UPDATE: Please participate in our anonymous POLL. It's for a really good cause!
Even with the AVE website running amuck, Alien Visions is still managing to at least get some orders out the door. ^_^
In this review, I'm hoping to find out if Boba's Bounty is a fluke, or if Alien Visions actually has what it takes to be THE go-to guys for eLiquid. In the spirit of full disclosure, one of these eLiquids is SOLD BY AVE, not made by them.
If you've been following this Blog, you know that it's all about the quest to find the perfect Vape, the perfect flavor and the perfect experience to replace the Analog Cigarette. To date, I've only been able to recommend *1* eLiquid to anybody and that happens to be Boba's Bounty, which is made by Alien Visions.
Here are my rating criteria for judging eLiquids:
Watermelon OverLoad (PG) - So I begin my review with an eJuice that's the actual COLOR of what it is I'm Vaping. It's not necessary, it's just nice to see. I'm testing it out FIRST on my Kanger ProTank which has become my go-to Vaping device. Let's start with Vapor production... WOW! MAJOR VAPOR here. We're talking near-Boba's Bounty level here. Throat hit, perfect. Exactly what you'd expect to see for an 18mg nicotine mix.
Now we get down to business and talk about FLAVOR. I've been Vaping this eLiquid for about an hour now. It tastes like ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. And while it smells really nice in the bottle, the exhaled Vapor smells gross, with a hint of burnt eJuice (the smell, not the flavor).
This lead me to put down the mechanical mod and attach my ProTank to my VAMO so that I can adjust the Voltage. I played with this eLiquid all over the map. Went down to 3.0V and all the way up to 4.6V (where it started to burn) and I can't get any WATERMELON flavor out of this eLiquid. What this means, is I'm going to have to put this eLiquid on my list of things to test on my SM2.0 dripper that's coming this week. Depending on the results of THAT test, I may have to revisit both the CCVapes.com & Dekang reviews.
Additional Note on this one, when I emptied the tank out, THE COLORING STAYED BEHIND! This is a first for me. I've never seen any eJuice leave a COLORED RESIDUE behind. Even Boba's Bounty doesn't leave any color behind. And this is on GLASS! It did rinse away easily though. This is a bit concerning to me... Is this what artificial coloring does with eLiquid? I don't know, but I suspect it does...
Grape Vape (PG) - This is the one not made by Alien Visions, but by Nicopure Labs. I'm not going to spend much time discussing this one.
In the bottle, it smells like the WORST medicine ever. (and I like medicine!)
It's roughly "brown" in color.
Vapor production is next to nonexistent.
Throat hit is HORRIBLY HARSH, more like a 36mg than an 18mg.
Flavor is horrendous. It tastes like a mashup of Dimeatap and the smell of grape Kool-Aid MIX!
Dreamberries (VG) - And now for the one I've been waiting for... When I first put this one into my ProTank, I have to admit that I felt a little deceived. After reading the many reviews online describing this as a "creamy berry blend", I pretty much expected that to be what I had.
How can I describe this to you? It tastes like I'm Vaping Vegetable Oil. UGGH!
Just when I thought that the Watermelon Overload was going to be the big loser in this bunch, Alien Visions upped the ante! Let me be clear, we're talking about straight out of the bottle kind of oil, not the used stuff that smells delicious like McDonald's french fries!
When I first smelled the eLiquid in the bottle, I had really high hopes. And to be honest, when I first Vaped it, I thought I was going to be getting what I paid for as there was a hint of berryness present (only a hint). But as I Vaped it (and I Vaped about 9ml's worth) it slowly began to lose any flavor it had and somehow got worse. I tried the VAMO, I pulled out my AGA-T2, heck, I even tried Vaping it upside down. I shook it, warm water steeped it, cuddled and caressed the bottle and begged it to taste better... You just can't WILL something to taste better. GIGO (Garbage In --> Garbage Out)
This is a personal message for Ben:
Ben, buddy, friend, trusted professional.... I don't know what you've got going on out there in Lancaster. I can only imagine how stressed-out you are, with new "Wookies" to train, a new cart system that isn't working, 1000's of people yelling at you (as if that will somehow make everything start working again). And I hate to add to it, but the way I see it, you either need to get a handle on things or speak with someone who CAN and then let them help you. There are many thousands of people out here who appreciate what YOU are capable of, but doing the things you've done with your website, completely shutting us out to even BROWSE your store for the past 3 weeks, not offering a way for phone orders, not working with your resellers to take orders, taking 3 days to reply to emails and now finally to send out "Junk eJuice" is just too much to bear. There are 100's if not 1,000's of your customers who are at the very least modestly successful business types that I'm sure would love nothing more than to help you, out of the kindness of their hearts. Something has got to give and just about ANYTHING you do (aside from closing your doors) would be an improvement. I know you'll see this, so know that I write this out of love and not out of a selfish desire to have good eLiquid for myself.
