Blu Cigs Review
Blu’s name is now illustrious, but the e-cigarette itself wouldn’t strike you as having big tobacco funding. There are many positive points about the e cig, but the battery life and nicotine levels aren’t the best for heavier smokers or vapers.
Expert Rating
Pros
- Great vapor performance
- Smart Pack with "Social" feature
- Excellent portable charging pack
- Seven well-executed flavors
- Smoke juice made in the USA
- Propylene glycol-free cartridges
- 24 Hour customer service
Cons
- Cartridge flavor gets weaker after around 150 puffs
- Battery life is too short
- Nicotine content not enough for heavy smokers
- No noticeable throat-hit
- Larger batteries and manual options would have been useful
Bottom Line
Lorillard backing hasn't soured the product quality of Blu’s e-cigs, but ironically the product doesn't offer enough to more hardcore ex-smokers. The battery life, nicotine levels and throat hit fall a little short, but the flavors, vapor production and portable charging case provide enough to satisfy more casual vapers.Blu Cigs: Our Expert Review
After being bought out by Lorillard in April 2012, blu’s president Jason Healy wrote a blog post addressing their new “life with big tobacco,” promising the same commitment to the vaping community and a continued dedication to quality in their products. He admits that there are some challenges to working with such a huge company, but talks down the negative aspects as merely the result of increased regulations and protocols. Regardless of the level of truth in that statement, how blu eCigs progresses is of great interest to the industry, since few e-cig companies boast the financial might of big tobacco. The only worry is that it’s now all about profit and no longer about the vapers.
The Premium 100 Starter Kit comes with a portable charging case, two batteries, a five-pack of cartridges, USB charger and wall adapter.
Packaging and Design
The Premium 100 kit comes in a minimalistic black box, adorned with blue and white text and an image of the charging case. The design is purposefully sleek, and whilst it achieves its goal, the lack of an opening and closing clasp makes it a little harder than you’d like to actually get into the kit. When you’ve removed the top you’re greeted to the sight of the charging case, a cigarette-packet like case with the company name and the blue triangular logo on the front. It sparks into life as you open the pack, the logo lighting up and a three LED display on the side tells you how much power you have left. Underneath, you’ll find the manual, cartridges, chargers and a USB cable for topping up the charging case.
The portable charging case has a USB slot on the bottom, meters to show the case’s level of charge and the cigarettes level of charge and the “Social” button on the side. Inside, you’ll find a charging slot for a battery, a slot to store a battery and spaces for five cartridges. You don’t need to screw anything in to set the battery to charge, which avoids unnecessary fiddling.
The “Social” feature, however, which vibrates when the case detects the signal of another user’s case or a nearby blu Cigs vendor, seems like it will be of little use in most situations. Locating a vendor might be useful (if you run out of cartridges unexpectedly and happen to be near a seller, that is), but the notion of approaching somebody just because they use the same brand of e-cigs seems unusual. The box would vibrate, which means a fellow vaper is nearby – then what? Do you look around for the stream of vapor and approach them without a second’s thought? Of course you wouldn’t – you’d be too afraid of making a mistake and looking like some kind of brand-obsessed maniac – “Hi, my blu eCigs charging case just vibrated – do you use blu too? No… Oh… My bad.” On a more positive note, the case does slip comfortably inside your pocket.
The original blu eCig was a three-piece model, with a separate atomizer and flavor cartridge, but since 2011 they’ve switched the industry standard two-piece design. The new e-cigarette is a lightweight, cigarette-sized device with a thin golden band separating the cartridge from the battery. The Premium 100 cartridge is actually longer than most you’ll find, meaning that they can offer the equivalent of around a pack and a half of cigarettes. The black models are more high-tech and futuristic in appearance, but the white option looks much more like a traditional cigarette. Both types of battery have matching cartridges, with realistic speckling on the ones for the white battery. There are little images to tell you which cartridge you’re vaping – as an example, there is a little pipe graphic on the tobacco cartridges and an ice-cream cone on the vanilla.
