Upcoming Vape Events for Zootie's Vapors

The next few months will busy for 'ol Zootie Vapors.  We're taking the Buddhas and Hammer of God Box Mod on a ROAD TRIP!  More locations/events will be announced as they are finalized, but for now, here where you can find me on the Conference and Exhibit Circuit:

Vapefest - The Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, NV

March 6 & 7, 2015

I'll be attending Vapefest with a vendor pass but will not have a booth.  I will have some Zootie's Vapors schwag to hand out on the floor and a small supply of RDAs (and hopefully some Hammer of Gods) for sale back in my hotel room.  In addition to actually sharing a vape with people I only chat with online, my goal of this trip is to meet other vendors and establish new brick & mortar wholesale accounts for distribution of Vaperz Cloud and Vape Boss products.

VaperSlam - Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem, NC

March 20 & 21, 2015

This will be Zootie's Vapors FIRST expo booth!  I will have some Zootie's Vapors schwag and Vaperz Cloud RDAs for sale at the booth at a Special VaperSlam price.  We'll be doing a raffle, have dancing monkeys, free give-away, Best Vape contest and I may even have a small supply of Hammer of Gods!  Come by the booth and say hi and participate in our contests.  We're also sponsoring a Vap'n Brew event at Foothills Downtown Brewpub on Saturday Night where we can all share a craft beer and swap lies.

The Vape Summit III - Las Vegas Convcention Center in Las Vegas, NV

April 30 - May 2, 2015

I'll actually be attending this event to help promote the Vaperz Cloud brand.  I will be looking to build wholesale relationships with other businesses during the first 2 days of the event, then helping out with the booth as they have plans to release a few new products to the vape community that weekend.

Box Mod Builds: Parallel vs Series

I received a question the other day by someone interested in the Hammer of God box mod.  The topic was, which is better (or safer) parallel or series circuit box mods.. and why.  So I thought this would make an interesting topic of conversation.

First, we have to understand each one and what it does.  So let's jump into a quick electronics lesson:

Parallel Circuit.  This type of circuit (specifically referencing a box mod) creates an electric current from each battery at the same time.  The total voltage remains that of a single battery, however the battery life of each is increased (and so is the overall amperage) since there is less draw on any one battery in the circuit.  When we discuss the harmful effects of vaping and they mention formaldehyde production, they are typically talking about voltage higher than what one 18650 battery can produce.  With a parallel build, the total current to your 510 connection will remain under 4.2v.  Regardless of how many batteries you use in parallel, the voltage will always remain that of (on average) the capacity of a single battery.

Series Circuit.  This type of circuit (again speaking in terms of a box mod) creates an electronic current through each battery consecutively (in a series).  By doing this, you effectively combine the voltage of each battery.  So if you have two 18650 batteries in a series, the voltage will be 4.2v PLUS 4.2v for a max total voltage of 8.4v.  The draw on each battery is combined with one another, similar to stacking batteries in a flashlight (or a mod).  This is where I feel safety comes into play.  Cloud-chasers want to blow bug plumes, so they will sometimes times choose a series build over parallel, so they can throw higher voltage/wattage through the coil and generate more heat/vapor production.

So the question now becomes safety, both in the quality of vaping and that of the battery itself.  If you're concerned with the recent studies showing that vaping over 5v produces significantly more cancer-causing formaldehyde than cigarettes, I think it's safe to say that parallel build box mods would be safer.  Unless you are a professional cloud-chaser and accept the risks that come with vaping at higher volts/wattage, my recommendation would be to use a regulated device or one that incorporates parallel builds.

But I am just scratching the surface here.  I know there are more opinions and sides to the story, so I'd love to hear your take.  Leave a comment in the section below to keep the conversation going.

E-Cigs Vapor More Dangerous Than Tobacco Smoke!!?

The big thing in the news today is how e-cig vapor is more dangerous than cigarette smoking.  I have to say, I was intrigued and stayed on NBC4 this morning to find out why.

The report referenced definitive study results that found voltage 5.0 and greater, resulted in a significant increase in formaldehyde production, that far exceeded that of cigarette smoke.

What they fail to mention is that unless you are vaping on a series-circuit build box mod that is pushing more than 5 volts or a regulated device that is pushing the normal limits of the clearamizer in the study (CE5), there is NO significant detection of formaldehyde.