I'm sorry, but I just can't LIE to anyone reading this Blog. Nobody deserves to be deceived, least of all by me. I operate my Ministry in much the same way as I do everything else in my life. I will never lie to you.
Please try and understand that as an ex-smoker of 30-some-odd years, that I've given that up and now I'm having an impossible time of finding consistently made, quality eLiquids that Vape to my SIMPLE STANDARDS. It's very frustrating...
<rant>
So that's it, I'm done...
I really didn't want to have to do it, but I've got no choice...
I've wasted way too much money on Junk eJuice...
It's not fair to me or to anyone who plunks down their hard earned cash to buy it.
It's a BURDEN to have to send things back or to accuse makers of bad eJuice.
I've made a decision to put together my own eLiquid that Vapes to MY STANDARDS. I've got a whole mess of product on its way here by the end of this week and with a little bit of common sense, I believe that I can do it! I'm a reader. I've been reading everything I can get my hands on since I became a Vaper and that includes safe handling, best practices, recipes, types of flavoring, sweeteners, steeping, mixing, blending, packaging, etc and so on.
Once I get my formula nailed down, I'm going to ask for 10 volunteers WHO ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS FINDING GOOD ELIQUID THAT I DO and I'm going to send each of them a bottle AT NO COST to get their feedback. Whatever the results, I'll then do a couple of more rounds of testing and if all goes well, I should have something ready to SELL by the end of JULY. I don't know how much it will cost, but I can guarantee you it will cost UNDER 60 cents per ml. I doubt that I'll be selling it directly, instead I'd rather just have 2 or maybe 3 distributors that I trust sell it. Eric? Kevin? Abe? Someone else? When I'm ready, let's talk.
I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure this is going to be my last eLiquid review...
Don't quote me on it though... ;)
Note: I am absolutely sick to my stomach over this. I've had constipation that I've enjoyed more than dealing with these bad tasting eLiquids. I wanted to help steer people towards outstanding eLiquids and be a guide to help some of you on your journey, free from Analog Cigarettes. Instead, I can't find more than 1 eLiquid that meets those 4 simple criteria from above. I'm taking a couple of days off.
</rant>
Even with the AVE website running amuck, Alien Visions is still managing to at least get some orders out the door. ^_^
In this review, I'm hoping to find out if Boba's Bounty is a fluke, or if Alien Visions actually has what it takes to be THE go-to guys for eLiquid. In the spirit of full disclosure, one of these eLiquids is SOLD BY AVE, not made by them.
If you've been following this Blog, you know that it's all about the quest to find the perfect Vape, the perfect flavor and the perfect experience to replace the Analog Cigarette. To date, I've only been able to recommend *1* eLiquid to anybody and that happens to be Boba's Bounty, which is made by Alien Visions.
Here are my rating criteria for judging eLiquids:
- Taste - Does it taste like what it says it's supposed to taste like?
- Lingering Flavor - Does the flavor have PRESENCE & does it last?
- Vapor Production - Does it make lots of Vapor?
- Throat Hit - Is the throat hit too weak, too strong, or just right?
Testing Notes: One of the things I see all too often, is that "Flavor is subjective". NO, your individual tastes may be subjective, but flavor is flavor. I've never had a steak that tasted like chicken. I've never had an orange that tasted like a banana. I've never had a cup of coffee that tasted like Hawaiian Punch. If you ever see me give an eLiquid a bad review, it's because they TASTE BAD and not because I don't like a particular flavor. I don't care for the flavor of peaches and mangoes, so you won't see me review anything that contains those. Understand? For more information on this topic please read THIS Blog post...