Nicotine Levels
You have the choice of four nicotine levels with blu Cigs, no nicotine, Low (6-8mg), Medium (9-12mg) and High (13-16mg). There is potential there for managing down your nicotine intake, but the strongest cartridges aren’t likely to be enough for heavier smokers. With the uncertainty in the quoted values, the biggest nicotine consumers could end up with a 13mg cartridge, which is far from ideal. Most manufacturers offer a maximum of 18mg per cartridge, with some offering up to 24 or even 36mg. If you’re a heavy smoker, there are definitely better options elsewhere for nicotine levels.
Flavors and Vapor
The vapor production is pretty good with the blu eCig, but as the battery wears down you will notice a dip in performance. On a fresh charge, you’ll produce a satisfyingly thick cloud of vapor; enough to satisfy the sensory craving but not a big competitor with the best brands for vapor production. When the battery starts to wear down, you need to give several priming puffs to get a decent amount of vapor. Sadly for the more hardened smokers, the throat-hit isn’t very noticeable at all with the blu e-cigarette – it’s more like a smooth hookah than a hard-hitting cigarette.
When it comes to the flavors though, the blu eCig really delivers. They may only have seven different flavor options, but they’re all well-crafted and the majority manages to replicate the intended tastes pretty perfectly. On the whole, they are robust in flavor, with the Cherry Crush and the Vivid Vanilla being amongst the best options in my opinion. The cherry has a delicious warmth to the flavor that produces an amazingly accurate representation, making it one you can happily vape all day. The Classic Tobacco flavor is a very enjoyable take on the taste, but if you’re looking for a good replication this is the only one that’s a bit of a let-down – it’s just a little too sweet to really capture the flavor. For menthol smokers, the Magnificent Menthol is great, striking the balance between strength in flavor without being overpowering. It is worth mentioning that the flavors dampen somewhat when you’ve had around 150 puffs, though, sometimes leaving you yearning for a new cartridge to get the flavor back.
Battery
This is the main area that holds back the e-cig, and it is another flaw which hits chain-vapers and heavy smokers hardest. You’ll find that you need to charge the battery after around two hours of heavy use. The manual claims that the Premium 100 batteries last for 150 puffs on a full charge, and the Premium batteries only offer 100 puffs. Even under these ideal conditions, that would only be equivalent to around a 10 pack of cigarettes for the Premium 100 battery. Also, you’re unlikely to get that many satisfying puffs out of a single charge. On the plus side, charging is quick, and with the charging case it’s pretty easy to take a spare with you. The USB charger and charging case work as expected, with clear LED lights to tell you when it’s charging and when the battery is ready to use. Longer batteries would have been a really useful option, even if they detracted from the cigarette-like size.
Manufacturing and Warranty
The build quality of the blu electronic cigarette seems excellent, with the “CE” and “RoHS Compliant” marks proudly displayed on the exterior of the starter kit. You’re covered for defects in the electronics for up to one year (not covering cartridges and disposables, of course), as long as you fill in a form and provide proof of purchase. Generally speaking, though, the manufacturing seems high in quality, so you’re unlikely to have any major issues. One of the most common problems with e-cigs – cartridge leaking – doesn’t appear to be an issue with blu Cigs.
Blu Cigs Review,
Expert Rating
Packaging & Design
Flavor
Vapor
Battery
Overall
Overall
The blu Cigs Premium 100 package is a very good effort overall, but there are some key issues that hold it back. The batteries can’t hold enough of a charge to last you for a day of vaping, and there aren't any options for things like manually operated or longer ones. For heavier smokers or vapers, this combined with the low nicotine levels makes the e-cig pretty unsuitable. Strangely, one of the only companies with big tobacco backing doesn't actually offer an e-cig that meets the needs of hardcore tobacco smokers. However, if you’re a more casual smoker you’ll find that the delicious flavor profile and smooth draw make the blu Cig very appealing indeed.Most Viewed Reviews
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All User Reviews
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Average Rating
I am thankful that Blu was a part of my quitting analog. However, I had bad experiences with their product. Their cartridges are not that good. I just recently spent money on two packs of cartridges that were horrible; one vanilla and the other was menthol. I went through a pack a day, and this is after three months of vapping one pack every three days. There are also the frequent packs that had one that didnt work or flavour didnt last long or exist at all.
