New to Snus

[johnguerra]

Hi,

I just discovered snus this past weekend. A guy I met at a wedding reception told me he used snus to quit smoking. He gave me a nearly full tin General portions to try out. On Sunday I took my 14 year old son to the Rams game and since there is no smoking in the dome, I decided to try this instead of draggin him outside with me to smoke. I must say that I did not really have any nicotine cravings for the entire time I was at the game. I have been ready to quit smoking for quite some time now and I think I may have found the means to do so. My wife is even going to give this a shot as well.

Before placing an order, I have a few questions that I was hoping some of you veteran snus'ers could help me out with.

1. I used to dip every now and then back in school and when I was in the Army. My brand of choice was Kodiak and I liked the flavor. Any snus brands that are comparable? I've seen the General Wintergreen and the Offroad American Wintergreen. How are these? How do they compare to Kodiak?

2. I think that portion is the right type for me and especially for the wife. Can someone explain the difference between portions and white portions please?

3. I did the free trial (+$1 for s&h) at getsnus.com. I ordered the Catchdry peppermint by request from my wife. I've noticed there is Catch and Catchdry. Are they different? Anyone care to comment on the peppermint variety?

4. I've seen good things about buysnus.com and northerner.com on this forum so I've decided I'm probably going to go with one of them. Setting aside the price of the products, is there anything I should know about either vendor before placing an order?

Thank you
John G.

[RobsanX]

Welcome to the forums John! I'll try to answer some of your questions.

1. I have no idea since I have not tried Kodiak, but there a lot of other folks here that can help you with that.

2. White portions have less moisture in them, and thus are drier to begin with. Supposedly they last longer with less running, but it takes a little longer to get the flavor going.

3. Dry white portions have even less moisture, and I believe that they only come in mini size which is about half the size of the General portions you tried. I can't speak for the Catch Dry Peppermint. I got a free sample, but the smell put me off. My wife said they tasted ok, but they gave her a headache. For reference, my wife likes Vertigo Bahama Velvet, Mocca Pomegranate, and Mocca Licorice.

4. Both are great vendors, but they are both based in Sweden, and most people here ship via Swedish Post. I've not had issues with either of them, and I have rarely heard of anyone having a problem with them.

[jamesstew]

Welcome aboard John,

I usually don't like minty snus but recently received Mocca + Eucalyptus by accident and really dig it. It is a mini portion snus but with a nicotine content higher than most minis. It has a really refreshing eucalyptus-menthol flavor that doesn't take away anything from the flavor of the tobacco. Their size might be more appealing to your wife as they are definitely less noticeable in your lip. In some white portions the tobacco is as moist as the regular portions but the difference is the portion material hasn't been moistened with tobacco juice from the snus processing. IMO both BuySnus and Northerner are great. I do most of my buying form BuySnus as I like their point system and freebies but Northerner has some nice varieties that BuySnus lacks.

Also good luck and congratulations on the decision to quit smoking. Snus has been by far the easiest method I've tried to quit smoking and I haven't had a craving in months. There are tons of testimonials on this forum from users that have quit smoking altogether or at least cut down dramatically on their smoking frequency.

[johnguerra]

I went ahead and placed an order. I called getsnus.com and had them add a can of General Wintergreen and a can of Probe Whiskey to the order I had already placed for the free can of Catchdry Peppermint. All of these are for me.

I also placed an order with Northerner.com. I ordered a can of Offroad American Wintergreen for myself, and a can each of Offroad Coffee Vanilla, Vertigo Cuban Gold and Bahama Velvet and Mocca Mint White for my wife.

Hopefully we will find a favorite out of these and finally be able to kick the smoking habit.

Thank you for the suggestions.

John G.

[bmwgsa]

Welcome to the forum John!!

I can tell you that I like the Catchdry Pepperment, I'm also a fan of the General Wintergreen. The American Wintergreen isn't too bad either.

I used snus to quit smoking, it worked for me (30 year pack-a-day smoker). Others that I like are Ettan, Nick&J West, Nick&J regular and Lucky Strike (I use the Lucky's for my morning wakeup, they go good with coffee).

Welcome to the wacky world of snus!

[jamesstew]

You can do it, John G.

[ponysoprano]

Good luck man! I 100% quit a 15 year, pack a day smoke habit completely with snus back early this summer. I had some health problems uncharacteristic for a dude under 35, hell, even for a guy under 65! So, I had a bit more motivation to quit, but it worked! I like white portions personally, as they tend to be a tad more durable[that is, as mentioned, already more dry]. I think you'll find you like the Swedish/Danish wintergreens, Offorad's stuff is similar in taste like they imply, "American wintergreen". I still upper-lip dip Grizzly or Redman wintergreen though, just for that taste. I love the fact that I can use snus at work or around anti-tobacco family with nobody knowing, and those mini-portions are even more discreet. If you stick with snus, give the lös a try, the loose weight tobacco, it's a very different experience which I was quick to write off until I tried it.

[TBD]

Good luck, to you both. Don't stress quitting too much. It will happen. You'll start enjoying snus more than cigs.

Just to help with the cravings look into the strong snus. They help me a lot.
General White Wintergreen is pretty good, I prefer the tobacco flavors best. Ettan, Grov, Lucky Strike are all excellent.

Buysnus is my main supplier. Getsnus is a contender as soon as they get some more variety. I have received one order from them and had a e-mail exchange with one of their guys. They seem like a good bunch, but it will take a LOT to lure me away from Buysnus. Northerner has also been good to me. I try to order from them now and again, just to keep as many snus shops going as possible.