V2 Cigs Review – May 2012 Update!

V2 Cigs is the fastest growing electronic cigarette company on the market. They are making big moves in the industry and are universally recognized for their cutting edge technology and low prices. It’s easy to say that a company is the best, but it really means something when it’s a proven fact. Alexa.com , the leader in Internet statistics, ranks V2 Cigs as the number one E-Cigarette company. So why is V2 Cigs so widely popular? Simple, they offer everything that anyone would ever need to quit smoking and enjoy the better life of vaporizing with electronic cigarettes and all for very reasonable prices.

They have a superior line of E-Cigarette starter kits, a huge array of flavored, refillable nicotine cartridges and even their own line of E-Liquid. More recently, they rolled out their now famous improvements; a battery that is powered by 4.2 volts and exceeds all e-Cigarettes on the market.

But this brand’s fame goes even beyond their new updates, high qualtiy products and prices. If you need some more proof of how big and successful this brand has become, look no further than their partnership with UPS. Electronic Cigarette customers have always had to deal with long wait times and slow shipping because the United States Postal Service (USPS) was the only carrier that would ship that item. But V2 is so trusted that the biggest shipping company in the world offered them a partnership. We’ll get more into V2′s customer service later on in the review, but first let’s take a look at V2′s spectacular line of electronic smoking products.

An Overview of the V2 E-Cigarette

So what makes V2 Cigs special? Why, their electronic cigarettes of course. There are a lot of factors that go into grading E-Cig companies, but the most important part is the quality and the level of technology of the actual E-Cigarettes that they sell and package in their starter kits. I’m going to go through the components of their E-Cigs that make them such a hit.

The V2 Battery

The battery is the core of electronic cigarettes and V2′s does not disappoint. They just rolled out their new batteries, and this was huge news. They are 4.2 volts and this surprasses any other miniature electronic cigarette on the market in terms of power. Their batteries are mini-style batteries, the model that they use is called “kr808d” and they are the most common mini E-Cig batteries on the market. However, every kr808d battery is not made the same. You can tell a V2 battery by this cool matte finish, they feel rubbery compared to the traditional hard metallic feel of kr808d batteries from other companies. But they don’t just look cooler, they are just a higher class of mini batteries, especially after the recent changes.

The most annoying aspect of mini e-Cigs is that they often don’t last long enough per charge and are a hassle to recharge on the go or even at home, but V2′s new batteries last much longer on each charge than any other minis out there. As if that’s not enough reason, because they last longer they also create more vapor. Other batteries will start to poop out toward the end of the charge and create weak vapor hits before they die. But since these V2 batteries are powered by 4.2 volts and are longer lasting, they produce large clouds of vapor for a longer amount of time.

Options, Options, Options

Not only are they high-performance, but V2 Cigs offers their batteries in a variety of lengths and styles. They have 100mm (shorty), 110 mm (standard) and 140 (long) sized batteries. And each of these sizes allows you to choose between an automatic and a manual operation. Automatic batteries create vapor when you inhale them while manual batteries require you press a button and inhale. It all comes down to a matter of preference, it’s said that manual batteries create more vapor with each hit but with automatic you get a lot of convenience. Regardless, the option to even choose “automatic” or “manual” is something that a lot of brands don’t offer – it’s always nice to have options. The prices for the individual batteries range from $20 for the shorty to a measly $30 for the long boy. These are some of the lowest prices you’ll find, and considering they are of V2 quality, they are a steal.

The V2 Cartridges

V2 Cigs, like every E-Cigarette company, offers prefilled cartomizers (nicotine cartridges in layman’s terms). But V2 Cigs is not like every E-Cigarette company; they offer their cartomizers in a huge array of flavors and at a lower price per cartridge than most other brands on the market.

V2 E Liquid / Cartomizer Variety – A Great Line of Flavors

V2 Cigs may not have the largest selection of flavors, but that’s not all the matters in this industry. Some brands have a huge rainbow line of flavors, but when it gets down to it none of them taste very good. This is not so with V2 – they don’t have the largest selection but it’s still a nice size – and they certainly all taste great. V2 separates their flavors into three categories; rich tobacco, cool menthol and specialty flavors. I’ve put together a little diagram to display which flavors are in which group. After that, I’ll review the flavors that I tried so that you can maybe get a clue as to what you want to try.

Rich Tobacco Flavors
     • V2 Red
     • Sahara
     • Congress

Cool Menthol
     • Menthol
     • Peppermint

Specialty Flavors
     • Cherry
     • Chocolate
     • Coffee
     • V2 Cola
     • Vanilla

As you can see, they don’t have the MOST expansive selection. But it’s a solid list and it’s not like you’re going to need any more flavors than that list above. They have something for everybody. In my experience, I enjoy the specialty flavors more than the tobacco or menthol flavors. I like the ability to switch it up and experience the interesting tastes of flavors like Cherry or Vanilla. Of V2′s selection, I sampled the V2 Red, Coffee, Vanilla, Cherry and V2 Cola flavors. I enjoyed all of them because I enjoy everything about a V2 electronic cigarette – but I particularly liked V2 Cola (I don’t think any other brand offers a Cola flavor), Cherry and Vanilla. They all had a very distinguishable taste and were tasty as hell.

