Maxi Roughstack, Silver Bullet, or Chuck?

[mortios]

I think I finally have my car sold to get a new motorcycle. I'm also looking to treat myself for my birthday with a little bit of the leftover cash and get a new PV. The Maxi Roughstack, the Silver Bullet, and the Chuck are the ones I'm considering with around a @100.00 budget . I'm looking for some input from owners of one or more of them to help make up my mind.

My thoughts so far....

Maxi Roughstack: What can I say, Madvapes is my go to vendor. The cheapest of the bunch and looks built like you could drive a tank over it. I don't like the top mounted button though because I'd like to try out a map tank. I also don't like the fact they are out of stock. *nudge, nudge, wink, wink guys* Yay for 6 volts.

Chuck: Personalized graphics is just plain neat and would let the artist in me run wild. I haven't got to do much sketching or flash work lately so it would give me a chance to play around. Again, yay for 6v. batteries and charger supplied by Madvapes, so I'd still be giving them a little bit of my business too.

SB: Two words...o0o, shiny. IMO by far the best looking of the three, and I just found out tonight that Altsmoke is a local company. New Philly is only about a 70 mile drive and a great ride on the bike. Here's what I don't know though; Can you push the SB up to six volts or is it STRICTLY a 3.7v device?

OR....should I just save up another $50 or $100 and get a Provari?

 

[cskent]

Well maybe I can give some input since I own two of those devices.

The Maxi Roughstack @ $50 is about the lowest price you'll find for a metal (as in not a boxmod) 18650 unit. What can I say, it works. It looks like a pipe bomb but hey, you can paint it or add graphics yourself if you're into that sorta thing. It's built pretty tough and you don't have to worry about dropping it and putting a ding in it or anything cause it's ugly anyway. I like the top mounted button, but it's kinda cheap feeling. I used mine for several months and had no complaints, until I got:

The Silver Bullet, much better build quality, although a higher price to boot. The aluminum is probably about 50% thicker in the tube walls. You can get several finishes, I chose silver vein and it's nice. It gives some texture to the surface so it's not as slippery. The side mounted button doesn't feel cheap at all, rather solid actually. But I do prefer the location of a top mounted button as it fits my style of holding my PV better. The thing is rock solid, but probably close to twice as heavy as the Roughstack. Great choice and this is the one I'd recommend if you can only buy one mod in your price range.

One thing the guys at Altsmoke did was educate me on batteries. I was using Ultrafire 3000 mah batt's that I got from Madvapes when I got my Maxi Roughstack. It turns out that they're low drain batt's. They don't discharge fast enough to get the full effect. I put a high drain Ultrafire from Altsmoke in the SB and man 'o man, does it kick out the vapor. Running a 1.5 ohm LR this thing probably puts out double the vapor compared to the Roughstack. It's actually so much that I'm thinking of reducing my nic level as I'm getting nauseous. But, those high drain batt's won't fit in the tube of the Roughstack. They're just a little bit larger diameter and won't go in there without forcing it. You can run the SB at 6 v if you want to but it's not recommended by the manufacturer (for liability reasons I'm pretty sure). The device is capable of it though just as the Roughstack is and for the same reasons. But if you get those high drain batt's and run a 1.5 ohm LR I don't think you'd need to go to HV.

The SB is taller than the Roughstack by about 1/2 inch. It's also larger in diameter by about 1/8 inch. If you have small hands take that into account. Overall the SB wins in every category except price. If you can afford it that's my recommendation between the two. I have no experience with the Chuck but from what I've read about them they're good too but someone else will have to fill you in on those.

Since you're close enough you might want to consider driving up to their store. They're only an hour away from me so I just drove over there and picked one out. I also looked at the Omega and it's a really nice unit too, but to activate it you have to push the whole top unit down and it doesn't have a lock. I carry my vape in my pants pocket and I was afraid that it would activate accidentially. Other than that I would have got one of those instead. They're built as well as the SB, but they're all mechanical.

Well, that was a long winded response. I hope it helps. If you have any more questions just ask.