Watermelon OverLoad (PG) - So I begin my review with an eJuice that's the actual COLOR of what it is I'm Vaping. It's not necessary, it's just nice to see. I'm testing it out FIRST on my Kanger ProTank which has become my go-to Vaping device. Let's start with Vapor production... WOW! MAJOR VAPOR here. We're talking near-Boba's Bounty level here. Throat hit, perfect. Exactly what you'd expect to see for an 18mg nicotine mix.
Now we get down to business and talk about FLAVOR. I've been Vaping this eLiquid for about an hour now. It tastes like ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. And while it smells really nice in the bottle, the exhaled Vapor smells gross, with a hint of burnt eJuice (the smell, not the flavor).
This lead me to put down the mechanical mod and attach my ProTank to my VAMO so that I can adjust the Voltage. I played with this eLiquid all over the map. Went down to 3.0V and all the way up to 4.6V (where it started to burn) and I can't get any WATERMELON flavor out of this eLiquid. What this means, is I'm going to have to put this eLiquid on my list of things to test on my SM2.0 dripper that's coming this week. Depending on the results of THAT test, I may have to revisit both the CCVapes.com & Dekang reviews.
Additional Note on this one, when I emptied the tank out, THE COLORING STAYED BEHIND! This is a first for me. I've never seen any eJuice leave a COLORED RESIDUE behind. Even Boba's Bounty doesn't leave any color behind. And this is on GLASS! It did rinse away easily though. This is a bit concerning to me... Is this what artificial coloring does with eLiquid? I don't know, but I suspect it does...
Grape Vape (PG) - This is the one not made by Alien Visions, but by Nicopure Labs. I'm not going to spend much time discussing this one.
In the bottle, it smells like the WORST medicine ever. (and I like medicine!)
It's roughly "brown" in color.
Vapor production is next to nonexistent.
Throat hit is HORRIBLY HARSH, more like a 36mg than an 18mg.
Flavor is horrendous. It tastes like a mashup of Dimeatap and the smell of grape Kool-Aid MIX!
Which is kind of sad, because I sorta liked grape Kool-Aid when I was a kid! Sadly, it does have a lingering flavor AND it's NOT a good one. I guess this is going to have to be added to the dripper list, before I can write it off.
Just to be clear, I really do LOVE artificial grape flavor. When I drank soda, I loved grape. Give me a properly mixed grape Kool-Aid and Oh yeah! Fanta grape? Yummy! Heck, I even like the taste of Dimetapp! But this is so awful smelling, so pungent and aggressively blended, that it doesn't taste like anything that resembles that artificial grape we've all come to know. So whether you're looking for a natural or artificial grape, you won't find it here.
Additional note about this one... Even after rinsing out my tank and atomizer, this flavor stuck around like a bad cold!
Dreamberries (VG) - And now for the one I've been waiting for... When I first put this one into my ProTank, I have to admit that I felt a little deceived. After reading the many reviews online describing this as a "creamy berry blend", I pretty much expected that to be what I had.
How can I describe this to you? It tastes like I'm Vaping Vegetable Oil. UGGH!
When I first smelled the eLiquid in the bottle, I had really high hopes. And to be honest, when I first Vaped it, I thought I was going to be getting what I paid for as there was a hint of berryness present (only a hint). But as I Vaped it (and I Vaped about 9ml's worth) it slowly began to lose any flavor it had and somehow got worse. I tried the VAMO, I pulled out my AGA-T2, heck, I even tried Vaping it upside down. I shook it, warm water steeped it, cuddled and caressed the bottle and begged it to taste better... You just can't WILL something to taste better. GIGO (Garbage In --> Garbage Out)
This is a personal message for Ben:
Ben, buddy, friend, trusted professional.... I don't know what you've got going on out there in Lancaster. I can only imagine how stressed-out you are, with new "Wookies" to train, a new cart system that isn't working, 1000's of people yelling at you (as if that will somehow make everything start working again). And I hate to add to it, but the way I see it, you either need to get a handle on things or speak with someone who CAN and then let them help you. There are many thousands of people out here who appreciate what YOU are capable of, but doing the things you've done with your website, completely shutting us out to even BROWSE your store for the past 3 weeks, not offering a way for phone orders, not working with your resellers to take orders, taking 3 days to reply to emails and now finally to send out "Junk eJuice" is just too much to bear. There are 100's if not 1,000's of your customers who are at the very least modestly successful business types that I'm sure would love nothing more than to help you, out of the kindness of their hearts. Something has got to give and just about ANYTHING you do (aside from closing your doors) would be an improvement. I know you'll see this, so know that I write this out of love and not out of a selfish desire to have good eLiquid for myself.
