This e-cigarette review is going to be a little bit different from the impressions e-cigarette reviews you might be used to. A fair number of you visit this site from around the world. Amongst my international visitors, UK visitors are the largest percentage.
The folks at E Cigarette Direct, a UK company wanted to know if I would be interested in doing a comparison piece between their product and one of their top competitors. I agreed since I do get a lot of visitors from the UK who might be interested (the product is also available throughout western Europe and parts of Asia and Australia). For my American friends, you can hang out too, or if not, why not go through the archives and find some past gems!
The Contenders
This matchup consists of a couple of entry-level e-cigarette options. The examples submitted byE Cigarette Direct include their Halo Mini kit and a disposable model from a company called 10 Motives. I was confused, this seemed like a very one-sided matchup, pitting a disposable model against a regular rechargeable kit.
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The contestants |
I sent an e-mail to the company asking about the disparity. Turns out that yes, there is a technical outmatching here, but from a sales standpoint, the 10 Motives model is a fierce competitor. 10 Motives disposable e-cigarettes are sold in the UK at Tesco stores. For my American friends who are following along, Tesco is a huge superstore chain so it would be a lot like Wal Mart carrying a specific e-cigarette brand.
Essentially the 10 Motives e-cigarette has the advantage of being on the radar of consumers unfamiliar with e-cigarettes. The Halo kit I received is a very basic kit. Essentially, this is exactly the type of choice someone new to e-cigarettes would be making. From that standpoint, I think it is a fairly valid comparison.
10 Motives Disposable e-Cigarette
The 10 Motives e-cigarette is a single-piece disposable e-cigarette. There’s no cartridges or other replaceable parts as its meant to simply use and throw away. The device is slightly longer than its competition. This is most likely due to the disposable nature. The battery needs to be larger to make the e-cigarette last as long as possible.
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Yes, that’s the website address on there |
The e-cigarette features an automatic switch, it activates when the user puffs on it. When activated, the tip has a faint blue glow from an LED at the end of the cigarette. This is a personal choice of mine, but I have to applaud this unit for having a blue rather than red or orange LED.
I cut the 10 Motives unit open after I finished with it, because that’s just the way I am. From a technical standpoint, the 10 Motives unit has a horizontal bottom coil configuration. The heating coil is wired (with solder) directly to the automatic switch. For some reason there is two layers of batting (both of which were scorched).
Halo Mini e-Cigarette Kit
The Halo kit is a mini kit packaged in a hard case. It is billed as a small kit for people who want to try out e-cigarettes without making a big commitment. The kit consists of one automatic battery, one USB charger and two cartomizers.
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Carrying cases are so James Bond |
The e-cigarette uses the slightly less popular RN4091 thread pattern. The battery is of the automatic variety and features an orange LED. The most interesting thing with this kit is that it uses XL cartomizers that hold around 1.4ml of liquid rather than the standard size typically found in basic kits which typically hold around 0.8-1ml.
The XL cartridge does make this a fairly long e-cigarette compared to other brands in the same category. The Halo otherwise tries to look like a cigarette with a white battery with thin ridged stripes and a tan cartridge. The device also seems to have a heft to it that helps it feel substantial.
Is There a Comparison in Here Somewhere?
Now that we’ve met each of the contenders it’s time to put them up against each other. We’ll take a look how each does with a few different key aspects that I feel are important to an e-cigarette’s performance.
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The sticker covers the air hole |
Flavor
e-cigarettes in this category tend to go for flavors that appeal to smokers. Generally, e-cigarettes don’t really taste like cigarettes at all, but they do tend to have their own unique flavors. As expected both of these models feature traditional tobacco flavor.
Halo: While I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to find this flavor, but it wasn’t what I would consider unpleasant It is a fairly unoffensive and mild tobacco flavor.
10 Motives: I usually don’t spend a lot of time on flavors, and I rarely outright say I hate something. So, let’s just say that I am not at all a fan of the flavor that came out of this thing. It tastes kind of like a blend of cocoa, tobacco, and sadness. To make matters worse, about half way through, I started to get a distinct burnt taste.
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That’s where the flavor lives |
Vapor production
This is a measure of how much vapor is output by the e-cigarette when exhaled. When I use automatic batteries I take two puffs, one to prime and heat the coils and a second to actually take the drag (which is about 3 secons).
Halo: The Halo output a decent amount of vapor. The vapor’s temperature was slightly warm
10 Motives: The 10 motives output slightly less vapor than the Halo. Still a fairly decent cloud of vapor that was also slightly warmer than the Halo’s
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10 Motives |
Throat hit
This is the sensation the user gets when inhaling e-cigarette vapor. It’s a mild irritation of the upper chest and throat that is similar to the sensation one gets when inhaling a cigarette.
Halo: Throat hit was very good with this device.
10 Motives: The 10 Motives produced a fairly weak throat hit sensation
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Halo cartridge and battery |
Battery life
Obviously this is where things get a little bit lopsided in the review. Obviously the Halo can be recharged where the 10 Motives unit cannot. However, making a buying decision, it’s very helpful to know what to expect from each. It’s also worth noting this number swings wildly depending on how heavily the device is used. I am a very heavy user, so most people will get better times than I.
Halo: The Halo ran for about 2 1/2 hours before needing a recharge.
10 Motives: This device lasted about 3 hours.
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ECD’s logo |
Price
Again this will be a little off since we’re considering a reusable device and a disposable. However, one thing to consider is that based on the cartridge size and the fact that two are included, you can expect 3 uses from the Halo kit with the included cartridges compared to 1 use of the disposable.
