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I got a Nemesis clone recently and I don't get on with it, but that's probably because I've realised that mechs just aren't my thing. I bought it because it was pretty, and then found out that it took me about two hours to take it apart and screw it back together. Every time I change the battery, I manage to screw it back together the wrong way, and have repeatedly cut myself on the threads when I've had to force them unstuck. I bought a kick because my clearos were tasting burnt and I wanted to regulate the power, but I can't for the life of me get it to work with the kick. All in all an utter failure.

None of this is a criticism of the Nemesis clone. I'm just pointing out that if you're completely technically inept (like me), then you might be better off sticking to mods that aren't composed of tubes that screw together, and that there aren't many advantages to mechs for people who only use clearos.

You call that naughty? That's positively innocent - angelic even. This is a naughty e-cig!

 

My partner is one of those unusual people who has smoked socially for ages without ever getting addicted. She can go for months without having a ciggie and doesn't crave them at all, but she can also get through 2 packets in a night if she feels like it. I, on the other hand, have a hugely addictive personality and neither of us thought that I'd ever go for more than a few hours without fags if I could help it.

But then I found vaping, gave up the fags and haven't gone back. She's really quite impressed and has been incredibly supportive - she even doesn't really mind it when I go on a bit of a splurge on new gear. These days, she's more of a social vaper than a social smoker, and really enjoys the dessert flavours (she's got a very sweet tooth!) But she's never been addicted to nicotine, so she isn't getting into vaping in a serious way - she just has a few puffs of something tasty when she feels like it.

I think that Titanide and Super T mods come with a lifetime warranty....They definitely aren't cheap (too rich for my blood), but they might just be worth it if you have a habit of breaking things - and they're probably more robust than your average ego 

Cigalikes are fairly consistent, but they suffer from poor vapour delivery, an inconveniently short battery life and there are a relatively limited range of flavours available. This is why they're less successful  in getting people off tobacco than more advanced setups. What I think we need is a device that integrates the superior battery life and vapour delivery of a mod / atty setup, while keeping the foolproof, simple and reliable character of a cigalike. This might not be possible to achieve, but it's what I think manufacturers should be aiming for. 

I'm aware of Trog and the SD keyring / maxi, and I own an SD keyring. It's a great little device that has suffered from poor marketing - I think that many more people would own one if they had heard of it in the first place. But it still has it's limitations because it uses cartos, which come pre-filled in a very small range of unexciting flavours. Of course users can refill their own cartos, but this reintroduces the need to fiddle and the possibility of user error into the equation.

The problem is that the basic devices on the market are very limited in terms of flavour range, battery life and vapour delivery compared to the advanced devices. If you want a device that allows for a wide range of flavours, has a long battery life and delivers a decent amount of vapour, then you have to fiddle and learn new techniques. And many people are reluctant or unable to do this, so they end up going back to the cigarettes.

I understand that, much like with mobile phones, some people want all the additional features that come with advanced devices. But there's one key difference between the mobile phone industry and the e-cig industry. Mobile phone companies strive to ensure that even their top of the range devices are ergonomically designed and user-friendly, so that customers can learn to use them without too much effort. But if phones were designed by modders, you wouldn't be able to make a call until you had taken the back of the phone off and used a screwdriver to fiddle with the wiring!     

I'm not suggesting that we should have better basic devices instead of mods and RBA's. I believe in consumer choice and I'm completely opposed to EU proposals for medical regulation, which would severely restrict that choice. But it seems to me that a lot of energy is going into designing devices which require advanced knowledge in order to operate them, while those who aren't interested in tinkering are left with a second-rate vape. So I think that the 'high-end' designers and manufacturers should also devote some effort to producing improved basic devices that remain user-friendly and foolproof while overcoming the limitations of cigalikes.