I recently saw that there was a new Loongtotem available, so I went to great expense to get one sent over from Hong Kong to take a closer look.
There are four main selling features of this e-cig.
1. Simple two peice cartomizer design.
2. High capacity battery. (600mAH)
3. High capacity cartomizer. (2ml)
4. Easy access for refilling the cartomizer.
Battery:
The batteries took 3 hours to charge via USB port, so I tend to beleive the listed 600mAH capacity.
I got the manual batteries which have a very small button on them. The buttons 'feel' pretty good, but I'm worried about them holding up to the insane amount of use they will be subjected to. Also, the small size and travel of the buttons might be annoying to people with larger fingers. I can feel the 'click' when the button is activated though, so it works well enough.
After five seconds of activation, the batteries blink a couple times and shut off. Quickly releasing/repressing the button brings the battery back on, so no lenghty delays are needed.
Cartomizer:
Without question, the major tech advantage here is the oversized cartomizer. The official manufacturer claim is that they have a 2ml capacity. (That's a LOT)
Each cartomizer comes with a whistle tip that slips into it. There is no other cover, so removing the whistle tip completely exposes the stuffing for easy refills. While I find this setup more than welcome, there may be a possibility for leakage if heavily saturated cartomizers are left lying on their sides. The internal shape of the whistle tip is clearly designed to catch it, but I would suggest some caution when transporting them.
Charger:
The V-12 came with a USB charger and a wall outlet adaptor that the USB charger can plug into. My wall charger did NOT come with an adaptor to allow it to fit standard American outlets. Luckily my Myvaporstore Joyestick did come the adaptor.
(Note: To make the wall charger work, you have to plug the USB charger into it, so there is really only one charger with the unit.)
Size:
(140mm X 12mm)
The fully assembled V-12 (far left) is about three quarters of an inch shorter than an 801 penstyle, and about 3mm thicker in diameter than most standard e-cigs. It looks sort of like a small filtered cigar.
Compatibility:
The air holes on the Loongtotem are in the battery, so there will probably be compatibility issues with other two-peice e-cigs.
Usage:
I began by charging the batteries, and then filling one of the empty cartomizers with one of my recent favorite liquids, Vaporstation Seattle 24mg. I didn't have very much left, but had no trouble making thirty drops (from a JC dropper) disappear into that abyss of a cartomizer.
I normally draw on e-cigs more like a pipe than a cigarette, but the slightly low resistance on the V-12 lends itself well to drawing directly into the lungs if that's your thing. NOTE: It has gotten a little harder to draw after a few refills, but I won't slight the manufacturers for that.
As you might expect from cartomizers, flavor delivery is very good.
Vapor production is a bit better than I expected from a standard power device.
Throat hit is a little stronger than the standard 801's that I'm always using. It's been too long since I've used anything else to give an accurate comparison.
The larger/thicker plastic at the tip of the battery make it harder to tell when the battery is active, however, the vapor production is proving to be indicator enough that the unit is active.
As with most e-cigs, allowing some time between series of draws allows for more consistent performance.
Downsides:
Immediately after refills, the whistle tip tends to get loaded up with juice. Anymore I'm pretty much immune to e-liquid on my lips, but it's worth mentioning.
The battery buttons feel a little bit anemic. They might last as long as the battery, but I'd prefer something more substantial.
My units wall charger did not come with a US adaptor. Luckily I had one on hand, but have not used it yet since the PC USB plug works fine.
Shipping costs from Loongtotem are prohibitivly steep. When you factor in the low cost of the products, it doesn't seem so bad, but it's definitely an issue.
Upsides:
High capacity cartomizers. Easy to refill. High capacity batteries.
Summary:
Though I'm predominantly a dripper, this device looks extremely promising for use while driving, at work, or just going out. After two days of use, so far the Loongtotem V-12 'seems' to be the best non-tethered, non-modded e-cig I've used to date.