 

[mortios]

Having spent the last few hours on Youtube watching various reviews I think I'm going to go pay Rob and the rest of Altsmoke a visit on Monday and check out the SB and the Omega. Thanks for your insight Cskent; far from being long winded that's exactly the kind of response I was hoping for, comprehensive and well informed.

 

[Kreep]

Having spent the last few hours on Youtube watching various reviews I think I'm going to go pay Chad and the rest of Altsmoke a visit on Monday and check out the SB and the Omega. Thanks for your insight Cskent; far from being long winded that's exactly the kind of response I was hoping for, comprehensive and well informed.

I agree. One of the best directed responses I've seen yet.

 

[Stownz]

If you really want to treat yourself, and save yourself time and money in the future, I'll give you a hint.

 

[Jason_in_nc]

I have a roughstack and it's my go-to device. The top-mounted button is pretty easiy to get used to. Most people seem to assume that you "have" to use your thumb to activate it, but it's just as easy to use your index finger. You can also get an atomizer extension and use just about any atty on the roughstack. I've used the ego cone on mine... just needed the extension.

One thing to consider, if your switch ever goes out on the other devices, from what I understand, you'll have to send them back for repair. With the roughstack, $12 and a couple days shipping and you'll have another switch that you can pop in yourself.

 

[cskent]

The Roughstack is user serviceable which is an advantage. The Silver Bullet is not, but the parts used to build it are far superior and it is sealed once you screw the head unit on. My Maxi Roughstack apparently is not sealed as I keep getting juice buildup inside it on top of the circuit board. The switch is also not sealed and juice gets inside it as well. I've had to remove the circuit board to clean it more than once.

The all mechanical Omega is user serviceable also. If you're concerned about replacing parts yourself in the future consider the Omega. It's built every bit as good, if not better, than the SB and the cost is only $15 more. That would have been my first choice if there were a built in lock to prevent accidental actuation.

 

[bones1274]

Check out the REO Grand. It does everyhing you are looking for.

 

[MuddyWaterMan]

I have to agree wholeheartedly whith cskent. I have never used the roughstack but I DO have a BSB and a CHUCK. Between these two the SB wins hands down. The button is FAR superior, unit feels more solidly built, I must say that Altsmoke has knocked it out of the park with this one! I have several MODs from Vapormoon and I LOVE them but will never, NEVER get rid of my BSB. Just my two cents


Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.

 

[Jason_in_nc]

Almost forgot...have you looked into the pre-made tube mods from Madvapes? Side mounted button, sealed connector... $45


I'm all about cheap mods. Heh.

 

[mortios]

I actually have plans for getting the acrylic shell and building one of the tube modes and getting one of the acrylic PTs, or possibly just making a PT out of the acrylic tube. I'm all about cheap stuff that works myself. The problem is they are out of everything right now and I don't feel like waiting. I really should spend less time stalking that website...
At this point I've removed the Chuck from the list because I don't really like the look of the switch on it so I'm swinging back and forth between the SB and Omega. The SB is appealing because the button placement suits my what I'm used to with my Infernos, (button toward me trigger with thumb) but with the Omega being all mechanical and me having fingers of butter and fists of ham that might be a better route. I'm going to have to wait until I actually head up to Altsmoke's store and get my grubby lil paws on both of them to make up my mind though.

 

[mortios]

On a quick side note I do think I am going to get a Maxi Roughstack for a "toolbox PV" in a couple months. I scrapped getting a bike for the time being after I found an old F250 4x4 for $75. I'm doing a frame up rebuild on it when it warms up and think the Roughstack fits the bill for that perfectly.

 

[mortios]

Does anybody have a map tank in use on an Omega? Does the top mounted switch make it a pain to use?

 

[MuddyWaterMan]

It isn't a to mounted switch. The WHOLE top is the switch. I personally haven't but really don't see where it would be an issue. Just have to use 2 fingers to activate instead of hooking one over the top maybe.

 

[mortios]

That's what I meant about the top being the switch. I saw a picture of an Omega with a map tank on it and it looked like it covered the whole top of the device.