INTRODUCTION
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Hello Everyone and welcome to Pizza Dave’s Vape reviews. Today I am going to do a quick review on the CII Paragon kit by Vaptio. I almost didn’t write up this review because I reviewed both of the products that make up this kit already. The CII stick has been out for a long time, and the Paragon tank has been released for quite a while as well. This kit is merely a combination of the two, which essentially makes an upgraded version of the CII kit by adding a slightly better tank into the mix. Vaptio did change up a finishes and ditched the black rubberized only version and added some beautifully painted options into the mix, but other than that, you are getting the old CII stick with a newer mesh-coiled tank. There are a lot of sticks out there now that have this same combination, so let’s dive in and see how Vaptio fairs against the competition.
Disclaimer: This device was sent to me by Vaptio for review.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT YOU GET
_____________________________________________________________________________________
- Available in Black, Red, Green, and Purple
STOCK SHOT
PACKAGING
UNBOXED
_____________________________________________________________________________________
OPERATION
This is another run of the mill stick style device, which has a built in 3000mah battery. To get started, you will need to charge it up via micro USB. 5 clicks of the fire button will turn it on and off, and the LED indicator behind the button will light up to indicate battery levels, fault conditions, and will also light up when firing the device. There isn’t much else to go over with it. I will however, go on a little rant about battery indication on devices with built-in batteries. If you read my reviews often, you will know that I will get battery anxiety when I don’t really know how much power my device has. With some small effort, companies can make stick devices like this one flashy or light up in different colors to show more of a range in battery, which I call “multi-stage” battery level. This stick, however, does not do that. It will be lighting up white when all is good and go red right about the time it needs a charge. Sure, after some time with you will be able to gauge battery level off how many fills you do (with me it was close to 1.5 tanks), but it is still a pain in the ....
_____________________________________________________________________________________
HOW IT VAPES
The device works fine and has enough battery to get through the day without issues and provides a solid amount of power to the Paragon tank to get as good of performance as I saw with this tank on other mods. Without having equipment that shows actual voltage output, I will assume that this runs somewhere around 3.8-4.0v throughout most of the battery. I noticed some power output when the stick was close to low on battery, but for the most part, the performance hangs in there for quite a while. That being said, this should put roughly out roughly 70-80w with the Paragon’s .20-ohm coils. When I ran this tank on other mods, I was in that 75w range for the temperature I like with my vapor, so it is quite comparable when on top of the CII mod. The next snippet of info is pretty much plucked straight from my Paragon tank review which came included with the Capt’n kit from Vaptio. I was very positive when I first reviewed the Paragon, because at the time, mesh tanks weren’t everywhere. There were a lot of them, but since it’s release, many have come to fruition and have outperformed it.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
PARAGON TANK REVIEW
This is the 4th different Vaptio tank I have tried, and it is BY FAR the best one they have produced. Both the mesh and strip coils provide great flavor and long coil life. I was able to get through roughly 35-40 mls of juice before the flavor started to drop off. For reference, this is the same coil life I get out of a Horizon Tech Falcon using the same liquid. Flavor is not quite as good as some of the other mesh tanks on the market, but it is not the worst. The coils are also TFV12 Prince compatible, so there are a few other options for coils as well. The only real con I could pick out is the finish. Mine had a couple of spots on the sides that were not fully coated, which stood out since it is black. I enjoy the 8ml capacity, and the flavor is great for something included in a starter kit.
TANK PROS
TANK CONS
PHOTO GALLERY
_____________________________________________________________________________________
FINAL THOUGHTS
So, what do I think of this kit? I kind of understand why Vaptio decided to go this route, but at the same time, I wish they would have gone with an entirely new stick. When the CII was released, I felt that it was one of the best sticks out there that nobody used. It is solidly built, and now that they gave them some nice finishes, it looks damn good as well. My only gripe with the CII itself is the battery indication could be better. Other than that, it works fine for what it is. The company seems to be standing strong behind the Paragon tank, because this has now been their go-to tank on a handful of kits. It makes me think of how companies like Smok run with a certain tank and end up tossing it on every kit they make that year. This stick isn’t terrible, but it isn’t amazing either. There have been some pretty solid sticks that have come out recently that I reviewed and would choose over it, but if you are a fan of Vaptio and looking for a stick, then maybe this is the one for you.
OVEN TEST
If this were to accidentally fall into my pizza oven, would I go out and get another? Nope, not feeling it.
PROS
CONS
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you all for reading and thank you to Vaptio for sending this my way for review. I am seeing this online for about $30 from a handful of vendors.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Pizza Dave – Delivering real reviews, with no extra toppings
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
REVIEW CRITERIA: I use each item for about two weeks to ensure I have collected enough data to adequately write a review. I use the same e liquid in tanks or rdas throughout all my reviews to ensure that I am comparing apples to apples between all modern equipment. I do not post reviews until I feel confident that I have used it enough to give an educated review. The reason I started doing reviews was due to poor purchasing decisions in my vaping infancy about two years ago. Back then, I purchased several different pieces of hardware without really enjoying it and I hope my reviews can guide people into spending their hard-earned money more wisely than I did! ****Keep in mind that some items I receive may be pre-release and not in retail packaging. Quality may be less than the finished product and what is in the package may differ from the retail package as well.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Hello Everyone and welcome to Pizza Dave’s Vape reviews. Today I am going to do a quick review on the CII Paragon kit by Vaptio. I almost didn’t write up this review because I reviewed both of the products that make up this kit already. The CII stick has been out for a long time, and the Paragon tank has been released for quite a while as well. This kit is merely a combination of the two, which essentially makes an upgraded version of the CII kit by adding a slightly better tank into the mix. Vaptio did change up a finishes and ditched the black rubberized only version and added some beautifully painted options into the mix, but other than that, you are getting the old CII stick with a newer mesh-coiled tank. There are a lot of sticks out there now that have this same combination, so let’s dive in and see how Vaptio fairs against the competition.
