# Mod/Starter Kit Advice For a Newbie



## CMMACKEM (21/9/16)

Hi All

I have a...twisp edge(Please don't snigger, I feel dupped) for a few months now and the device is obviously unsatisfactory.

I am looking at buying a mod/starter kit on Saturday, willing to spend max R2k(might push to 2.5k) and cannot make up my mind and/or do not have experience to make an informed decision or am I willing to take advice from sales assistants who just want to move old stock.
I am looking for the following in a device:

1. Build Quality(Do not want this device to fall apart after 4 months)
2. Vapour Intake
3. Spares avaliblity
3.On board features
4. Flavour
5. Battery life
6. Cloud size
7. Modding ease

I am looking at the following devices thus far.

Smok Knight 80w and Eleaf Pico 75w
I was looking at the Wismec RX75 but the Vapery reckons it is rubbish.

What would you experienced users suggest?


----------



## BumbleBee (21/9/16)

CMMACKEM said:


> Hi All
> 
> I have a...twisp edge(Please don't snigger, I feel dupped) for a few months now and the device is obviously unsatisfactory.
> 
> ...


From the options you've listed I would personally go straight for the Pico, they're solid little powerhouses and coils for the Melo tank are easy to find. A good addition would be an extra battery with a silicone sleeve for safe carrying and a charger to keep your spare battery charged.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 4


----------



## stehan (22/9/16)

Hey, I would also say the pico wins hands down! they are small and yet pack all the power and functions one need in a device.
If you want to use already made coils, the starter pack would be great for you get the Melo tank with.
If you want to build your own coils, i would suggest buying just the mod and looking at a nice rta tank for example (gemini) and you will need a roll of wire and a bag of cotton (will last you very long). if your planning on this route, the sales person will be able to assist with the coil builds and wicking, also youtube is a very good learning platform. happy Vapings!

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Silver (22/9/16)

CMMACKEM said:


> Hi All
> 
> I have a...twisp edge(Please don't snigger, I feel dupped) for a few months now and the device is obviously unsatisfactory.
> 
> ...



Hi @CMMACKEM and welcome to the forum

Do you want a device to do mouth to lung vaping (like we smoked) or direct lung inhales?

The reason I ask is that the atomiser part of what you get determines to a large extent the type of vape you will get and I have found that almost no device does both successfully.

It is possible to get one mod with two tanks - one for easier "workhorse" type mouth to lung puffing and one for big lung hits


----------



## Herco (22/9/16)

Personally, I think you are going to get over the pico quickly. Its an awesome starter device, but by your list of preferences I think you are going to get over it quickly. If you vape a lot then the battery will not last you through a day, so an extra battery and charger will be necessary.

I would go straight for a 2 cell mod like a minikin, fuchai or something similar. Then you can pair it with a wide variety of tanks and you will have battery life for days. Depending on your choice of tank you will be able to build and rebuild and in turn you will have better clouds and flavour.

Ofcourse, if you cannot afford a bigger mod + batteries + tank now, the pico is still a great device!

What are you referring to with #7? Modding ease?

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Atsbitscrisp (22/9/16)

Pico is a solid little device, depending on how much you vape, a battery should last a day. Maybe look to get an extra one if you are not able to charge it during the day. The melo 3 that comes with the kit was an ok mouth to lung tank for me personally. Not good for big lung hits as I found it too restrictive. I would choose a nice 22mm tank to go on the pico if you do go that route.

Also look out for the eleaf aster. It has the same internal gubbins as the pico but in a mod that can accomodate a bigger tank so you dont have to do the mini tank route.

The power on the pico is good for smaller builds but if you wanna do some serious cloud chasing, maybe go for a slightly bigger setup. Seen people do wonders with a fuchai 213 and smok tfv8 cloud beast.


