Not really to start being off topic again, but you have great points and I have one important thing to add to it. Clones are great for budget, but its the false claims of people trying to pass them as authentic or putting the real company's logo on it. Example, the DNA where it still says evolv but its a clone... That is so horrible mainly because of the electronics, you think you're getting everything as awesome as an evolv DNA is, but they're just garbage. And Brandon and John at evolv have done so much work to make the DNA an amazing board (check out pbusardo's YouTube videos touring evolv). It sucks even more for them when the clone gets passed as real and it fails, that affects their reputation.
Therefore with this mentality all of my battery devices are authentic (2 ProVari minis, innokin cool fire II, vapor shark rDNA, vision spinner II). I will never compromise on electronics.
Now tanks on the other hand, I'm perfectly OK with a clone, provided once again not using original company's logo and there are some changes to avoid infringement. The rsbt is my only authentic tank, all others and drippers are clones. The only ones I have that have the company's logo on it are my kayfuns... Never found ones without the logo. But anyways, the clones serve their purpose because IMO a tank over 60 bux... I can't afford that, it's not practical FOR ME. If I could afford real, I would but them.
Actually I agree; when the clone is presented as being authentic, that's definitely unethical, and potentially damaging to the rep of the original -- I have a "kayfun" clone which was listed as a "russian 91%" and it's nothing of the sort, and I knew that going in, as it was only about $24. It's also a piece of crap; almost no airflow at all, and I don't use it, nevermind that it has that "Created in Germany" on the bottom -- it's Chinese thru and thru, but that's not why it sucks; it's just not well-made. The other 2 however, were not marketed as authentic, it said "Tobeco" right up front, but those 2 are excellent in every way, with that "2mm custom airflow" -- they completely rock, but cost just $32.95, not a hundred or whatever a real Kayfun goes for.
And certainly the same applies to electronics, maybe even moreso. I do have to make do with a Chevy budget, and the Sigelei Zmax v3 fit that perfectly, and it's an excellent piece of hardware -- for $39.95. It has an authentic Zmax board in it, goes to 15w, and suits my needs perfectly.
If you can only afford Chevys, then certainly, you ought to look for the Chevy label. Something with a Cadillac label at a Chevy price? Bad business; bad for the consumer, and bad for those making real Cadillacs.
But I don't think it's Smoktech making claims that their RSBT is "better than a Kayfun" -- SmokTech has a great rep on their own, and don't need to make silly claims like that; their products stand on their own merits.
Andria