I would certainly be interested in knowing about any US based suppliers, the people at Loongtotem have trouble with english.
There are four main selling features of this e-cig.
1. Simple two peice cartomizer design.
2. High capacity battery. (600mAH)
3. High capacity cartomizer. (2ml)
4. Easy access for refilling the cartomizer.
Battery:
The batteries took 3 hours to charge via USB port, so I tend to beleive the listed 600mAH capacity.
I got the manual batteries which have a very small button on them. The buttons 'feel' pretty good, but I'm worried about them holding up to the insane amount of use they will be subjected to. Also, the small size and travel of the buttons might be annoying to people with larger fingers. I can feel the 'click' when the button is activated though, so it works well enough.
After five seconds of activation, the batteries blink a couple times and shut off. Quickly releasing/repressing the button brings the battery back on, so no lenghty delays are needed.
Cartomizer:
Without question, the major tech advantage here is the oversized cartomizer. The official manufacturer claim is that they have a 2ml capacity. (That's a LOT)
Each cartomizer comes with a whistle tip that slips into it. There is no other cover, so removing the whistle tip completely exposes the stuffing for easy refills. While I find this setup more than welcome, there may be a possibility for leakage if heavily saturated cartomizers are left lying on their sides. The internal shape of the whistle tip is clearly designed to catch it, but I would suggest some caution when transporting them.
Charger:
The V-12 came with a USB charger and a wall outlet adaptor that the USB charger can plug into. My wall charger did NOT come with an adaptor to allow it to fit standard American outlets. Luckily my Myvaporstore Joyestick did come the adaptor.
(Note: To make the wall charger work, you have to plug the USB charger into it, so there is really only one charger with the unit.)
Size:
(140mm X 12mm)
The fully assembled V-12 (far left) is about three quarters of an inch shorter than an 801 penstyle, and about 3mm thicker in diameter than most standard e-cigs. It looks sort of like a small filtered cigar.
Compatibility:
The air holes on the Loongtotem are in the battery, so there will probably be compatibility issues with other two-peice e-cigs.
Usage:
I began by charging the batteries, and then filling one of the empty cartomizers with one of my recent favorite liquids, Vaporstation Seattle 24mg. I didn't have very much left, but had no trouble making thirty drops (from a JC dropper) disappear into that abyss of a cartomizer.
I normally draw on e-cigs more like a pipe than a cigarette, but the slightly low resistance on the V-12 lends itself well to drawing directly into the lungs if that's your thing. NOTE: It has gotten a little harder to draw after a few refills, but I won't slight the manufacturers for that.
As you might expect from cartomizers, flavor delivery is very good.
Vapor production is a bit better than I expected from a standard power device.
Throat hit is a little stronger than the standard 801's that I'm always using. It's been too long since I've used anything else to give an accurate comparison.
The larger/thicker plastic at the tip of the battery make it harder to tell when the battery is active, however, the vapor production is proving to be indicator enough that the unit is active.
As with most e-cigs, allowing some time between series of draws allows for more consistent performance.
Downsides:
Immediately after refills, the whistle tip tends to get loaded up with juice. Anymore I'm pretty much immune to e-liquid on my lips, but it's worth mentioning.
The battery buttons feel a little bit anemic. They might last as long as the battery, but I'd prefer something more substantial.
My units wall charger did not come with a US adaptor. Luckily I had one on hand, but have not used it yet since the PC USB plug works fine.
Shipping costs from Loongtotem are prohibitivly steep. When you factor in the low cost of the products, it doesn't seem so bad, but it's definitely an issue.
Upsides:
High capacity cartomizers. Easy to refill. High capacity batteries.
Summary:
Though I'm predominantly a dripper, this device looks extremely promising for use while driving, at work, or just going out. After two days of use, so far the Loongtotem V-12 'seems' to be the best non-tethered, non-modded e-cig I've used to date.
I would certainly be interested in knowing about any US based suppliers, the people at Loongtotem have trouble with english.
