VaperSlam - Afterthoughts
So as you may or may not know, this past weekend (March 20th and 21st 2015) was VaperSlam in Winsston-Salem North Carolina! Riv and I took a trip to see what all the fuss was about within the Vaping Community (due to urging from friends on VapeTV!) In summary, let me just say this. The entire experience was a blast. We went there without a clue on what we might encounter. We showed up to see a room filled with vapor to the point where it was much akin to a permanent haze within the convention center. And when we left? We had made some great memories, been gifted or otherwise received a ton of free eliquid, and learned far more about Vaping than I had expected we would.
Pros: Meeting with other Vapers. Free stuff. Friendly vendors. Tons of products to test (or buy) as you like. Some of the best deals you will ever find on eliquids and mods. An experience like no other!
Cons: Not everyone there was considerate of their fellow vapers (I’m looking at the one or two party spoilers who were vaping or smoking MJ inside the convention center and easily hiding it among the vape clouds.) The guest of honor Twisted420 decided to not show up for his roast. Riv got bumped and jostled around in the crowd a lot, and at one point when they were tossing out free bottles of eliquid to the crowds of people a lady stepped on her hand trying to stop her from grabbing a bottle of liquid that had fallen on the floor when nobody caught it... the worst part was, Riv was trying to pick it up FOR the lady. Another con would be that if you don’t bring a paycheck with you, you may have to miss out on some of the great deals there (well, maybe it’s not directly a con, but damn... I really wanted to walk away with a mod or two!)
All in all however, I’d say that cons aside, I would definitely go again. Riv was tentative about going at first and she nearly turned on her heels when she saw the gigantic room utterly filled with vapor (she has some allergies which at times cause too dense of a fog in the room to give her headaches and the like...) but she gracefully and bravely entered with me, and at the end she was raving about how much fun she had! I’d say this was a fantastic “date” of sorts for us.
We will definitely be looking forward to some other Vape conventions in the future. Perhaps VapeMania in September if all goes well!