I personally find that the only one worth spending money on is the menthol; as all other flavours run out quicker, especially vanilla. And yes, I did follow the YouTube video of tapping it to get the juice flowing, blowing through it to get more vape and rolling it in my hand. None of which made any true difference.
This is a good product to start with. But I am finding that there are other products that are cheaper and better. I recommend getting away from cartridges and move to putting your own juices into a cartomizer yourself. You will save yourself even more money and have the ability to mix your own flavours with liquid E juice.
Love almost everything about blu. I say ‘almost’ because there are some minor flaws, but nothing that would keep me from using them. So here we go. Batteries tend to die out quicker than other ecigs i’ve tried but with the help of the blu pack that doesn’t seem to be too big of a problem. But if you smoke over a pack a day, you should probably move on to a different brand. Customer support reps. has been helpful so far, except for a few instances, which isn’t a bid deal (no one is perfect).
ripoff… won’t answer any emails and also leave me hanging on the phone on hold for over 45 minutes. Won’t buy any more Blu.
Amazing Flavors! Smoke production is almost as good as my cigs. Don’t like the social feature but everything else is top notch.
The review above gives Blu a lot of leeway here. My experience was a notch or two down from the reviewers experience.
I don’t care where it’s manufactured as long as I get a quality product that isn’t so high maintenance with so many hit and miss issues with component problems. Like the batteries being DOA and/or lasting an hour or less. The very limited number flavors is another big down side. I like cloves. I can handle cherry or java as a replacement only for so long then I’m back to smoking my real cloves. And for those of you who think you can’t get them anymore … you can. And for less than half of the price when they were legal to sell and buy here in the states and the government was taxing them.
Blu Cigs has amazing flavors, Cherry Crush being my favorite of all. But the downside is that the cartridges don’t last more than 200 puffs or so, and that’s with the Premium 100 carts. The first few puffs are incredibly tasty and realistic though, and that’s why I keep going back to them. If they could improve the life of their carts, I would give them a five star. Until then, I’ll stick with my four star rating.
I was in love with this product when I first bought it. As other reviews have said, the quality of the product actually goes down as you use it. To start, one of my batteries is already “dead” and will not charge after only 3 months use. (and im not a super heavy user). Also, the battery pack itself charges less and less now even after a full charge. the flavors are great right out of the package. the problem is that they only last in that for about 50-60 puffs. then you get a nice mix of hot burned mix that is just not good. I could handle the flavor going away, but switching to burned flavor is too much. The customer service with blu is by far the worst customer service ive ever ran into. as of right now, I still am waiting over a week for a response via email and phone message even though they inform you that they will respond within 48hrs. This happened on another occasion and they told me that they were “very busy”. thats it. The cost savings is quite low considering the quality of the product. they will replace batteries, but its around a month total with shipping and processing time. Plus, they make you pay for shipping. Do the math and you’ve almost bought yourself a new battery without the hassle. Its a shame because in the new e cig industry, quality will win in the long run as users continue to purchase replacement cartridges because they are satisfied. Hope I at least make you think before you get sucked in with the awesome branding that the company has.
I recently started using Blu and have to say that I like it. First I ordered the original kit but then realized the batteries were too short and the charge would die out really quickly. So I switched to the premium 100 which has longer batteries. Now I think I’m okay with the performance of the battery, though I’ve noticed over time the batteries die out quicker. The vapor that comes out of the Blu is pretty decent. Flavors are AWESOME!! Definitely try the Cherry, which is my favorite. I actually haven’t had a cigarette in three weeks which is a great accomplishment for me. Blu has some minor flaws but it will do the job for a low to medium smoker. Heavy smokers…probably need to look at other brands
Out of the box on the starter kit I was disappointed. Very limited on vapor, hard to draw to get a good hit, short battery life, and heated up quick. I bought the two e cig kit with the recharge pack and 5 cartomizers. Had to swap batteries 4 or 5 times a day. Getting a good draw was difficult. Called and emailed customer service and never got a response. I finally threw it all in the trash and bought a KGO Riva. Best move I could have made. Got the kit with two complete cigs and cartomizers for 30% less than the Blu. Blu is good for a very light smoker of up to 1/2 pack a day. Over that and you better look elsewhere.
