"Taste is subjective..." Blah, blah, blah..
"What works for me, may not work for you..." Blah, blah.
"All that really matters is that you aren't smoking cigarettes..." Blah...
Now that the preliminaries are stated...I wanted to know WHICH of the competing tanks was best for ME...I needed to buy at least one new tank, I've just plain worn out most of my Aspire BDC tanks. They served me well, are relatively inexpensive and easy for my old arthritic hands to replace coils and fill. BUT, I've used them so long that the seal no longer has much resilience, and they tend to leak after being filled. Additionally, all but the "brushed stainless" have started chipping paint along the bottom and the windows. Looks rather tacky!
The prices quoted herein are from MyFreedomSmokes website this morning, (unless otherwise noted) and do not reflect shipping, any available discounts/coupons. I received no free products, vape gear, juice, or compensation of any type for my "review" of my experience from ANYONE.
Both tanks gave me extremely good results! But, there are a few differences. To keep this blog to less than 10,000 words, I won't repeat what you can learn yourself by just visiting any vendor who sells them. I chose to quote prices from MyFreedomSmokes (MFS) because that is where I purchased both items. (Your mileage may vary!)
ASPIRE NAUTILUS
I purchased the Nautilus first, at $29.95. Additional heads are $2.50 each. I also purchased a "replacement glass tank" on the "outside chance" that my clumsy hands were going to drop my mod (again) and have a broken glass: $7.99. Total initial investment: $40.44
The FIRST day I had the tank...you guessed it, I dropped it on the tile floor, and broke the tank. (Note to self: this isn't a Phiniac, be more careful!). I managed to get to payday without breaking yet another glass tank. So, I ordered TWO replacements (one for the tank, one for backup)! $15.98. (Current total cost: $56.42)
Dropped Nautilus on concrete floor in the garage:broken glass...three days later, the Nautilus committed hari karii when I opened the door to my car and fell on asphalt: broken glass. Ordered replacement glass with steel "cage" from VaporCig $14.95. (Note to self: remember to buy replacement glass with steel cage if you buy another Nautilus.) When I learn something the "hard way" I call it "tuition"..so the "tuition" to learn that the "cage" should have been bought in the FIRST place ( OR better yet, Aspire should make it an integral pert to the original package!) was $71.37. (Nautilus: $29.95, 3 glass tanks: $22.94, one "steel cage" $14.95, replacement coil: $2.50)
IF I were to order another Nautilus, I'd order it with the steel cage and replacement head, making the initial investment a much more acceptable total of $47.40 (Tank:$29.95, coil:$2.50 steel cage:$14.95)
Kanger AeroTank Mega.
The purchase of my Kanger AeroTank Mega was similar. Tank: $29.95 (same as Nautilus) replacement coil: $1.85 (a difference of 70 cents less for the Kanger.)
Total initial investment: $31.80
Point to Kanger point to Kanger for 70 cent difference PER coil.
Point to Kanger for initial investment, saving $15.60
Please don't misunderstand, I dropped the Kanger NUMEROUS times...just like I did the Nautilus. But experienced NO breakage. So, all things being equal, for my (clumsy, dropsey self) the Kanger saves me money, not just on replacement glass tubes, but, also over the life of the tank in coil costs.
Once I got the broken tanks situation under control, I MEANT to see just how long the coils lasted me. I filled both tanks with NicoTicket Creme Brûlée. This is a heavy, sweet juice, and each tank excelled, in its own way. The Nautilus coil performed at 95% after waiting 5 minutes for the coil to absorb the juice. The Kanger took several hours of vaping before the coil was "broken in" and then performed as well. I vaped the Nautilus one day, and the Kanger the next day, trying to give "equal time" to each. The Nautilus coil was the first to need replacing, which was as easy as my Aspire BDC tanks, and worked well for approximately 17 days. The coil on the Kanger is currently 22 days old, and shows no signs of needing to be replaced, so, in addition to the coil costing less, in this totally unscientific study, it lasted more vaping days. (Point to Kanger)
The air control on the Nautilus is straight forward, having little clicks, which "lock in" the setting.
With the Kanger, the air control is a little more complicated. It appears to be a slot, perhaps, and allows for maximum fine tuning. The drawback is that it doesn't "lock in, and is easily disturbed when filling the tank. It's more a matter of personal preference, and getting pretty picky at that! Aesthetically, they are both beautiful tanks. The Nautilus with the steel cage is a little "busy" and the Kanger has simple lines and "less is more" contemporary style. You know it's a Kanger, because a discreet "Kanger Tech" is engraved onto the tank. I give it extra points for the ProVari-esque "pips" on the air control ring, where the Nautilus has heavier short parallel lines to provide texture and visual interest. Along the base is cross-hatching to provide grip when removing the tank from the battery, or when opening to refill. I understand why it's there, but to have both a ring of heavier vertical lines and below, diagonal cross hatching is too much, and detracts from the design rather than enhances it...but, again, I am reaching here to find something. The Nautilus has a brushed stainless finish, looks best on my ProVari V2 and the Kangers finish is closer to "brushed" than "shiney", and looks better on my ProVari dragon.
The only major factor for me between the two is the fragility of the original Nautilus glass, and the necessity to buy the stainless cage to keep from breaking the glass of the original design. You might not be a klutz like I am, and have your glass live a very long time.
i hope you enjoyed this little review! I enjoyed writing my first ECF blog!