Disclaimer: This device was sent to me by Vaptio for review.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT YOU GET
- 1 CII 3000-mah battery
- 1 Paragon Tank
- 1 8ml bubble glass
- 1 Smaller straight glass (capacity not listed)
- 2 .20-ohm mesh coils
- Spare O-rings
- Paperwork
_____________________________________________________________________________________
- Available in Black, Red, Green, and Purple
STOCK SHOT
PACKAGING
UNBOXED
_____________________________________________________________________________________
OPERATION
This is another run of the mill stick style device, which has a built in 3000mah battery. To get started, you will need to charge it up via micro USB. 5 clicks of the fire button will turn it on and off, and the LED indicator behind the button will light up to indicate battery levels, fault conditions, and will also light up when firing the device. There isn’t much else to go over with it. I will however, go on a little rant about battery indication on devices with built-in batteries. If you read my reviews often, you will know that I will get battery anxiety when I don’t really know how much power my device has. With some small effort, companies can make stick devices like this one flashy or light up in different colors to show more of a range in battery, which I call “multi-stage” battery level. This stick, however, does not do that. It will be lighting up white when all is good and go red right about the time it needs a charge. Sure, after some time with you will be able to gauge battery level off how many fills you do (with me it was close to 1.5 tanks), but it is still a pain in the ....
_____________________________________________________________________________________
HOW IT VAPES
The device works fine and has enough battery to get through the day without issues and provides a solid amount of power to the Paragon tank to get as good of performance as I saw with this tank on other mods. Without having equipment that shows actual voltage output, I will assume that this runs somewhere around 3.8-4.0v throughout most of the battery. I noticed some power output when the stick was close to low on battery, but for the most part, the performance hangs in there for quite a while. That being said, this should put roughly out roughly 70-80w with the Paragon’s .20-ohm coils. When I ran this tank on other mods, I was in that 75w range for the temperature I like with my vapor, so it is quite comparable when on top of the CII mod. The next snippet of info is pretty much plucked straight from my Paragon tank review which came included with the Capt’n kit from Vaptio. I was very positive when I first reviewed the Paragon, because at the time, mesh tanks weren’t everywhere. There were a lot of them, but since it’s release, many have come to fruition and have outperformed it.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
PARAGON TANK REVIEW
This is the 4th different Vaptio tank I have tried, and it is BY FAR the best one they have produced. Both the mesh and strip coils provide great flavor and long coil life. I was able to get through roughly 35-40 mls of juice before the flavor started to drop off. For reference, this is the same coil life I get out of a Horizon Tech Falcon using the same liquid. Flavor is not quite as good as some of the other mesh tanks on the market, but it is not the worst. The coils are also TFV12 Prince compatible, so there are a few other options for coils as well. The only real con I could pick out is the finish. Mine had a couple of spots on the sides that were not fully coated, which stood out since it is black. I enjoy the 8ml capacity, and the flavor is great for something included in a starter kit.
TANK PROS
- 8ml capacity (all day without needing refill)
- Good coil life
- Matches the mod perfectly
- No leaking even when coils were about shot
TANK CONS
- Leaking started to happen by the 3rd refill
- Tank is rather meh for performance in the sea of solid mesh coil tanks out there.
PHOTO GALLERY
_____________________________________________________________________________________
FINAL THOUGHTS
So, what do I think of this kit? I kind of understand why Vaptio decided to go this route, but at the same time, I wish they would have gone with an entirely new stick. When the CII was released, I felt that it was one of the best sticks out there that nobody used. It is solidly built, and now that they gave them some nice finishes, it looks damn good as well. My only gripe with the CII itself is the battery indication could be better. Other than that, it works fine for what it is. The company seems to be standing strong behind the Paragon tank, because this has now been their go-to tank on a handful of kits. It makes me think of how companies like Smok run with a certain tank and end up tossing it on every kit they make that year. This stick isn’t terrible, but it isn’t amazing either. There have been some pretty solid sticks that have come out recently that I reviewed and would choose over it, but if you are a fan of Vaptio and looking for a stick, then maybe this is the one for you.
OVEN TEST
If this were to accidentally fall into my pizza oven, would I go out and get another? Nope, not feeling it.
PROS
- Beautiful finish and design
- Flavor is good
- Solidly built
- 8ml capacity tank lasted me all the way through a work day
CONS
- Both halves of the kit are a bit dated
- Battery indication should be improved
- 2 hours to charge (felt like eternity)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you all for reading and thank you to Vaptio for sending this my way for review. I am seeing this online for about $30 from a handful of vendors.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Pizza Dave – Delivering real reviews, with no extra toppings
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
REVIEW CRITERIA: I use each item for about two weeks to ensure I have collected enough data to adequately write a review. I use the same e liquid in tanks or rdas throughout all my reviews to ensure that I am comparing apples to apples between all modern equipment. I do not post reviews until I feel confident that I have used it enough to give an educated review. The reason I started doing reviews was due to poor purchasing decisions in my vaping infancy about two years ago. Back then, I purchased several different pieces of hardware without really enjoying it and I hope my reviews can guide people into spending their hard-earned money more wisely than I did! ****Keep in mind that some items I receive may be pre-release and not in retail packaging. Quality may be less than the finished product and what is in the package may differ from the retail package as well.