I'm sorry, but I just can't LIE to anyone reading this Blog. Nobody deserves to be deceived, least of all by me. I operate my Ministry in much the same way as I do everything else in my life. I will never lie to you.
Please try and understand that as an ex-smoker of 30-some-odd years, that I've given that up and now I'm having an impossible time of finding consistently made, quality eLiquids that Vape to my SIMPLE STANDARDS. It's very frustrating...
<rant>
So that's it, I'm done...
I really didn't want to have to do it, but I've got no choice...
I've wasted way too much money on Junk eJuice...
It's not fair to me or to anyone who plunks down their hard earned cash to buy it.
It's a BURDEN to have to send things back or to accuse makers of bad eJuice.
I've made a decision to put together my own eLiquid that Vapes to MY STANDARDS. I've got a whole mess of product on its way here by the end of this week and with a little bit of common sense, I believe that I can do it! I'm a reader. I've been reading everything I can get my hands on since I became a Vaper and that includes safe handling, best practices, recipes, types of flavoring, sweeteners, steeping, mixing, blending, packaging, etc and so on.
Once I get my formula nailed down, I'm going to ask for 10 volunteers WHO ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS FINDING GOOD ELIQUID THAT I DO and I'm going to send each of them a bottle AT NO COST to get their feedback. Whatever the results, I'll then do a couple of more rounds of testing and if all goes well, I should have something ready to SELL by the end of JULY. I don't know how much it will cost, but I can guarantee you it will cost UNDER 60 cents per ml. I doubt that I'll be selling it directly, instead I'd rather just have 2 or maybe 3 distributors that I trust sell it. Eric? Kevin? Abe? Someone else? When I'm ready, let's talk.
I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure this is going to be my last eLiquid review...
Note: I am absolutely sick to my stomach over this. I've had constipation that I've enjoyed more than dealing with these bad tasting eLiquids. I wanted to help steer people towards outstanding eLiquids and be a guide to help some of you on your journey, free from Analog Cigarettes. Instead, I can't find more than 1 eLiquid that meets those 4 simple criteria from above. I'm taking a couple of days off.
</rant>
I couldnt agree more. I have wasted so much $ trying to find a decent juice since AVE cut us off. Today I placed an order with Indigo Vapors, which came from a trusted recommendation, but this is the last time. I have been doing DIY liquid for a while now, and mine are pretty good, but I must learn to make NET. That is the only way to get a truly satisfying base.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your honest reviews and I agree totally on how difficult it is to find a really good e-juice. I have wasted more money on e-liquid that was not simply contrary to my personal taste buds, but 99% of it was absolutely dreadful. There is just cause for optimism however as there are a small number of vendors producing quality natural organic e-liquid and this gives rise to real optimism. Two companies worth a look are 'Vaperite'(vaperite.com)which produce e-juice from naturally derived ingredients, no chemical residues or preservatives and 'Goodejuice'(goodejuice.com) which uses organic macerated tobacco which is then triple filtered to produce some of the highest quality e-liquid I have tasted to date. As the electronic e-cigarette market hurls over the 1 billion dollar mark good quality e-juice is bound to increase as more discerning customers demand and are willing to pay for good quality liquid.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good honest reviews and blogs they are very much appreciated!
Baddog.
Thank you so much for your comments Baddog. To date, I've heard nothing but bad things about the "all natural eLiquid" products. I suppose if one of them contacts me and asks me to do a 100% unbiased review, I'd be happy to do it, but I'm not going out of my way to purchase any right now.
Deletealien visions takes over 7 days to get a bottle of their juice to you
ReplyDelete