The (polite) Clone/Authentic discussion! :D

[Chelonian]

Mine didn't. 18500 only, with an option to buy other tubes cheaply as they came out. It was the only game at the time, and I willingly played. I just wasnt happy, and wouldnt have been, even with three tubes. I bought it from Vaperev, so no previous owner on that one.
And yes, if you vape regularly below .3 conductivity is an issue. I dont, and the majority of vapers probably dont even use rebuildables, or if they do, dont vape that low. The popularity of the REO and the Provari show that...and anyways, there are clones that come very near that mark.
Also, I replace my springs with beryllium copper springs as a matter of routine it gets me improvements of an average of .18 of an ohm on average when measured across the switch.
I also use genesis attys as my go to vape....and those squeaky threads you hear? Believe it or not, that is a sign of extremely tight tolerances (as long as they dont grind/wiggle). Most metal on metal threads that are frequently used are loosely machined to avoid that very problem.
Roughening them up lightly with some 2000, followed by a liberal dose of noloax, then a good cleanup will stop it. I left mine, as the tighter thread conducts better

Anyways, at that low of resistance, internal battery resistance as they discharge is going to be a factor as well...as long as we are talking quality mods, its probably the biggest at that range.
Do you test your batteries(just curious)?

 

[elee86]

I have several clones and several authentic mods. The biggest difference for me between the two is having to fiddle with it to get it to work. The only adjustments I have to make on my authentics are for battery rattles, and I never have to adjust it daily. I have to adjust something on all my clones almost every time I change batteries.

Firing switch - My firing button likes to fall apart at least once a day on my clones. I never have to touch my authentics firing button.

Pricing - I don't see any problems with clones, (manufacturing, and purchasing). At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is if you are happy with what you have. Like others have mentioned, there are certain clones out there that work equal to or better than its authentic counterpart.

 

[elee86]

I hear that brother, authentics really have sagged in quality as of late, I think it's partly the vapers fault. Because the die-hard authentic "only" vapers will blindly buy anything surrounded by hype. The pegasus is a great example, half a grand because there were only 1,000 made :/, and it performs no better than any other copper mechanical clone, plus it had contact issues later on, THAT'S a highway robbery lol.

I think the most overpriced authentic I've ever purchased was the Tree of Life mod, which I don't care to say how much I spent on it. Man was she purdy, but that's about all it was worth. Because it's the only mod I actually could actively sense the voltage drop of .4, even with sparkly clean contacts, and the locking ring was so loose it rattled, it would still lock, but the annoying part was it would just go wherever it wanted too. If I so much as grazed the ring with my pink, it would be locked, and I'd have to unlock it once again.

And HEY! Don't talk crap about my Stingray or Turtleships fool! Just playin' brother.

But seriously how could you not be impressed by the Stingray? (which one did you own? authentic?) If the red copper LE stingray doesn't impress you, I really can't guess what blows it out of the water. I mean it basically has the lowest recorded voltage drop (.05 on a .5ohm atty!), the only other that comes close is the Bay City Vapers BFM! And the BFM doesn't even have a top cap lol.
~.05 voltage drop.
~biggest silver contacts in the game.
~Beautiful hand carved engravings.
~Floating 510 connection, and adjustable magnetic throw as stock!
~Smoothest and shortest magnetic throw on the button which resembles touching an ipad to fire your atty, yet can still be set down without worry.
~Mirror finish copper that comes pre-coated with polyurethane to prevent tarnish.
~Comes with 3 seemless 350,490, and 18650 red copper tubes for one piece construction performance. (You got ripped off son!)
~Only 1000 made (I payed $20 extra for "666" ), and comes with hand signed authentication/bag/box.
~All threading is .05mm for super fine tuning, as well as a 3 point entry threading to keep it smooth. This is the only locking ring I EVER used (even though you don't need to because of the strong neodynium magnets), because it was one of those that you can flick with your finger and it will spin all the way closed like it's on bearings, just magical! I'd actually flick it open and closed while I vaped because it was just too easy and there.