The way BluCig conducts its business is absurd. It is impossible to get in touch with a representative, and when you do, they are unhelpful and/or rude. I have left several voicemails and emails over the past few days, and have yet to receive a response.
The starter kit I received is defective. The blue light on the pack remains on or blinks, never fully charging the batteries that it came with, which have stopped working all together. Additionally, my wife bought a pack that charged a different battery for about 10 minutes before it also stopped working. The only things that work are the spare battery and the usb charger. They have made no attempt to rectify this situation.
Bought the starter kit. Flavor wise, these are great, I love the menthol and java flavors. Problem is, as other have stated, the flavor goes out rather quick after 25+ puffs and you start to feel a “burned” taste. I took the cartridged apart and found that the burrning taste was coming from the inner tube, which gets burned easily. I suggest you try out a disposable Blucig first, then make the call on the starter kit.
Customer service is non existant. I’ve tried email and phone. Throug email, you’ll never get an answer when it comes to concerns….but they will quickly answer when it comes to sales. On the phone, you’ll get an automated answer system, that will tell you to hold on for the next rep., a minute or two later, you’ll be prompted to leave a message, which then will tell you the mail box is full….so much for peace of mind.
The one thing that concerns me the most is the inner tube burning like that. For a product that claims not to have any carcinogens, that can be an issue.
Ok here is my truthful opinion on blu. I’ve become a ecig addict. If I see one I try it. I love the concept and I love the fact I can smoke in my home and not have to deal with ashe, smoke, etc. As far as blu is concerned they were my first kit I bought. I’ve tried the kit and the disposable. I for one love the taste of the blu. If you could get the same vapor and taste as say the first 20 puffs theywwould receive all 5 stars. Truth is you can’t. Two problems I’ve encountered are the taste becomes burnt tasting and the vapor goes down drastically with each puff. I for one take long puffs and I think the cartridge heats up too hot and maybe burns the fluid or something?? Either way blu taste great, starts with good vapor but neither last long at all. Also the battery won’t last long either but if you keep charging it then you encounter the other two problems I’ve stated. These as I have found with all ecigs so far do not last even close to the claim of “two packs”. Overall 3.5 out of 5 because customer service is above average.
Love the smart pack. I actually bumped into my friend, whose also using Blu Cigs, at Starbucks. We found each other through the vibration of our smart packs. That was the first time I actually saw the potential of their technology. But I think it would really work well if a large portion of the population carried Blu Cigs with the at all times. This way the chances of running into people randomly would be higher. Good concept though.
I think Blu Cigs’ prices are very reasonable. Given the technologies they have implemented in their kits, $79.95 sounds like a fair price. But the batteries need to be improved if they’re going to earn my trust. I have to keep charging my battery every 7-9 hours which is frustrating. I hope they do something about this soon.
Pros: cartridge are made in USA which makes me feel a little safer.
Cons: the battery life is disappointing, the cartomizer heats up very fast, the vapor production isn’t impressive, and the cartridges don’t last more than 150 puffs.
The great thing about Blu Cigs is that the e-liquid in their e-cigs is made in the U.S. rather than overseas. But unfortunately, the flavor of their cartridges is short lived. The battery power in Blu Cigs lasts a short amount of time compared to other brands like V2 and Green Smoke and the vapor production is lower. Also the cartridges seem to dry out sooner than other brands.
But I do love the packaging and presentation of Blu. Also I think they have a good future ahead of them, especially since they signed a contract with an actor to promote their products. Hopefully we’ll see more of this in the future.