I have read so many reviews of the different personal vaporizers out there. Most veteran ECF users will always suggest the newcomers to go right on with a "pro" PV instead of wasting money by going through all the steps - usually from the rookie entry-level 510/KR808 to the bantam eGo-type PV and finally to the light-saber-sized variable-voltage professional vaper gear.
For a heavy smoker who wants to migrate to the electronic cigarette, I would have to agree. Jump right up to the pro stuff (Lava tube, Provari, etc.) you will be able to vape all day long with full-flavor and without any battery concerns
For a LIGHT SMOKER, like me who use to smoke half a pack a day... I realize that the ultra-mini "Colibri Nano 2012" was perfectly made for my needs!
SIZE:
This cigarette-sized PV truly is, as I write, the smallest e-cig in the world. I have read the expression "smallest e-cig in the world" on many vendor's websites... but they are all bigger than the Colibri Nano. The Blu, the Volcano, the Volt, the Chinese E8... they are all bigger than this. If, like it was the case for me, the small size of the e-cig you're looking to buy is overly important to you, I can tell you that you won't find anything better right now. It is so small - 3 1/4 inches long and with a diameter of 5/16th'' (83mm long, 7.8mm diameter) - you can hold it between your lips without your hand and it feels like a real king-size analog. It has nothing to do with the huge KR8/510 type (same size as the disposable e-cigs) PVs.
TASTE:
Before I do any review, I like to compare the product to other products so that I get the whole picture. I haven't tried all the PVs out there - I am not a power-reviewer - but I tried a few small-sized PVs. I just bought a V3 KR808 as a backup to my Colibri Nano... and after trying it, I got struck with the idea of reviewing the Nano for you guys:
It is assumed by many that the taste of the e-liquid tastes "better" with the KR808 cartomizer than with the 510 3-piece. I won't comment on this... but I can tell you that the taste I get from my Colibri Nano is the exact same I get from the KR808. By the way, my taste buds are great and efficient - I did quit analogs more than 2 years ago!
VAPOR PRODUCTION:
The KR8 makes more vapor than the Colibri Nano due to the size of the carto and I guess, the power of the battery. Although, with the right juice, the Colibri can be impressive vapor-production-wise. There are some video reviews on youtube that will show you how much vapor it can make even if it's a tiny vaporizer! And you should see my co-worker's face when they see me vape Alien Vision's Gorilla Juice or other VG-based e-liquids. Most people just can't believe what they see
BATTERY LIFE, PCC:
The Nano PCC is beautiful and in my opinion an essential item. Because of the small size of the battery, they don't last very long. I'd say they lasted about 4 hours in the first two weeks, but now they dramatically lost their longevity and they now last only around 2 hours (of chain-vaping). That's the main reason why this e-cig is not made for heavy analog smokers. Fortunately, the PCC works like a charm - and the charging time of the battery is about 2:30 hours so it's possible to vape all day by switching batteries. The PCC takes about 3:30 hours to charge and it lasts from 2 to 3 days for my use. I must admit that the KR8 are way better in term of longevity, but their PCCs are nothing like the classy Colibri transportable charger.
CARTOMIZERS:
The cartos are smaller than the usual so they only take 2/3 of the content of a KR8. I would say it takes 20 drops of e-juice instead of 30. They work well, but they do become hot when you over-vape. I boil them once in a while to clean them, and after 6 or 7 re-uses I am still not seeing any drop in taste or vapor-production quality. The pre-filled cartos from epuffer.com don't taste very good in my opinion. It's not horrible, and I guess some of you could enjoy their juices, but I now only buy blank cartos from them...
Since the product is new on the market, there are only two carto colors at the moment: Black or analog-filter yellow. There are no colored cartomizer tips either, which makes it hard to identify the different juices I put in the cartos. I made some small stickers to ID them, but sooner or later I hope the company will come out with more colors to help with the classification.
PRICE:
It cost me $79 for the starter kit, and about $10 for each pack of 5 cartos. It's expensive if you compare that to other e-cig PCC kits that are around $50... but for an extra $25 I think it's a good investment. The Nano is classy and subtle - if you don't want to attract attention when vaping in public... well it's made for you!
CONCLUSION:
We all have different backgrounds when it comes to vaping. If your main concern is battery life, throat hit and chain-vaping, get an eGo of Provari or anything "pro".
If you're an ex light smoker (analog) looking for a nice little cigarette-sized PV, you can go with the Volcano or the Volt and you will save about $25. If you're looking for the smallest, lightest and most analog-like e-cig, you will get what you're looking for with the Colibri Nano. In my opinion, it's as good as the KR8 but way smaller (I would say four times smaller in term of volume) but it does cost a little more and it's only good if you're planning to buy your e-juice and fill your cartos... because if you're planning to buy the pre-filled ones it will become quite expensive.
The only issue is battery life - which is not a real problem since the PCC is great, but I expect myself to order a new battery (around $30) in a few months just to extend the life of this jewel.
All and all, I think this little thing deserves to be known, and deserves to be yours if you're not planning to be a power-vaper!
I haven't seen any other written review of this product on the Internet yet, so I hope this will help!
Vape on!
For a heavy smoker who wants to migrate to the electronic cigarette, I would have to agree. Jump right up to the pro stuff (Lava tube, Provari, etc.) you will be able to vape all day long with full-flavor and without any battery concerns
For a LIGHT SMOKER, like me who use to smoke half a pack a day... I realize that the ultra-mini "Colibri Nano 2012" was perfectly made for my needs!
SIZE:
This cigarette-sized PV truly is, as I write, the smallest e-cig in the world. I have read the expression "smallest e-cig in the world" on many vendor's websites... but they are all bigger than the Colibri Nano. The Blu, the Volcano, the Volt, the Chinese E8... they are all bigger than this. If, like it was the case for me, the small size of the e-cig you're looking to buy is overly important to you, I can tell you that you won't find anything better right now. It is so small - 3 1/4 inches long and with a diameter of 5/16th'' (83mm long, 7.8mm diameter) - you can hold it between your lips without your hand and it feels like a real king-size analog. It has nothing to do with the huge KR8/510 type (same size as the disposable e-cigs) PVs.
TASTE:
Before I do any review, I like to compare the product to other products so that I get the whole picture. I haven't tried all the PVs out there - I am not a power-reviewer - but I tried a few small-sized PVs. I just bought a V3 KR808 as a backup to my Colibri Nano... and after trying it, I got struck with the idea of reviewing the Nano for you guys:
It is assumed by many that the taste of the e-liquid tastes "better" with the KR808 cartomizer than with the 510 3-piece. I won't comment on this... but I can tell you that the taste I get from my Colibri Nano is the exact same I get from the KR808. By the way, my taste buds are great and efficient - I did quit analogs more than 2 years ago!
VAPOR PRODUCTION:
The KR8 makes more vapor than the Colibri Nano due to the size of the carto and I guess, the power of the battery. Although, with the right juice, the Colibri can be impressive vapor-production-wise. There are some video reviews on youtube that will show you how much vapor it can make even if it's a tiny vaporizer! And you should see my co-worker's face when they see me vape Alien Vision's Gorilla Juice or other VG-based e-liquids. Most people just can't believe what they see
BATTERY LIFE, PCC:
The Nano PCC is beautiful and in my opinion an essential item. Because of the small size of the battery, they don't last very long. I'd say they lasted about 4 hours in the first two weeks, but now they dramatically lost their longevity and they now last only around 2 hours (of chain-vaping). That's the main reason why this e-cig is not made for heavy analog smokers. Fortunately, the PCC works like a charm - and the charging time of the battery is about 2:30 hours so it's possible to vape all day by switching batteries. The PCC takes about 3:30 hours to charge and it lasts from 2 to 3 days for my use. I must admit that the KR8 are way better in term of longevity, but their PCCs are nothing like the classy Colibri transportable charger.
CARTOMIZERS:
The cartos are smaller than the usual so they only take 2/3 of the content of a KR8. I would say it takes 20 drops of e-juice instead of 30. They work well, but they do become hot when you over-vape. I boil them once in a while to clean them, and after 6 or 7 re-uses I am still not seeing any drop in taste or vapor-production quality. The pre-filled cartos from epuffer.com don't taste very good in my opinion. It's not horrible, and I guess some of you could enjoy their juices, but I now only buy blank cartos from them...
Since the product is new on the market, there are only two carto colors at the moment: Black or analog-filter yellow. There are no colored cartomizer tips either, which makes it hard to identify the different juices I put in the cartos. I made some small stickers to ID them, but sooner or later I hope the company will come out with more colors to help with the classification.
PRICE:
It cost me $79 for the starter kit, and about $10 for each pack of 5 cartos. It's expensive if you compare that to other e-cig PCC kits that are around $50... but for an extra $25 I think it's a good investment. The Nano is classy and subtle - if you don't want to attract attention when vaping in public... well it's made for you!
CONCLUSION:
We all have different backgrounds when it comes to vaping. If your main concern is battery life, throat hit and chain-vaping, get an eGo of Provari or anything "pro".
If you're an ex light smoker (analog) looking for a nice little cigarette-sized PV, you can go with the Volcano or the Volt and you will save about $25. If you're looking for the smallest, lightest and most analog-like e-cig, you will get what you're looking for with the Colibri Nano. In my opinion, it's as good as the KR8 but way smaller (I would say four times smaller in term of volume) but it does cost a little more and it's only good if you're planning to buy your e-juice and fill your cartos... because if you're planning to buy the pre-filled ones it will become quite expensive.
The only issue is battery life - which is not a real problem since the PCC is great, but I expect myself to order a new battery (around $30) in a few months just to extend the life of this jewel.
All and all, I think this little thing deserves to be known, and deserves to be yours if you're not planning to be a power-vaper!
I haven't seen any other written review of this product on the Internet yet, so I hope this will help!
Vape on!
