I know these three have been reviewed before, but as these may be the top three non- genesis tank style attys, I thought one more perspective wouldn't be too much. These are all top quality attys in clone form if purchased from the better makers.
The Ithaka was a bear to set up with dual coils. Very messy, too, as twice I had a perfect 1.2 ohm dual coil setup, then when I screwed everything together, it read a dead short (or open) on my little coil tester. With all the pieces to disassemble, the juice on everything gets messy! There is no easy way to disassemble this thing- it has about a dozen metal components just in tank assembly. That doesn't count gaskets, washers, and a couple of other small parts. I figured out it was an open connection- the positive pin setup is not ideal as I had problems getting a solid connection with nothing but the little rubber grommet to make the contact to the center post washer just by wrapping the wire around the positive post. No leaking with Ithaka, but some gurgling at first. I suspect the reason is it took a little time for the wick to saturate so that juice was not leaking into the chamber- my best educated guess. Also, make sure everything in the coil assembly is tightend down well. And use #3 silica. You will need the extra thickness.
Next up, the Kaifun 3.1- Leaking was my novice problem with this one. Juice right out the airhole. Tried a second build with cotton making sure the entire juice grooves were covered well down to (but no further than) the bottom of those grooves. Moisten with juice and lay it in the path, but not too thick or wound up like a wick. Keep some fluffiness. Works well.
Taifun GT- Decided to ditch the SS wick builds. Failed in all my tries. Shorts (despite heavy oxidation) and leaks abounded. But Cotton IMO is perfect for these! Terrific vape, most flavorful Atty I have *ever* used. I'm not a big drip atty fan and Genesis builds drive me nuts with their fiddly nature and quirks. This clone exudes quality. Least "fiddly" for me after some practice. Nice cool dense vape (unless you run sub-ohm, but I'm not a fan.) Around 1.4- 1.6 ohm seems to be the sweet spot. Looks great on my Nemisis.
So, it's a close call- but this is the order of preference for me.
Taifun GT is #1- Excellent flavor, beautiful draw ( JUST a bit on the tighter side, the way I like it.) Great vapor. Easiest to fill, and only one where you can save juice -in the tank- if you need to open it for maintenance. Build quality is outstanding on the HCigar clone!
Ithaka is likely going to end up #2. Great vapor production with the dual coils- WITHOUT a "hot" draw, which I was expecting, but happily to the contrary, a beautiful dense, cooler style vape. This one is great for experimentation. I'm just beginning. Build quality is very high with the Rainbow/ Hercules clone. Finish matches my Nemisis well, but looks slightly disjointed with the knurly vape adjust ring producing a short odd gap between the mod and the atty.
Kayfun 3.1- Close along with the Ithaka, but due to the quality of vapor, the Ithaka wins out by a nose. Takes a few tries to eliminate leakage. Build is moderate skill level. Build quality is high with the HCigar clone, but the Taifun beats it slightly in overall heftiness and finish quality. Be forewarned for some reason this is the most efficent nicotine delivery device of the three. Drop down your usual nicotine levels if you use over 12 (1.2).
So- They are all close. We are not talking huge differences in vaping satisfaction, but they do all operate and build differently. I would say the Taifun GT is the easiest, Kayfun #2, and Ithaka definitely the toughest build. They are all fun and satisfying performers.
Hope this all might help someone in their buying research.
-Gary
The Ithaka was a bear to set up with dual coils. Very messy, too, as twice I had a perfect 1.2 ohm dual coil setup, then when I screwed everything together, it read a dead short (or open) on my little coil tester. With all the pieces to disassemble, the juice on everything gets messy! There is no easy way to disassemble this thing- it has about a dozen metal components just in tank assembly. That doesn't count gaskets, washers, and a couple of other small parts. I figured out it was an open connection- the positive pin setup is not ideal as I had problems getting a solid connection with nothing but the little rubber grommet to make the contact to the center post washer just by wrapping the wire around the positive post. No leaking with Ithaka, but some gurgling at first. I suspect the reason is it took a little time for the wick to saturate so that juice was not leaking into the chamber- my best educated guess. Also, make sure everything in the coil assembly is tightend down well. And use #3 silica. You will need the extra thickness.
Next up, the Kaifun 3.1- Leaking was my novice problem with this one. Juice right out the airhole. Tried a second build with cotton making sure the entire juice grooves were covered well down to (but no further than) the bottom of those grooves. Moisten with juice and lay it in the path, but not too thick or wound up like a wick. Keep some fluffiness. Works well.
Taifun GT- Decided to ditch the SS wick builds. Failed in all my tries. Shorts (despite heavy oxidation) and leaks abounded. But Cotton IMO is perfect for these! Terrific vape, most flavorful Atty I have *ever* used. I'm not a big drip atty fan and Genesis builds drive me nuts with their fiddly nature and quirks. This clone exudes quality. Least "fiddly" for me after some practice. Nice cool dense vape (unless you run sub-ohm, but I'm not a fan.) Around 1.4- 1.6 ohm seems to be the sweet spot. Looks great on my Nemisis.
So, it's a close call- but this is the order of preference for me.
Taifun GT is #1- Excellent flavor, beautiful draw ( JUST a bit on the tighter side, the way I like it.) Great vapor. Easiest to fill, and only one where you can save juice -in the tank- if you need to open it for maintenance. Build quality is outstanding on the HCigar clone!
Ithaka is likely going to end up #2. Great vapor production with the dual coils- WITHOUT a "hot" draw, which I was expecting, but happily to the contrary, a beautiful dense, cooler style vape. This one is great for experimentation. I'm just beginning. Build quality is very high with the Rainbow/ Hercules clone. Finish matches my Nemisis well, but looks slightly disjointed with the knurly vape adjust ring producing a short odd gap between the mod and the atty.
Kayfun 3.1- Close along with the Ithaka, but due to the quality of vapor, the Ithaka wins out by a nose. Takes a few tries to eliminate leakage. Build is moderate skill level. Build quality is high with the HCigar clone, but the Taifun beats it slightly in overall heftiness and finish quality. Be forewarned for some reason this is the most efficent nicotine delivery device of the three. Drop down your usual nicotine levels if you use over 12 (1.2).
So- They are all close. We are not talking huge differences in vaping satisfaction, but they do all operate and build differently. I would say the Taifun GT is the easiest, Kayfun #2, and Ithaka definitely the toughest build. They are all fun and satisfying performers.
Hope this all might help someone in their buying research.
-Gary
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