Ares, new MTL RTA designed by Phil Busardo and Dimitirs Agrafiotis

[Anthony_Vapes]

I watch reviews to see close ups of build decks and build quality, then form my own opinion about if a product is right for me. IMHO no reviewers or reviews are perfect, but am glad they are there for us. Trying to wade through the thousands of vape products and ordering blindly, could be costly.
Have even disagreed with some of Anthony's reviews...but still watch them...

and that's to be expected for sure. I wouldn't expect everyone to agree with all my assessments, but at least i call things how i see them fairly which is the important part. IDK how many others can say the same with a straight face. Attys can be subjective based on preference for sure. mods on the other hand are pretty clear with testing. if a car claims 300HP and it gets tested at 150HP (remember the mazda 6 rotary engine a long time ago when they lied about it's power and wound up issuing a bunch of refunds) it's pretty cut and dry

 

[lil_buddy]

I watch reviews to see close ups of build decks and build quality, then form my own opinion about if a product is right for me. IMHO no reviewers or reviews are perfect, but am glad they are there for us. Trying to wade through the thousands of vape products and ordering blindly, could be costly.
Have even disagreed with some of Anthony's reviews...but still watch them...

Yes! My top reasons for watching reviews are to see the product up close, see the measurements and watch the rebuilding process. Opinions of the reviewers have little significance because my very narrow tastes don't really match well with any of them.

 

[Brewdawg1181]

What did i miss where did Phil respond?.

(edit: Hey, meant to put the just the link, don't know why it posted his mug up there! User error, I assume)
Vic pinned his response right up top of the comments:

 

[Brewdawg1181]

I watch reviews to see close ups of build decks and build quality, then form my own opinion about if a product is right for me. IMHO no reviewers or reviews are perfect, but am glad they are there for us. Trying to wade through the thousands of vape products and ordering blindly, could be costly.
Have even disagreed with some of Anthony's reviews...but still watch them...

Agreed - that's the main reason I watch, is to see someone assemble, wick, etc., not the overall opinion. But it's nice to see them point out issues they have, and you can watch/see for yourself if it's something that matters to you.

 

[Anthony_Vapes]

What's wrong with the SMM? My wife loves it... I don't use attys like that but I build it, vape it and make sure it's working right for her. It seems to vape great.... Does one need to bash things to be unbiased? You pretty much nailed why I think reviewers in general are pretty whacky. If they like something that you hate, they're paid off or they're buddies with someone.... Not that I don't agree with some things you said, like, creators reviewing their own stuff is pretty lame, but people liking things you don't like is just life. Reviewers would be easier to take seriously if they didn't care about other reviewers.

Nothing wrong with it by any means. it's just an average RTA that got a hype wave cause a big reviewer designed it and was hailed as this flavor monster, but when many people who got it who had a lot to compare it it to later on, they all realized it fell pretty short in the flavor department compared to similar attys. It's more of the reviewers always claiming everything is the "best thing ever" one after the next after the next.

I don't think reviewers need to bash things by any means. but constructive critism and saying it's not worth the money once in a while goes a long way. the big pro to it is it'll help companies provide us with better products in the long run, the smaller pro is it'll help people make better choices for them. it's hard to pick something when every reviewer says everything is awesome, in turn it winds up being not helpful at all. It's why i wanted to look for more factual reviews of mods i know to be crap from them but i couldn't find any which is why i said IDK if it's by their choice that they know it sucked and didn't review it, or if it's because they just didn't get one. I cna't say either way

I agree it's very whacky and i do get your point but as i said those reviews don't make them bad reviewers (except the bushido 2 and SOI SBX RDA one's are pretty damning) but more of, it's not someone who's opinion i'd personally look at. whether it's bias, personal preference, money etc i couldn't say but more of just not for me. still like i said people are different and others might find the reviews to be good.

I agree about just not watching them. I don't go around and troll reviewers i disagree with, i simply don't watch them but i'm a nobody anyway. it's all the bigger reviewers who seem to be going after each other lately and it's pretty tacky IMO. like i said for the DR rabbit, heathen posted on my review and a buddy of mine's reviews the same exact response and then didn't respond to us after. he wans't mean or anything but he posted in about 5 not so good reviews the same comment of "i've never heard anyone say the flavor wasn't great" but if your posting it to 5 different people you obviously heard it before. and if you are going to go out on a limb and post that, have the decency to respond to the reviewer when they respond to you and not just hit and run.

For me i started to save people from buying ....ty devices or find them something that suits them well and it does suck when i see people waste their money on stuff i know was .... and while it annoys me, i still stay out of it cause in the end it's not really worth it. all i can do is sit in my corner and do my own thing and hope it helps a few people out here an there

 

[soulseek]

(edit: Hey, meant to put the just the link, don't know why it posted his mug up there! User error, I assume)
Vic pinned his response right up top of the comments:
View attachment 705745

Well apparently there is some history there from Vic's part calling them names. Regardless the points Phil makes in his response are all valid.

