Let me begin by telling you that this is my first full review of a product, and I am pulling no punches here. I have no affiliation with any vendor I am just giving my 100% honest opinion of this PV. Forgive me if I ramble a bit, as I am not the greatest writer in the world.
I was going to post an initial review of this model after un-boxing and filling it for the first time, but I did not. Why? Well, I was actually a bit disappointed at first, but I wanted to give this a chance before I posted a negative review. Now 24 hours later I will be retiring all my other PVs and will be using this model only. I actually will be buying an Ultra Max next payday.
Why was I disappointed at first when I know there is a learning curve with new devices especially with a high caliber mod like this reservoir kit? I dont know I was having a bad day, and just wasnt happy about anything yesterday.
The packaging was nice nothing to write home about, but a nice box. Pictures below show everything that came with the Ultra Advanced Kit. I took it all apart, filled the RES unit the way the Manual explained to put it together and hit on it the first time, and was not happy with the tightness of the draw. I prefer a much airier draw on my PVs. I was wondering immediately if I made a huge mistake spending the money on this PV. As I used the device I started to figure out that I had way overfilled the RES, which was why the airflow was so tight. I took the res back apart and wicked some of the juice out of it with a paper towel, put it back together and was much happier with the tightness of the draw. But, it still wasnt making vapor the way I wanted it or expected it to. That soon changed also.
My previous mod of choice was a SD MK II with a Stormy Tank on it, which has a very airy draw, and amazing flavor, but was not at all portable (tanks get messy when they come apart in your pocket). The SD came with a 901 fitting and both 901 and 510 attys. I had only previously used the 901s so I had tried the 510 on my SD I hated it. I took it off almost immediately. The 901 tasted so much better to me than the 510 did. The 510 had more throat hit than the 901, but to me I am not a big fan of huge throat hit, more into lots of vapor and taste. The Ultra on the other hand is a 510 only device but I figured since so many people love the 510 I would give it a shot. I initially didnt like the 510 on the Ultra either. I didnt know that the 510 would taste so much better after vaping a few mls through it as now I am very happy with the flavor and vapor production of this Ultra. The more I use it the better it works. However I wouldnt mind seeing a 901 version of the Apex Ultra looks to me like all they would have to do is make one piece different - hint hint. This unit ships with 510 LR attys, and I bought 2 of their 510 regular attys also. I did try the regular atty, but I dont think it gets hot enough at 3.7 v through this device. I ordered a set of 14250 batteries to try this PV at 6 volts so will let you know how that works out with the regular attys after I test it.
I have been vaping the same juice almost exclusively for the past two years as I found one I love so I stuck with it. I only vape Johnson Creeks Red Oak Tennessee Cured in 18mg. I absolutely love the taste of it. In the Ultra when it was new I was amazed how different it tasted, not in a good way either.
Now 24 hours later all is good. I dont know if this is everyones experience, but my first use of a 510 is that the longer I am using it the better it tastes, the better it hits, the more vapor it produces. So as of right now I am thrilled with my choice of buying the Apex Alpha Ultra.
Ok I got out all my worries-now on to the good. Even though I looked at tons of pics of this device before getting it, I was amazed at just how small this is. I was worried the Ultra Max would be too big to fit in my pocket comfortably, but I will be ordering one soon. This Ultra is so light and small I barely know I have it in my pocket. Nice craftsmanship of the device. Everything fits nicely and works smoothly. The switch is very ingenious. I see no way possible that this could ever misfire unintentionally. I have had a few times when my hands where a bit sweaty that it was a little hard to slide, but nothing a quick drying of my hands didnt fix.
The RES is brilliant. It holds plenty of juice (the Ultra model holds 1ml) and draws nicely once it isnt overfilled J Personally I think it hits better once it is about 60-70% full. Not one single leak of any kind not even a drop - after carrying it around all day yesterday, laying it down on its side, etc. That ceramic really holds the juice well. And now that the atty is broken in, the vapor production is above what my SD can make with the Stormy tank, and the taste is perfect. I have now gone through 3 re-fillings since Friday night, and I would say that after the first tank full was gone this thing really started coming into its own, and working brilliantly.
So I am very happy with my purchase, and would recommend this PV highly to anyone looking for a very portable unit, which wont leak, makes great vapor and can last me several hours with one battery and one tank.
Two more quick observations and then I will be done with this long winded review. When hitting on this thing back to back to back a few times I am surprised by how hot the drip tip gets. I got two aluminum ones, so I dont know if the delrin one is better, but this thing gets warm. I am going to get a longer drip tip to see if that helps as these are fairly short. Also mine came with a scratch all the way around the outside of the battery tube in one of the grooves (cant see it in the pics). I sent an email to Innovapor about replacing the tube and I was told this and I quote
That is a mark that is created by the machine that does the nickel
plating. Every one of the tubes has it. They are working on a solution
but have not come up with one yet. Actually, it bugs the hell out of
me and so far nobody has screamed louder. I'm a perfectionist and
trust me; they are working on a solution. We decided it wasn't worth
holding up production because they do still work great despite the eye sore.
This is a small barely visible scratch in the tube, and does not bother me in the slightest, but it may bother some people. I wanted you all to be aware that it is a known issue, and Innovapor is not happy about it but they are still shipping it this way. I have no problem with it or them selling it this way and will be buying another one soon, but as I said Im pulling no punches here and telling my honest opinion as I would expect other reviewers to do also.
