I am reviewing the F4313 Carto Pipe from AZSmokefree.com
The Better Way To Smoke - New E-Pipe Kit with Cartomizers
This is my first order from this particular company. As for the company, service was very satisfactory. From ordering to delivery times, everything was handled quickly with no problems. The product arrived well packed in a standard flat-rate USPS box. The product was accompanied by a printed receipt and an neat little pen bearing the company's name. On a side note, the pen was quite nice. It has a LED light built into the top portion with a switch on the side.
As to the product, the Carto Pipe came in a black cut foam lined box. The box held the pipe body with a pipe stem (mouthpiece) attached, an additional stem, three cartomizers in plastic simulated wood colored tubes, an instruction manual, a charger, and two ICR18350 900mah batteries.
Externally, the pipe looks nearly identical to the ubiquitous DSE601 e-pipe and its numerous clones. The only readily identifiable difference is the gold colored band between the pipe stem and the wooden body. Instead of a smooth ring of the standard 601, this one is knurled. This is done for a purpose. With the 601, the stem was attached to the body by means of a simple friction fit. The stem of the Carto Pipe is threaded at it's base. The ring is used to screw on the stem, and a small pin protrudes from the pipe body and mates to a small index hole on the stems to ensure proper alignment.
The body is constructed of the same heavy lacquered wood as a 601. In fact, aside from the 510 non-sealed atomizer connector where the 601 pipe's atty would be, and the stem attaching ring, the Carto Pipe is basically a modified 601. Parts like the jewel caps and the battery connecters/screws are interchangeable between the models.
The pipe came with three older style cartomizers. The pipe appears designed to handle most cartos that have an overall length of around 1 7/8 inches. Unfortunately the supplied cartos were less than stellar performers. Frankly, they sucked. I don't have any clearomizers or cartos in that length to test. I am relatively certain that if any of the more modern generations of cartos in that length were used in this pipe, they would perform quite well.
The pipe has an auto switch, which is probably the same as on a standard 601. It activated easily and deactivated as it should.
If I weren't so desperate for a working e-pipe, I probably would have passed on this pipe and waited for the Janty version to appear. Since I am not much of a carto user, and only use them when out on long road trips, I would have little use for this pipe. I prefer to drip primarily.
I decided to perform a test using a standard 510 atty in the pipe. The problem is that the pipe's 510 connector is quite deep inside the pipe body. A standard sized drip tip makes the combo too long. However, a short style tip (I used a Super T shorty standard T-tip) attached to a standard length atty did work. The overall length was approximately an 8th of an inch shorter than the supplied carto.
There were two problems with this setup. First, the atty/tip combo being shorter caused the pipe stem to feel loose and wobble a bit. This was rectified by adding a thin fiber shim washer to the inside of the pipe/stem lockup ring. The second problem was that the pipe had an extremely light draw. Sort of like sucking in air through a drinking straw. No resistance at all.
This problem was rectified by taking one of the carto's silicone caps, cutting a tiny (tip of a pen) sized hole in the top, trimming a 16th of an inch off the bottom, and inserting it deep into the pipe stem. Through some trial and error, I was able to find a hole size that provided the level of resistance I am accustomed to. Now I can drip using this pipe with a standard or low-resistance 510 atty. Both of which worked quite nicely.
The downside is having to unscrew the stem every now and then to drip. It is sort of silly, considering that I have numerous other devices that can handle my vaping preferences with less hassle. However, I have always liked pipe smoking and miss it dearly. Perhaps later, I may find a cartomizer/clearomizer that functions with this device and alleviates the aforementioned hassle.
In conclusion, the Carto Pipe from AZSmokefree is possibly a fine PV if suitable cartos are used. If you are a pipe fan, and you weren't put off by the looks of the 601, you will probably be satisfied with this. With it's replaceble 510 atty/carto design, it overcomes the biggest design flaw of the 601 series. Hopefully some pipe fan who also likes cartos will pick one of these up and advise which cartos work best with it. I've tried the supplied cartos on a few of my other 510 based mods and have yet to get them to produce any acceptable vapor amounts.