So the test that they were running is considered the most extreme form of vaping - overkill if you will. You can still generate room-fogging vapor at much less voltage.  Take for example, a parallel build quad battery box mod like the HAMMER OF GOD while it still only produces 4.20 v at its most fully charged without any ohm resistance, still is capable of producing incredible clouds.  Well below that of any concern of this particular study.  So really the only thing it does is improve battery life. (more amperage)

I don't disagree that there is much more research that needs to be done on this topic and thorough testing of the impact of inhaling vapor, but the truth is, vaping is so much better for you than cigarette smoking.  I don't need to convince you, chances are if you are reading this, you already found the benefits of vaping.

UPDATE: 1/24/15
I found this YouTube video by Suck My Mod to be informative:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1421914688&x-yt-cl=84503534&v=lZQQZDavmyw&feature=player_embedded

I want to hear you take on this.  Leave a comment in the section below:

Buddha RDA Photo Shoot

Here are a few photos from today's RDA photo shoot.  The items you see here are Fat Buddha RDAs and Zephyr Buddha RDAs.  They are both 28.5mm and have a 4mm juice canal and 2mm post holes in the deck.  They are available for wholesale through Zootie's Vapors or for retail purchase at shop.zootiesvapors.com

See you at VaperSlam in Winston-Salem, NC March 20-21, 2015

This year Zootie's Vapors is scheduled to make appearances at some Vape Conventions and Expos.  The first one will be VaperSlam at the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem, NC on March 20 & 21st, 2015.  I will be there with Anthony from Vaperz Cloud promoting and selling some of our more popular vape products.  We will have a fresh supply of Fat Buddha and Zephyr Buddha RDAs as well as a couple Hammer of God Box Mods to show off.  Be sure to stop by the booth and say hi!

Also, I am working on organizing a "Vapin' Brew" Event at Foothills Downtown Brewpub located at 638 W. Fourth St. for either Friday or Saturday night.  In the very least, I'll be looking for other craft beer fans to join me for a few samples.

Please fill out this form so I can get a head count of you plan on joining us: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1518DtFAYad8kJtuH5V1bPOPbw4Ku1e7ZVtcXZ3N1wrk/viewform?usp=send_form

Look forward to seeing everyone there!

Zootie's Vapors LLC Customer Satisfaction Survey

Please provide feedback on your experience with Zootie's Vapors

And as a thanks for your honest feedback, you will be entered for a chance to win FREE VAPE GEAR!

This post is directed to anyone who has done business with Zootie's Vapors.

I wanted to thank you for doing business with my company.  Your feedback is important to me, so I'd like to ask that you take just a couple minutes and complete this 

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY.

It will help me gauge how I am doing and potentially identity areas where I could improve.

It will only take a minute or two of your time, but will provide valuable feedback for me.  

In return for your effort and honesty, I will be selecting a few people at random to receive 

FREE VAPE GEAR.

Please follow this link and let me know how I'm doing and how you've like the products I offer.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1x8Q2ROyLgdH-CNBTCtYAun6wwFnctMSmp3HnbP3h4oU/viewform?usp=send_form

Thanks again for your time and I look forward to doing business with you again in the future.

Vape on!

Eric "Zootie" Sutton

Smokeless Serpent e-Juice Review

Despite what many people think, not all of us in the industry get free shit given to us all the time.  Sometimes a company comes around that we want to try and we actually have to PAY for  their products.  Smokeless Serpent was one of those companies I reached out to and they were kind enough to send me a couple 10ml samples.  I liked the ones they sent me so much, that I actually placed a follow up consumer order with them.

Today, I received 5 flavors: Forbidden Fruit (which was one of the ones they sent me a sample of which is why I opted for the 30ml bottle of that one), Unicorn Dust, One Night Stand, Aquarius, and Hot Load.  They run a regular special, Buy three (3) 15ml, get one (1) 15ml free so my total order came to $48 shipped.  Their prices are very reasonable ($10 for 15ml and $18 for 30ml) and their e-liquid is made to order.  You're not paying extra for fancy packaging and bottles, so if that bothers you, you may want to look elsewhere.  What I like most about this company is, you can specify the nicotine level and what ratio you want of VG/PG.

I wont review each flavor because they are highly subjective, but I will tell you that I opt for 3mg nic and max VG blend.  Even with higher VG, there is still quite a bit of flavor in these juices and the vapor production is outstanding.  What I've found is that I dont get tired of vaping on these as I do with some of the other premium juice blends.  I prefer these flavors in a dripper, but they would taste just as good out of a tank.

If youre looking for consistently good juices and reasonable prices, give these guys a shot.  