This mechanical mod is made for those vapers that often sub-ohm and just abuse their batteries in general , this just happens to look beautiful as well, maybe not the most purdy, but everything functions better than nearly anything I've ever vaped. Everything about it just works like it's supposed to, and then some. I'm very experience with ALOT of authentic mods, I have about 23 now in my collection, and regularly check them out at local vape shops, and I haven't seen a mod that blows the Stingray out of the water. The clones from everybody other than Infinite SUCK though, even infinites are kinda rough. JD Tech truly made a mod that only they can make perfectly.

The Turtleship V2 is a great authentic, it's obviously a rockstar much like the chi-you for a reason, it's great! It's not absolutely, mind blowingly stellar, but it hits hard, and hasn't EVER given me a problem or nuisance. It's the only long throw button that I've ever liked as well, it feels like a plunger gliding on ice up into the mod, firm and definite. The coolest thing about the Turtleship to me is the fact that they craft the metal so perfectly, when you screw together the body pieces, the seems literally disappear, even when you push your eyeball against them.

What's your favorite mod bro? (I hope this didn't seem like a hard retaliation, I'm just discussing back .)

I have an authentic TurtleShip V2, and V3. Of all my mods, clones and authentics, I love the Turtleship firing switch the most. It is just soo buttery smooth. I've read reports of the Turtleship firing switches being faulty and what not, but I don't see it. Maybe they were talking about the V1.

 

[bulldog63h]

Treehead
You dont come across badly at all l. A good discussion has some feeling to it.

The problem with me and the Stingray was the button, and the fact it didnt come with three discreet tubes. For that money, it should. The button was just not as smooth as my Paps or Super T, which, once again cost less...and the fit and finish was no better, and perhaps a little less than those two.

As for v drop, I am not a believer...its a poor way to measure conductivity. Also, I rarely drip below .4, so its irrelevant to me, as long as its not excessive. Anyways, any good mod should conduct good enough for any but the most hardcore, merely by how you wrap your coil. However, my opinions on v drop are colored by the fact that I am engineer. I recognize its usefulness for most, but its still a really terrible unit of measure.

Bulldog:

There are good authentic setups that will cost you the same as the Provari itself, and less than you spent if you had to buy a charger and atty as well.
For example, the Silver Dog comes with three tubes, and the hybrid atty.

It can be found for $90-$110 depending on the vendor. I have one, and its great.

I'm not a mech vaper. Then again, I've never tried one.

 

[tayone415]

I've bought clones when I first started off. Why? I wasn't going to spend hundreds of dollars on something I might hate. I would of preferred to of bought a cheap authentic mod, but only had the option of the magneto, but hated the design. So I kept buying clones thinking I'll try this metal and these contacts and one with a floating pin, or magnet switches or a single tube....blah, blah, blah.

After awhile I had enough with bad quality control, things falling apart and cheap material. Although some clones weren't all that bad.
I prefer authentic for the quality of the materials used and the way it is made. Plus it's easier to sell an authentic than a clone and you can get a lot of your money back if not more depending on the mod.

I still can't get rid of my clones and "clones."

I think instead of just making clones the clone companies should take a design and features hear and there and create something new and of their own and make a cheap authentic mod. Infinite has at least done that with their CLT RDA. I probably wouldn't buy it, because I like higher end authentic pieces, but I think they should continue in this direction and do so with mods and ditch cloning especially ridiculous "clones" of colors that is no way authentic like a purple or pink or red or copper nemesis, why not create a new logo, most people will know it's fake anyway.

