I'm probably going to buy a new mech tonight but am having trouble deciding between either a brass SMPL mod or an XXIX clone. I've been using an Infinite Stingray X clone for the past couple of months and while I love the size of it in hybrid mode, the switch is kinda crappy. I hear the Infinite XXIX clone is pretty nice but I'm not really sure about the different manufacturers of the SMPL and which one is preferable. Anyone have any input into what I should get? I can't decide.....
SMPL or XXIX clone
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If you're going with the SMPL the clones aren't nearly as good as the authentic in my personal experiences, most if not all of the clones are using a press-fit 510 connection section and are not actually machined from a solid piece. If the choice is a SMPL clone vs an XXIX clone, then the XXIX clone wins all day as they are made better IMO. However, the authentic SMPL is much better than even the authentic XXIX IMO, I own a Surfrider which is essentially identical to the XXIX and to me the SMPL is noticeably better through daily use, all three of mine have been utterly flawless since they came out of the packaging. Authentic SMPL Reliability and quality is worth the $120 from where I vape 
I personally have never used a XXIXX, but I can heavily recommend a SMPL. My clones from Moander are flawless and were my daily driver. They are made of one piece as far as I know. People from the group buy I was in agreed as well. The person I got mine from has extras in SS, copper and black I can direct you to if decide to get a SMPL clone for 28 USD.
If you're going with the SMPL the clones aren't nearly as good as the authentic in my personal experiences, most if not all of the clones are using a press-fit 510 connection section and are not actually machined from a solid piece. If the choice is a SMPL clone vs an XXIX clone, then the XXIX clone wins all day as they are made better IMO. However, the authentic SMPL is much better than even the authentic XXIX IMO, I own a Surfrider which is essentially identical to the XXIX and to me the SMPL is noticeably better through daily use, all three of mine have been utterly flawless since they came out of the packaging. Authentic SMPL Reliability and quality is worth the $120 from where I vape
I don't know if it's camera trickery or what but some of the SMPL mod clones I'm looking at appear to have the 510 connection and the tube made out of 1 piece. The switches on most don't appear to be the same though unfortunately...
If they had brass I might be interested. Other than a group buy from reddit, maybe the one you were you were in, I wasn't able to find anything about Moander unfortunately.
Do you know which manufacturer your SMPL mod clone was from? Were the top cap and tube all 1 piece?
Thanks for the responses!
I'm sure you already know this, but I have to say it... Common sense will tell you that an SMPL clone that DOES have a solid one-piece build is every bit as good as the authentic that costs 5x more. Milling a hole into a chunk of copper bar stock is not cutting edge technology. This is basic machine shop stuff that can be made on the cheap, so you should buy it on the cheap. Save your bucks for real technology.
I'm not aware of a single manufacturer that is making them out of a single piece, I have an extremely convincing clone next to me that I can assure you does not perform as good as my authentic and though it looks to be, is actually not a single piece tube. I purchased multiple clones to check out the design versus the authentic because I wanted to have a complete beater mod that I didn't care about pocketing/scratching but my deductions were correct that all of them thus far appear to be using two different designs of press-fit top caps. I own the clone you've got pictured in your avatar, from your pictures in the authentic SMPL thread on page 18 you can actually see that it appears to be the press fit cap that has been cleverly hidden with some grinding/machining up top. Several users have already had this press-fit piece pop out and I personally believe that piece along with the switch tolerances is the reason the clone has .34V higher voltage drop than my authentic.I'm sure you already know this, but I have to say it... Common sense will tell you that an SMPL clone that DOES have a solid one-piece build is every bit as good as the authentic that costs 5x more. Milling a hole into a chunk of copper bar stock is not cutting edge technology. This is basic machine shop stuff that can be made on the cheap, so you should buy it on the cheap. Save your bucks for real technology.
Is the SMPL clone good? Yes, it's actually quite good for a clone. Does it stack up against the authentic? Not even close.
