**VAPING** Eleaf Istick Pico Baby 25W Kit

STOP: this post is ONLY for those of legal age for nicotine use.

See the guide for state-by-state regulations

state-by-state regulations

UPDATE

Forgot to be specific about how this device vapes. I am using 50/50 and 65/35 juice in it and it vapes wonderfully. Very smooth hits and good flavor.

I just got 2 new devices, both under $20. This is the Eleag Istick Pico Baby 25W:

We'll just call it the Pico. And, boy oh boy, is it cute. I had heard about them and my brother has one in silver. I wasn't looking to get one, but I saw that Breazy had it for $14.99 and... well.

I should probably get devices in different colors, but I usually go for rainbow or red. The Pico came in a nice set of colors and I was tempted by the green and silver. My brother has the silver and, IMO, the red looked more feminine than the green.

Remember, I said that the price was the big grab for me. When I was checking the Eleaf site for information to share with you, I saw t the price was double at $29.99 for the "regular" colors (down from $46.99). If you want the really cute "dazzling" colors like those below, the price hikes to $32.99. So... dang! These are gorgeous, but so out of my price range:

Notice that the Eleaf site had my rainbow color...

These are freaking CUTE tho!

So, let's get to what I personally like and dislike about the Pico.

PROS:

• It's cute and, yes, that's important to me.
• The shape means it doesn't topple over.
• The power USB port is in a nice spot (near the bottom of one side).
• The indicator light shows the condition of the battery after each hit.
• It's super compact and a great fit for my tiny purse and the pocket in my backpack.
• Because of the size and shape, it's discreet. I can palm it and vape without being so noticeable.
• It has a screw-down lock so it won't fire when stashed in a purse or pocket.
• The tank drops in and is held magnetically and securely. This protects the tank glass.
• The threading on the tank is really smooth. No struggles there.
• I love the narrow drip tip.

The discretion factor is important to me because I personally don't feel like a lady while smoking in public. I feel the same way about vaping. So... I like to vape indoors or if outside, I try to do it on the sneak! Yes, I'm a bit repressed.

CONS:

• Though it fits in a purse, backpack or jacket pocket, it's too "bulge-y" for a pant or skirt pocket.
• It's not a top fill. You have to pull out the tank and unscrew the bottom.
• It's easy to over-fill.
• To adjust the airflow, you have to remove the tank to get to it.
• There is a slot "view" of the tank but I still have to remove it to check the liquid level.
• The indicator light is oddly placed and I have to turn the device to see it. (This could just be because of my hand dominance or the way I hold the vape to use it.)

I like the device enough that I can handle the negatives. Here is some photographic detail.

compared to an 18650 battery

Opened to fill

By the way, now that I'm more than 6 months cigarette-free...

...I have to wonder if and when I will give up vaping. Now that I'm off tobacco, I have started using nicotine-free liquid to vape with about half the time. Honestly, I don't see myself totally giving up vaping because I do enjoy it and it's calming. When I smoked, having a cigarette jacked my anxiety up like crazy - even though I smoked more when I was anxious, mad, or depressed. Now, I can vape some nic-free and still satisfy some part of my habit.

I've saved a ton of money by not buying cigarettes (around $1200 according to the Smoke Free app) but I have spent about $120 on vape devices and juice. But that is over a 6 month period. I've gotten a couple of the devices as gifts and I think 1/4 of my juice collection are samples that get thrown into my orders. The thing is, I can see myself becoming a product junkie if I don't curb myself.

I actually gave one of my vapes away to a friend who is wanting to quit tobacco. The latest additions to the collection are gifts to myself. I said that for every 50 miles I put in on the exercise bike this winter, I would treat myself to a new (inexpensive) device. Both these were under $20. I don't want to talk about what I was spending on cigarettes, even after I moved out of Alaska where you damn near had to take out a second mortgage to finance a tobacco habit...

This is the slim designed Aspire PockeX next to the tiny Pico.

To go even further cutting back on what I could be spending on my vaping, I have learned to steep my own eliquids. I was already buying discount juices (between $3 and $7 per bottle)  from VapeWild, but was once tempted to spend $10 on "steeped" juice. I couldn't bring myself to do that but the website explains how to steep my lower-priced juice and get the same result. So I am prepping my first bottles now. Also, my brother is going to start making juice for us to use so there's that.

I have to tell you about something that happened when I tried changing the coil in my Voopoo Caliber. What a disaster. The device came with one coil pre-installed and a second coil of a different - whatever it is when coils have different firing ranges or... you know. Yeah, I have zero clues about coils but the thing came with 2 coils and that's all you need to know. So, I wanted to see if there would be a different flavor or experience with that other coil. And I swapped them out. Big mistake. The device would not fire. I was sure I had broken it. I went on a mad dash through YouTube and different forums, trying to figure it out. Finally, there was one video - one - of a guy who had the same non-firing issue with a different device. He had stumbled upon a fix when he was fiddling with the device. He found that twisting and re-twisting the tank worked. It didn't work for me. My brother happened to come over and I asked him to look at it. He did, then he twisted the tank, clicked the firing button and... that worked. 

You know how you can't decide whether to be pissed off or happy? That was me. My brother fell out laughing at the look on my face. He said that you have to twist (or screw on) the tank just right sometimes. Apparently, I am too stupid to do this so I will be calling him every single time I need to change a coil!

Anyway, I'm happy that I got both these new devices at such great prices and I'm don't collecting for now. Just waiting on that juice to finishing steeping before I report back.

Peace

--Free