 

[wonkeypickle]

I know there is a difference a lot of times, but again with the value or money thing.... does that added value of the quality is on par with the much added price tag? for me, if the answer is yew I would definitely get the expensive one, if not I'll go for the cheaper one

as far as the nemesis? yes. a good clone would cost you between $60-80 dollars, the authentics are $180-200 depending on what kind and where it's from. is the difference worth the money? yes. to me. i'd rather have one good thing than 10 okay things, but again YMMV

 

[wonkeypickle]

being a machine shop rat (240sx parts) for a couple years helps with the appreciation aspect. nothing compares to an original nemesis for me. well, except for my stingray. lols. i don't hate clones, vape em if ya got em is my motto. i just prefer the real deal is all.

 

[vapero]

I think clones are a clone of the original... duh, some fall short some are spot on to the original including the pros and cons of the victim here but some do solve some issues the originals have thus giving for example better v-drop or a telescopic pin where the original has none, but that's all. but as reason implies some clones are much better than "other originals", for example, I KNOW that my brass GP Paps is much better "mod" than an original Chi-You mod.

so to make it short clones will just be a bit worst or a bit better than the original in incremental aspects but will never really stand out if they don't try to innovate

I know this isn't the real discussion here but just wanted to leave it here.

 

[Nytebreed]

The mech stuff I am currently using is clone.
25$ drippers cool, yeah a bit more of a PITA to coil cause often the holes are not aligned properly, but they work and when the break, unless it's on the 1st build, I got my money's worth.
My Maraxus clone I got because it's different than the standard tube, but I wouldn't pay $300 for one, I don't think it's that cool.
There are a few authentics that WILL be added to my collection in the future.
1 something by vape sirs...I love their stuff and their switches are brilliant.
A VA valkyrie, Awesome travel mod. I thought I found the answer with the EHpro clone from my B&M, 1st one built in store, would not fire, bad switch. Grabbed the one from the case that was built and firing. By the time my buddy finished his shopping, it was dead. Tried fixing the switch so did the shop, didn't work. Ruined my weekend.
I also need a VA Kraken to go on the aforementioned nonexistent vapesirs, unless the nightmare atty by them ends up being cooler.

In short I appreciate both for what they are. I also realize that not all authentics are made equal, or clones for that matter. I will always consider clones ultimately disposable, or at the least requiring maintenance, the level of that makes my mind up about whether is is worth it or not.

 

[Vaslovik]

Well, when I get a better job or win the lottery I'll be quite happy to buy an authentic mech. Right now I can't even afford another clone. Getting off the cigs was more important to me than having an *authentic* mech. I've not had a smoke in over a year, and I'm happy with my vape. That's where I'm at with it.

 

[JoshUng]

I'm not a fan of clones with logos either.

What I would like to see is the companies like Infinite and EhPro start coming up with generic names for certain styles of mods. Instead of calling it "nemesis style mod" close is "Model A" or something. Some of the clone companies are getting a good reputation for build quality. That's what I'm buying. You can't really trademark "round tube", but you will tend to place your money where you think you'll get a quality product from. If Infinite made a round copper tube, called it the Frenemy, it wouldn't be a clone anymore.

I'd like to see one of them have the confidence in their product to just name the mod something else, make no other changes, and then people can get inexpensive mods, and nobody has to feel bad.

 

[WharfRat1976]

You get what you pay for- Sometimes this adage holds true with authentics as well. See the recent PlumVeil thread on the Rebuildable Atomizer board.

 

[JMarca]

I'm not a fan of clones with logos either.

What I would like to see is the companies like Infinite and EhPro start coming up with generic names for certain styles of mods. Instead of calling it "nemesis style mod" close is "Model A" or something. Some of the clone companies are getting a good reputation for build quality. That's what I'm buying. You can't really trademark "round tube", but you will tend to place your money where you think you'll get a quality product from. If Infinite made a round copper tube, called it the Frenemy, it wouldn't be a clone anymore.

I'd like to see one of them have the confidence in their product to just name the mod something else, make no other changes, and then people can get inexpensive mods, and nobody has to feel bad.

HCigar started doing this recently, while I appreciate the effort they really need to pay someone to actually look at the products they're making and calling their own. I think China only copies us because they know we know what we're doing, they need to brush up on the engineering end.