"What works for me, may not work for you..." Blah, blah.
"All that really matters is that you aren't smoking cigarettes..." Blah...
Now that the preliminaries are stated...I wanted to know WHICH of the competing tanks was best for ME...I needed to buy at least one new tank, I've just plain worn out most of my Aspire BDC tanks. They served me well, are relatively inexpensive and easy for my old arthritic hands to replace coils and fill. BUT, I've used them so long that the seal no longer has much resilience, and they tend to leak after being filled. Additionally, all but the "brushed stainless" have started chipping paint along the bottom and the windows. Looks rather tacky!
The prices quoted herein are from MyFreedomSmokes website this morning, (unless otherwise noted) and do not reflect shipping, any available discounts/coupons. I received no free products, vape gear, juice, or compensation of any type for my "review" of my experience from ANYONE.
Both tanks gave me extremely good results! But, there are a few differences. To keep this blog to less than 10,000 words, I won't repeat what you can learn yourself by just visiting any vendor who sells them. I chose to quote prices from MyFreedomSmokes (MFS) because that is where I purchased both items. (Your mileage may vary!)
ASPIRE NAUTILUS
I purchased the Nautilus first, at $29.95. Additional heads are $2.50 each. I also purchased a "replacement glass tank" on the "outside chance" that my clumsy hands were going to drop my mod (again) and have a broken glass: $7.99. Total initial investment: $40.44
The FIRST day I had the tank...you guessed it, I dropped it on the tile floor, and broke the tank. (Note to self: this isn't a Phiniac, be more careful!). I managed to get to payday without breaking yet another glass tank. So, I ordered TWO replacements (one for the tank, one for backup)! $15.98. (Current total cost: $56.42)
Dropped Nautilus on concrete floor in the garage:broken glass...three days later, the Nautilus committed hari karii when I opened the door to my car and fell on asphalt: broken glass. Ordered replacement glass with steel "cage" from VaporCig $14.95. (Note to self: remember to buy replacement glass with steel cage if you buy another Nautilus.) When I learn something the "hard way" I call it "tuition"..so the "tuition" to learn that the "cage" should have been bought in the FIRST place ( OR better yet, Aspire should make it an integral pert to the original package!) was $71.37. (Nautilus: $29.95, 3 glass tanks: $22.94, one "steel cage" $14.95, replacement coil: $2.50)
IF I were to order another Nautilus, I'd order it with the steel cage and replacement head, making the initial investment a much more acceptable total of $47.40 (Tank:$29.95, coil:$2.50 steel cage:$14.95)
Kanger AeroTank Mega.
The purchase of my Kanger AeroTank Mega was similar. Tank: $29.95 (same as Nautilus) replacement coil: $1.85 (a difference of 70 cents less for the Kanger.)
Total initial investment: $31.80
Point to Kanger point to Kanger for 70 cent difference PER coil.
Point to Kanger for initial investment, saving $15.60
Please don't misunderstand, I dropped the Kanger NUMEROUS times...just like I did the Nautilus. But experienced NO breakage. So, all things being equal, for my (clumsy, dropsey self) the Kanger saves me money, not just on replacement glass tubes, but, also over the life of the tank in coil costs.
Once I got the broken tanks situation under control, I MEANT to see just how long the coils lasted me. I filled both tanks with NicoTicket Creme Brûlée. This is a heavy, sweet juice, and each tank excelled, in its own way. The Nautilus coil performed at 95% after waiting 5 minutes for the coil to absorb the juice. The Kanger took several hours of vaping before the coil was "broken in" and then performed as well. I vaped the Nautilus one day, and the Kanger the next day, trying to give "equal time" to each. The Nautilus coil was the first to need replacing, which was as easy as my Aspire BDC tanks, and worked well for approximately 17 days. The coil on the Kanger is currently 22 days old, and shows no signs of needing to be replaced, so, in addition to the coil costing less, in this totally unscientific study, it lasted more vaping days. (Point to Kanger)
The air control on the Nautilus is straight forward, having little clicks, which "lock in" the setting.
With the Kanger, the air control is a little more complicated. It appears to be a slot, perhaps, and allows for maximum fine tuning. The drawback is that it doesn't "lock in, and is easily disturbed when filling the tank. It's more a matter of personal preference, and getting pretty picky at that! Aesthetically, they are both beautiful tanks. The Nautilus with the steel cage is a little "busy" and the Kanger has simple lines and "less is more" contemporary style. You know it's a Kanger, because a discreet "Kanger Tech" is engraved onto the tank. I give it extra points for the ProVari-esque "pips" on the air control ring, where the Nautilus has heavier short parallel lines to provide texture and visual interest. Along the base is cross-hatching to provide grip when removing the tank from the battery, or when opening to refill. I understand why it's there, but to have both a ring of heavier vertical lines and below, diagonal cross hatching is too much, and detracts from the design rather than enhances it...but, again, I am reaching here to find something. The Nautilus has a brushed stainless finish, looks best on my ProVari V2 and the Kangers finish is closer to "brushed" than "shiney", and looks better on my ProVari dragon.
The only major factor for me between the two is the fragility of the original Nautilus glass, and the necessity to buy the stainless cage to keep from breaking the glass of the original design. You might not be a klutz like I am, and have your glass live a very long time.
i hope you enjoyed this little review! I enjoyed writing my first ECF blog!