----------



## CMMACKEM (22/9/16)

stehan said:


> Hey, I would also say the pico wins hands down! they are small and yet pack all the power and functions one need in a device.
> If you want to use already made coils, the starter pack would be great for you get the Melo tank with.
> If you want to build your own coils, i would suggest buying just the mod and looking at a nice rta tank for example (gemini) and you will need a roll of wire and a bag of cotton (will last you very long). if your planning on this route, the sales person will be able to assist with the coil builds and wicking, also youtube is a very good learning platform. happy Vapings!



Hey mate

Thank you for your response, I am not looking to build my own coils just yet. Too much of a newbee.


----------



## CMMACKEM (22/9/16)

BumbleBee said:


> From the options you've listed I would personally go straight for the Pico, they're solid little powerhouses and coils for the Melo tank are easy to find. A good addition would be an extra battery with a silicone sleeve for safe carrying and a charger to keep your spare battery charged.



What about the Smok Knight? Thoughts?

What about options that I haven't listed, any suggestions?


----------



## CMMACKEM (22/9/16)

Herco said:


> Personally, I think you are going to get over the pico quickly. Its an awesome starter device, but by your list of preferences I think you are going to get over it quickly. If you vape a lot then the battery will not last you through a day, so an extra battery and charger will be necessary.
> 
> I would go straight for a 2 cell mod like a minikin, fuchai or something similar. Then you can pair it with a wide variety of tanks and you will have battery life for days. Depending on your choice of tank you will be able to build and rebuild and in turn you will have better clouds and flavour.
> 
> ...



What about the SMOK Knight?

Well I am looking to spend up to 2K-2.5K. In terms of bigger devices I was looking at the Wismec RX200/s, Smok R200, Smok Quantum and the Eleaf Pico Mega. Are these any good?

Modding ease as in mod boxes that would be compatible with a range of different brand tanks etc.


----------



## CMMACKEM (22/9/16)

Silver said:


> Hi @CMMACKEM and welcome to the forum
> 
> Do you want a device to do mouth to lung vaping (like we smoked) or direct lung inhales?
> 
> ...



I am looking at mouth to lung vaping.


----------



## PsyCLown (22/9/16)

Alright, so I did not read all of the responses.

I have owned a Pico, 2 of my friends own the Pico Kit and another one of my friends own the Smok Knight Kit.

I really enjoyed my Pico, the thing i disliked most about it was the battery cap prevent you from using an atomizer larger than 23mm diameter.
The Melo 3 tank is also not a bad tank for starting out on. Coils are cheap and easily available and they work well.

The Smok kit, I really really like the device itself. I prefer it to my Pico. This being said I have not used it nearly as much as Pico.
I have yet to try the Smok Helmet tank which the kit comes with though. I remember the Smok Knight kit being pricier than the Pico though by quite a bit (international purchases).

If I were to purchase a new starter MOD, I would without a doubt get the Smok Kopper Mini 2 mod over the Pico. That is the mod which comes with the Knight Kit. However with the tank included I cannot comment, I have not seen people selling the Helmet tank coils either and am not sure how well it vapes.

I think it might be best to start out with a starter kit, a single battery kit. Then should you get bored of it and want more power as you want to move over to larger tanks and bigger coils or perhaps your own coils which need more power then go for it. However as soon as you go for a mod with 2 batteries or more the price jump is quite something as you need to get yourself a battery charger and at least 2 new batteries, chances are you will go through more juice as well.


EDIT: I just saw you are looking for a MTL (Mouth to Lung) type of device and that changes things quite a bit as I do not MTL. I believe you can do MTL with the Melo 3, however it is not specifically meant for MTL.

Maybe @Silver can assist a bit with MTL recommendations.
However I doubt you will need more than 75W for any MTL device, therefore a single battery 18650 mod should be perfect! I still recommend the Smok mod over the Pico mod, however if there is a large price difference stick to the Pico as it is still a brilliant mod!


----------



## Silver (22/9/16)

CMMACKEM said:


> I am looking at mouth to lung vaping.



