What up fellow vapsters? Just wanted to check in and let ya'all know where I'm at now...
One year of vaping and off the ickies and I've yet to actually want a cigarette.
Gear so far:
5 mods
7 sub-ohm tanks
Summary of my thoughts:
Mods:
Innokin Kroma-A: Max power: 75W. Battery: 2000 mAh, internal.
Great beginner mod. Was a perfect match for my first tank, the Cleito Exo. Decent battery life.
Eleaf Tessera: Max power: 150W. Battery: 3400 mAh, internal.
I really like this mod. Still rock it occasionally and it's my designated emergency mod. The screen is great, as it has multiple color options, and I love that it displays time and date. Battery life is good, can get anywhere from a day and a half to two days, depending on settings. This was my first mod that could handle over 100 watts.
Voopoo Drag: Max power: 157W. Battery: Removable dual-18650s.
I wanted a mod with removable batteries, and the more I read about the Drag, the more I liked it. I also wanted a mod that is solidly built and can withstand some abuse. The Drag fits the bill. I like the all metal body and weight. And while the finish scratches easily, this thing has endured several drops onto tile, blacktop, and concrete and never missed a beat. Another cool thing is you can customize the start-up screen from your PC with the downloadable app. With the removable batteries, I can get 2 full days out of it with my Hohm Life batteries, and about a day and half with my Sony VTC5As. I'd love to get the Drag 2, but Voopoo put some vape add in a kids program in the UK so WTF man, are you trying to get vaping banned? Won't buy from them again unless they stop that crap.
Teslacigs Punk 86W (pic below): Max power: 86W. Battery: Removable single 18650.
This mod is really cool! I wanted one regulated tube mod that I can take out when I'm dressed up and need something a bit lower profile, while at the same time having decent power and a removable battery. The Punk hits the sweet spot. I got the aged copper color, and I love the fact it is all metal. Build quality is excellent, has good weight and vaping at 63 watts I get almost 2 full days out of a single 18650 battery.
Uwell Checkmate (pic below): Max power: 200W. Battery: Removable dual 18650s
Once again, Uwell continues to raise the bar with their craftsmanship. The checkmate is just a handsome looking mod all the way around. All-metal body, seamless panels and a raised 510 connection that allows your tanks to sit nice and flush and look great. I love the fact that it goes all the way up to 200 watts. Also it's the first mod I bought that has dual battery indicators AND percentage. I also like how you can choose to either lock the up/down buttons or the entire thing. I got 3 whole days out of this mod at 63 watts with my new Lithicore batteries.
Tanks:
I have fully switched over to mesh coils. The flavor and vapor production is the best, IMO. However, I was having a real issue with leaking. It started with the Falcon constantly leaking through the air holes. I tried everything I could, to no avail.
Cleito Exo: Great beginner tank, MTL style. Quickly outgrew it as I went to DTL.
Crown 3: Excellent tank, great build quality, never leaks unless coil is burnt. Kanthal has slightly better flavor than the stainless steel, IMO. Wish they made a mesh coil for it. No longer in use.
Valyrian: Didn't like it. Way too airy. Stock coils didn't taste all that great. Bought 3rd party mesh and they were better, but the draw just bugs me too much. No leaking issues.
Falcon Resin: Best flavor. But constantly leaks slowly through air slots. Probably due to my juice. I use a 50/50 blend of a 70/30 PG/VG menthol and 70/30 VG/PG peach tea. So my PG content is higher than most because the menthol blend (Nuport by Dekang) is not sweet at all and is 70% PG. I got tired of the leaking and decided to look for another mesh tank.
Sense screen: I really liked this tank. Great build quality, really good flavor. But I cannot use slide top fill tanks. Everyone, without fail, opens on me constantly and drains entire tanks of juice in my pocket. This one got so bad, I actually bought a pouch to keep it in while at work, and it still opened up on me. Ended up returning it for a store credit.
Geekvape Alpha: Another one that I really liked and was of good quality and the meshmellow coils were quite tasty. However, it leaks like a sieve through the air holes so it's sitting on my shelf, unused.
Prince TF12: A solid performer. No leaking. Locking top fill works nicely, hasn't opened in my pocket. Mesh coils are good, not great.
Crown 4: Ahh, good old Uwell! They continue to impress me with the quality of their products. The Crown 4, in my opinion, is their best tank so far, and a worthy successor to the Crown 3. I even used the SS904 coil that came pre-installed and while it was not as good as mesh, it was the best non-mesh flavor I've come across. I ordered the 4 pack of their mesh coils and they are excellent. Not a drop of leakage! Uwell's claims about the new design where juice that gets into the base is recycled seem to be legit, as I have yet to see any juice there when I take the tank apart. It looks amazing and performs as good as it looks. I love it. Found a great deal online: tank kit plus 4 pack of mesh coils for under $40, including shipping, only con is it ships directly from Singapore and takes about 2 weeks to arrive.
Horizontech Falcon King: On pre-order, ships 2/15...here's hoping that it doesn't leak.
Accessories:
2 Hohm-Life 18650 batteries
2 Sony VTC5A 18650 batteries
2 Lithicore 18650 batteries
4 dual 18650 Battery cases
1 aluminum case to hold everything
1 4-bay Nitecore charger
1 vape pouch
![IMG_20190209_123533[1].jpg](https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/data/attachments/619/619315-ab08ddc635127e9bbd20f9d8ce358ec3.jpg "IMG_20190209_123533[1].jpg")
![IMG_20190209_110056[1].jpg](https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/data/attachments/619/619317-2031721325ac791efe39d876d9bdefca.jpg "IMG_20190209_110056[1].jpg")
Summary: I hope this helps people who are starting their journey, or like me, have a little bit of time in, but have not moved to the whole squonker/RDA/RTA phase. YMMV.
