please do jonny :)
it arrived this morning.
came fully charged, and i couldn't resist having a go. sorry guys if you wanted to see me use it for the first time, but i'll try to explain as much as i can in writing. the vids on youtube give you visually everything you need to know really.
first impressions of the super-mini. it's size is spot on and really does look like a real cig... even has the subtle banding around the white battery. it's much heavier than a real one, but that was expected as it is mostly made of metal. manufacturing wise it actually seems pretty good quality. all the parts fit together nicely and snug fit.
the batteries came fully charged, so i popped in a cartridge. these carts are a little bit fiddly when you first get them.. when you pop the cap off there's no easy way to tell how you put it in. you have to use your teeth to pull the tiny cartridge out of the cap, which then revels the sponge containing the fluid... it then became obvious which way to put it in. this things are covered in the "juice" and you'll find yourself wiping your hands on your trousers hehe.
after putting the cart and mouth piece on i gave it a suck. it's a much easier draw than a rolly. perhaps a little easier than a normal cig too. it took a few puffs to get the "smoke" going... apparently this is called "priming" when you put a new cart in for the first time. with new atomisers there's a sort of break in period i've read and found with this device. i didnt get much smoke to begin with... but after about 10 mins of puffing the some hovering in my mouth was comparable to a real cig. inhaling it is EXACTLY like the real thing. the smoke is warm, and it hits the back of your throat exactly the same way. there is a BIG difference in taste and texture. it's sweeter, and lighter than a real cig... infact i'd actually say it's a "cleaner" taste. it's kinda like smoking a silk cut though but i put that down to the mg in these carts. they're "marlboro strong" which are about 20mg. to be perfectly honest, after smoking it for 30 mins i still had to smoke a rolly to get my fix. i think i'll be needing to get the 36mg XXStrong fluid to "top off" the empty carts as the rollies i smoke must be much stronger than these carts i've got.. it's cheaper doing that anyway rather than buying the carts every time.
i did notice that at first there wasn't much "smoke" on the exhale, but it's getting better. this model apparently is notorious for not much vapour. covering the holes around the atomiser gave better vapour though (and this is a trick i saw on youtube by some scottish fellow).
oh and the vapour doesn't smell at all!
after 30 mins of puffing, the cart ran out. so these mini cigs carts will NOT last long. according to users on the e-cig forum, battery life is usually about 3 carts worth... so that's just 90 mins of smoking per battery.
my conclusions:
i like it! the taste i'd say is pleasant and light. but the cart sizes are going to be an issue if i use this regularly. i'll also need to get the XXstrong 36mg to feed my addiction enough to make it worthwhile.
regarding the model though... i dont recommend this particular model as your first purchase. this one is definitely to be put in the occasional smoke band.
everyone on the e-cig forum recommend a model called the DSE901b which is about 30mm (branded just the "mini") longer than the super-mini which is 100mm ish. this is available from
http://www.e-cigs.co.uk. it's battery life, cart size and vapour production apparently is great for it's size, and it's not an ugly monster like the pen styles. so i'm going to make this my next purchase instead of buying extra carts, atomizers and batteries for this one.