Shop review: Nomad Vapor

   Hey all you vapers. I'm back with a shop review on Nomad Vapor. This shop was the second shop I ever visited when I first started vaping a year ago. It has maintained the Golden standard of cleanliness, customer service and selection.
   Let's talk juice. Along with their house line which soon will come in 3s Nomad has some of the top premium brands around. Twelve, Ragna Rok, High Voltage, Space Jams and so much more. New premium lines coming soon. My favorite is High Voltage. This energy infused eliquid is a cut above the rest.
  Along with carrying top brands such as Segeli, Eleaf, Aspire and more this vape shop is also the top place to relax. They have an oxygen bar and message chairs to take out the stress of everyday life. And I have to say their battery prices rock!
  So stop on by. Grab some juice. Sit in the message chair and have some oxygen all while enjoying your favorite vapes. This is a five star shop. Per August 1st, 2016. It has come to my attention that customers are no longer happy with their experience. I will be going back soon to do a follow up review due to the comment below. This shop has never done anything but impress me and I can't wait to go back and try and help them make their shop more accommodating. I love the owner and staff of Nomad to death and they played a special role in helping me give up the cancer sticks.

Shop Review: Pullin' Vapor

     My latest journey was to Pullin’ Vapor.  This shop is just starting out but is far from amateur.  In fact, they carry some of the best juice and equipment I’ve seen so far.  Their staff is extremely knowledgeable and will spend hours helping out vapers just like you and me.

     As far as juice goes, this shop has an exquisite selectionas far as tanking goes.   They carry one 80/20 brand but mostly it is 50/50.  They carry brands such as Ragna Rok, Light House, Five Pawn, a three flavor house line made by one of the owners and so much more.  They literally have juice for days.  I could spend hours just talking about their juice.

As far as hardware goes they carry Segelis, Kangers, Aspire and so much more.  I personally picked up my first Kanger Sub Box and I love it. It is the perfect vape for when you need something small while in public and even gives some pretty decent clouds.

     As far as their lounge goes they have couches and a TV for you to kick back and enjoy yourself.  It even has awesome build stations with all the tools you need to build coils and turtles as their shop pet.

      This shop truly has it going on.  Although it is a new shop I give it four stars.  I will definitely be coming back.

Shop Review: Vapin' Kicks Ash

     This week the first shop I visited was the shop that helped me when I first quit cigarettes.  Vapin’ Kicks Ash was there when I needed them with a helpful extremely knowledgeable staff.  This shop has grown exponentially over the year and six months it has been open.  Through the time I have visited it has stayed clean and open for every question I have had.

     Let’s talk about the juice.  Aside from a house line with over one-hundred flavors they also carry VapoX, Drip Lab, Reel Vaporz, Beard and Cosmic Fog.  And more lines are still on the way.  They also do their nicotine in shop so it can be adjusted to any mg. and is an effective tool to step down slowly during your quest to quit smoking.  This method seems a bit obscure to some but the pump they use is medical grade and it constantly being calibrated to make sure the correct amount of nicotine is administered each and every time.

     I have noticed that quite a lot of shops have shop pets.  This shop is the home to Ginger, a playful Chihuahua that is extremely friendly.  Some come just to see Ginger and Lynn and Bill the co-owners of this shop take very good care of her.

     Exciting things are in the future for this shop.  Their Ashland location is about to expand to include beer, wine, food,  pool, darts, video games, bands and so much more. 

      They have TV’s at both their Thornburg and Ashland location, along with couches.  There is no pressure to buy anything and it is a very relaxing place to hangout.

I give this amazing shop five stars.  I cannot wait to see what they will do next.  

Shop Review: RVA Vapes, Richmond

     While tackling the dense woods of vape shops I came across the cozy cottage of RVA Vapes.  This shop is the biggest I have seen yet.  From talking to the staff I learned that customer service and inventory are the top priority of this vape shop.  They also have a very nice area for kids to play while their parents shop for vape juice and equipment, they even have a pacman machine.

     Let’s talk about the juices.  One particular premium line caught the eye of this young vaper, Ruthless.  It was, in my opinion, quite tasty indeed.  They also have their own premium line called RVA drops.  I tried a couple from that line.  Not bad, not bad at all.

As far as mods go, this shop has an amazing selection, possibly the best I have seen so far.  Aside from your average everyday mods they also have 26650 mods and authentics.  If you are a tube vaper this is your niche store. 

     There isn’t really much left to say.  This shop is truly a beauty and I cannot wait to watch it grow even more.  I give this shop five stars.

