Tanking Up

Subohm Tank Overview

Since the last entry in this blog the market has exploded with a plethora of high quality inexpensive sub-ohm tanks! It's no longer necessary to worry about fiddling with a drip tank to enjoy the best vaping experience.  Here are a few of the most highly rated sub-ohm tank offerings.  The airflow on all these tanks is exceptional and all offer the ability to adjust the airflow to your liking.  If you're not a big fan of huge airflow and prefer a 'mouth to lung' type vaping experience you may want to default to the Aspire Triton tank which comes with both a high output and low output coil right out of the box, or just pick up an Aspire Nautilus tank, which is still one of the most highly rated mouth-to-lung vaping experiences available.  All the tanks listed are 22mm in diameter and will mate perfectly with most all the batteries (mods) available at this time.  You will need to be aware of the specifications on your battery/mod and whether or not it will support the subohm coil in the tank of your choosing.  All these tanks feature coils that use organic cotton as a wicking material.  This list is not an exhaustive representation of all the great tanks out there but is representative of the top selling and easily available tanks on the market.  You may wish to add your favorite in the comments.

Aspire Triton

The latest offering from Aspire is the Triton tank.  In addition to a slightly larger juice capacity than their Atlantis II tank, the Triton offers a convenient top fill juice option as well as coming standard with both low (1.8 ohm) and high power (.5 ohm) output coils.  The Triton, unlike the previous Aspire subohm tanks allows for the use of custom drip tips. You'll pay somewhere north of forty dollars for this tank at a brick and mortar store but like all the tanks reviewed here, a good bit of money can be saved buying them online. You have the option of buying a rebuildable coil section with the Triton but it does not come packaged with the tank itself.  The normal lifespan of a subohm coil is between two and four weeks and is dependent on the type of juice used, the frequency of vaping and the power at which the coil is used.  Juice capacity of 3.5 ml.  Included coils .4 and 1.8 ohm.

Innokin iSub

The Innokin iSub is by far the least expensive offering in the subtank category but that said, it's still an excellent performer.  The iSub is available with either a polycarbonate or glass tank. If you chose the polycarbonate option you'll have a choice of colors to choose from.  The drip tip on the iSub is fixed and there is no option for customization.  In the past, there has been some concern over the durability of polycarbonate when using some of the more acidic e-juices but this problem seems to have been solved. I have seen no reports of issues with the polycarbonate iSub tank. You'll pay around twenty dollars for a polycarbonate iSub tank at the retail level.  There is no option for rebuilding your own coils with the iSub but their replacement coils are some of the least expensive on the market.  Juice capacity of 4.5 ml.  Included coil .5 ohm.

Kanger Mini

This is the third iteration of the Kanger subtank mini and a great option for those entering the subohm market.  Of the three listed here it is the only one that comes standard with a rebuildable coil option.  There have been some issue with leaking on the previous versions of this tank but I've seen no reports of that crop up with the latest version.  Juice capacity of 4.5 ml  Included coils .5 and 1.2 ohm.

Enjoy.

Upgrading to a Pro Vaping Experience (Part One - Battery)

Welcome to the New Era of Vaping

Eleaf iStick 50 Vaping Batteries (mods)

The previous entries in this blog have dealt with vaping products mostly designed to just adequately replace the nicotine consumed in normal smoking and keep you from suffering nicotine withdrawal to an extent you won't return to smoking.  If any of those devices provide anything of a satisfactory replacement to a true smoking experience it is purely coincidental.   I have found the draw restrictive on all of the low wattage options available in the cigalike class. The lower-capacity batteries and restrictive airflows in that line-up are best for 'sipping' at the vape, not full out "lung hits" as they are referred to in the vape community.
It's a new era in vaping and "eras" in vaping last about three months at the iterative pace of this industry (which I must say is unlike anything I have witnessed in the line of commercial electronic products in the entirety of my life).

Me and Bandit Couch Vaping

I used to think the cloud chasers were just trying to be obnoxious and extroverted in their habits.  Some of them probably are, but a great percentage are power vaping for FLAVOR.  The flavor of vape juice is enhanced several fold with the proper battery and tank selection. There will always be a 'my dick is bigger than yours" aspect to some of the mods (and vapers) but it is more of a fetish than an alternative to smoking.  Why I'd want to be seen in public looking like I'm gobbling down a giant dildo is still a mystery to me!

Indoor Smokers.  Great vape reviews.

It wasn't that long ago that such large equipment was the only vaping alternative to the lower power and poorer quality replacements to smoking.  Those days ended a few months ago when Eleaf started dumping the best line of compact vape mods into the market that anybody can remember since forever.  There are alternative competitors to Eleaf and some of the options are just as attractive as the iStick line depending on your personal preference and vaping needs.  Basically any mod that runs thirty watts or more with a capacity to run a sub-ohm tank at half an ohm is going to handle 99.9% of the vaping communities needs at this point.  Size, style, reputation and battery life variations should be considered when making your selection.

The Ego-One (bottom) is sold as a kit and it's quite popular (and small)

Cylindrical styled batteries such as the Ego One and Aspire SubOhm battery are competing for market share, as are other small 'box' style mods like the iStick30 and iStick50 (top of post).  Other small box mods of note include the Kanger Kbox, The iTaste MVP3 and the Aspire ESP30.  The Kanger KBOX requires the purchase of separate high capacity batteries and charger.  All the others will charge directly off a USB port like your cell phone.

In the 'old' days (a few months ago...lol) there were no high capacity quality tanks that could produce the type of vape experienced today and any attempt to get a good quality vape required a mechanical mod  (batteries with no regulation) and rebuildable drip tanks (atomizers that required hand building coils and constant dripping of juice).  I'm looking to upgrade to a tank myself to get away from the constant dripping/refilling every several hits.  I like the idea of building my own coils because it saves money and you can now get tanks that allow you to rebuild your own coils, thereby saving four or five bucks a week in factory atomizer replacement coils.

Dual Coil build on the head of an RDA (Rebuildable Drip Atomizer)

In the next entry I'll examine and highlight the best of the new high output atomizers with tanks.

Enjoy.