Comparing V2 Prices to Other Brands

V2 estimates their cartridges to cost $1.69 per cartridge. On their website, they have a comparison chart that shows that their per cartridge price is much lower than any other brand on the market. If you’re looking for specifics about their prices, here’s a little guide. You can buy 5 packs of flavored nicotine cartridges for $12.95, a 20 pack for $44.95, a 40 pack for $66.47 , an 80 pack for $129.95, and a 100 pack for only $225. These are great prices, especially considering the high quality of V2′s cartomizers and the flavors used in them. Currently they have a special going where they offer a special edition “Passion Fruit” flavor that comes in a 5 pack for only $9.95.

If you don’t have a lot of time or you don’t want to mess around with the mess or hassle of refilling on your own, prefilled nicotine cartridges are a great option. Plus, the flavor often seems to taste a little bit better when you don’t have to do the work of refilling the cartridge yourself. But that’s just me. However, if you’re looking to take the E-Liquid route, V2 Cigs has you covered with their newly released line of e-liquids. Refilling with e-liquid is a great way to save money and open up some new options for your e-smoking career.

Saving Money with V2 E-Liquid

V2 recently rolled out their own line of E-Liquids – something that you don’t often see from the mainstream electronic cigarette brands. This is the greatest sign that a company is not just out to make money but to provide a better vaporizing experience for the customer. Because they offer their bottles of e-liquid at 10mL for $10, they give you the option to refill your cartridges instead of being forced into buying their more expensive prefilled cartridges. Some brands even put hard caps on the ends of their prefilled cartridges so that customers can’t refill with their own e-liquid, forcing them into buying more cartridges over and over again instead of refilling themselves. This is a practice that V2 eliminates with their soft cartridge tops and even their own line of e-liquid. There are a lot of things to like about V2′s line of e-liquids, from the quality of the vapor to the throat hit to the flavor options to the bargain prices.

What Makes V2 E-Liquid Special?

V2 Cigs currently offers their e-liquids in four flavors – V2 Red, Sahara, Menthol and Peppermint. Each flavor is available in strengths from 0mg of nicotine to 18mg. The way these e-liquids work (for those who don’t already know) is that you can take used up cartridges or the empty cartridges that V2 offers and refill them with these flavors. You simply drip the e-liquid into the end of the cartridge using V2′s easy drip bottles, they really  make everything easier with their design. Another interesting option this brings about is that you can mix and match flavors. Say you bought some vanilla cartridges and they are running low – well you can drip some of the peppermint flavor into a vanilla cartridge and create a peppermint vanilla flavor.

Beyond the basics of what makes e-liquid generally great, V2 has some added benefits to your traditional e-liquids. First of all, they offer their bottles at an extremely discounted rate. For only $10 you can purchase a 10  mL bottle and the 20 mL bottles run for only $18.95. For reference, 10 mL of e-liquid can refill 10 cartridges (sometimes I even stretched it to 15!) – that’s only $1 per refill! Huge savings over buying the prefilled cartos.

But perhaps the best thing about V2′s e-liquid is that they offer something that has never before been offered in the history of e-liquid – batch testing. E-liquid has always been a mysterious product – it’s often produced overseas and it’s hard to determine whether the ingredients are safe, not to mention whether the amount of nicotine is the same as labelled! Propylene Glycol, the main ingredient in nicotine e-liquid, is hard to regulate so that is a big issue in the consuming it. But V2 Cigs puts a number on each and you can log onto their website and do a “batch check” where you can get a report on the batch that your e-liquid came from. This is leagues beyong the type of regulation that has existed in the past, and it really solves a lot of the potential dangers surrounding e-liquid.

Getting Started? Check out V2′s Line of Starter Kits

Starter Kits are the most important aspect of every electronic cigarette company. A company can easily be gaged by the quality, contents and pricing of their starter kits. Many companies will just buy bulk packages of batteries, cartomizers (cartridges) and chargers from overseas and throw them together to sell them for huge profits. Most starter kits on the market are exactly the same thing, just branded with a different logo on the box. But V2 Cigs is it’s own brand. They produce their products in their own United States and always adhere to the V2 original style and high quality that push the boundaries of what we conceived starter kit really great.

So let’s get down to the specifics of V2′s starter kit line. Of course there is the fundamental technology used for their electronic cigarettes – the battery, cartridges and e-liquids discussed above – and that obviously comes first and foremost. The starter kit, in it’s most basic form, is composed of a battery, cartridges and some type of charger. But V2 does this combincation spectacularly by offering so many different starter kit options while still including their superior core e-cigarette technologies. As mentioned earlier, their batteries have a unique “matte finish” that really characterizes the brand – you know you’re getting something special when you can feel that rubbery V2 style finish. Their cartridges are tasty and have a low-resistance style that makes them easy to inhale from. What I’m getting at is that if you purchase a V2 starter kit, you’re doing something right. You’re going to be receiving a great electronic cigarette with great flavors from a great brand. But V2 is not only about quality, they are about variety.