Well thats very helpful
Many of the intermediate and advanced tanks are better suited to full lung hits
There are some more restricted lung hit tanks, like the Melo3 Mini that some use for mouth to lung by turning down the airflow but in my opinion they not great for that.

Strangely i have not found many good commercial coil mouth to lung commercial coil tanks.
I use an old Evod1 and my mom uses a Nautilus Mini. They work well but they are not newer generation devices. My best MTL is a RM2 on the Reo but thats a rebuildable bottom fed atomiser.

I believe that the new Nautilus X is a good mouth to lung option.
I know that some use the Cubis tank but I havent tried it.

Reactions: Like 2 | Disagree 1


----------



## KlutcH (22/9/16)

I vouch for the Pico as well.

Device is nice and small, battery lasts a full day. 
Also opens you up to other tank options in the future if you want to get more into building etc.

If your budget is 2k get the Pico kit, charger and a spare battery or 2 and you all set.


----------



## Arno "NoxFord" Steyn (22/9/16)

okay so Finally my advice might help a bit as I've gone through a bunch of starters in my days leading up to my mods and atomisers.

Options are obviously
Pico Kit with Melo3 mini tank
iJust2 with battery Kit
(Cuboid Mini not added due to that thing being one big LEAK)

All of the starter kits are easy to use and I would recommend the two I mentioned as I have found them most useful when not coupled with there kit tanks IE I now use my Ijust2 Battery only with my Avocado 22 and Velocity where as I use my Pico with my ProTank4 and my Billow v2.
While these two mods are nice and come with very similar tanks I would recommend just going all out and Buying a VTwo Mini with either a ProTank or a Griffin ... While the griffin is a build only it is easy to learn to wick and build it I know, I got a friend building and wicking it well on week one of his vaping hobbies. however if building scares you but you'd like to have the option at some point the ProTank 4 is Great ass it uses both the ssocc and occ coils that can be purchased pre-built in a huge veriety from .15 to ceramic and the tank also comes with a RBA (Rebuildable Atomiser)

So if your just starting I seriously recommend a VTwo mini kit with either a Samsung 3000Mah (Pinkie) or LG HG2 (Brownie or Turd as they are called) and then couple that with a ProTank 4 ... entire setup might be about R500 extra but will last you around a lifetime longer as it is easier to find coils and have more options down the line.


----------



## Igno (22/9/16)

I would like to put in my 2 cents as well here. Although you're not not looking to rebuild right now, it is something you will probably consider in the near future if you're anything like me, and if you see how easy it actually is by watching a few youtube videos. Althought the Pico is a great mod, it limits you on tanks that fit, so IMO have a look at the RX2/3 which you can run in dual battery mode and the Limitless XL tank that has pre-buit coils if you don't want to rebuild right now, also has rebuildable decks for when you want to go down that route. Then you will also have to look at an external charger for your batteries, and spare batteries. So in total you can look at spending about R2500 for this set-up and it gives you great options for future additions to your vaping journey. 

I know this not your typical starter kit but this is still a great way to start out as you will not look back after 3 months and wish you rather went for something bigger and better. I think Vape Club has the RX2/3 for R990 and the Limitless XL tank for R570, Samsung 30Q batteries for R175 each and a dual bay charger for R220, so all these with 2 sets of 2 batteries will set you back R2480, really not a lot for what you get.

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## CMMACKEM (22/9/16)

Igno said:


> I would like to put in my 2 cents as well here. Although you're not not looking to rebuild right now, it is something you will probably consider in the near future if you're anything like me, and if you see how easy it actually is by watching a few youtube videos. Althought the Pico is a great mod, it limits you on tanks that fit, so IMO have a look at the* RX2/3* which you can run in dual battery mode and the Limitless XL tank that has pre-buit coils if you don't want to rebuild right now, also has rebuildable decks for when you want to go down that route. Then you will also have to look at an external charger for your batteries, and spare batteries. So in total you can look at spending about R2500 for this set-up and it gives you great options for future additions to your vaping journey.
> 
> I know this not your typical starter kit but this is still a great way to start out as you will not look back after 3 months and wish you rather went for something bigger and better. I think Vape Club has the *RX2/3* for R990 and the Limitless XL tank for R570, Samsung 30Q batteries for R175 each and a dual bay charger for R220, so all these with 2 sets of 2 batteries will set you back R2480, really not a lot for what you get.



