Another good vape pen thread, possibly sub-ohm..sorry

[Nicshoe18]

Hey everyone, new member! Been vaping going on 7-8 yrs, and things have changed, A LOT. I've seen the threads and know this question has been asked a million times, but sorry it's still way over my head so I'll try to keep this short. I've not really kept up with the technology, lower VG juice is getting harder to find, even tobacco flavors are getting harder to find, but the hardware has become a minefield for your wallet if not well versed in all the possible paths. I've gone through several setups over the years and don't have patience these days to keep playing around, so hoping the experts can help! I've mainly stuck to pen style because it's discreet, and output is lower. I'm a chain vaper, so I'm vaping everywhere. Lower VG juice and lower output devices are getting harder to find without having to graduate to something like VV that I don't really want to do. I'm a horrible planner, so I like something pretty much off the shelf and ready to go. Problem has been, most of that stuff has been phased out, or burns out in 5 days and I've been dropping loads of cash replacing clearos and batteries. So I went for a new rig and got a PockeX which has been awesome! But the switch to sub-ohm was an adjustment. No more vaping at work, no more on airplanes, no more in the grocery store. What's been amazing is not only the flavor, but I've had it over a month and replaced the coil once and the battery is still going strong. 5 coils at $14, I'm already at months worth of savings vs clearos and crappy pen batteries that die in a month. Problem now, since it's an AIO sub-ohm kit and considering how much I use it, it leaks like crazy and pretty sure I fried the o rings. Problem with AIO kits nowadays I guess, is can't really find replacement parts easily.

So the question - what's your recs for pen style setups? I know you can't get everything you want in life, but my ideal list:
- Top fill tank - the pockex removable cap+coil with the top air vent is mess free. No removing the tank to blow out excess liquid, no syringes or drizzling juice down the side. Fill and go.
- Longevity - on my second coil in a month and half is awesome with no decrease in battery life to date is pretty sweet
- Flavor - I'm a direct lung smoker, always have been. I had no idea people even inhaled MTL until today, maybe that's why people have ripped on me this whole time for being such a loud smoker, but even with lung hit, I still get a major flavor punch with the pockex
- Lower output - the pockex all things considered is actually fairly low, but it's still a lot. This one may be a tall ask considering I have such difficulty finding decent juice under 60%. But since the market keeps pushing VG up and up, something that can handle over 50% while keeping the output respectable without burning up in a week or two.
- Parts - I'm a little baffled to find I need to buy something like o rings overseas, or that I can't replace the top cap without having to buy a whole new kit. I wouldn't want a science kit, but hopefully something easily fixable without having to buy an entire replacement kit and throw away a perfectly good battery.
- Sub-ohm - all points above, should I stay with sub-ohm?

What's everyone's thoughts??

 

[medleypat]

my suggestions would be the subvod or subvod mega. They use a separate tank and battery subvod uses a toptank nano subvod mega uses toptank mini.

 

[Nicshoe18]

I considered using this combo at one time but never pulled the trigger. Is the 510 issue where the post gets pushed in still a thing with kanger batteries?

 

[dyanaprajna]

I use the Subvod, but per your recommendations, the Smok Stick V8 Baby.

 

[dyanaprajna]

Oh, since you asked, I haven't had an issue with the 510 on my Subvod.

 

[gandymarsh]

Welcome to ECF!

I only own one "pen" style device. If you can call an Ego One Mega a pen, more like a thick stogie.

You might be interested in something like a Vaporesso Target Mini. It is VV/VW and not a pen but very small.

 

[dyanaprajna]

To keep with what @gandymarsh said, you could also look into something like the Tesla 40w stealth.

 

[Nicshoe18]

Thanks for the input guys! I definitely looked into stealth mods at one point, but started reading on tanks, coils, vv, vw and started wondering how much I was going to have to play with it, how much I was going to have to buy...not knowing anything about it and gave up. Fear I may have opened a toddler's pandora's box of what the hell it is I actually want. I should sit down one weekend and learn this stuff. I've also looked at the tesla and vapresso as well. Can you control airflow too so it's not so noisy, or does all that depend on the tank?