Silver Lining Vape e-Liquid Review

Today I received some vape mail from a company called Silver Lining Vape based out of North Carolina.  They were kind enough to send me a couple 10ml of their e-liquid.  They sent me Honeydew Melon and Cherry Lust in 6mg nic.  I prefer to drip lower nic levels (0-6mg) because I am now completely off cigarettes and I am trying to cut back on my nicotine levels next.

I enjoy receiving e-liquid samples because you can never have enough juice and there are so many companies making their own house juice that I'm always pleasantly surprised with the difference in flavors available.

For my tasting, I decided to use the Zephyr Buddha RDA (https://shop.zootiesvapors.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=ZB1.2) and a copper 26650 4nine mechanical mod.  I have a .26 ohm build with 22 gauge kanthal.  I used fresh Japanese cotton so I could get the true taste of each flavor.

I started with the honeydew melon flavor and the first thing I noticed was it was not a viscous liquid, meaning it was probably equal parts PG (propyl glycerin) and VG (vegetable glycerin).  Personally I prefer higher VG because I like more vapor production and less throat hit, but having a higher PG will give it more flavor.

My initial thoughts were it was a bit of a harsher hit for me on my setup.  Like I said, I like heavier VG for big lung pulls and large plumes.  This had a decent flavor, but was on par with other standard juices I have tried.  After a couple more drags, my lungs got more used to the blend, and I was able to take deeper draws and enjoy the flavor a bit more.  Overall, I thought the flavor was about average and I would give it a 5.5-6 out of 10.

I moved on to the next flavor, cherry lust.  Going into this one, I had the bad thoughts of other cherry flavors in my mind.  Buckshot Cherry Bomb in particular.  Cherry is a hard flavor for me to be a fan of because it can easily taste like cough syrup. I was hoping this one would be different.

The first thing I noticed was this flavor was a bit more viscous, a little thicker than the last one.  The smell from the bottle reminded me of a Luden's Cough Drop and the flavor was very similar to the smell.  Again, it was a harsher throat hit than I personally go for.  The cherry flavor wasnt overpowering like Buckshot, and it had a bit more of a creamy finish.  Again, I would rate it a 5.5-6 out of 10.

Neither flavor was entirely bad.  It fell in the mid-range as far as overall satisfaction for me.  Both flavors mellowed out as the wick started to dry out and the lingering flavor was decent.  I wish I had a tank or a clearomizer to try them out because I find some juices just taste better in a tank while others taste better in a dripper.

I think for a house juice blend, they were fine, but for me, I have tried so many premium e-liquids over the years that there are far too many that I would reach for before these.  That's not to say they arent worth the price, because everyone has their own preferences and tastes.  For me, they didnt quite hit the mark right off the bat, but I will definitely let them steep a week or two and see if the flavor profiles change.  I also want to try them in a tank to see if my opinion changes in a different setup, perhaps with a higher ohm coil.  I'd also be curious to see how their other flavors stack up.

Kanger Subtank Review

Kanger Subtank Review

Normally I do video reviews but today I wanted to write about a new product I recently purchased.  It's the Kangertech Subtank.

I have been looking for a reliable tank that I could build my own coils.  There just werent too many options in this space.  Until I found this one.  I was pleasantly surprised with the fact that I could use their rebuildable atomizer (RBA) or a pre-built replaceable atomizers that they call OCC (Organic Cotton Coil).

At first, I had a problem with what they call their RBA not firing.  It was being recognized by my ohm tester, but I couldnt get it to fire on my ipv mini or my stainless nemesis mechanical mod.  So I switched to their OCC.

For most of the first tank of juice, it was fine.  Good flavor, nice draw; good vapor production, but during the second tank fill, I found that every other draw I took, I was getting burnt taste.  I had to constantly prime the atomizer and I was afraid that this tank would be just like all the rest of the ones I've tried in the past.  I was ready to just go back to my drippers, when I decided to swap out the OCC for the RBA.  After some fidgeting, I was able to get the RBA to fire.  I wicked it, added some juice and I was vaping away.

I am really impressed with this RBA.  Not only can I get close to 5ml of juice but I have not had a single dry or burnt hit.  The flavor is amazing, the vapor production is sufficient and I have not had a single leak or drip of juice outside of the tank.

have now been using it for a week or so and it has quickly replaced my dripper as my all-day vape.  I still use a dripper when i want to try different juices or if I'm just sitting around the shop, but for travel and locations where I dont want to be constantly dripping, this RBA totally fits the bill for me.