When I first began to shop for an electronic cigarette (when I first got into e-smoking) I wandered onto v2cigs.com and was astounded by the pure variety of starter kits. They have starter kits for every budget – ranging from $29.95 to $189.95. All their starter kits include the basic electronic cigarette, but some come with awesome accessories (a portable charging case or a car charger for example). The more expensive ones include more flavor cartridges and more batteries – and so on and so on. I’ve put together a little guide to all of their starter kits – I’ll list the price, give you my little review of the kit and tell you what comes inside of it.

Under $30 – Quality Kits on a Low Budget

Express Kit ($29.95)

The V2 Express Kit is quite honestly the cheapest starter kit you’re going to find on the market. And by cheapest I’m talking only about price – not quality. Obviously the contents of the kit aren’t extravagant – you’re getting the bare essentials here. It comes with 1 battery, 1 flavor cartridge and 1 USB charger. So obviously the pros here are that it’s cheap and you can try it out a little bit before you upgrade. But it’s also great because all you really have to do is order more flavor cartridges when the first one runs out. For $30, you’re getting a high quality V2 e-cigarette and a charger. That’s an unbeatable deal. Just as a head’s up, you probably will want to order a 5-pack of flavor cartridges when you order this kit. One flavor cartridge will last you a while, but once it runs out you’ll have to wait for more to ship out anyway.

V2 Notebook-Cig ($29.95)

The other V2 kit that you can find for below $30 is the V2 Notebook Cig. This is a neat little kit that is a bit different than the Express Kit. What you’re getting here is a USB electronic cigarette – it’s completely powered by your computer. The pros of this type of e-cig are that it never runs out of battery and will always be pumping at high-voltage (you never have to worry about your battery dying and producing weaker vapor). The cons are that you can’t take it on the go unless you plan to carry your laptop around with you – I have actually done this before and it got some laughs from friends. But ultimately it’s not convenient in terms of portability. But unlike the Express Kit, you get a full 5-pack of flavor cartridges and you can choose any of V2′s flavors. This is a great option for those that spend a lot of time on the computer. I have always been a huge fan of the USB Passthrough E-cigarette and you can always add on a regular e-Cig if you need more portability (V2 offers individual batteries for as low as $19.95).

Fully Stocked V2 Starter Kits

If you are looking to spend a bit more for a fully stocked starter kit, than you may want to check out these instead of the bargain kits above. Those are great for a low budget, but ultimately you will need all of the supplies found in the “real” V2 starter kits I’ve listed below. There are 5 of these kits but I’ve only reviewed the Economy Kit and Ultimate Kit (the entry kit and the high-end kit respectively). For the others, you can pretty much expect the same thing with small adjustments of accessories, chargers, cartomizers etc. Check V2 Cig’s website for more information about all of these kits.

V2 Economy Kit -The Gold Standard for Entry Kits ($59.95)

When it comes to e-cig starter kits, it is pretty well established that you’re going to pay around $60 for a full bodied entry kit. And V2 does not disappoint – they offer the Economy Kit at around the market average for entry kits, but when you factor in the V2 quality and customer service, you’re really not going to find a better deal. This kit comes with a 10 pack of flavor cartridges, 1 battery, a USB charger and a wall charger. Perfect for anyone beginning their career in e-smoking.

V2 Ultimate Kit – The Cadillac of Starter Kits ($189.95)

This kit may seem expensive, but if you put it in terms of tobacco cigarettes, it’s really only the cost of around 24 packs – and it will last you so much longer. This kit is epic. It’s expensive but still a great value considering all of the amazing accessories and options it comes with. You get 3 batteries (you choose the size and auto/manual for each), 5 5-packs of cartridges ( you choose the strength and flavor of each pack), 2 cases ( a carrying case and a charging case), a V2 charger kit, a car adapter and even a V2 Power Cig (a full USB powered e-cigarette). As you can tell, this kit is a dandy and well worth the money you’ll pay for it.

V2 Cigs’ Ultimate Customer Service

So it’s been pretty well established that V2 is my go-to brand for electronic cigarette products. I’ve tried all their kits, all of their flavors and they have been my favorite brand from the time I started e-smoking to today. They are the fastest growing brand and the clear leader in the industry. But the most amazing part is that a company this large has such awesome customer service. Customer service has always been lacking when it comes to e-cigarettes. Either there is no one to talk to, the web site is disfunctional or (worst of all) the shipments are delayed or even missing altogether.

V2 Cigs has a great website, 24 hour customer service and of course a new partnership with UPS. Basically this means you’ll always have your concerns handled with care, you will enjoy shopping on their website and you will get your order on time. In short, V2 Cigs goes above and beyond with their products and have the customer service to go with it.