Show me your stainless lava , please!

[orachel]

That's definitely just the lighting. Probably does have a tiny blueish hue to it (as most stainless does) and they shot the promo photo in yellow lighting... equals slightly green tinge with a tinge of lomographer effect. Guessing it won't look like that in real life. But its WAY prettier than I thought it would be! And polish-able!

 

[freelinuxer]

......................................

 

[SilentEcho13]

I guess I made a good decision to order before this big price hike.

It says that the "Chrome" version will be made out of copper and coated with chrome, and look identical to the SS.

I really hope I don't get sent a cheaper, copper version... I've never ordered from Apollo before.

 

[orachel]

Me neither, but they've told individuals that the stainless is solid, and now they've put it on the site, so crossing fingers we get the right ones. Meanwhile, I'd ADORE one in shiny copper!!! Why the heck would they cover pretty copper with chrome? Silly. Just silly. Esp since copper ages so beautifully to a verdigris color, and the steampunk/creative anachronism trend is so... um... trendy. lol . Man... that might be worth emailing apollo about.

 

[SilentEcho13]

I'd imagine it's a thin copper though. I'm hoping the new SS is dense/solid, and heavy.

I wonder if there's a way to test what it actually is. if I get a chrome plated copper instead, I'm gonna be ......!

 

[SilentEcho13]

Did Ha-y-n post about trying the new one anywhere, or was it a personal conversation? If the latter, you should ask him to post up a thread about it to get the hype going

 

[carlton]

Nah, just get the chrome. Then after you drop it a bunch of times and it's all scuffed up, take a wire brush to it and expose the copper. It'll be like getting a new pv all over again!

 

[SilentEcho13]

Nah, just get the chrome. Then after you drop it a bunch of times and it's all scuffed up, take a wire brush to it and expose the copper. It'll be like getting a new pv all over again!

I already ordered SS...lol.

Chrome as a backup? Maybe...

 

[orachel]

Ok, so I just got off with Rob from Apollo. Apparently, the idea of a copper LT never occurred to them. lol I sent him some links about the ever present hunt for steampunk styled mods and copper accessories, and he's gonna talk to the owner of Lava Tube factory about it!!! Only concern is how soft is the copper. I know there are ways to make copper alloy that resolves that issue, similar to how gold works, but he's gonna check. And seriously, if copper is that soft that it might be dentable... not sure how much stronger a super thin layer of chrome will make it on the chrome models. I also told him that we'd love an oled display since they're so much nicer, and tox is doing it in the same price range, so its gotta be doable, cheaply. Almost asked for 3.5amp restriction, but then thought better of it. I'm guessing he's WELL AWARE that we all want that, asap, cause I have a feeling anyone newish who orders a LT and doesn't realize the 2.5 is gonna affect their ability to vape dual coil and low res at highest voltages probably complains to vendor. rofl But crossing fingers! I'm not a mod collector, AT ALL. I'm a one mod a year girl, usually. But I'd definitely watch my pennies to get an LT if it had some of the general upgrades we're all chatting about, and was available in copper. Gosh, that would just get better looking with age.

Might conceivably serve our cause well if anyone who'd be interested in copper drop them a line when you get the chance. I sent him a few links to people hunting for copper mods, and even trying things like electroplate copper dip on their mods (with limited success). I'd absolutely adore copper... would really love the ability to take a nail and make copper press designs on the finish. The possibilities are amazing, really. Plus, they have stuff you can rub on new copper to make it tarnish to verdigris (sort of a pretty coppery/greenish with wild natural designs) almost overnight.

 

[orachel]

I thought of that carlton, but apparently the copper itself isn't very strong... dentable, even, so might not be a good plan till they mix a lil something in with it to improve tensile strength.

 

[orachel]

Did Ha-y-n post about trying the new one anywhere, or was it a personal conversation? If the latter, you should ask him to post up a thread about it to get the hype going

Was a personal pm. I'll ask, but not sure he'll want to. Its my understanding (and again, could have misunderstood) that what he got was sort of a trial run of the new models. Hoping like heck its what we get, but guessing its pretty darn likely. I don't buy that they've got 3 versions all being distributed and sold wholesale to vendors in same price range at the same time, so pretty sure we'll all get the good new ones. lol

 

[SilentEcho13]

Looks like liberty flights is getting it too, though I'm not sure if they're getting the SS or copper version. I'd love to see a YouTube review of one of these pop up with some voltage readings haha

 

[orachel]

Ok, so i don't know for sure, of course, but someone in this thread or a similar one was just hunting on alibaba (that's where the manufacturers offer their wares wholesale, in bulk, to vendors) and noone could find any listing for a tube over 2.5 amps. They did have the stainless, though. What that means to me is while the stainless/chrome (and hopefully copper, soon!) models have some upgrades, and perform better... they're still gonna have the 2.5 amp restriction. I promise, that 2.5 thing is such a big deal to so many low res and dc vapers that if it was 3.5, I'm about 99.9% sure the vendors would be shouting it from the rooftops. Again, just my opinion based on a few tidbits I've seen and my own research...make of it what ye will. lol

 

[walkerknapek]

Read the section below the description. Says the Chrome one is made of copper with a chrome finish. SS is made of all stainless steel.

