NotCigs, maker of the Buzz—the industry's first variable-voltage device—has released their long-awaited Infinity, a device that, by their own admission, won't ring the bells or blow the whistles of vapers interested only in end-all, do-all bragging rights.
This is a niche PV, a refinement of the Buzz that gains striking, much-improved aesthetics without throwing the Buzz's VV workhorse tradition under the bus of progress: it has no LED voltage display, nor on-board juice-feed, nor an all-day battery life; it does have meat-and-potatoes VV functionality packed within a black-tie-affair exterior—and a $79.99 price tag, a cost factor as sure to be noticed as its beauty.
I unwrapped mine after finding it in my mailbox 72 hours after ordering it (kudos to both NotCigs and USPS on that). Notcigs has yet to professionally photograph it, so I only had point-and-shoot expectations to work with; I wasn't disappointed:
(Left hand and image courtesy of Bonivia; cartomizer and wedding ring not included)
Notcigs has settled on a black, brass or copper plating choice offering for the tube and end caps, fitted with either 510 or 901 connectors; I chose copper/copper, unsure of what sort of maintenance I was getting myself into. The upkeep will doubtless exceed that of black, but I'd have denied myself the WOW moment I got out of polished copper.
life is short. Smell the roses, and savor the WOW moments—even if it means buffing them up occasionally.
Once the glow had begun to subside, I began looking at finer, more practical details, the first of those being the voltage adjustment; the main knock on the Buzz has always been the need for a screwdriver to adjust its voltage output. Hence NotCigs has opted for a thumb-operated wheel; this had concerned me a little, not knowing how that would play out (a wheel easy to adjust might also go renegade in my pocket and adjust itself). Happily, the wheel has been positioned just inside the slot it inhabits; a little deliberate pressure with your thumb will rotate the wheel—but the key word there is deliberate. To wit, mine hasn't moved of its own volition.
The fire button is the same tried-and-true, 1,000,000-cycle switch found on the Buzz; unlike the Buzz, it doesn't sit in a recessed area, however. Although I've yet to hear that crackling sound of unintended, pocket-actuated ignition, the game is early.
Inevitably, there are drawbacks to a slender, sleek tube design; physics is physics. The dimensional restrictions cornered NotCigs into choosing 14430 batteries, an uncommon power source and even harder to find with button-tops, a requirement unless you don't mind using magnetic spacers (NotCigs has a large 14430 button-top stock custom-built to their specs @ $8 per set). The mAh rating of these doesn't appear in the website, nor is it printed on the batteries themselves; to this point, I'm getting 4-5 hours of moderate-to-heavy vaping from them.
Another limitation, applicable only to confirmed drippers such as myself, is the relatively small catch-cup. The conical top has a 45º countersink which plunges downward around the atomizer shaft, providing a functional, if small reservoir. Related to this is a somewhat tight draw if the atty is firmly screwd in; backing it out just slightly restores a free-flowing draw.
The atomizer connection is, of course, sealed; venting of the tube is provided by three openings in the base.
All matters of consequence considered, NotCigs has another winner on their hands. My next order of business will be to gauge public reaction, which I expect to be altogether different than the attention my black, sinister-looking Buzz has drawn; I'm sure most mod-owners are familiar with the narrowed brows of onlookers who don't know what you're doing but presume you're up to no good. I can't imagine that the Infinity, in all its glory, would be suspected of evil.
Edit: Since posting, I've learned that the tight-draw issue pertains only to some 510 models, and is the consequence of a manufacturing defect (the vendor contracted by NotCigs to machine the tubes bored the 510 connector openings deeper than specified); NotCigs is accepting the return of any affected units for rework: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/notcigs/155306-510-draw.html
This is a niche PV, a refinement of the Buzz that gains striking, much-improved aesthetics without throwing the Buzz's VV workhorse tradition under the bus of progress: it has no LED voltage display, nor on-board juice-feed, nor an all-day battery life; it does have meat-and-potatoes VV functionality packed within a black-tie-affair exterior—and a $79.99 price tag, a cost factor as sure to be noticed as its beauty.
I unwrapped mine after finding it in my mailbox 72 hours after ordering it (kudos to both NotCigs and USPS on that). Notcigs has yet to professionally photograph it, so I only had point-and-shoot expectations to work with; I wasn't disappointed:
(Left hand and image courtesy of Bonivia; cartomizer and wedding ring not included)
Notcigs has settled on a black, brass or copper plating choice offering for the tube and end caps, fitted with either 510 or 901 connectors; I chose copper/copper, unsure of what sort of maintenance I was getting myself into. The upkeep will doubtless exceed that of black, but I'd have denied myself the WOW moment I got out of polished copper.
life is short. Smell the roses, and savor the WOW moments—even if it means buffing them up occasionally.
Once the glow had begun to subside, I began looking at finer, more practical details, the first of those being the voltage adjustment; the main knock on the Buzz has always been the need for a screwdriver to adjust its voltage output. Hence NotCigs has opted for a thumb-operated wheel; this had concerned me a little, not knowing how that would play out (a wheel easy to adjust might also go renegade in my pocket and adjust itself). Happily, the wheel has been positioned just inside the slot it inhabits; a little deliberate pressure with your thumb will rotate the wheel—but the key word there is deliberate. To wit, mine hasn't moved of its own volition.
The fire button is the same tried-and-true, 1,000,000-cycle switch found on the Buzz; unlike the Buzz, it doesn't sit in a recessed area, however. Although I've yet to hear that crackling sound of unintended, pocket-actuated ignition, the game is early.
Inevitably, there are drawbacks to a slender, sleek tube design; physics is physics. The dimensional restrictions cornered NotCigs into choosing 14430 batteries, an uncommon power source and even harder to find with button-tops, a requirement unless you don't mind using magnetic spacers (NotCigs has a large 14430 button-top stock custom-built to their specs @ $8 per set). The mAh rating of these doesn't appear in the website, nor is it printed on the batteries themselves; to this point, I'm getting 4-5 hours of moderate-to-heavy vaping from them.
Another limitation, applicable only to confirmed drippers such as myself, is the relatively small catch-cup. The conical top has a 45º countersink which plunges downward around the atomizer shaft, providing a functional, if small reservoir. Related to this is a somewhat tight draw if the atty is firmly screwd in; backing it out just slightly restores a free-flowing draw.
The atomizer connection is, of course, sealed; venting of the tube is provided by three openings in the base.
All matters of consequence considered, NotCigs has another winner on their hands. My next order of business will be to gauge public reaction, which I expect to be altogether different than the attention my black, sinister-looking Buzz has drawn; I'm sure most mod-owners are familiar with the narrowed brows of onlookers who don't know what you're doing but presume you're up to no good. I can't imagine that the Infinity, in all its glory, would be suspected of evil.
Edit: Since posting, I've learned that the tight-draw issue pertains only to some 510 models, and is the consequence of a manufacturing defect (the vendor contracted by NotCigs to machine the tubes bored the 510 connector openings deeper than specified); NotCigs is accepting the return of any affected units for rework: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/notcigs/155306-510-draw.html
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