I'm a little new to the vaping world and was thinking of picking up a new device but dont know which one I should get. Is a clone just a cheaper version of the real one or is there flaws in how it was made that will effect vape production? Also if you would recommend any devices I should be thinking of getting that would be a great help.
clone devices bad or good?
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It depends on the clone. There are a lot of videos on youtube and the like where people directly compare an authentic mod to a clone. Try to find some of those for the mod you're looking to get. Just make sure that the clone they are reviewing is from the same manufacturer as the clone you would end up buying. Sometimes more than one manufacturer will make a clone of the same mod, resulting in varying qualities. Clones can get extremely close in quality to the original, close enough to definitely justify purchasing at the 85% reduced price, give or take. I would recommend a Nemesis clone.
Just got my hcigar nemesis yesterday. It's sexy and powerful. I'd spent a lot of time researching as best I could the good vs bad clones. The 2 brands that I've found to have solid reviews time and again are hcigar and EHPro. Nice thing about clones is I can get 3 for the price of 1 original neme (that, and they're actually in Stock when I want one). I will probably end up with at least one original in my collection at some point but for now (almost 2 months into vaoing) I want so much of the stuff that I find I'm already spending enough money without buying a $250 battery tube.
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This is the thing that chaps my ... the most about vaping. The Steammonkey ZNA came out yesterday. They were available for 12 minutes before being sold out. Price doesn't bother me, but the fact that the nice mods are never available pisses me off and drives me to give my money to China.
If I want an eVic, I order one. If I want a Vamo, I order one. If I want a Nemmy clone, I order one (the one I wanted from royal vapes was out of stock... for a week). If I want a real Nemmy... well, good luck. If you see the announcement, and get lucky, you might get one of the 60 available. Same thing with DNA mods. I refuse to play that game.
HCigar clones have been nothing but good to me. My one Chi You had a firing pin issue, but my B&M sorted it out no problem.
There are good clones and there are bad clones. Sometimes the clones are better than the original.
Hcigar and EhPro make very good clones. Very often they are 1:1 clones and almost impossible to tell from the real thing.
Hcigar and EhPro make very good clones. Very often they are 1:1 clones and almost impossible to tell from the real thing.
I just got a fastech Nemesis clone and it is top notch, the threads are smooth as silk, it has a beautiful finish and hits like an express train. Get one.
I'm going to probably get trashed for my opinion, but I'm just being honest. I try to stay away from the clones. One thing I've learned is that you typically get what you pay for. So I don't mind paying a little more for the "real deal". To me it's two fold, the quality of an original is better and I'd rather my dollars go to the innovators instead of the copy cats. The innovators are the ones making these new devices and if they don't have the funds they can't continue to provide newer and better hardware. The people making the clones will move on to whatever they can copy and make a buck on, they bring nothing new to the market other than affordable knock offs. I'm not going to put down anyone who uses one however. If you can't afford a $100+ atty and only have a $30 clone that's working for you, that's fine. I'm not going to belittle you for using it. I'd just rather my dollars line the pockets of the people who are actually innovating and making better products instead of the opportunists.
I have an EHpro clone. I haven't had any problems with it and get great power from it. I paid about $60 for it at a local reputable shop and it came with an interchangeable center tube section for different sized batteries. Since this is my only mechanical mod I can't comment on how great a real one would be, but as a relative noob in this hobby I am very satisfied with this purchase.
I would be fine with that except that most of them are rip-off artists charging hundreds of dollars for a flashlight.
And let's be totally honest here, that's all a mech mod really is, a glorified flashlight. They works exactly the same way, the only real difference is the coil in your ecig vs the coil in a light bulb.
Will I pay $50 for a high quality flashlight? Yes.
Will I pay $200+ for a flashlight that may or may not be ever so slightly better quality? Oh hell no.
And that's what most of these mod-makers are doing. They are charging $200+ for a $50 flashlight.
The funny part is if you know what you're doing you could go to Home Depot or Lowes, pick up solid copper plumbing pipes and solid silver electric terminals and wires and produce your own flashlight that exceeds their $200+ ones for less than $50. These aren't complicated devices. There isn't some great magical design work going on. Original mods don't have any real performance improvement over a 1:1 clone that uses the same parts.