 

[Nytebreed]

The newer EHpro Valkyrie clones don't have the wings, script or serial numbers on them. I really liked that. It was unfortunate that out of the 3 that we tried to get to fire at my local B&M 2l had junk switches out of the box, and the other failed within 5 minutes, and the adjustable switch contacts were all stripped so they couldn't be adjusted to fix it, Otherwise I'd have bought one.

 

[KurrptSenate]

infinite started making their "own" designs. Basically they took 3 popular atties and combined all three of them into their own

 

[vapero]

the fogger is a great example of cloners doing their own

 

[Supergrover]

I chose to go with clones for my Mechs and RDAs.

My first Mech and RDA was a tobeco crown RDA, and an Ehpro Maraxus, the crown was and still is great, the maraxus however had some issues, it only took a few dollars to get it hitting hard, it needed a magnet upgrade in the switch, solved all the problems with massive voltage drop and hot button.

I do have a smoktech Magneto, which is as authentic as I will ever get, because it is still cheap, but it also hits pretty well, magnetic switch, telescopic.
I have a Helios on the magneto, and it is a great clone RDA, again no problems with it at all.

My 2 newest purchases were.
Copper penny mod clone, not sure who makes it, but it is absolutely great, contacts are silver plated copper, has a magnetic switch, it hits like a train, it does get tarnished very fast being copper, so weekly I take it apart and clean it up.
A tobeco copper tobh RDA for the penny, another great clone RDA.

But probably my favorite clone mod I have is, my Morpheus, came with copper contacts, upgraded magnets for the switch, as well as the spring, and 3 tubes for 18350,18500 and 18650.
The RDA I have on the Morpheus is the smok caterpillar, it matches it like a charm, I did have to bore out the airflow holes on the caterpillar to vape anything lower than 1 ohm though, but thats easy enough I just used a pointed file in my drill to bore them out just a hair.

If I only bought authentic that collection would be a stupid amount of money and my wife would have shot me in my sleep for sure.
Actually that collection of clones cost me less than 1 Authentic setup.
Maybe one day I will get an authentic, but it is rare that I have that much play money and nothing else to spend it on.

 

[tayone415]

the fogger is a great example of cloners doing their own

For a non clone the fogger does a pretty good job and has nice airflow for a non genesis style tank. Just don't buy anything older than version 4.

 

[HecticEnergy]

I basically only buy clones, except for cheap authentics. My wife would kill me if I spent 200+ on a mod as she's not a vaper. Even for she agreed to it, I don't know if I could justify it to myself.

That sucks though. I think we should pay for good ideas and the people with the original idea should get a piece of what they created.

As everyone said, logod clones are dumb. I openly say my stuff is clones.

I would like to buy an authentic trident RDA though. My clone just broke after 6 months (same post issue) and it's my favorite dripper. I can still run dual coils, just more painful to build. For me it's usually a risk assessment. I may not like the dripper... I buy most of my stuff online, so it's not like I can play with one in the store and see how I like to build on it, etc. if I spent 400 on a setup, I'd better like it because it's going to have to last me a long time. Instead I can spend 75 on a setup every few months and get new toys and experiences.

Sure, clones are basically disposable, but at the rate things are coming out, it will be several generations before it dies, and I'll likely be looking at the next big thing anyway.

Just ordered a 4nine clone and the CLT atty.
after I bought it I saw the 2six (26650 version of the 4nine)... That will probably be my next purchase, with a 30mm tobh or stellare clone to run on it...

Good read guys!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[vapero]

Besides this forum almost every time some one asks me about my setup is from non vapers or ego users and have no idea about mechs
They are surprised to learn that my mech and dripper works much much better than what they know and costs much much less than the average ego setup that you could get here. So yes I'm proud to show my clones and advertise them as such

The average ego starter kit here sells for $100 and my fast tech for $26