Just tried a bunch of tanks

[McDude]

I've been vaping for going on 7 years now and I admittedly go through cycles between RDAs, RTAs, and tanks using premade coils. Recently, I went into an RTA kick because I hadn't checked out any new tanks in quite awhile. So I bought a few, here's my resluts (for what it is worth):

The tanks I just tried are:
OBS Engine - from eBay
Griffon - From Rock Bottom Vapes
Smok TF-RTA - From Rock Bottom Vapes
Altus T1 - From Guo Vape
Mage - From eBay

Here's my personal impressions (2 cents is worth exactly 2 cents):

OBS Engine (great for novices)
- Super easy to setup
- Uses top air flow (top, down, under, up-through coils) so chance of leaking is all but zero
- Decent air flow (for lung hitters)
- Great cloud production and reasonable flavor (the flavor was a bit muted, but I set it up only once)
- Highly recommend this tank for any novice wanting to enjoy an RTA
- Very easy top-side fill (push up on ring to expose a fill hole) - ring does not stay in place w/out rubber collar

Griffon RTA (amazing flavor)
- More difficult setup, relies on a threaded keeper-ring to keep cotton in the juice channels
- Required 2 attempts to get a leak-proof build (but well worth it, read on)
- AMAZING cloud production and AMAZING flavor, by far the best flavor of all the tanks listed above
- Recommended for intermediate users due to the keeper-ring
- Would be better if a groove and snap-type ring was used instead of the threaded keeper-ring
- Superb air flow (provides both top and bottom air flow, likely contributing to the outstanding taste)
- Easy top fill (entire cap unscrews to expose large openings to literally pour juice through)
- TIP: Use more cotton than you normally would, twist it to get it through the coils then add the keeper-ring, trimming the cottom after the build is complete.

Smok TF-RTA (nice top fill)
- Another mod with a threaded keeper-ring to hold cotton in the juice channels
- Feels/looks/sets-up much like a griffon, but provides bottom air only
- Cloud production was decent with clear flavor
- Interesting top fill (cap pivots out to expose openings, but there is no lock-in-place mechanism)
- I'd recommend the griffon ahead of the tf-rta based on design/features/production, but its still a very decent tank

Mage (super flavor but small)
- Not much to say here - same style of juice channels as griffon and smok tf-rta, with less capacity
- if you want a smaller tank that sets-up like the griffon or tf-rta, then the mage would do the trick

Altus T1 (coilless atomizer)
- I picked this up out of curiosity (perhaps I'll write up something on this tank separately)
- While an awesome idea, the learning curve is high to simply learn how to vape it (not set it up)
- the user must trigger power, cycle power, etc... to get the ceramic heating core to perform
- After two setups the juice still had a burnt taste
- At $100 bucks or so, not recommended for novices and really only for early-adopter types

 

[Eskie]

Thanks for the reviews. The Altus always seemed like a good idea but folks kept running into problems with it. I read they're planning a v2. No idea on a release date, although with Deeming regs, who knows.

Interesting on the OBS Engine. I have a Crius Plus. Any idea on a comparison?

 

[DaveP]

Thanks for the reviews. The Altus always seemed like a good idea but folks kept running into problems with it. I read they're planning a v2. No idea on a release date, although with Deeming regs, who knows.

Interesting on the OBS Engine. I have a Crius Plus. Any idea on a comparison?

We all need hardware for decades to come, not knowing who will be elected this year and whether the new president will be vape friendly (or whether it matters for vaping who is elected). It's the unknown factor that makes me continue to stockpile.

 

[Eskie]

I fall on the doesn't matter who gets elected side. It just won't be an issue at that level. I also expect if it does make it through the Appropriations bill, it's not going to be a big enough deal to affect signing. I also continue to stockpile, but my rate has fallen off as I got quite a bit pre 8/8. That items are still available encourages me to continue, but I don't feel the need to pile on. Maybe I will down the road if it looks like things really will be nailed down.

That OBS Engine does have me curious though. I have to watch some reviews and a couple of more opinions around here, but that would be my best bet for an addition based on what I already have. Maybe if it had a single coil block as well that might close the deal for me, add some extra flexibility into it. I'll have to look into that.