This is my review I submitted for the contest a couple months ago. I thought they were going to post them all in a special area but so far that has not happened.
Zapcigs is no longer with us. I think the FDA seized two of their shipments in a row. You can order these direct from the factory for <$15.00 a kit at
Electronic cigarette | E-liquid | E-cigarette Accessory | E-juice - Feel Life e-cigarette shopping BigJim did a video review of them if your interested in seeing them in action.
The three Personal Vaporizers (PVs) I have picked to review are the 401 from Intellicig, Joye 510 from madvapes and the 901 from Zapcigs. All three are classified as a mini e-cigarette and I have used all three models for at least one month.
Instead of a standard 1 thru 10 rating scale I use something different and some explanation of my rating system is needed.
The system I use is a ten point system that utilizes negative (worse) and positive (better) numbers. I evaluate each PV using this method. This allows me to add an additional evaluation of the PVs value in comparison to the initial cost of the units.
With the value evaluation each point over zero is worth 20% and each point under zero is a -20%. In the final analysis each point is worth 10% +/-. This will be explained in more detail at the end of my review.
Each unit will be evaluated on; Taste, Throat Hit, Vapor Production, Battery Life, Appearance, Refilling, Cost, and Value. I also allow for bonus points based on unique features.
The eliquid used was a PG based 26mg/ml Virginia Flue Cured from Midwest Vapors and each unit was tested with a new atomizer and freshly charged battery.
This is by far my favorite PV in the mini class and is the winner of my evaluation. I purchased five of these kits from Zapcigs.com one month ago and since then have purchased adapters to use for the 901 attys so my 510 and 401 batteries have a purpose. Standard kit comes with 1 atty, 2 batteries.
Taste: +3 The best I have used
Throat Hit: +3 Not to harsh
Vapor Production: +4 Bring a fog light!
Battery Life: -1 Kinda short, quick recharge Appearance: +2 Cool LED cap , whistle tip cart
Refilling: +2 Nothing to it
Cost: +3 $24.99 Grand opening special.
Total: 16
Taste: +1 Not to great, atty gets to hot.
Throat Hit: +4 Sometimes to harsh with some juices
Vapor Production: +3 Great Vapor
Battery Life: -2 Shorter than the 901
Appearance: +1 Looks okay, standard LED cap, round tip cart
Refilling: +2 Same as 901, nothing to it
Cost: +2 $29.99 On sale.
Atty Bonus +1 Yeh! An extra atty!
Total: 12
This is the PV I officially quit analogs with. It is not the first PV I owned, that was an SE Gold which I used for about a week. I still use the 401 for dipping using a five volt pass-thru while sitting at the kitchen table some days. It is the only unit of the three evaluated that has an exposed atty mesh making it ideal for testing my home made flavors by dipping. These kits were purchased at Intellicig-USA. around five months ago.
Taste: +2 Pretty good with most juices. Better when dipped
Throat Hit: +2 A bit light, Better when dipped
Vapor Production: +2 Vapor okay with most juices
Battery Life: +1 The 401 batteries last longer than the 510 or the 901
Appearance: +1 Plain jane white EVO
Refilling: -1 Inner cart design makes refilling more difficult
Cost: -1 $49.99 kits (can be purchased cheaper elsewhere).
Bonus for exposed atty +2 Dipping is a great way to vape!
Total: 8
901 Cost $24.99 +3
510 Cost $29.99 +2 (if not for the extra atty would have received a +1)
401 Cost $49.99 -1 (401 kits can be found cheaper)
To calculate the value of each unit I simply subtract the ratings as follows:
(901) + 3 - ( 510) + 2 =+1 each point is 20% so the value of the 901 is 20% greater than the 510. What this means using my method is if you would subtract 20% from the cost of the 510 kit this is what the kit should cost to equal the value of the 901 in my opinion.
29.99-20% = $23.99 If you can find the 510 kit at this cost it would equal the 901 in value.
(901) + 3 - (401) -1 =+4 Which is 80% 49.99 80% = $10.00 Good luck finding a 401 kit for ten bucks!
901 Total Points 16
510 Total Points 12
401 Total Points 8
Using my rating system I developed, the 901 is rated 40% better than the 510 and 80% better than a 401. When you take into consideration that the 901 is also less expensive, this is a landslide victory!
Robert Kelly RRT
Aka rtbob
Links to vendors:
Electronic cigarette | E-liquid | E-cigarette Accessory | E-juice - Feel Life e-cigarette shopping
http://midwestvapor.com/
Welcome to MadVapes LLC
intellicig-USA.com Buy Intellicig EVO Electronic Cigarette by intellicig, The intelligent e-smoking e-cig alternative.
Zapcigs is no longer with us. I think the FDA seized two of their shipments in a row. You can order these direct from the factory for <$15.00 a kit at
Electronic cigarette | E-liquid | E-cigarette Accessory | E-juice - Feel Life e-cigarette shopping BigJim did a video review of them if your interested in seeing them in action.