99 times out of 100 the only difference between the "original" and a clone mech mod is the tolerances in the parts. Clones typically have larger tolerances to allow more variances in manufacturing. However, a good clone like the hCigar is virtually identical to the real thing, and even experts cannot tell the difference without extremely careful examination.
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That's a good point to consider as well. I do think that anyone interested in a mech mod, particularly, should consider trying out with a clone (read reviews to get the "right" clones).
However, there's some of us here (umm, Hypatia raises her hand) that are the unlucky few that get bit in the .... by going the clone route. I just must have a knack for attracting Murphy's Law and getting bad "clones" of "clones" (yeah, that's a thing now
). If there's a clone with a crunchy fire button, bad threads, overall shoddy construction, this girl will find it. So, caveat emptor when delving into the clone world. There's good stuff out there, but until you've been in there for a while, read the reviews and tips from those who've experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly of the clones. Good luck and have fun
I also have a Tobeco clone of the KFL+ that I got from a reputable dealer (gotvapes) and it works as good as the orginial with only difference being mine uses and allen head from the side for air adjustment however Russian 91% slotted head air adj. screw fits fine as does all the parts for the KFL and most from the Russian.
what kinda question is that..are clones good or bad?...some good, some bad obviously..
Actually, the Maraxus clone i'm planning to order next week has Gold plated Pins, where as the original I BELIEVE has either Bronze or silver.
So in my personal opinion, SOME Clones are made even better than the originals, at 1/4 of the original price.
So in my personal opinion, SOME Clones are made even better than the originals, at 1/4 of the original price.
Yes, there are some crap clones - bad threading, finishes that flake off, wonky buttons and 510 connectors. It pays to do your homework. For me, it was a lower-risk way of trying out something before I really knew if I'd be interested in continuing.
I'm now running a Nemesis HCigar clone with a 3d auto dripper clone from vapingtech.net. I'm glad i did not pay full price for this setup (400$+).. functionality is the same and i only paid 90$ for my auto dripping setup
I'm not saying clones are bad for vaping and you'll have problems. Some of them are identical to the real deal, as you stated 1:1. As I haven't tried multiple clones, I can't say which ones are bad and which are good. Technically, a lot of them are identical to an original and difficult, if not impossible, to tell the difference between. A good clone will work for most folks, but to me you're stifling creativity by taking money away from those that innovate products and giving it those who are simply making a buck off of someone elses research and work. That's all I'm saying. They'll work, some better than others, YMMV.
Yes, they are basically flashlights, minus the LED. I have several flashlights, some of which have cost me more than $200. It's hard to compare a $20 thin aluminum flashlight running off of a single AAA battery sporting an LED that is as blue as Walter Whites recipe and only puts out 10 lumens to a $500 hand crafted titanium flashlight that's water proof, shock proof, and regulated with variable control of the brightness and has a white Cree XM-L LED that pumps out 240 lumens that will burn holes your retinas and is blinged out with multiple tritium vials. Okay, maybe that's hyperbole, but you get my point. They both are going to put out light, one is going to do it better and look better doing it. Most hobbies aren't cheap. Whether it's flashlights, watches, knives, RC, or vaping. The costs can escalate quite high for a model that's made from rare materials, innovative with a new design and functionality, or in limited supply/custom built - no matter which hobby it is that you're in to. As with anything like these, what's it worth to you? The answer is different for different people. To you, a flashlight could never be worth $200+, but to me, it can be. Same thing with vaping, most people will charge what the market will bring. If it's too high and people aren't buying, they'll drop the price. If they're able to sell at an inflated price, they'll charge more.
Or maybe I'm looking at this wrong. My hobbies include flashlights and knives, not necessarily vaping. I would love to get into watches, have a couple, but not enough to call it a hobby. Those things can be mega-expensive, well above my meager wages. But vaping isn't a hobby to me, it's a necessity to get me off of the stinky sticks. I think you're looking at vaping as a hobby, I know a lot of people here do. I think we're saying the same thing, or close to it, just coming at it from different directions. I'm not agreeing with your point of view, but I'm also not disagreeing with it.
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