MY THOUGHTS FOR 2014

I was asked to do a little writing for the Ashtray Blog on my thoughts for vaping in 2014, much like last year (my God it’s been a year already).  It will be posted soon along with comments from others you may know in the vaping community.

I’ll let you know the link as soon as I get it.

Thanks again to James for allowing me to be a part of that blog again this year!  What I wrote is below, but here, I can add to it if I like 😉

Unfortunately, I think 2014 is going to be the “year of the fight”.  The year that we fight for our rights as vapers, not only here in the US, but all over the world. Last year I said, “It has grown well beyond a fad at this point.”  That is certainly true.  It has picked up even more “steam” in 2013 and like a giant locomotive or cruise ship, with more and more people successfully making the transition from traditional tobacco cigarettes to vaping, it will become harder and harder to stop.

I continue to hope that those in charge look at the studies and reports, listen to the people who are living healthier lives, and put the importance of their citizens’ health before lining their pockets with tax dollars.  It’s not smoking folks, even though it may look that way.

Ah, but that is the politics of vaping, and we all know how I feel about.  Luckily there are those who focus on advocacy and fighting for our rights as vapers and to those people, I’m forever grateful.

So let’s talk more about the “hardware” and “software” of vaping.

As far as the “software” or e-liquid is concerned, I think we’re going to see more and more liquid companies doing things the right way.  Clean rooms, immaculate mixing facilities, documented processes, correct air handling systems, etc.  I think these are the e-liquid companies who will be around for the long haul.  Self regulation is the key to success here.

I think we’re also going to see more and more “designer” e-liquids… fancy bottles (hopefully ALL with child safety caps), and even fancier flavors.  In some cases, these flavors will be created in-house and not readily available, off-the-shelf flavorings.  Even if these liquids go up in price, it will still be cheaper than smoking, as long as you’re not spending all your money buying every mod that comes out!  🙂

I guess using the term “mod” leads me to the “hardware” side of vaping.

2013 seems to have been the “year of the mech”… with everyone and their brother putting out a new one.  Not to mention the clones, knock-offs, and replicas coming out of China.  My feeling is that this will continue in 2014, as people all over the world try to “cash in” on this booming business.  The problem with this is… they all start to look the same after a while.  More innovation is needed here and that’s something I’m going to be personally looking for in 2014.

There are those who are “cashing in” because they care about vaping, understand the impact it has made to people’s lives, understand the business and what is needed, and are vapors themselves.  There are those who are “cashing in” because they see nothing more than $$$ and don’t have a complete grasp on what vaping is all about.  I sincerely hope the first group wins.

So finally some predictions for 2014…

1) Better and better starter kits.  Fill and go kits that provide an outstanding, hassle free, and consistent vape experience for the beginning vaper allowing them to make the transition far easier and with less frustration than in the past.  Where were you when I was messing around with blue foam and Lipton Pyramid Tea Bags!

2) More focus on airflow and where it’s provided.  You begin to wonder if the 901 atomizer had it right so many years ago.  Your “topper” or what you screw onto your device should have the best knowledge of how it get’s its air, so it should be the one responsible for airflow and not the device you’re attaching it to.  This will allow for cleaner mounts for all, not to mention the ability to tailor your device to the e-liquid you’re using or the environment you’re using it in.  Juice flow control would help out here as well.

3) Different heating elements over the standard Kanthal and Nichrome.  I think… I hope, that 2014 will be the year we see some radical changes over the standard coil.  This goes along with some of my predictions I made in 2013, “Wicking without a wick.  Vaporization without a coil.”.  I guess if I continue to predict it, eventually I’ll get it right :-).

4) More power and safer devices.  I think we’ll see a wave of devices that address the sub-ohm community, providing more power, regulated and stable power, and the ability to provide that power to lower resistance and multiple coil builds while doing it safely.

5) The one is going to raise some eyebrows… the death of mesh.    IMHO I feel that the vape quality, ease of use, ease of build, and position independence of a device like the Kayfun utilizing a micro-coil/cotton build is superior to that of the genesis atomizer utilizing a standard mesh/coil build.  So I think we’re going to start to see a loss of popularity of the genesis style atomizers and hybrids in favor of more Kayfun styled designs and hybrids.

6) Finally, my worst prediction… the number of spam emails in my inbox from Chinese manufacturers trying to sell me 5000 units of their latest clearomizers will continue to grow.  :-(.

Happy Vaping everyone and I wish you nothing but the best for 2014!