We used to order cigarettes online from one of the tobacco states. One day we received a letter from the state of WI saying we owed them hundreds in sales tax. They either got our information from the supplier or from UPS. Thankfully, they backed off.

I've read about other states pursuing sales taxes from their residents for the same thing. I've heard bad things about the flavor of imported smokes. I think they're often fakes. I don't have any direct experience outside of buying a carton of cigs in China that I'm sure was counterfeit. Could not smoke any of them without hacking up a lung. (I've bought a bunch of cigarettes in China, and only had an issue with this one carton.)

I figured Provari was single and protected battery. It looks like a beautiful PV.

With reports of exploding mods, the idea of stacking batteries freaks me right out.

Anyone near Chicago, there's a Vapebash scheduled for March 30 & 31st. If you're not familiar with ecigs, it's helpful to see how they work hands on.

I have a Provari but I think I'd get the Lavatube if I was buying right now.

The LT has 95% of the Provari's functionality at a third of its price. The build quality on the Provari is much better but not worth the extra £100 IMO.

Having said that I'm very happy with my Provari, DCC and puff diddy tank. I feel like I've found the perfect combo for me and have not been tempted to buy any new hardware for a solid two months!

To add to this I would have got a Lavatube rather than my Provari just from a pure cash saving angle but they weren't around then..

That said the Provari is a thing of beauty and workmanship and you want to look after it.

I can no longer heartily recommend these after trying the smaller ones. Workmanship was really rough and liquid just pours out of them.

You can't stack batteries on the Provari, it only works with a single cell. As far as the dangers of stacking, I haven't heard any recent problems. When stacking 2 PROTECTED batteries in a device with a vent hole you should be perfectly safe.

I agree. I haven't had any problems in the year and a half I've had my Provari. I have heard some people having quality control problems with the Lavatube but for 1/3 the price I guess that's to be expected.

My gf and I have had our Lavatubes (branded as "Knight Rider" in Canada, wtf?) for ~2 weeks now, and have had a few problems.

On the one device, the LED screen glass is warped and wavy, but it functions just fine. On the other, I've had a problem with my button. Last week it started acting weird and I'd have to press it very hard to get it to fire, as in "scared that I'll break it" hard. I soaked it in 99% alcohol overnight, and let it dry for a day, and it now seems to be working fine. Also, The bumps on the plastic base were driving me nuts, so I carved them off with a utility knife.

That said, I have to retract my endorsement for every other device I've ever recommended, such as the egos, ego clones, and Leo. The lavatube blows them all away, and is hands down the best device I've seen, and is suitable for both beginner and experienced vapers alike. For the price, there's nothing even in the same league. The only devices that could begin to compete are the darwin and provari types, but at 2x or 3x the price.

You've got to admire the Chinese for their ability to steal an idea, rip it down to it's essentials, and mass produce it at an insanely low price. The lavatube is a great example of that industriousness.

Edit: Now all that I need is a tank compatible Carto that has the ease of use of a Boge, and the performance/lifespan of a CE2.

Right now I'm using the Boge cartos, but they only last me 2-3 days @ ~6ml/day. The CE2s would last me 2-3 weeks, but they take too much fiddling to get them to work, even though they are still the best performers when they are perfectly tuned in.

There are recent reports of a Prodigy V3.1 blowing up in someone's face, putting them in ICU. Newer mod supposedly using "safer chemistry" batteries. See here and here.

Obviously we don't know the whole story, and user error could very well have caused the problem. Still, if you read around on the forums, the word is to never assume that any battery is safe. Some batteries and designs are safer than others, but none can ever be assumed safe.

Me too. This is the reason I suggest buying from someone with a decent warranty. A lot of suppliers offer almost none.

I just filled out a ticket to have the first unit I bought returned because the top end cap disconnected.

Are you sure the protective film got removed? When I thought my LED screen was funky, it turned out I'd never removed the film.

We've had intermittent buttons, but not to this extent. They seem to have worked themselves out now.

Do you mean the ridges on the end cap? If so, I don't mind them at all.

Agree 100%

We've been cutting holes in thin wall plastic Ce2's to put them inside tanks.

I'm hoping something in the Stone or Vision line will eventually resolve the juice end of things. I did order some Visions, but I think we made an error by disassembling them and cleaning before use, which made them leak. They should be flushed with water instead, and the plastic housing left on the metal base.

It also sounds like you need to make sure they're on a battery before assembling or you can push the Ce2 out the bottom which will make it leak.

I read the post on the V3 blowing up and it seems suspect. The poster had a low post count and then no update when asked. If the user uses some common sense I'm sure they wouldn't ever have any problems. If the unit starts getting hot for no reason or if the unit starts hissing, etc. put it down. I've had almost all of Puresmoker's mods and have never had anything close to a battery problem. Their mods all have a built in button vent system so I have confidence in them. With the higher voltage vaping evolving to single cell variable voltage these days this really isn't much of a concern anyways.

If you ARE using stacked batteries, just make sure you only use the same two together (mark them). Also, don't overcharge or over discharge any battery. If there is any sign of trouble, for god sakes, put the device down!

Yeah, it's the glass itself. Very minor cosmetic issue, but noticible on close inspection. Absolutely not a deal breaker by any means.

Yeah, I just didn't find them comfortable at all. Ten minutes with a good olfa knife fixed it.

I do something similar with the stainless CE2s that I use.

I cut 2 windows in the carto with my dremel. I make them about 1/4" wide, one for each side of the carto for the wick to stick through. The top of the window is exactly at the top of the wick, flush with the ceramic cup, and the bottom goes down to the bottom tank plug. This way, the wicks aren't bent too tightly and flow much better, but the carto/tank keeps the rigidity of a single piece steel carto.

The only leaks I've ever had are from overfilling, or from cutting the wick slot too big in the silicone cap piece inside of the carto.

+1 Same for me, best device by a long shot.

The bumps on the base are great! stop it rolling around the desk brilliantly

If you're a fan of Top Gear UK, this was the topic of the latest episode 18x02 - Chinese can even copy whole cars for cheap lol! funny episode.


I don't worry about exploding batteries. There is a protection circuit on my battery (makes it not quite screw closed in the lavatube but no big deal), another protection circuit in the lavatube itself and if both fail a vent in the base, so it'll only spew fire out the base end in event of disaster.

stories of explosions are from when batteries vent in an sealed space, then you have a pipe bomb! do not want sealed unit lol.

Hey the e-cig is the electronic cigarette that vaporizes nicotine correct?

I smoke, and I want to quit but at the same time I don't. Like I really enjoy blowing smoke out of my mouth, and setting things on fire. Luckily cigarettes do this.

Can anyone quote how much one of these ecigs cost and how often you have to replace the charge canister (name?)

I dont want to explode my face! Christ!

damn i got to get a lavatube. There is a VV Reo Woodville coming out at some point, but I can't really afford it. I'm very curious to see how VV changes the flavor of juices. I only use 1.5 ohm attys, and they work great with tobacco juices, but I can't really get much out of the sweet flavors. Would be cool to get a 2.0+ atty with the lavatube and fire up some dulce de leche or fruit flavor and see what that's like.