Comparison of Three Popular Mini PVs
The three Personal Vaporizers (PVs) I have picked to review are the 401 from Intellicig, Joye 510 from madvapes and the 901 from Zapcigs. All three are classified as a mini e-cigarette and I have used all three models for at least one month.
Instead of a standard 1 thru 10 rating scale I use something different and some explanation of my rating system is needed.
The system I use is a ten point system that utilizes negative (worse) and positive (better) numbers. I evaluate each PV using this method. This allows me to add an additional evaluation of the PVs value in comparison to the initial cost of the units.
With the value evaluation each point over zero is worth 20% and each point under zero is a -20%. In the final analysis each point is worth 10% +/-. This will be explained in more detail at the end of my review.
Each unit will be evaluated on; Taste, Throat Hit, Vapor Production, Battery Life, Appearance, Refilling, Cost, and Value. I also allow for bonus points based on unique features.
The eliquid used was a PG based 26mg/ml Virginia Flue Cured from Midwest Vapors and each unit was tested with a new atomizer and freshly charged battery.
The 901 PV
This is by far my favorite PV in the mini class and is the winner of my evaluation. I purchased five of these kits from Zapcigs.com one month ago and since then have purchased adapters to use for the 901 attys so my 510 and 401 batteries have a purpose. Standard kit comes with 1 atty, 2 batteries.
Taste: +3 The best I have used
Throat Hit: +3 Not to harsh
Vapor Production: +4 Bring a fog light!
Battery Life: -1 Kinda short, quick recharge Appearance: +2 Cool LED cap , whistle tip cart
Refilling: +2 Nothing to it
Cost: +3 $24.99 Grand opening special.
Total: 16
The 510 PV
I have used the 510 model of PV for a bit over three months. These kits were purchased from Madvapes and have proven to be a great little PV. Standard kit comes with two attys and two batteries.Taste: +1 Not to great, atty gets to hot.
Throat Hit: +4 Sometimes to harsh with some juices
Vapor Production: +3 Great Vapor
Battery Life: -2 Shorter than the 901
Appearance: +1 Looks okay, standard LED cap, round tip cart
Refilling: +2 Same as 901, nothing to it
Cost: +2 $29.99 On sale.
Atty Bonus +1 Yeh! An extra atty!
Total: 12
The 401 PV
This is the PV I officially quit analogs with. It is not the first PV I owned, that was an SE Gold which I used for about a week. I still use the 401 for dipping using a five volt pass-thru while sitting at the kitchen table some days. It is the only unit of the three evaluated that has an exposed atty mesh making it ideal for testing my home made flavors by dipping. These kits were purchased at Intellicig-USA. around five months ago.
Taste: +2 Pretty good with most juices. Better when dipped
Throat Hit: +2 A bit light, Better when dipped
Vapor Production: +2 Vapor okay with most juices
Battery Life: +1 The 401 batteries last longer than the 510 or the 901
Appearance: +1 Plain jane white EVO
Refilling: -1 Inner cart design makes refilling more difficult
Cost: -1 $49.99 kits (can be purchased cheaper elsewhere).
Bonus for exposed atty +2 Dipping is a great way to vape!
Total: 8
Value Comparison (20% per point)
901 Cost $24.99 +3
510 Cost $29.99 +2 (if not for the extra atty would have received a +1)
401 Cost $49.99 -1 (401 kits can be found cheaper)
To calculate the value of each unit I simply subtract the ratings as follows:
(901) + 3 - ( 510) + 2 =+1 each point is 20% so the value of the 901 is 20% greater than the 510. What this means using my method is if you would subtract 20% from the cost of the 510 kit this is what the kit should cost to equal the value of the 901 in my opinion.
29.99-20% = $23.99 If you can find the 510 kit at this cost it would equal the 901 in value.
(901) + 3 - (401) -1 =+4 Which is 80% 49.99 80% = $10.00 Good luck finding a 401 kit for ten bucks!
Final Analysis (10% per point)
901 Total Points 16
510 Total Points 12
401 Total Points 8
Using my rating system I developed, the 901 is rated 40% better than the 510 and 80% better than a 401. When you take into consideration that the 901 is also less expensive, this is a landslide victory!
Robert Kelly RRT
Aka rtbob
Links to vendors:
Electronic cigarette | E-liquid | E-cigarette Accessory | E-juice - Feel Life e-cigarette shopping
http://midwestvapor.com/
Welcome to MadVapes LLC
intellicig-USA.com Buy Intellicig EVO Electronic Cigarette by intellicig, The intelligent e-smoking e-cig alternative.
] I am glad that you didn't wait for the powers that be to post your review. I didn't either (other than that plain vanilla version included in the winner announcement thread, which very few people have seen).