 

[Brewdawg1181]

Well apparently there is some history there from Vic's part calling them names. Regardless the points Phil makes in his response are all valid.

Agreed- all valid. Well, some more than others - he did give passing props in a way for "completeness of package." But I guess my point was that I could probably say a dozen or so valid things a day that are far better left unsaid. Everyone else will make those points for him, so...
Doesn't matter who started it. I just think it diminishes him to respond so publicly (and incompletely- there's more he could have said, in a better way) to an obviously petulant, self-important non-professional with overt mad envy/jealousy.

 

[trollytrackz]

It's been forever since I've posted here. I picked one of these up from dash vapes in Canada. Previously had been using the ubertoot knock off mostly which is awesome, but I'm a big fan of big P so I thought I'd gove this a whirl!
First experiences.. ugh! Vice grips to get the base off, and needle nose pliers to get the post screws off without stripping them. A bit of lube to take away some crunchiness from the base. This probably all depends on the run you get.
After that, everything seems to be working great. No leaks so far.. easy build and looks good on my eleaf ipower 80w. Lots of flavour and easy filling. I'd agree with some other posters that this can be a slightly warm vape, however I tend to use the lowest wattage that gives me satisfaction. Currently running 10 watts which is really efficient, and is doing a great job. Thanks phil and pinky!

 

[52anddone]

Even though I doubt that I will get the Ares, I will continue to watch Phil, DJLsb, Anthony, Todd and a couple more, all for different reasons. Not Vic though, when I feel that a reviewer's own self interest is more important than mine, that's when I move on. It's my money that he is trying to get me to spend through his review, whether he knows it, or not.

I will watch several different reviewer's, and what they say about a piece of vape gear, consider what their style of vaping is, be it Lung Hits only, or Restricted Lung Hits, or MTL, and if they use High wattage, Medium Wattage, or Low Wattage, if they use a Tight Draw drip tip or one the size of a Hub Cap. Some of those Negatives they put on a piece of vape gear, might be positives for me, so I take all that into consideration.

But I have to feel that they are telling me the Unvarnished Truth about a product.

 

[access0denied]

Wow, I could spend days looking at all of the comments from this .... storm.

 

[52anddone]

This isn't the first time Vic has created controversy. Some folks like that kind of stuff, I don't. I just want to know what works, what doesn't, and why. If I want to watch "Soaps", I'll turn the TV on "General Hospital".

 

[Kusie]

And I get some seeping between the air adjuster and the top metal piece before the glass tube. Any ideas? Could it be condensation in the air adjuster?

Hi,

unfortunately I get some seeping from around the airflow ring, too. Mod is wet underneath the atty when I unscrew it so that´s not good. It´s definitely juice, not condensate. To be honest I´m not sure yet if it´s coming out of the airholes (I don´t have any gurgling so I don´t think there is much juice inside the air channel if any at all...) or if it´s leaking out where the glass tank touches the base... checked the o-ring and that no cotton is in the threads and all good... Does anyone know how to remove the airflow ring? Is that possible at all?

Hmmm... dammit.
K.

 

[soulseek]

Agreed- all valid. Well, some more than others - he did give passing props in a way for "completeness of package." But I guess my point was that I could probably say a dozen or so valid things a day that are far better left unsaid. Everyone else will make those points for him, so...
Doesn't matter who started it. I just think it diminishes him to respond so publicly (and incompletely- there's more he could have said, in a better way) to an obviously petulant, self-important non-professional with overt mad envy/jealousy.

And here is the difference between the two of them. In the newest video Phil put up, when making a brief list of top products for 2017 he named the Siren v1 and the now improved Siren v2...

 

[JUMA55]

I don't post ehre much but do read and wanted to chime in.

I think there is a lot of negativity in vaping period, and a lot of "foul play" in reviews. it happens when money gets involved. it's always bound to be that way. the old saying money is the root of all evil. I kinda caught the tail end of it all but from what i heard vic helped design the siren 2 so that could have played a factor. If true then essentially their vids are competing to sell products which directly make them money. I'm not a fan of reviewers reviewing their own product personally. I find it to be tacky. I'm currently designing an RTA and won't personally review it. a better way to go about it is to introduce it and explain the design choices and show how to build/use it. DJL with the aura was a perfect example. Heathen was an example of what not to do where he praised his own atomizer before anyone else had it and built up hype. No doubt in the effort of money. on top of that he "damaged controlled" by going to every non positive review and posting a copy/paste response on the review and then not responding to any reviewer who responded to him. It was classless.