Shop Review: Richmond Vapes, Richmond

     Today’s adventure in vapeland took me to Richmond Vapes in Richmond, Va. According to their website, they are Richmond's #1 Vape Shop. When I first walked in, the shop was abuzz with activity.  There were people chillin’, people buyin’, people chattin’ and of course, everyone was vaping.  It looked like the place to be.

      Joshua Moore is the co-owner of Richmond Vapes.  When I asked him, “What are you guys all about”, he told me, “Customer service is our main priority”.  I was ecstatic to have found another vape shop that was more about the people than the money.

     Now let’s talk juice.  Richmond Vapes is proud to carry the premium brands Fusion, Space Jams and Cosmic Fog.  Out of these three, Fusion is the rarest, almost everyone has Cosmic Fog. 

They also carry the newest and baddest mods.  Everything from starter kits, to mechanicals to box mods and authentics, this shop has it.  One in particular caught my eye, the Damascus Steel Infected Zombie Authentic Tube Mod (needless to say, it has been added to my collection).  There was also drippers and tanks of every type and color.

     If you are looking for a place to veg’ out, Richmond Vapes has both a couch and a TV with access to your favorite shows.  It’s the perfect place to cool off after work.  I give this impressive shop five stars.

Shop Review: Royal Vapes, Sandston

     On August 11, 2015 I went on a long journey to the remote village of Roval Vapes.   At first glance it looked like a pretty nice shop.  There was a nice lounge area for vapers to sit and chill and the interior was quite nicely decorated.  I was instantly greeted by one of the owners after that things began to look less impressive. 

     The first problem I have is their juice, most of which contained food coloring.  For those of you who do not know food coloring is extremely unhealthy to vape.  From what I hear food dye mimics estrogen in the body (don’t quote me on that. This is a very young field and there isn’t a lot of research on it).   Another issue with this is food coloring is not on the list of ingredients.  From this you can deduct that other harmful additives may be in the juice.  There were lots of brands that did not contain food coloring and are very well known brands such as beard, green baret etc… 

The next issue I have is customer service.  While the sales side of things is run very well they do not give much help to new vapers.  I was told by the owner that it is not his job to teach people, that’s what the internet is for.  While the internet is full of information, in my opinion a good vape shop is a place of instruction not just community or trade.

     Aside from the issues I mentioned above the shop looks like a nice place to hang out but I personally will not be back any time soon.  I give this store 2 stars.  

Shop Review: Vaperz Advantage, Sandston

     Today’s vape journey took me to Vaperz Advantage in Sandston, Va.  When I first walked in I was instantly greeted by one of the staff and asked if I wanted to try any juice.  As I looked around it was premium brands as far as the eye could see in this crisply clean shop.  If you are looking for mech mods this is the place to go.  There were tons of them, some of which I had not even seen before.  This is also one of the only shops I have been to that had the Snow Wolf 200 watt box mod in both black and white (let’s just say these young lassies caught my eye from the moment I walked in). 

            This shop is all about giving back to the people who made them who they are today.  Customer service is their main priority, but they also make sure to carry top of the line juice and mod brands.  The owner, Bobby Haller, and manger, Matt, are both very easy to talk to and give each customer the best experience they can possibly have.

           Now let’s talk juice.  Bobby Haller is the kingpin of premium juice.  He controls distribution in the area on Giraffe, Bad Drip and Clown.  These brands all hold the gold standard of being exactly on point to the description.  If I had to describe these juices in one word those words would be…Giraffe: tasty…Bad Drip: vapetastic…Clown: complex. 
       I would say that it is to your advantage to swing on by Vaperz Advantage (see what I did there). I give this shop five stars. 

     

Shop Review: The Art of Vaping, Ladysmith

     I always get excited when I go to a new shop, especially one that is just starting out. It’s so easy to be an entrepreneur in this business but so hard to make it because of the competition. Today, I went to Art of Vaping in Ladysmith, Virginia. When I first walked in I was greeted by a Rottweiler which caught me kind of off guard. However, he seemed friendly enough (unless you hate vaping. Then run, he bites!).  My nose was met by the fruity sensation of vape and fresh paint in their completely remolded interior.  The shop was clean and very well organized. 

     Terry Sheets is the owner and operator of this budding shop.  He has a fair selection of mods, starter kits and juice.  He also introduced me to new cotton that has recently become all the rage called Drago cotton.  The shop carries three premium lines of juice which are Giraffe, I95 and one that was new to me called Element (with their schlong-shaped dropper).  Their prices were average and a bottle of Element cost me $15 which was a very fair price for this juice because all of the flavors taste exactly as described.

     All in all I was impressed by this shop.  If you are anywhere in the area or just passing through, I would stop on by, whether you are looking to buy new juice or mods or just hang out in the relaxing atmosphere.  The Art of Vaping is truly a masterpiece.