Hmm, Are Wismec generally a respectable high quality brand? I was told that the Wismec RX75 was awful quality.

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## Herco (22/9/16)

@CMMACKEM, there are so many options and opinions out there that there is simply no easy answer for you.

You need to go read and watch a lot of reviews. You have a big enough budget to skip the intermediate step of a pico or starter kit all together.

After reading your responses on other recommendations, I really do recommend you look at at least dual cell mod with a decent tank.

Tanks are inexpensive second hand, so you will end up with a few in any case over time. So don't stress TOO much on the tank. Search for decent MTL tanks and watch/read reviews.

If I was in your shoes:

RX2/3.
2 batteries.
Nitecore 2 charger.
Griffin.
Juice.
Juice.
Juice.

Future proof. Good MTL. RX2/3 can accommodate almost all tanks. Battery life for days.

I cannot emphasise enough, don't buy a 'starter' kit. 2 months down the line you will regret it. Get a set up that works well now and you can grow yourself into.


----------



## Igno (22/9/16)

CMMACKEM said:


> Hmm, Are Wismec generally a respectable high quality brand? I was told that the Wismec RX75 was awful quality.



The RX75 I'm not too sure of, but I do have a RX200s and RX2/3 and both of them are very good quality and haven't had any problems with them at all. I run the RX2/3 in dual battery mode only instead of 3 and it's nice and compact for when I go out.


----------



## Herco (22/9/16)

CMMACKEM said:


> Hmm, Are Wismec generally a respectable high quality brand? I was told that the Wismec RX75 was awful quality.



Generally, yes. As with most brands, they have had a dud or 2.


----------



## Herco (22/9/16)

Watch some reviews on these:

RX 2/3
Fuchai 213
Asmodus Minikin (I ended up getting a minikin after 2 months of owning a 'starter kit')
Smok Hpriv
Hotcig R150
IPV5
Vapor Flask Classic 150
iPV 6x


http://www.ecigssa.co.za/2-cell-mods-time-for-an-upgrade.t28404/


----------



## CMMACKEM (24/9/16)

Thanks for all your help/ replies.

Buying today. Will be between the Smok Osub plus and the Eleaf Pico 75w

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## Silver (24/9/16)

CMMACKEM said:


> Thanks for all your help/ replies.
> 
> Buying today. Will be between the Smok Osub plus and the Eleaf Pico 75w



Let us know how it goes @CMMACKEM 
all the best with your purchase


----------



## KZOR (24/9/16)

CMMACKEM said:


> I was told that the Wismec RX75 was awful quality.



Not sure what monkey agreed with that but it is defo not bad quality.

Had mine for 2 months now it is a very solid device.

It is metal construction, no rattling battery door, never got a "no atomizer" message, great battery life, optional usb charge on side, dual circuit protection system, reverse polarity protection, strong magnets for removable door, locking button, customizable, firmware upgradeable, very comfortable in the hand and also priced very well.

Now ....... how on earth can a person rate this as aweful?


----------



## Herco (26/9/16)

KZOR said:


> Not sure what monkey agreed with that but it is defo not bad quality.
> 
> Had mine for 2 months now it is a very solid device.
> 
> ...



I agreed with the lower quality of the wismec 75watt. I held one, played around with it a little bit. Felt cheap, awkward and uncomfortable to me. Thats just my opinion though.


----------



## Herco (26/9/16)

CMMACKEM said:


> Thanks for all your help/ replies.
> 
> Buying today. Will be between the Smok Osub plus and the Eleaf Pico 75w



What did you end up with dude? Share some pics and your first impressions!


----------