Halo: £14.99
10 Motives: £5.99
Too Long; Didn’t Read
While it might be tempting to pick up a cheap disposable at the local store, spending an extra few pounds on a kit might be a better long-term choice. You’ll be able to re-use the battery and replace just the cartridges.
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Halo’s hard case |
If you are interested in the Halo Mini I would actually suggest you consider getting one of the larger Halo kits rather than the Halo Mini. This is because with only one battery, you will have to figure out something else to do while the battery charges. Two cartridges will only last a few days at most, so you’ll want to make sure you stock up on extras as well.
One final note. After writing this review, I still do think that the disposable is too disadvantaged for this to be a truly fair fight. I prefer to compare more similar things. However, I think it raises a valid point. For many people a disposable e-cigarette is their first experience. How many of those people dislike the experience and decide all e-cigarettes must be bad and keep on smoking?
In closing, I’ll just leave this handy table and product information here. Also, if you like the photos in my e-cigarette reviews and articles, like SKVW on FaceBook where I upload all the pictures from each review, even the ones I don’t use.
Criteria | Halo | 10 Motives |
Flavor | X | |
Vapor | X | |
Throat Hit | X | |
Battery | X | |
Price | X |
11 Comments
Bruce
(11/29/99 - 2:00 pm)I started with the 10 motives disposable and then bought the 10 motives rechargeable which I have been using for about 4 weeks without having any real ciggarettes.
My questions are
1, what are thoughts on the rechargable 10 motives product?
2, I haven't tried any others, if I was going to change what would you reccomend?
I have tried reading a couple of the e-cigarette forums but just end up getting very confused by the vast range of products around for various types of vaping.
Steve K
(11/29/99 - 2:00 pm)I have to confess, I've not tried the regular versions of the10 Motives kits. I hadn't really heard of the company until I got one of their disposables for this review. I'm not sure if you've seen this yet, but I have written a guide on choosing an e-cigarette based on the different standards which is here: http://www.stevevape.com/2011/07/e-cig-101-whats-…
I'm not sure if you're located in Europe or not. If you are, the company in this review has a 510 tank type system that is fairly nice as well. I have a review planned but haven't written it yet. If you're in the US, I also have some reviews of other standard style e-cigarette kits you might want to check out as well: http://www.stevevape.com/search/label/starter%20k…
If there's any other questions you have, be sure to let me know! Thanks for reading.
Steve
steve
(01/15/13 - 5:25 pm)Hi,motives are good,buy some nicolites rechargable pack for 20 pounds,then buy motives refills which screw on to nicolites great.
great charging through usb.
20 roll ups a day.
been off them for 4 months.
BigJ
(11/29/99 - 2:00 pm)Thanks for the reviews Steve: people like you are helping people like me to keep off tobacco! The 10 Motives disposable was my first exposure to the e-cigarette; it was prominently displayed at the front of the cigarette kiosk area in my local Tesco. Now, it's actually pretty horrible but there was enough to it that it made me realise that the basic premise was a good one and to look around for something better. A little over two weeks on from then, I have still only smoked about 24 of the 100 ciggies I bought at the same time as the 10 Motives disposable, and none at all in the last 48 hours! Having tried the disposable I immediately went online, spent an evening reading, then ordered myself a better e-cig and haven't looked back. I'm now on the prowl for something even better, but I've suffered exactly zero withdrawal symptoms from the lack of tobacco so far…
So the 10 Motives disposable = yuck, but nonetheless I give big props to Tesco for stocking them and to the company for managing to place their product so well. Without the combination, I'd have remained ignorant of the pain-free alternative to smoking!
Steve K
(11/29/99 - 2:00 pm)BigJ
(11/29/99 - 2:00 pm)Still haven't touched a ciggie… You're right though, the 10 Motives disposable tastes awful, and I wonder about your point relating to whether it will turn smokers off. Naturally I don't have any evidence to substantiate this opinion, but my guess would be that if it's in a smoker's mind to quit – or at least to find *something* as an alternative to tobacco, whether for aesthetic or medical reasons – then the 10 Motives product is probably good enough to set their feet on the path. If, on the other hand, they're trying it more grudgingly; perhaps solely to avoid restrictions on where they can smoke, or because they've been nagged or browbeaten into trying it, then they're probably going to have their worst fears confirmed.
Steve K
(11/29/99 - 2:00 pm)You are probably right, thinking about my own experience, I started off with a pretty terrible kit and I ended up alright.
BigJ
(11/29/99 - 2:00 pm)Knowing as I do the ambiguity in which most smokers of my acquaintance hold their habit, I'd suggest the new ubiquity of the 10 Motives disposable will do more good than harm in the UK. The sort of people who would rather crawl a mile over broken glass rather than quit because other people want them to aren't going to be persuaded by this product, but they probably wouldn't be persuaded by *any* product.
Even with devices as great as the current crop of e-cigarettes as a substitute, smoking is such a powerfully addictive pasttime – psychologically as well as physiologically – that people are only going to quit if they want to.
***
And now I'm off to browse your other reviews to help me find my next e-cig ;)
lisa
(02/14/12 - 5:29 pm)how do you activate the electric cigarete? i cannot see any smoke coming out ? :|
Steve K
(02/14/12 - 6:11 pm)depends on the model. If it's the 10 Motives disposable, make sure you take that little sticker off. It should activate when you puff on it (you'll see the light on the end lighting up). If it's a regular kit, make sure you charge the batteries, and then the same thing. If they don't seem to work still, you'll want to contact customer service for which ever company's e-cigarette you bought.
christine
(02/16/13 - 9:30 am)i have smoked for over 50 yrs and have been able to stop by using e-lites
no problem at all with them. plenty of taste .
Comments are closed.