Importance of mods/batteries vs Toppers. Do we have it wrong?
- Thread starter Benzin
- Start date
- th_trl_thread_readers 0
- Status
I got to agree with the original post overall/ the vape is only as good as the weakest link. I think the mod gets more attention because of its price. For most people a quality mod is their largest upfront costs. I know some toppers cost more than a "cheaper" mod but people paying 140 for a topper usually have an expensive mod. All that to say I was much more concerned over the 100-200 dollar mod than the 5-40 dollar topper. Why? Cause I can always get another topper cheaper than replacing the mod. I will say I've taken the same topper from one device and placed on another and can often tell a difference. The dif between a pro tank and a carto is much more significant though.
I agree with most of the sentiments in your post, but I would disagree with this statement. Spend a few hours looking through the New Members section and you will see as many topper fanbois as there are mod fanbois.
I see it every day. Some member comes in to ask why they are getting a burnt taste with their 'X' topper and I almost guarantee that someone else will come along and say "just buy a 'x' brand topper" offering no other advice other than to purchase something else.
It's not helpful and it annoys me.
OK, I feel better now. Carry on.
I've been trying to coax my finicky vv/vw to throw out a good hit with the carto I'm using for most of the day.... I got my g/f a 1100 eGo to replace her 350 (sigh) eGo's and she wondered if the eGo would fire her EVOD (to which I replied "yes") because it is so much "bigger" than the nova bottom coil tanks we use sometimes. I think most people think they need big power to the tune of 2000 or more mAh to run their set-ups. I agree that the topper is very important in getting the right quality you may be looking for but the mods/batts do play an important part in the experience. For example, back to my opening statement, I took my 6ml dual coil carto of the vv/vw and put it on one of my 900mAh eGo's and got the best vape out of it I have had all day. A $10 battery has bested the $110 electro-wonder. Who would have thought?
I have been saying that the topper was the most important part for many months now. Glad to see others are also seeing the same thing.
Nope. I've always thought the topper was the more critical part of a good vape. A well built, reliable PV is necessary of course. But if the topper of bad design it's still going to be a sucky vape.
I would agree, to a certain point -- I found such a huge and awful difference between the iClear16's that came with my iTaste and the T3S I had to go and buy, I will *never* use another top-coil clearo.
However:
I like my "variable" iTaste because I can customize the power output -- I can't handle throat hit in the morning, and yeah to a large extent that's up to the juice, but less power usually means less throat hit, too. Conversely, if the TH seems a bit weak at times, I can crank it up and get more enjoyment from the same device.
I'm also starting to come around to the "mechanical" mindset because of all the gov't buffoons trying to make it hard for vapers; most low-tech stuff can outlast high-tech, and it's easier to fix if you need to -- if an electronic thing breaks, you can change chips (if you can get them, and you know how), or you can change batteries (if your device supports it, and if you can get them), or you throw it away and buy another (if you can get them!); if a mechanical thing breaks, you fix it. In my family, we've probably used up/gone thru about 50 CD players in the last 20 yrs. But the phonograph we bought 26 yrs ago still works just fine -- when there's enough lightning in the area to make it hazardous to use electronic devices (unless you just WANT to have to replace them), we play records.
Also consider the effect of an EMP on our electronic PVs. We all hope there will never be an EMP, but hey, the possibility exists.
Other than those reservations, I would say that yes, the topper/atomizer does play a more significant role in enjoyment of our various devices -- I will *never* use another top-coil clearo!
Andria
However:
I like my "variable" iTaste because I can customize the power output -- I can't handle throat hit in the morning, and yeah to a large extent that's up to the juice, but less power usually means less throat hit, too. Conversely, if the TH seems a bit weak at times, I can crank it up and get more enjoyment from the same device.
I'm also starting to come around to the "mechanical" mindset because of all the gov't buffoons trying to make it hard for vapers; most low-tech stuff can outlast high-tech, and it's easier to fix if you need to -- if an electronic thing breaks, you can change chips (if you can get them, and you know how), or you can change batteries (if your device supports it, and if you can get them), or you throw it away and buy another (if you can get them!); if a mechanical thing breaks, you fix it. In my family, we've probably used up/gone thru about 50 CD players in the last 20 yrs. But the phonograph we bought 26 yrs ago still works just fine -- when there's enough lightning in the area to make it hazardous to use electronic devices (unless you just WANT to have to replace them), we play records.
Also consider the effect of an EMP on our electronic PVs. We all hope there will never be an EMP, but hey, the possibility exists.
Other than those reservations, I would say that yes, the topper/atomizer does play a more significant role in enjoyment of our various devices -- I will *never* use another top-coil clearo!
Andria
I've gotten some of the best vapes off of a $5.50 fasttech passthru. (Of course, it was plugged into a $1200 laptop, which was plugged into the wall. But even so, 5 volts is 5 volts!)
yep. didn't take much to figure out i'm stepping up my topper game as i progress instead of just buying new mods or batteries that catch my eye. my topper to mod ratio is 2 to 1 and climbing.
Im shure ther are plenty posts with "arbitrary" or akward recomendations & opinions on toppers as you mention, but im talking about 20+ page debates with anger, insults and just plain text fights, often requiring moderator intervention, like the ones you see about mods!
topper design, engineering and user set up is way more critical than the power source. We love mods because they are the part we hold and look at..the real work is where the juice cooks 
.
took me almost six years to find the topper that works best for me.
still love the bottom parts but honestly if push comes to shove I could put one together in my garage. I couldn't do that with the top part so easily.
