Day 1

[CptGladbeard]

Hello,

I've just this very day received my first order of snus. I purchased the Swedish Match Strong Snus Sampler off snuscentral.com, and I have so far tried General Extra Strong and Onyx (think I may try a Grov next). I enjoyed both very much (the flavor of General Extra Strong didn't hit me until maybe 10 minutes down the road in my car), but they both taste very similar to me. I assume my taste buds have just not adapted, but does any one find Onyx and General XStrong to have similar flavor profiles (or am I crazy)? I have been a pack a day smoker for 11 years and recently began dipping also. I'm hoping to kick both habits with something I believe to be less harmful than either.

I had a couple questions and please forgive me for not extensively searching out the answers, which have probably been provided numerous times.

1) I experienced the portion slipping along the lines of my upper gums (more so with the General XStrong than with the Onyx) and at some points slipping entirely off my gums while laughing or talking. Is this a usual occurrence for newbies, and something I will learn to better control?

2) Any recommendations for both classic tobacco flavors as well as other must try flavors (I'm thinking along the lines of fruit flavors here)? I dipped Skoal straight, so I prefer and am accustomed to the taste of tobacco (although not as high quality). The salt content does not bother me and neither does Bergamot (if any is present in my first two experiences).

3) I ordered off snuscentral.com as mentioned earlier. The website is terrific and my order arrived promptly; it's contents fresh. But the price of shipping from Sweden to the U.S. is brutal. I placed a relatively small order just to try, but I'll likely order in bulk to save on shipping costs. That being said, are their any recommend websites with lower than average shipping costs, or perhaps deals and specials that would counterbalance the costs? I spent $30 on shipping, and as most people, would like to save as much as possible.

Thank you to the community here. I haven't lurked long, but I can see the forum has a wealth of information as well as a wealth of friendly members.

God speed,
-CptGladbeard

[Thunder_Snus]

1. Perhaps it was because i dipped A LOT before switching to snus I never had this problem but I can imagine it can be hard at first. You should get used to it just practice keeping that part of your lip a little tighter when talking/laughing. I have used snus consistently at work with noone noticing and no mishaps. Your two varieties of general should taste pretty similar although I guess some people might go to war with you telling you how incredibly different they are.

2. I love the taste of a good fresh can of cope long cut straight....i liked skoal straight but not as much. There is no "straight" tobacco snus flavor that tastes similar to that of U.S dip. It's a hard truth but you will learn to like others more. If you like cope like me the Islay Whiskey is pretty spot on on tasting the same but no others seem similar to me.....I believe the Islay Whiskey is "limited edition" but I'm entirely unsure on what GN's definition of limited is. For fruity I definitely recommend Jak's melon. If you ever chewed that watermelon bubbilicious bubblegum that they don't seem to make anymore it is pretty much on point with that. Odens also makes a melon under their Olde ving brand that is pretty good but has more tobacco flavor. I personally prefer Jak's melon because I typically like just fruit flavor when I'm using a fruit flavor. Others to explore would be both General and Thunder mint or frosted(mint.) Odens makes some good flavors under their name and their Olde Ving name. Jak's makes good stuff although I don't usually personally prefer it. Nick and Johnny make some pretty interesting stuff that I have received as freebies but they have never entice me enough to actually order it. Thunder just released their limited edition large can of cans (weird concept) That includes 2 cans of caramel-vanilla, apple, lemon, eucalyptus, and melon. The fun thing about snus is companies are always coming out with something new....even if old favorites die out.

3. I love buysnus. The shipping is pretty much the same but the customer service is great (during a big sale last year they left out a roll and sent me i believe 30 cans including the missing roll as an apology, apparently they video tape the packing of every order.) I have never personally used snuscentral but hear good things. There is a website called Northerner that has a pretty split following. People like myself and others have experienced nothing but problems while others on here have nothing but good things to say. They do have a greater variety of products and some kind of odd points/shipping system that I havent quite been able to figure out.
The key to keeping costs down is ordering in large bulk. I usually order 60-100 cans at a time. It's hard starting out....you will buy some things that you absolutely despise....I will never stop regretting ordering 3 rolls of Rothbrix or Jaks classic. Starting out sucks because you want to try everything but you don't want to over extend. Try as much variety as you can and soon you can be confident in ordering 60 cans of thunder frosted or whatever it is that you come to prefer and then you can add a few cans of things you want to try with each order.......last year buysnus celebrated their 9th anniversary with HUGE sales back in September....I suspect this year the discounts will be even bigger....I pulled in around 100 cans of snus for about 200 bucks. That should be plenty of time for you to take a slight hit in smaller variety filled orders and decide what you want to buy in bulk at a steal.

[piks101]

I keep a rotation but I always have Northerners (TillCe) in the mix for discreetness at work, around wife and beddy-bye (small, no drip, and stay in place, never seem to get slimey) and they are a good option for newbs. You can only get these at Thunders favorite online snus site www.northerner.com

[alopezg1]

captaingladbeard!

I have never had the pleasure of trying onyx but i do enjoy General ES on ocaision . They both have the same general recipie so differences in flavour will be subtle , although i would have thought that the ES would have been noticeably stronger. You should definitley notice the difference with the Grov! that's one of my favourites . Very different animal imo. Maybe give Roda lacket a go or Ettan . These are my favourites , and i presume you are using portions? Los is the way to go imo . It's a bit messier getiing it in there and out again , but once it's in it fits as snug as a bug

[CptGladbeard]

Thanks for the replies and advice. Now on Day 2, I started folding the portions in half, which seems to hold them in place much better. I've also tried a few more of my sampler pack and like them all. I haven't delved into the mint yet (haven't felt like it) but will probably do so tonight. I think I'll be trying Jak's melon as well as Roda (which I've read good thing about) next time. I may also pick up a can of los, just to see if I like it. I did use to dip long cut after all. If I do purchase some los, would you recommend getting an IceTool as well? All of this will be down the line though, as I have six cans to go through. Thanks again

[saberz]

I'll say that the mint takes some getting used to, am getting a bit of drip initially which seems to upset my stomach.

The winter mint /spear mint was actually pretty bad (imo, general regular portion). Really not sure if it was due to it being expired.

Really enjoying the jakobsson mint after the initial run. Really looking forward to ettan and gr. Got both in Los and portion (work and home). I'll share my results.

What does Roda taste like?

[pouchface]

As far as trying to keep the portions in, try pushing them as far up your gums as they will go and then curling your upper lip around them. This works best if the portion is placed directly front and center. Eventually it will become second nature, and your lip will have a death grip on the portion.

As far as buying snus, online is the best for variety, but pretty great deals can be had in brick and mortar stores depending on where you live. General regular strength snus is sold in convenience stores across the country and can be had very cheaply in some places. Here in western VA it can be had for about 50 cents per can if you use the coupons. Rick Charles, one of the SnusOn mods, is also a distributor of V2, odens and jakobssons products to some tobacco stores. Keep your eyes peeled.

[Belatorius]

Welcome! I know how you feel with the shipping cost but so far, every site iv looked at has the same shipping rate. Snuscentral was the first site I ordered off and I like it. Easy navigation and good reviews. My first order wasn't the best but I agree with the others. Order large. I don't go under 10 cans usually and I make at least 3 new snus to try.