 

[orachel]

Yup, we know that part. I'm sorry... you lost me. Were you referring to my blanket of 'stainless/chrome'?... Sorry to confuse, I was just referring to those as a group since they're the new finishes currently available that are supposed to be a newer model of lava with some sort of updates from previous versions. We just don't know exactly what those upgrades are. lol I know a guy who's pretty darn impressed with his new one performance wise, and avidly disliked the old one. And he 'copper' thing I threw in because i begged the guy at apollo today to talk to the factory about a copper finish. Should be pretty simple since they're already fabricating the body in copper for the 'base' of the chrome ones. So he's gonna talk to them, crossing fingers. I'd love a copper body, personally... but we don't know if that will actually come to fruition or not. Hope that made it clearer and I didnt just confuse you more. lol Its been one of those days.

 

[panto911]

I looked on alibaba too. I didn't see any stainless steel ones or even chrome. Do you have a link?

 

[orachel]

Here's the photo of the listing at apollo.... we've been told that the chrome and stainless will both look like this...
Photo Gallery

The alibaba listings don't seem to show the stainless model, yet. That's probably something that they're fabricating in steel or the copper with chrome coating just for apollo, or perhaps they're doing special orders first and will then offer them wholesale thru alibaba... don't know yet. But I hunted for the photos of the steel ones there and couldn't find them, either.

Oh, and one of you guys asked me about the guy who had the new lava tube... you wanted to see his. He's not been by, but just posted a review and in it, you can see that he's vaping one of the silver powercoated ones, not the steel. Might be made outta steel, I dunno, but looks like powercoat. Here's a vid you can see it. But it definitely performs better than the old powdercoat one he had, so either they've made improvements, or he just got a lemon to begin with.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJrI...DvjVQa1PpcFOxTS-GyBwiLB96ugjkNnMmsMyI4lHUSo4=

 

[panto911]

Thanks good to know. Can I ask your opinion on this? Since you seem to be following the vv lavatube pretty good. lol
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...aw-imr-18350-battery-850-mah.html#post5645568

 

[orachel]

Lemme peek at it and see what I can figure out... brb

Ok, so lemme start by saying I am in no way shape or form a battery expert. I figure out what mod I want, and then research batts that it takes. But from what I can tell on that, the vendor who'd gotten those 18650's with an oddly high mah (basically determines how long the batteries go between charges) was chatting with some clients, trying to figure out if they'd gotten some 'cheapo clone' type batteries instead of the well regarded ones they ordered. I honestly wouldn't worry about it. There's a million places to get really good quality batteries, relatively inexpensively... madvapes leaps to mind offhand... and if you're buying a lava tube, you can always grab a spare from Apollo when you pick up your tube. Those are pretty decent from what I've heard, and at least you know you're getting the exact batts that the factory recommends. My friend rick (aka rickajho on ecf) has a china hookup for excellent prices on batteries, so if you ever need to buy a bunch, I'd pm him and he'll tell you where to get em on the cheap. Plus, looks like the vendor who got those possible cheapies has pulled the listing for those batts till they figure out from the manufacturer if they're the wrong kind, since the link in the post you showed me leads nowhere.

I'll tell ya what I do when I'm unsure which variety of batt to buy... I just call a good vendor, like Madvapes or Liberty Flights, and tell them the mod I've got and ask them which of their batts would be the best option at the lowest cost. That way I know I'm getting the right kind 100%, and the one that somebody MUCH more versed in techo babble thinks are the best value. lol It works!

 

[orachel]

So far as anyone I've spoken to can tell, there's no mention on alibaba that lrider is selling the stainless. I also heard from another vendor who was talking to his lrider rep, asking for an order of the stainless steel lavas, and he was told in no uncertain terms that that the only silver models available were the silver powdercoat one (rather light silver color) and the chrome, which is fabricated in copper with a chrome plating. So I think what everyone is realizing is that the stainless ones that apollo is (supposedly) getting, and the ones all of us have had on backorder forever and a day, is something that lrider is doing exclusively for apollo, and perhaps just for this one order... was 500 units, but now apollo site says 1000. My guess is that they tried out the stainless, but production costs are too high to justify making them available for other vendors. Again, only a guess, but I've been following it pretty closely. So with that in mind, I'd be surprised if they showed up on alibaba, just cause they're not trying to get other large vendor orders of them; and seem to be not accepting orders for the stainless from other vendors, based on the info above. I know other vendors are expecting the silver powdercoat (like discountvapers, for instance... amazing vendor, great support, great prices. I think they're expecting the silver ones this week), and the chrome. But if you're dying for the stainless, I'd say apollo is your only choice at this point. Hope that helps!