 

[gandymarsh]

I don't own the Tesla but I have a Target Mini. I bought the battery alone not the kit with the Guardian.
VV/VW isn't that complicated. Most people use VW mode. The common advice is to start at a low wattage, then go up a little at a time til you get the vape you want, then leave it there. The Target also does Temperature Control with Nickel, Titanium and Stainless Steel coils but I haven't ventured into that yet.

I mostly use an Ego One Mega or Tron S tank with the 1 ohm CLR coils (which are easy to rebuild) on mine. I usually run it at 16-17 watts. With that coil, they're fairly quiet. There are .5 ohm coils available that have much more air flow and therefore noisier. Those tanks are hard to find now but there are Ego One V2 tanks that use the same coils. They all have adjustable air flow.

There's a thread here eGo ONE tank series – CLR coil about the CLR coils.

There are many other tanks that will work on the Target but some that require more than 40 watts to operate.

 

[gandymarsh]

Here's a picture of my black Target Mini with a black Tron S next to an 1100 mah Ego One pen (which recently died).

 

[djsvapour]

I use factory coils. Average price is $7-8 for 5 from China.
What saving that represents over a year to you, I couldn't say.
For me, it pays for stuff very nicely... more vape stuff...

 

[BrotherBob]

what's your recs for pen style setups?

Welcome and glad you joined. Reg tube mods are less popular than the box mods, so your choices are somewhat limited comparatively.
Could look at:
iJust S Kit by Eleaf
Joye Unimax 25 Starter Kit

- Sub-ohm - all points above, should I stay with sub-ohm?

Sub ohm coils, which has disadvantages, your juice consumption may be high.
For non sub ohm you could look at:
Innokin Endura T18 Starter Kit

 

[Continuity]

You've been vaping for that many years and are put off 'graduating to VV devices' - LOL. Pure VV devices are practically extinct these days - everything is VW/TC these days (although TC usage is optional).

Instead of sticking with an increasingly obsolete form factor/device type, why not just go in for a basic, but modern small box mod?

I see that the Vaporesso has already been suggested, which is cool, but personally I don't like devices with built-in batteries, as once they're dead - they're dead - I prefer ones that use 18650s which are cheap and easily available cells which are safe in use and last a long time, properly cared for.

Why not look at devices like the eVic VTwo Mini, for one example, and also I would seriously look into getting acquainted with rebuildable tanks - RTAs. I'm a flavour-chaser MTL vaper and my personal favourite is the Taifun GT2.

It's really easy to roll your own coils and wicks - it lets you tailor your vape to exactly how you like it, and it saves *so* much money on coil head replacements.

Also, it's not hard to find decent RTAs that don't suffer from leaking problems, and if you're satisfied by a more tootle-puffer vape, then I'd personally move away from 'SubOhm' vaping, as it just burns through juice, and is extremely non-subtle, which you indicated was a concern to you for being able to stealth vape.

 

[Nicshoe18]

I'm put off by the direction of the entire market, honestly. Was trying to spare the whiny melodrama. People forget this all started as a suitable replacement for cigarettes. Something that feels and tastes like a cigarette. Once it gained momentum, hardware and juice quality went downhill. Toss in my extreme procrastination with everything, the convenience of off the shelf products and aio kits was about as easy as walking to the store for a pack of smokes. Once people started wanting massive clouds and more complex bigger devices, it really seemed to defeat the purpose of trying quit which is why I've had cigarettes in constant rotation this whole time. Roll that all together and it's impossible to find smaller setups that keep up with today's juice that last longer than a week, especially now that they're being phased out or people consider them obsolete. Plus now that FDA regulations in the states have restricted certain ingredients, you can't walk into a vape shop any more and even find straight tobacco flavors. Seems these days I'm forced to inconspicuously walk around with something the size of a cell phone that smokes fruit loops.

The immediately noticeable switch to sub ohm, even though it does go through juice like crazy, was how efficiently it burned through juice without frying or gunking up the hardware. Buy a coil, throw it in, and seems to last 3-4 weeks at about $3/coil. And now I'm kind of ruined by the amount of flavor it produces, so I'm kind of stuck. The recs have been great and it's maybe sounding like a good option to get a stealth box for casual use, and maybe a pen style for on the go. I've been toying with making the switch, especially to rebuildable tanks for a long time. I've just questioned the commitment. If I was going to make the switch, it's why I laid out that ridiculous laundry list of requirements to see what everyone else liked and didn't like. Lots of good options now, now I just need to make a decision.