Hope you all got something out of this review as long winded as it was.
I was going to post an initial review of this model after un-boxing and filling it for the first time, but I did not. Why? Well, I was actually a bit disappointed at first, but I wanted to give this a chance before I posted a negative review. Now 24 hours later I will be retiring all my other PVs and will be using this model only. I actually will be buying an Ultra Max next payday.
Why was I disappointed at first when I know there is a learning curve with new devices especially with a high caliber mod like this reservoir kit? I dont know I was having a bad day, and just wasnt happy about anything yesterday.
The packaging was nice nothing to write home about, but a nice box. Pictures below show everything that came with the Ultra Advanced Kit. I took it all apart, filled the RES unit the way the Manual explained to put it together and hit on it the first time, and was not happy with the tightness of the draw. I prefer a much airier draw on my PVs. I was wondering immediately if I made a huge mistake spending the money on this PV. As I used the device I started to figure out that I had way overfilled the RES, which was why the airflow was so tight. I took the res back apart and wicked some of the juice out of it with a paper towel, put it back together and was much happier with the tightness of the draw. But, it still wasnt making vapor the way I wanted it or expected it to. That soon changed also.
My previous mod of choice was a SD MK II with a Stormy Tank on it, which has a very airy draw, and amazing flavor, but was not at all portable (tanks get messy when they come apart in your pocket). The SD came with a 901 fitting and both 901 and 510 attys. I had only previously used the 901s so I had tried the 510 on my SD I hated it. I took it off almost immediately. The 901 tasted so much better to me than the 510 did. The 510 had more throat hit than the 901, but to me I am not a big fan of huge throat hit, more into lots of vapor and taste. The Ultra on the other hand is a 510 only device but I figured since so many people love the 510 I would give it a shot. I initially didnt like the 510 on the Ultra either. I didnt know that the 510 would taste so much better after vaping a few mls through it as now I am very happy with the flavor and vapor production of this Ultra. The more I use it the better it works. However I wouldnt mind seeing a 901 version of the Apex Ultra looks to me like all they would have to do is make one piece different - hint hint. This unit ships with 510 LR attys, and I bought 2 of their 510 regular attys also. I did try the regular atty, but I dont think it gets hot enough at 3.7 v through this device. I ordered a set of 14250 batteries to try this PV at 6 volts so will let you know how that works out with the regular attys after I test it.
I have been vaping the same juice almost exclusively for the past two years as I found one I love so I stuck with it. I only vape Johnson Creeks Red Oak Tennessee Cured in 18mg. I absolutely love the taste of it. In the Ultra when it was new I was amazed how different it tasted, not in a good way either.
Now 24 hours later all is good. I dont know if this is everyones experience, but my first use of a 510 is that the longer I am using it the better it tastes, the better it hits, the more vapor it produces. So as of right now I am thrilled with my choice of buying the Apex Alpha Ultra.
Ok I got out all my worries-now on to the good. Even though I looked at tons of pics of this device before getting it, I was amazed at just how small this is. I was worried the Ultra Max would be too big to fit in my pocket comfortably, but I will be ordering one soon. This Ultra is so light and small I barely know I have it in my pocket. Nice craftsmanship of the device. Everything fits nicely and works smoothly. The switch is very ingenious. I see no way possible that this could ever misfire unintentionally. I have had a few times when my hands where a bit sweaty that it was a little hard to slide, but nothing a quick drying of my hands didnt fix.
The RES is brilliant. It holds plenty of juice (the Ultra model holds 1ml) and draws nicely once it isnt overfilled J Personally I think it hits better once it is about 60-70% full. Not one single leak of any kind not even a drop - after carrying it around all day yesterday, laying it down on its side, etc. That ceramic really holds the juice well. And now that the atty is broken in, the vapor production is above what my SD can make with the Stormy tank, and the taste is perfect. I have now gone through 3 re-fillings since Friday night, and I would say that after the first tank full was gone this thing really started coming into its own, and working brilliantly.
So I am very happy with my purchase, and would recommend this PV highly to anyone looking for a very portable unit, which wont leak, makes great vapor and can last me several hours with one battery and one tank.
Two more quick observations and then I will be done with this long winded review. When hitting on this thing back to back to back a few times I am surprised by how hot the drip tip gets. I got two aluminum ones, so I dont know if the delrin one is better, but this thing gets warm. I am going to get a longer drip tip to see if that helps as these are fairly short. Also mine came with a scratch all the way around the outside of the battery tube in one of the grooves (cant see it in the pics). I sent an email to Innovapor about replacing the tube and I was told this and I quote
That is a mark that is created by the machine that does the nickel
plating. Every one of the tubes has it. They are working on a solution
but have not come up with one yet. Actually, it bugs the hell out of
me and so far nobody has screamed louder. I'm a perfectionist and
trust me; they are working on a solution. We decided it wasn't worth
holding up production because they do still work great despite the eye sore.
This is a small barely visible scratch in the tube, and does not bother me in the slightest, but it may bother some people. I wanted you all to be aware that it is a known issue, and Innovapor is not happy about it but they are still shipping it this way. I have no problem with it or them selling it this way and will be buying another one soon, but as I said Im pulling no punches here and telling my honest opinion as I would expect other reviewers to do also.
Hope you all got something out of this review as long winded as it was.
