 1 Case that holds your cigarette batteries and 5 flavor cartridges, also charges your batteries up to 6 times.
• 2 short batteries
• 25 Flavor cartridges, 5 each of 5 flavors (You choose the strength).
• USB Charger.
• Wall Charger.
• Cable for recharging the pack.
• Instruction Booklet

The Test

Ok my initial reaction is joy, I love the fact Blu starts you off with (2) two batteries for $59.95 as opposed to the $109.00 I paid for the “Social Smoker’s Kit” I purchase from Green Smoke which containes only (1) one.

The kit I ordered was “Full Flavor” 16ml cartridges. I started with the Classic Tobacco flavor. The cartridges are marked so you can tell them apart, this one has CT stamped on it for Classic Tobacco. The first hit was like a wall of Nicotine hitting the back of my throat, nice tobacco flavor though. By the third and forth hit it had softened the blow a bit. After about 8 hauls the “smoke” or vapor was noticeably lighter and smoother, it’s just those first few hits that get you.

The highest level, 16ml, seems to be too high for me. After researching several brands I’m finding they tend towards claiming their strongest dose cartridge is the equivalent of an unfiltered cigarette, so I can see why it’s a bit harsh at first for me as I smoke Marlboro Mediums. Now for the flavors, I’ll start with Vivid Vanilla.

Hmm, I don’t know if I’m just used to the strength already or not, but the flavored cartridges seema lot lighter in strength. I am not getting a harsh hit on my throat, it’s nice but not much vapor. The same tapering off as the Classic Tobacco though. By the 8th puff, or so, I can hardly feel the vapor. This was true for the other flavors as well, except Magnificent Menthol. It hit my throat the same way the Classic Tobacco did, too harsh for the first few hauls. I should probably have ordered the 12ml starter kit. It is good that they let you choose your starting strength, I hope I have helped someone make a better 1st choice.

Well I have spent as much of a whole day with the Green Smoke electric cigarette as I could with only one battery.

In conclusion for this brief test I would have to rate the Green Smoke as follows, out of 5 stars:

• Ease of use – 5 stars (Only 2 pieces)
• Vapor emitted. – 5 stars
• Battery life/Length of recharge – 3 stars (4 hour charge for 4 – 5 hour life)
• Cartridge flavor (tobacco) – 3 stars (Took getting used to and not quite a tobacco flavor)
• Cartridge duration – 5 stars (Cartridge has out lasted 2 recharges)
• Sensation of smoking the real thing – 4 stars (Missed 5 stars only for taste being off slightly)
• Likelihood of ordering more products from Green Smoke – Very Likely (At this point, I want to try different flavors and strength before making a finally recommendation)

Woke up this morning and grabbed the Green Smoke for my first morning smoke. I was pleased to find the vapor quantity was still very good, however I was dismayed to only get about 6 puffs before the end of the battery indicated that it needed recharging. The reason being that it means I only got about 4 – 5 hours of smoking time from the first use of a new battery that was just fully charged at 6pm the previous evening. So, back onto the charger it goes at 10am today.

1:50 pm and the battery is fully charge again, just under 4 hours for this charge. Again I screw the same cartridge back onto the battery and am once again getting huge amounts of vapor. The taste has mellowed a bit and the taste is kind of pine-like. This is from the 6ml tobacco flavor cartridge they start you off with.

I’m kind of getting that “throat hit” but it’s not quite as strong as I’d like. I used to smoke Marlboro Mediums, so it may be just a matter of moving to a stronger Nicotine level. All in all though, I’d call it satisfying.

The next thing is to see how long the battery lasts today having gone from fully depleted to fully charged. I would have to consider the long charge time a negative point for the Green Smoke electronic cigarette. It would really be essential to have two batteries on hand when using this brand.

They do have a starter kit that comes with two batteries, but they are one long and one short. I didn’t want two different size batteries. It’s my opinion they should give you the choice of either 2 long batteries or 2 short, because buying a battery alone costs $50. Quite a steep fee considering Blu only charges $9.95 for a replacement battery.

5:50 pm now and I’ve had about 6 more good smokes from the Green Smoke system so far and this first cartridge is still producing volumns of vapor on each puff. So far I am impressed that the cartridge has lasted over 24 hours and still as strong as it was new. It’s quieter too, this isn’t a huge factor but the (3) three piece units tend to give of a faint sort of whistle when you draw upon them, this is not evident with the Green Smoke. It as quiet as the real thing.

A little warning, the vapor coming from the hole is concentrated heat and can burn your lip if your not smoking it correctly. Make sure your lips are clear of the hole the emits the vapor.

6:10 and the battery has had it. It appears you get about 5 hours smoking time for a moderate smoker per 4 hour charge, you get about the same from a one hour charge with the Blu e-cig system. Which I’m glad I have right now as it will be 4 hours until I can use the Green Smoke again.

Green Smoke claims, as do others, that it gives the most “smoke” vapor. Boasting a whopping 300 puffs per cartridge. Saying that, 5 Nicotine cartridges is to be  the equivalent of 8 packs of traditional cigarettes. Being a former half-a-pack-a-day smoker, (Since starting the electronic cigarette showdown, I no longer smoke traditional cigarettes.), I figure this first cartridge should last well into tomorrow afternoon seeing as I will be starting it now at 12:30 pm 2/3/10.

This is the first 2 piece unit I have tried. The selling point here is that the cartridge contains an atomizer as opposed to it being a separate unit, to subsequently fail and need to be replaced. With Green Smoke you replace the atomizer with each cartridge. What do you do with the old used up cartridges? Why send them back of course, no kidding. The company suggests it themselves claiming they will recycle the used parts. Very GREEN of them, ok pun intended.

So, they usually have a little charge from the factory… I’ll just twist the cart. onto the battery and as the instructions advise, take 2 puffs to get the vaporizer warmed up then smoke like normal. Here goes…

Ok, incredible amounts of vapor. I can’t believe how much vapor the Green Smoke is producing. The vapor feels warmer than what you get from the Blu or The Electronic Cigarette, though I’d say I prefer the taste of the Blu electronic cigarette just slightly more and The Electronic Cigarette slightly more than them all. The Green Smoke in its efforts to produce the most smoke may have missed concentrating on flavor, which is slightly mechanical tasting, for this standard flavor anyway. Perhaps that’s just going to be the Yin for the Yang. Again though, Green Smoke truly does give the most vapor of the three types I have purchased so far.

Now that the smoke test is done I’ll go for the charging of the device. The instructions claim 3 - 4 hours. It took slightly less than that, just under 3 hours for the red light on the charger to turn green indicating a full charge. Now the question is… How long will the battery last before it needs recharging. It’s 6 pm now. I’ll continue the rest in the results tomorrow.