 

[djsvapour]

Once it gained momentum, hardware and juice quality went downhill.

I can't agree. Hardware has never been better.
The rest is all a tongue-in-cheek appraisal of the world as you see it. (Quite funny and clever actually).
BUT, you are either looking in the wrong directions or have assumed some facts that are not actually facts.

Should we take you seriously but not literally?

I wish you luck on your quest, regardless.

 

[gandymarsh]

I understand what you are saying.

I tend to ignore the threads that talk about vaping at, what I consider, ridiculous wattages. I don't care if others do that. It just doesn't interest me.

Vaping, for me, is and always will be about staying away from tobacco.

I have yet to go up to 20 watts and may never do so.

There are plenty of folks here who don't even go near the wattages that I do. There's a thread here that has over 700 pages discussing low wattage vapers like me Are YOU a Tootle Puffer??

As far as vaping juice that tastes like a cigarette goes, I left that behind years ago. I think it's because I quit smoking the day I started vaping so I don't have that constant reminder of what smoking tastes like. I vape fruit and dessert flavors now.

There is plenty of equipment available for low wattage vapers but the big money is in the cloud chaser crowd. Manufacturers know that and cater to it.

My favorite tanks are the Joyetech Ego One line and the Eleaf GS Air line. Both of those give very good flavor and decent amounts of vaper. Both can be rebuilt. The Ego One CLRs being the easiest. Rebuilding a coil head costs pennies compared to dollars for a new coil head. Most times, changing the wick after dry burning is all that's required. A new wick costs next to nothing.

Here's an exploded view of a CLR coil head. They don't show the wicking but it goes through the coil.

 

[CagedSpam]

Another thumbs up on the Joyetech Ego One.

13 $US gets you a pretty good setup, minus the US compatible wallwart. And not the "choice" colors.
Joyetech eGo ONE kit

Takes about 2-3 weeks from Vanuatu though.

The real gem is the CLR coils IMO as stated by @gandymarsh.

eGo ONE tank series – CLR coil

 

[Nicshoe18]

I can't agree. Hardware has never been better.
The rest is all a tongue-in-cheek appraisal of the world as you see it. (Quite funny and clever actually).
BUT, you are either looking in the wrong directions or have assumed some facts that are not actually facts.

Should we take you seriously but not literally?

Bit of both, as mentioned I'm whining. On hardware, could not agree more as I was really impressed with this pockex. Was speaking on my preference for the compact pen styles, back in the old kanger clearo/cart days. That kind of stuff went from lasting months to weeks seemingly overnight as the product quality got cheaper. Then as I started switching, going bigger, atomizer heads whathave you, that stuff started going down. When I started wanting a little more vapor, more flavor, I knew I was eventually going to have to graduate to something like a box style or rebuildable tanks to get what I wanted even though I didn't want to. All things aside, the main goal has always been to find some form of constant nicotine delivery in a very discreet manner like back when people used to say "I thought you were sucking on a pen". When people started casually blowing giant clouds indoors in public, it kind of ruined it for those of us who wanted to just sit at the bar and secretly vape undisturbed, and not disturb others. But I knew my demands were growing, I just wasn't ready to switch. I liked the convenience of the small stuff, but hated burning money on decreasing quality that needed replaced on a weekly basis. So here I am.

I understand what you are saying.
My favorite tanks are the Joyetech Ego One line and the Eleaf GS Air line. Both of those give very good flavor and decent amounts of vaper. Both can be rebuilt. The Ego One CLRs being the easiest. Rebuilding a coil head costs pennies compared to dollars for a new coil head. Most times, changing the wick after dry burning is all that's required. A new wick costs next to nothing.

Here's an exploded view of a CLR coil head. They don't show the wicking but it goes through the coil.

This looks promising too, I'll definitely check it out. I've been on the fence as far as flavors go, maybe that's why I've never actually quit. Some shops have slowly started pushing in more of the "flavor" direction, just because that's really only what's available in retail shops around here. I know the internet is always the better option, but I'm a horrible planner so retail brick and mortar has always been the best option since I buy the moment I run out. They've pushed me more in the dessert direction and I've been surprisingly pleased. But the constant battle with breaking hardware has always pushed me back to the sticks. Hopefully this time, I'll kick em for good.