.took me almost six years to find the topper that works best for me.
still love the bottom parts but honestly if push comes to shove I could put one together in my garage. I couldn't do that with the top part so easily.
Give this a try...
Put your variable gadget into VV mode and turn it down as low as it will go. Sometimes you can go a little lower in VV mode (below 5w) than you can in VW mode.
Over the years I've found that quite a few toppers out there do quite well if you can turn them down to 3.2v or lower. Go over 3.7v and they can get pretty bad unless you know how to custom wick them for the extra heat. Such toppers were designed for low power with slow air flow in the first place...yet folks crank them up to +5v or over 10 watts and complain that they taste dry/burnt.
Last edited:
Totally agree with you Benzin. I've often wondered this point as I've been going through my vape journey. Hope this will make people think twice before making future/$$$ decisions. This should also be posted in the New Members Forum. Thx!!
I'll vote the topper (and juice) as way more important than the battery holder. RBA's changed my whole vape experience.
For me the atomizer has always been the weak link in vaping. Rebuilding seems to have nullified most of those negatives. As long as my batt holder delivers the electricity I need I'm happy with it.
I like my Nemesis clone but would love it to have a Silver Bullet type button. It is what it is.
For me the atomizer has always been the weak link in vaping. Rebuilding seems to have nullified most of those negatives. As long as my batt holder delivers the electricity I need I'm happy with it.
I like my Nemesis clone but would love it to have a Silver Bullet type button. It is what it is.
Last edited:
Very good point Benzin and I agree, as long as the power supply can produce the required power for your vape as scylla mentioned too. There is the issue of people preferring bottom feeders and that lives in the power supply, but if you put a lousy topper on that it will lose a lot of performance also.
I think the reason we don't have the ultra heated and sometimes frequent debates about toppers is that they come and go more often than popular PVs and there are so many of them compared to PVs there are not large enough groups of people involved with any one product.
I think the reason we don't have the ultra heated and sometimes frequent debates about toppers is that they come and go more often than popular PVs and there are so many of them compared to PVs there are not large enough groups of people involved with any one product.
1-In a bottom feeder, the tank does not have to live inside a box with the power supply?
There's no reason the power can't be a detachable outside piece; somebody's going to make one with the tube attaching on the side just so you can put whatever tube you want.
2-One reason toppers aren't so hot a topic yes is because they come and go, or perhaps more specifically, they are still undergoing rapid development; it's only last year AIRFLOW started being more properly engineered into toppers; there was the ego-cc, emode etc, and the aerotank and nautilus. Another reason is that toppers have tended to be simple CHEAP and often mass produced plastic, and even a lot of disposables
Hear hear! I totally agree, my vamo v5 is no different than a caravelaa because they both have to pass RMS standards, the only thing setting them apart is the darn "mean/average" setting that some manufactures are putting their mods to give a little extra power (personally I don't want extra power, I want "precisely" what I'm selecting) to "outdo" others during reviews (my theory anyway, long live RMS!) I've always had this thought and I agree that basically all the useful technology is on top, I've been studying chamber design, and post arrangements (whether they are welded or not too) and even the insulation that toppers use because I really think they play a key role. I've been having an amazing time with my zenith dripper and I think it's because of the delrin they use to insulate the heat from the drip tip/keep it in, it's little things like that which make all the difference. With carto's, my 15$ aspire et-s out-performs my 30$ nautilus because it simply has less problems, and is just setup right, I'm not quite sure why though
. Thanks for posting this, I wanted to say the same thing recently but I was afraid of the judgement I might create lol.
Hear hear! I totally agree, my vamo v5 is no different than a caravelaa because they both have to pass RMS standards, the only thing setting them apart is the darn "mean/average" setting that some manufactures are putting their mods to give a little extra power (personally I don't want extra power, I want "precisely" what I'm selecting) to "outdo" others during reviews (my theory anyway, long live RMS!) I've always had this thought and I agree that basically all the useful technology is on top, I've been studying chamber design, and post arrangements (whether they are welded or not too) and even the insulation that toppers use because I really think they play a key role. I've been having an amazing time with my zenith dripper and I think it's because of the delrin they use to insulate the heat from the drip tip/keep it in, it's little things like that which make all the difference. With carto's, my 15$ aspire et-s out-performs my 30$ nautilus because it simply has less problems, and is just setup right, I'm not quite sure why though
Since you mentioned insulators a few times there, I thought it was worth pointing out that the GP Sphereoid, is so far the only tank I have seen that boasts FDA APPROVED INSULATORS!!
Which raises another point about toppers; not only are there alot of engineering problems involved to have them work properly, there are also the human biology/biochemistry SAFETY issues.
As for cartos, the early attempts at ecigs would have been the cigalikes, and the cartos would have benefited from that history; basically the carto system has a longer history.
I think the main reason you don't get the heated debate is that there are no toppers that are considered a "status symbol" with a devoted following. Lots of people like the Kayfun/Russians but they are just not fanatical about it. Also there is nothing out there that people can definitively say "just get one now, you will eventually anyway".
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked
