Digiflavour Pharaoh Mini review

[Vapeweazel]

Some words about me first...

Normally I do reviews in German forums, but I thought it could be interesting for some vapors here, too, and so i translated this review to share them on ecf.
My interest was drawn to this forum when I followed TheBloke’s first steps on the way of ‘tc beyond Ni200’ and I always like to read about Mooch’s new battery experiences, so I'm present here for some time already. Excuse me for my English, but that’s not my native language

I would appreciate some feedback, if you prefer to read more of my reviews, or if you think “Cobbler, stick to thy last, and stop blaming us with your horrible English and useless information”.

Enough with explaining my motivations, let’s get started.


For me as an absolute Pharaoh (rta) fan this review is a duty, and so today the story of the little brother, the Pharaoh Mini RTA, will be told.

Everzon was the first to shine with availability, and so the heavily pigmented Egyptian started his journey for $24 + shipping, the silver version is slightly ($1) cheaper.
Digiflavor Pharaoh Mini RTA Everzon

Note: click enlarges pictures!

Packaging
The same type of sarcophagus that bedded the other Pharaohs, is also the resting place for the family’s youngest member. He shares his golden bed with the 2 and 5 ml glasses and among them the operating instructions and two plastic bags with the rest of the accessories are stored.



Accessory
There are two versions of the Pharaoh Mini, a normal and TPD compliant one (2ml restriction and "evil nicotine" print to keep e.g. the UK restrictions). I ordered the unrestricted version, items in red letters are not included in the restricted/TPD version:

1x Mini Pharaoh RTA
1x manual in several languages, including English
1x 510'er drip tip adapter (stainless steel)
1x replacement glass 2ml
1x 510'er drip tip (black)
1x 810'er wide bore drip tip (red)

1x replacement glass 5ml
1x chimney extension
1x chamber lock
1x chamber key
1x T-tool (Phillips / slotted)
18x replacement O-rings
4x springs for the terminal
3x spare screws for the terminals
Optional: Velocity style deck (not yet released)



Specification
Height with standard drip tip: 47.5mm (56mm long version)
Diameter: 24mm
Liquid capacity: 2 ml (5ml long version)
Available colors: black, silver
Weight: net 66g (72g long version)

Design and function
Rip Trippers signature, CE marking, serial number, etc. border a 510'er whose gold plated positive pin ends right in the deck. The Airflow ring can be adjusted in five locking positions. The small size of the mini compared to the normal Pharaoh takes its toll, and so the deck is noticable smaller. On the very right picture you can see the mini deck (right) compared to one belonging to the regular Pharaoh (left).



The proven post design with the spring loaded clamps and a broad air inlet consisting of three rectangular openings are showing up, but the air grating with much more limited surface and also the size reduced cotton pockets on the sides give a guess that this device is made to run at a significantly lower power level than the big brother.



Since there is no top airflow embedded, nothing extraordinary is to be discovered in the chamber. The tank of the TPD version doesn’t look like a big liquid depot. The next part in this eamination is the threaded top cap, whose other side is designed to fit Geekvape’s (and other manufacturer’s) wide bore drip tips.




I forced by the 20pics/post restriction to make a break here...

 

[Vapeweazel]

...follow-up

To upgrade the Mini to 5 ml capacity, the chimney lock must be unscrewed with the chimney key. After that, the tank cap can be removed and the chimney extender can be attached.



After swapping the 5 ml for the 2 ml glass, the tank cap gets mounted again and is fixed with the long chimney lock. Now we have the big tank version. The only deeper meaning in the chimney locking i can see in the fact that you can’t accidentally unscrew the tank during filling or rebuilding. Nice to have, but to me not a must have. If there would a cheaper option without "chimney lock", I would have no problem in choosing the version without - but what you've got, you've got.



So, one more decision left: included is a honey-colored PEI Rip Tip (not a typo *g* - you can spot it below on the image with the VT75C), which completely goes down to the top cap’s surface, another red wide bore drip tip that extends the metal drip tip base the same way you can see at the Zeus RTA, and a 510 one, that is installed using the 510 adapter (this one is made from stainless steel instead of the usual plastic version this time).



