Blu E Cigs Review

Introduction: Blu E Cigs Starter Kit

For anybody that has seen the progression of electronic cigarettes over in the USA you will most likely have heard of Blu e Cigs.

What Is The Best E Cig Starter kit In The UK, Europe, USA & Beyond?

Not only one of the biggest e cig brands in the States they were also one of the first to be acquired by a major tobacco company, in this case Lorillard.

With the US Blu E Cig acquisition proving a success for Lorillard they turned their attention to the UK/EU e cig market late in 2013 with SKYCIG the target.

This brings us to today, with SKYCIG no more and Blu taking it’s place and bringing along with it a new slicker marketing message and product.

The question is, is it really an improvement on SKY Cig and more importantly for current SKYCIG customers “can I use Blu Cig refills with Sky Cig hardware?” Lets find out with our Blu e Cig review! (Although the answer to the last question is yes for those in a rush).

Packaging

The presentation box I have to say does look good from the outer packaging to the inner. For this review I purchased the blu Premium Kit. Inside is the following:

• 2 x 145 mAh batteries
• 1 x PCC
• 5 x Menthol Cartomisers 18mg (Choice of Tobacco or Menthol)
• USB Charger

Battery/Responsiveness

The Blu e Cig batteries are, from what I can tell, the same as SKYCIG batteries bar the actual design. Blu have taken on their black design which works well throughout the whole product from the cartomisers to the PCC. The battery itself feels quality and the overall feel in the hand is good.

The capacity of the battery is rated at 145 mAh, for those not too sure what this means as a general rule of thumb 100 mAh = 1 hour of use, that is practical use. This is where cig-a-like batteries can cause users issues due to the limited battery life.

For me as a moderate vaper I was getting around 1.5 hours. Not a great battery life by any means but that is the nature of the beast when it comes to most cig-a-like electronic cigarettes. Heavy smokers making the switch may struggle with this.

If you are adamant a mini e cig is where you want to start (and there is nothing wrong with this) then just prepare yourself for a short battery life. There is one thing that does help with this though and that is the PCC.

PCC

The PCC for those that don’t know stands for Portable Charging Case. This does go some way to helping alleviate the poor battery life and one that other brands such as Jacvapour supply. The case itself is a power point that will charge upto four batteries before it needs re-charging itself. So rotating the two batteries might just about see you through a working day. The case also has space for three cartomisers and a fully made up e cig (cartomiser + battery).

The case itself is definitely one of the better looking PCC’s I have come across and is more slim lined than the SKYCIG Freedom case it has replaced. It is also finished with a rubberised coating that is smooth in the hand as well as allowing for an easy glide in and out of the pocket.

Charging a battery is easy to do, simply place the battery in the charging slot and close the lid. A light on the side labelled ‘BATT’ will illuminate, when a charge is complete this will stop. Charging the PCC is done via the USB cable.

If you don’t need a charging case (although recommended) then take a look at the Blu Plus Slide kit reviewed here.

Battery Replacements

There will of course be a time when new batteries are needed, this according to Blu Cig is around 250-300 cycles (charges). The batteries can be purchased separately.

Overall – The batteries and PCC really do look the part, the look and design of the PCC is a step up from the SKYCIG offering. However, don’t expect the batteries to last all day, they won’t. They are mini e cigs which means mini batteries! The PCC does help with this but heavy smokers making the switch could find the battery life an issue in the long run.

Vapour/Flavour

There is limited choice when it comes to choosing flavours and nicotine strengths with a starter kit. Take your pick, 3 x Tobacco 18mg or 3 x Menthol 18mg. That’s it.

I see that Blu are trying to take the confusion out of the buying process for new users but a bit more selection would be good to see initially although there are a number of refill flavours available to buy separately.

Better yet a mixed pack of flavours would be a great option to have.

I opted for the Menthol which whilst not being the best menthol cartomiser I have tried it certainly wasn’t bad. The inhale provides an icy hit on the back of the throat and the exhale leaves a cool minty aftertaste in the mouth. If I was a new e cig user I don’t think I would be disappointed with the flavour.

One little tip when vaping the Blu e Cig cartomisers (and most other e cigs for that matter), don’t take short sharp drags as you may do with a cigarette. E cigs require a slower, longer draw of around 3-4 seconds to get a decent vapour volume and flavour coming through. Taking short sharp drags will leave you disappointed for sure as it will produce little vapour volume. You basically need to give the battery time to heat up the e-liquid in the cartomiser.

Will My SKYCIG Refils Work With The Blu Cig batteries and Vice Versa?.

In short yes they will. The Blu Cig cartomisers will work with Sky Cig batteries and the SKYCIG cartomisers will work with the Blu e Cig batteries so if you have left over Skycig product it is still compatible, simply move over to Blu when you need replacements.

Buying Blu Cig Refills

As mentioned before there are more flavour options (8 to be exact) when buying the refills separately. Choose from 3 Tobacco e juice flavours, Menthol, Cherry, Vanilla, NRG and Cinnamon. Refills come in packs of three with reductions for bulk buys of 5 packs or more.

I have to say compared to other e cigarette brands out there these refills are on the expensive side considering only 3 cartomisers are in each pack.

The majority of brands out there supply 5 in a pack. I suppose you would need look at the cost comparison to smoking and of course not forgetting the price you put on other benefits of vaping vs smoking.

Overall – The Menthol flavour was decent. For current Skycig users the refills are compatible with Blu batteries. The only real downside here is the cartomiser refill prices that are a touch more expensive than other brands out there.

Returns/Warranty

Blu e Cig do offer a ’30-day Money Back Promise’ on both the ‘Starter Kit and the ‘Premium Kit’ even if you have used it. Take note though, there is a restocking fee so keep this in mind if a return may be a possibility prior to buying. Blu also offer 60 day and one year warranties on product, please check out their website for full terms.

Customer Service

Blu Cig can be contacted via email, freephone number and live support on the website. They are also active on Facebook and Twitter.

Discount Coupons

At the moment we cannot find any active Blu e Cig discount codes. As soon as we find any we will post them here.

Summary

The Blu Premium Kit is without doubt a well designed, solid product with the main improvements coming in the form of the PCC. While it may be a quality product you will need to decide if the small cig-a-like e cigs such as this are going to be right for you, the main drawback is the battery life.

If that’s the case take a look at the Blu Pro vape pen kit.

Here are a few ‘For and Against points that hopefully will help with your decision.

For

• Small and compact – Will help keep a familiarity for those switching from cigarettes.
• Starter Kit price reasonable
• Best for light – light/moderate smokers.
• PCC is well designed and fits easily in the pocket.
• Overall design looks the part and the product has a quality feel.

Against

• Battery life (as to be expected with cig-a-like) is short.
• May not be suitable for heavy smokers due to the battery life.
• Refill prices are on the high side.

Hopefully our review of the Blu Cig has helped you decide either way. If you happen to fall into the ‘heavy smoker’ range then I would recommend taking a look at the bigger battery e cigs such as the Innokin Endura T18.

Or take a look at our top rated vape pens here.

If mini e cigs are definitely for you then consider our top rated mini e cig.

Final Blu e Cig Review Verdict:

Good (But only if you want a ‘cig sized’ e cigarette!)