One year of vaping and off the ickies and I've yet to actually want a cigarette.
Gear so far:
5 mods
- innokin Kroma-A
- Voopoo Drag
- Eleaf Tessera
- Teslacigs Punk 86W
- Uwell Checkmate
7 sub-ohm tanks
- Uwell Crown 3
- Uwell Crown 4
- Uwell Valyrian
- Prince V12
- Cleito Exo
- Horizontech Falcon Resin
- Geekvape Alpha
- Sense screen (returned for store credit)
Summary of my thoughts:
Mods:
Innokin Kroma-A: Max power: 75W. Battery: 2000 mAh, internal.
Great beginner mod. Was a perfect match for my first tank, the Cleito Exo. Decent battery life.
Eleaf Tessera: Max power: 150W. Battery: 3400 mAh, internal.
I really like this mod. Still rock it occasionally and it's my designated emergency mod. The screen is great, as it has multiple color options, and I love that it displays time and date. Battery life is good, can get anywhere from a day and a half to two days, depending on settings. This was my first mod that could handle over 100 watts.
Voopoo Drag: Max power: 157W. Battery: Removable dual-18650s.
I wanted a mod with removable batteries, and the more I read about the Drag, the more I liked it. I also wanted a mod that is solidly built and can withstand some abuse. The Drag fits the bill. I like the all metal body and weight. And while the finish scratches easily, this thing has endured several drops onto tile, blacktop, and concrete and never missed a beat. Another cool thing is you can customize the start-up screen from your PC with the downloadable app. With the removable batteries, I can get 2 full days out of it with my Hohm Life batteries, and about a day and half with my Sony VTC5As. I'd love to get the Drag 2, but Voopoo put some vape add in a kids program in the UK so WTF man, are you trying to get vaping banned? Won't buy from them again unless they stop that crap.
Teslacigs Punk 86W (pic below): Max power: 86W. Battery: Removable single 18650.
This mod is really cool! I wanted one regulated tube mod that I can take out when I'm dressed up and need something a bit lower profile, while at the same time having decent power and a removable battery. The Punk hits the sweet spot. I got the aged copper color, and I love the fact it is all metal. Build quality is excellent, has good weight and vaping at 63 watts I get almost 2 full days out of a single 18650 battery.
Uwell Checkmate (pic below): Max power: 200W. Battery: Removable dual 18650s
Once again, Uwell continues to raise the bar with their craftsmanship. The checkmate is just a handsome looking mod all the way around. All-metal body, seamless panels and a raised 510 connection that allows your tanks to sit nice and flush and look great. I love the fact that it goes all the way up to 200 watts. Also it's the first mod I bought that has dual battery indicators AND percentage. I also like how you can choose to either lock the up/down buttons or the entire thing. I got 3 whole days out of this mod at 63 watts with my new Lithicore batteries.
Tanks:
I have fully switched over to mesh coils. The flavor and vapor production is the best, IMO. However, I was having a real issue with leaking. It started with the Falcon constantly leaking through the air holes. I tried everything I could, to no avail.
Cleito Exo: Great beginner tank, MTL style. Quickly outgrew it as I went to DTL.
Crown 3: Excellent tank, great build quality, never leaks unless coil is burnt. Kanthal has slightly better flavor than the stainless steel, IMO. Wish they made a mesh coil for it. No longer in use.
Valyrian: Didn't like it. Way too airy. Stock coils didn't taste all that great. Bought 3rd party mesh and they were better, but the draw just bugs me too much. No leaking issues.
Falcon Resin: Best flavor. But constantly leaks slowly through air slots. Probably due to my juice. I use a 50/50 blend of a 70/30 PG/VG menthol and 70/30 VG/PG peach tea. So my PG content is higher than most because the menthol blend (Nuport by Dekang) is not sweet at all and is 70% PG. I got tired of the leaking and decided to look for another mesh tank.
Sense screen: I really liked this tank. Great build quality, really good flavor. But I cannot use slide top fill tanks. Everyone, without fail, opens on me constantly and drains entire tanks of juice in my pocket. This one got so bad, I actually bought a pouch to keep it in while at work, and it still opened up on me. Ended up returning it for a store credit.
Geekvape Alpha: Another one that I really liked and was of good quality and the meshmellow coils were quite tasty. However, it leaks like a sieve through the air holes so it's sitting on my shelf, unused.
Prince TF12: A solid performer. No leaking. Locking top fill works nicely, hasn't opened in my pocket. Mesh coils are good, not great.
Crown 4: Ahh, good old Uwell! They continue to impress me with the quality of their products. The Crown 4, in my opinion, is their best tank so far, and a worthy successor to the Crown 3. I even used the SS904 coil that came pre-installed and while it was not as good as mesh, it was the best non-mesh flavor I've come across. I ordered the 4 pack of their mesh coils and they are excellent. Not a drop of leakage! Uwell's claims about the new design where juice that gets into the base is recycled seem to be legit, as I have yet to see any juice there when I take the tank apart. It looks amazing and performs as good as it looks. I love it. Found a great deal online: tank kit plus 4 pack of mesh coils for under $40, including shipping, only con is it ships directly from Singapore and takes about 2 weeks to arrive.
Horizontech Falcon King: On pre-order, ships 2/15...here's hoping that it doesn't leak.
Accessories:
2 Hohm-Life 18650 batteries
2 Sony VTC5A 18650 batteries
2 Lithicore 18650 batteries
4 dual 18650 Battery cases
1 aluminum case to hold everything
1 4-bay Nitecore charger
1 vape pouch
Summary: I hope this helps people who are starting their journey, or like me, have a little bit of time in, but have not moved to the whole squonker/RDA/RTA phase. YMMV.
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but got there eventually. 