In practice
A 4 mm coil jig and 26/30ga Clapton wire lead to a 6 turns spaced coil in the first attempt - but that's pretty tight. It would precisely fit this way, but there wouldn’t be much space to let the air pass at the sides. So I change to a 3.5 mm coil jig and treat one more turn – better now. Also, the Muji Scottish Roll that I use sits very tight in the juice channels, so I have to slightly trim the ends to avoid problems with the liquid flow. In the last step the cotton gets moistened and some sticking out cotton fibers get modelled back into the deck - and off you go.



I didn’t test the real capacity of the 2 ml version, but the extended version feels good with a maximum of 4.5 ml, I would refrain from filling it with 5ml, because not leaving an air bubble in the tank initially can lead to the cotton running dry at the first puffs. The threads run smooth, I can’t smell any traces of machine oil, and even after several tank fillings I can’t find a sign for any leakage problems. The only point to be mentioned in the category workmanship is, that the AFC ring has little play vertically, but this doesn’t detract from the function; and unlike the other predecessors with an identical afc ring, the little Pharaoh won’t begin to whistle, if you reduce the air supply.
The pulling resistance at wide-open afc is located about halfway between Pharaoh RTA and the small Ammit. For me, he could still pass a little more air, but I find it quite acceptable on the whole. The Clapton build runs pretty well at 30-35W and produces a delicious vapor, it can easily be operated up to 50W without getting problems with the liquid flow, but I find this setup more tasty running it at lower power.

In order to check the RTA’s skills at lower power levels, my second build is a 40ga SS316 spaced dual coil. I could have taken an ordinary single coil, but I wanted to show a tip to place dual coils accommodate in clamp decks without getting a headache out of it. Building both coils keeping them connected through a loop the middle, you can align them evenly without always slipping a coil when you try to fasten the other one.



The setup is about 10 watts below the Clapton build, in the range from 20 to 25 watts to be more accurate, and tastes very intense, but I would prefer using this with fruit liquids, because it's lacking the subtle nuances that are generated by a Clapton with the custard liquid I have in the tank. And so this coil gets kicked, and the first wrapping comes to work again.
By the way, the choice of the drip tip essentially only affects the appearance - the 510 drip tip doesn’t decrease the airflow noticeable.

The matching mod
The VT75C would probably match the finish of the silver version, but as long as I only own the black Mini - i don't think so (also this is the home of my silver Zeus – he wouldn’t be amused *g*). The Sigelei 213 and Kaos are unused for some time, but somehow I don’t like any of them with the Pharaoh on top.



Another newcomer in my vaping collection, the GTRS VBoy, convinces with a similar matte finish, and after I found some blue accents in my accessory boxes, the matching throne is found. The blue drip tip feels a little bit overdressed in my opinion, futhermore does the stainless steel section feel somehow distracting. And therefore it should be the option on the right picture. Mission complete.



Conclusion
The Mini clearly isn’t a pocket-sized version of the regular Pharaoh, or the Griffin AIO - the overall concept is designed for lower power builds. Because I usually vape in the range from 30 to 40 watts, for me the difference isn’t severe, only the higher draw resistance makes me place the regular Pharaoh RTA on a higher ranking than the Mini version on my personal top ten – I like the more breezy way. But I think that the very fact that the Mini is not as airy, bulky and hungry for power as its big brother precisely is the reason to appeal many vapors that dislike the growing trend of vaping with more and more power. And who thinks that Clapton & Co. are absolute nonsense, will certainly find a suitable setup in the lower power range that can undercut my 26ga build with a less power consuming setup and still get a great taste from this well performing atomizer .


But perhaps the velocity style deck covers the possibility for a slightly airier draw, unfortunately I could not spot this in any shop, but once it falls into my hands, I'll report my impressions.

 

[Vapeweazel]

I've been visited by the typo gremlin: The 316 wire used for the dual coil build is not 40ga, it's 0,40mm/26ga.