Not only that but i feel there is an unwritten rule with reviewers to not trash other reviewers products (as if most aren't already shilling anyway) since most are buddy buddy with each other. i'm sure some reviewers also hate other one's. I know there was some drama with DJL and jai haze over the aura review that resulted in some nastyness. Jai has an RDA coming soon and i'm sure reviewers that dislike him or reviewers who products he trashed, will turn around and give it a poor review out of spite. in short, most people are pretty nasty especially when money is involved. unfortunate because an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. I think the whole review scene will reach a tipping point eventually. There is an inherent issue with reviews in general in every industry but vaping is probably the worst because of how the tree works where most of the big guys get paid directly from the manufacturers. where something like games it's a little more indirect but doens't stop reviewers from playing favorites. In short it's hard and rare to find fair reviews for anything and vaping is no different. it's the sole reason i started but i'm a small fish in a big pond with limited time making no money off of it. So i can only do so much personally.

I try and stay out of things and just focus on putting out good info but i'm not really happy with the ugliness lately and reviewers who i used to like prior to doing them, have really let me down as well. To the point where outside of friends of mine i really don't listen to reviews and that's pretty dam ironic. It doens't help either when the community attacks reviews who are trying to do good things out of spite or jealousy or whatever their issue is. couldn't really say. the more voices of reason we can get in vaping the better, but those are few and far between and in the end, it really points back to the community of who they support and don't support via social media and with their buying choices.

I guess I'm scum. I liked Vic's review, and I'll probably like the Ares eventually after I work with it more.

 

[stols001]

I am still leery as a lot of folks far more experienced than me seem to still have seepage issues. I am kinda hopeful for the drop in tank, but I'm not sure this RTA is for me and since I don't really need one, eh. But, there are equally folks that like it, I just prefer waiting a bit to find out about the other tank.

I guess reviewing is a cut throat business, and that's too bad. Although I will say I really watch reviews to figure out how to use my equipment, not what to buy, I prefer real life experience....

Anna

 

[ShaneR42]

....I guess reviewing is a cut throat business, and that's too bad. Although I will say I really watch reviews to figure out how to use my equipment, not what to buy, I prefer real life experience....

Yep. I rarely care about a reviewer's final verdict or opinion as so much in the industry is subjective. I watch the review to get a close look at the tank/mod to see if it matches up with my preference. If I ever decided to become a reviewer (will never happen) I'd cater exclusively to the newbies...they are the ones who need the most honest, and correct, info. We old-timers can make up our own danged mind....

 

[Jumpin' In...]

I saw Vic’s review of the Siren V2 before I saw his “review” of the Ares. Because his review of the Siren V2 was such an irritating “Me! I did it! My idea!” brag fest, I could not find his subsequent review of the Ares credible. Not to mention that in the latter he basically came out in attack dog (chihuahua? ) mode.

Just my .

I did find the anti-American post-video comments sadly interesting, though. Didn’t realize that so many of our allies from across pond felt that way.

Busardo did eventually “apologize” - or at least expressed regret - for posting.

 

[Jingles]

Hi,

unfortunately I get some seeping from around the airflow ring, too. Mod is wet underneath the atty when I unscrew it so that´s not good. It´s definitely juice, not condensate. To be honest I´m not sure yet if it´s coming out of the airholes (I don´t have any gurgling so I don´t think there is much juice inside the air channel if any at all...) or if it´s leaking out where the glass tank touches the base... checked the o-ring and that no cotton is in the threads and all good... Does anyone know how to remove the airflow ring? Is that possible at all?

Hmmm... dammit.
K.

Sadly, mine is now leaking under the base also. I think the juice is coming out of the airflow holes in my case. I had disassembled and cleaned the tank out yesterday and rewicked and filled with a new juice. I got a little gurgling at first, then the leaking started. Everything feels tight, so not sure what I possible did wrong. I haven't checked the Orings yet. That's next for me. Open for any suggestions...

 

[52anddone]

I saw Vic’s review of the Siren V2 before I saw his “review” of the Ares. Because his review of the Siren V2 was such an irritating “Me! I did it! My idea!” brag fest, I could not find his subsequent review of the Ares credible. Not to mention that in the latter he basically came out in attack dog (chihuahua? ) mode.

Just my .

I did find the anti-American post-video comments sadly interesting, though. Didn’t realize that so many of our allies from across pond felt that way.

Busardo did eventually “apologize” - or at least expressed regret - for posting.

Where's that Busardo link at Please, I would like to read it, I'm interested, and I haven't watched "General Hospital" in decades.

 

[ShaneR42]

As for reviewers, their own products, and reviews of same: what's that old saying...sometimes, the best course of action is to do nothing. Put the product out and let the chips fall. Say nothing in response to criticism. Just provide customer support.

As for Vic. I've been watching his reviews for a while and he's been one of the few reviewers I do watch. But, yeah, his review for Ares was certainly atypical for him...in so far as the format his reviews follow. Something was definitely "up", there. Either he had an axe to grind, or he just REALLY hated the tank and went off the rails. Ah well...time to move on.