Hope this helps,
Tinstar
The Better Way To Smoke - New E-Pipe Kit with Cartomizers
This is my first order from this particular company. As for the company, service was very satisfactory. From ordering to delivery times, everything was handled quickly with no problems. The product arrived well packed in a standard flat-rate USPS box. The product was accompanied by a printed receipt and an neat little pen bearing the company's name. On a side note, the pen was quite nice. It has a LED light built into the top portion with a switch on the side.
As to the product, the Carto Pipe came in a black cut foam lined box. The box held the pipe body with a pipe stem (mouthpiece) attached, an additional stem, three cartomizers in plastic simulated wood colored tubes, an instruction manual, a charger, and two ICR18350 900mah batteries.
Externally, the pipe looks nearly identical to the ubiquitous DSE601 e-pipe and its numerous clones. The only readily identifiable difference is the gold colored band between the pipe stem and the wooden body. Instead of a smooth ring of the standard 601, this one is knurled. This is done for a purpose. With the 601, the stem was attached to the body by means of a simple friction fit. The stem of the Carto Pipe is threaded at it's base. The ring is used to screw on the stem, and a small pin protrudes from the pipe body and mates to a small index hole on the stems to ensure proper alignment.
The body is constructed of the same heavy lacquered wood as a 601. In fact, aside from the 510 non-sealed atomizer connector where the 601 pipe's atty would be, and the stem attaching ring, the Carto Pipe is basically a modified 601. Parts like the jewel caps and the battery connecters/screws are interchangeable between the models.
The pipe came with three older style cartomizers. The pipe appears designed to handle most cartos that have an overall length of around 1 7/8 inches. Unfortunately the supplied cartos were less than stellar performers. Frankly, they sucked. I don't have any clearomizers or cartos in that length to test. I am relatively certain that if any of the more modern generations of cartos in that length were used in this pipe, they would perform quite well.
The pipe has an auto switch, which is probably the same as on a standard 601. It activated easily and deactivated as it should.
If I weren't so desperate for a working e-pipe, I probably would have passed on this pipe and waited for the Janty version to appear. Since I am not much of a carto user, and only use them when out on long road trips, I would have little use for this pipe. I prefer to drip primarily.
I decided to perform a test using a standard 510 atty in the pipe. The problem is that the pipe's 510 connector is quite deep inside the pipe body. A standard sized drip tip makes the combo too long. However, a short style tip (I used a Super T shorty standard T-tip) attached to a standard length atty did work. The overall length was approximately an 8th of an inch shorter than the supplied carto.
There were two problems with this setup. First, the atty/tip combo being shorter caused the pipe stem to feel loose and wobble a bit. This was rectified by adding a thin fiber shim washer to the inside of the pipe/stem lockup ring. The second problem was that the pipe had an extremely light draw. Sort of like sucking in air through a drinking straw. No resistance at all.
This problem was rectified by taking one of the carto's silicone caps, cutting a tiny (tip of a pen) sized hole in the top, trimming a 16th of an inch off the bottom, and inserting it deep into the pipe stem. Through some trial and error, I was able to find a hole size that provided the level of resistance I am accustomed to. Now I can drip using this pipe with a standard or low-resistance 510 atty. Both of which worked quite nicely.
The downside is having to unscrew the stem every now and then to drip. It is sort of silly, considering that I have numerous other devices that can handle my vaping preferences with less hassle. However, I have always liked pipe smoking and miss it dearly. Perhaps later, I may find a cartomizer/clearomizer that functions with this device and alleviates the aforementioned hassle.
In conclusion, the Carto Pipe from AZSmokefree is possibly a fine PV if suitable cartos are used. If you are a pipe fan, and you weren't put off by the looks of the 601, you will probably be satisfied with this. With it's replaceble 510 atty/carto design, it overcomes the biggest design flaw of the 601 series. Hopefully some pipe fan who also likes cartos will pick one of these up and advise which cartos work best with it. I've tried the supplied cartos on a few of my other 510 based mods and have yet to get them to produce any acceptable vapor amounts.
Hope this helps,
Tinstar
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