I'm not preaching here, I own a dozen clones of all kinds of various mods. Hell my Kepler Stingray X clone is actually better than the authentic with less voltage drop! Performance is the ultimate deciding factor for me and I'll assure you that if you put any of the current SMPL clones up against the authentic there will be a decided winner and it will not be the clone.
Edit: I wanted to show some pictures that I wasn't able to find online, here is a comparison of the SMPL Authentic Copper and Clone. After I compared them I took the liberty of proving the press-fit top section, even though it does not look NOR act like it is. All I did was take a 1/2" drill bit flipped upside down inside the tube, two moderate taps onto my desktop and the press fit 510 section popped right out.
Sure looks like one piece, but there is a teeny seam they tried to hide. Evidence below, clone is on the left in both sections of this picture. I was told when I purchased this from the manufacturer that it was a single piece tube, I specifically asked this question beforehand.
This was NOT hard to pop out and was already tarnishing between the pressed connection, hello voltage drop! Again, clone is on the left.
Clone is on the RIGHT in this top section, Image editing before 9AM doesn't go well. Press-fit FTL.
It's not exactly cheap or cost effective to mill out 70mm of an entire blank of solid copper round stock, the tooling costs money and will wear down pretty quickly doing it over and over not to mention the cost of the material! However, it is much cheaper to buy the appropriate size copper tube stock and do minimal machining with a pressed in 510 section.
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Glad to see that evidence. I assumed they (clones) would be two piece but had not seen any definitive proof.
Froth, thanks for the added detail and pics. I could see no discernible seams on mine under a 10x loupe, but admit it's still possible mine's pressed in.
At the moment I'll keep using it and if I start to notice any performance issues I'll see if I can pop it out (like you did with a drill bit). Hopefully it doesn't have any issues until after my tax return.
I'll report back and eat crow in your presence if needed.
At the moment I'll keep using it and if I start to notice any performance issues I'll see if I can pop it out (like you did with a drill bit). Hopefully it doesn't have any issues until after my tax return.
I'll report back and eat crow in your presence if needed.
Thanks for the revealing pics of your clone. I ordered two of those from fasttech which are en route. I was aware of this because you can't this mod out of a solid piece of steal for that price... as you mentioned machining costs money. I wanted to order the authentic so bad but it wasn't in stock so i thought buying a good clone is ok for now but as I see these pictures i guess i will order the authentic as soon as it is in stock somewhere.
Unfortunately, yes
No clue when they may be back in stock but if I do check and notice they are I will post in this thread about it I ended up going with a copper SMPL mod clone by SXK after realizing the XXIX was actually longer than my Stingray X in hybrid, I measured my Stingray at just under 80mm with a Sony VTC4 in it. I just wish I could have found an SXK one in brass... Maybe if I like the clone enough I'll spring for a brass authentic in the future, we'll see. $120 isn't too bad, I paid that much for my unused KFL+ a year ago .
Thanks Froth for the informative response and for taking your top cap apart, some good info for anyone else interested in purchasing one of the clones.
.Thanks Froth for the informative response and for taking your top cap apart, some good info for anyone else interested in purchasing one of the clones.
Unfortunately, yes
Maybe I'll just get a brass one, eh? At least they're in stock.
I'm convinced from my other thread that resistance-wise, none of them have any real advantage. Would be nice to see some silver-plating eventually though.I've compared all three of mine with the exact same atomizer on each one, the voltage drop difference is miniscule between copper brass and stainless. The difference in voltage drop between the copper and stainless was .06v, the copper was .06v better than the SS with the identical setup. Machining seems to be the real deciding factor on voltage drop and my SS SMPL has one of the tightest/best 510 connections I have ever screwed an atomizer into, even with just two threads engaged there is zero slack or wobble in the threaded connection, Superb machining tolerances IMO.Maybe I'll just get a brass one, eh? At least they're in stock.
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