Vegas 'A' woes?

[Silound]

Is it just me, or is the QC on these getting worse (I speculate a surge in demand in the last year or so)? For almost the last two years I've bought them by the box, bundle, and fiver from the devil site as a good go-to stick, and I've never had a complaint about them.


Now as of lately, the past dozen or so orders I've placed over the last few months, I've been getting a lot of crap. Plugged ones, loose ones, stemmy ones, beetle infested ones, poorly wrapped, poorly rolled, I do mean I've run the gamut on possible problems. Perhaps one in the last 10 I've smoked have been smokable, the rest were tossed after a quarter to half stick for various reasons.

I've tried different storage conditions, I've tried letting them rest for a month or two to recover from travel, but they flat out aren't good sticks.


I won't even bother griping about how they've tasted lately. Thank god I have a dozen older ones I'd been saving! Back to L-500's for my go-to I guess.

[z3ro]

Im with you. I had one PIF'd to me recently,and got really really excited, because i liked most of the other 5 vegas lineup.

Well, i let this one up and it was retardely loose. I mean, i felt like i was just breathing. The smoke was way to spicy for my liking, however the tabacco in my mouth (i chew the tip while i smoke), was surprisingly really good.

The gentleman that PIF'd it to me said it had been aging for approximatly 4 months. I dont even wanna think what this stick would taste like new.

2 thumbs down

P.S. When you smoke these, do they smoke like crazy? Mine tonight was like a wildfire, however it wouldn't stay lit unless i continuosly puffed on it.

[King1of3]

Mine are always great. I really love these. Mine light well, burn well, and I can ash them to the band. Never a problem. HMMMMMMMM?

[Deuce Da Masta]

90% of the a's i have have at least a year on em so i cant really tell you....

[Steeler2]

Wow,
I thought mine were questionable just because I got them on C-bid in a 5-er. I got the others (good ones) I had from CI about two months ago and they were awsome!!

However, the 5-er I got from C-bid was blotchy in color, seemed overly dried out and started out pretty crappy. They did get much better after the first 1/4 inch or so though...

I'm wondering if the C-bid stuff is left-over seconds in this line and the big retailers might get the "pick of the litter"

[krash]

I haven't noticed any problems with them. I really like this line, and haven't noticed any quality issues.

[oldforge]

Originally Posted by Steeler2

Wow,
I thought mine were questionable just because I got them on C-bid in a 5-er. I got the others (good ones) I had from CI about two months ago and they were awsome!!

However, the 5-er I got from C-bid was blotchy in color, seemed overly dried out and started out pretty crappy. They did get much better after the first 1/4 inch or so though...

I'm wondering if the C-bid stuff is left-over seconds in this line and the big retailers might get the "pick of the litter"

All of the many As I have smoked were from CBid and all were in excellent condition. I haven't ordered any As in the last six months or so, but I have very good luck with the quality of all of my "winnings" over the years.

CI/CBid are now under new (Swedish) ownership so it is possible things have gone downhill recently.

[SMcGregor]

I've never had a problem with them. They have always been a solid stick. I guess I have something to look for next time I pick some up! Thanks for the heads up!

Sorry you are having a such a problem with them as of late.

Shawn

[dwhitacre]

I have not had one problem with any of my 'A's!!! I hope you are not jinksing me! All mine come from Cbid unless I get them in a bomb or trade! Never a problem!

Now I have to go check my cooler!!!

[Trajan]

just bought a box on cbid... i'm nervous now.

I'll smoke a couple next week and let you know.

[scoot]

I'll smoke one tonight and let you know.

[Major Captain Silly]

I haven't had any problems with mine. I give them at least 3 months rest before smokeing them, though. I've never had wrapper problems for a loose roll in mine.

MCS

[Ironfreak]

I've gone through a few boxes of these over the last few years and never had any problems..

I hope this isn't a sign of thngs to come.. The Vegas 'A' is a go-to smoke for me.

[WyoBob]

I have Archetype, Artisan, Anomoly and one Apex on hand. All have been in my cooler for one year at 65%. The Arechtypes all seem to have tighter draws than the other styles. The Artisans smoke great. The other three styles have had a bit of a cracking wrapper problem but they still taste pretty good.

WyoBob

[Darb85]

ive found that the more age with these the better, but thats just me. new out of the box ive noticed em being loose and one sided but after a year they are better dunno