***Disclaimer: Before anyone starts discussing their thoughts on either clones or authentics, I'd like to ensure that this thread stay happy and polite. 
(1) No snark, attitude, or bashing whatsoever. (2) No calling out certain manufacturers/countries in a negative way. (3) Needs to be a stimulating discussion without any negativity. I (the original poster) DO NOT have a preference/bias for either clones OR authentics, just making that clear!***
Hey guys , as my gigantic colored disclaimer implies above, I want this to be a thread that simply discusses the authentic/clone topic, but in a positive and cognitively stimulating way! As it'll most likely be the main topic, it's ok to discuss the ethics of cloning, but it can't be in a directly (or passive aggresively ) negative way. Almost as if we're discussing it in a court room.
It's also a place to discuss why you prefer authentics and/or clones, and your reasoning behind it. Maybe your like me, and you simply do your best to research the best (or best looking) devices for your personal vaping needs.
I have a feeling we'll get some interesting replies, and find out what the vaping community generally thinks about the topic. It can be anything from the economics involved, quality, myths, materials used, recommended (or not recommended) manufacturers etc.
I'll start us off!
What made me want to start this thread, was I was thinking about how I went back and forth between my authentic/clone preferences. When I first started vaping I was using brand name carto/glassomizers from Aspire (the ET-S and then the Nautilus, which doesn't have much of a clone market lol, it's probably the only "un-cloned" categor in vaping equipment). After I rebuilt my first coil in my Nautilus, and noticed the noticeable difference, I immediately got into mechanical mods and RDA's. Naturally, not sure if I'd like it or not, I took the advice of some fellow vapers to try a lower priced clone setup to see if I liked it (so I didn't waste too much money if I didn't care for it). So I went to FastTech and bought a Trident clone, and a copper nemesis. They were pretty amazing because (now I know) I was born to be a dripper, and they did me well for the first month of vaping. Unfortunately, after screwing down my nut onto the Trident (quite hard in it's defense), one of the negative posts broke off one of it's "teeth" (because the Trident has a slit style post). This bummed me out quite a bit, because I could only single coil until my next RDA got here.
I decided to try another clone, so I got a Helios. And this clone was much better, I'm not sure who it was made by, but it wasn't from FastTech this time (nothing against FT btw). It was a pretty sturdy RDA, and very capable, especially for less than $20, what a freakin' deal! It's the RDA that got me on the path of "chasing the clouds". I really started to learn what I wanted from a setup, and was quite an expert by the time it too failed me. Again in it's defense, I'm terribly rough on my RDA's, I pull and tug on my coils in the process of making them perfect, you'd almost think I torture them on purpose. But while tugging with considerable hand strength, the middle block (the Helios has a T-post, with 2 positive hole connections) popped right off, and you could see that it was basically just press fitted together. So being quite hooked by now, I wasn't happy having to wait for another RDA while vaping my handicapped trident 
.
I decided to go full authentic this time; since I know I love dripping, I'm going to splurge on a new mechanical mod, and atty. By now I'd heard from alot of people on the forums that authentic's are much high quality, and that you get your money's worth etc. etc.. So I found the Brass Monkee RDA, a frankly fairly priced amazing atty for $80, and spent $230 on a Red Copper Limited Edition Stingray Mod by JD Tech. When these two showed up, it really was an eye opener (I still love these two, I chose well), they were definitely nice than the really low priced clones I'd previously used. The Brass Monkee was shiny, heavy, super solid (most important for me), and came with an extra top cap to drill out along with the adjustable airflow control cap, that was a nice touch. The Red Copper Stingray frankly blew the FT Nemesis clone out of the water, I now know that I'm OCD about my mods buttons, and that nemesis button suuuuucked, it was crunchy, wobbly, and I couldn't set it down without it either firing or tipping over. The stingray had a voltage drop of .05! Thanks to it's big adjustable silver contacts, and it's button, OH THE BUTTON! It's so buttery, and the magnetic throw on it is so short, it literally feels like it's touch sensitive, yet I could set it down and it would so much as wiggle (or fire). So at this point, I though I was an "authentic only" person.
Eventually I grew bored of the Stingray, and I'd made the Brass Monkee look terrible due to a bad drilling job, so I thought I'd try something different. I bought an authentic Dominator RDA, and a Turtleship V2 clone from infinite. Amazingly enough, the Turtleship V2 clone is my favorite 18650 mod to date, it had a great .08 voltage drop (and it's stainless steel, so it won't tarnish! looks great too), came with silver contacts, fully adjustable, and the best button in the world. It came with optional button magnets, and when those are installed, it feels like the firm button is rolling on bearings it's so smooth, I've never had the button fail, ever. This is when I realized not all clones are made equal and that infinite truly makes "authentic quality" devices, at an amazingly competitive price! The Turtleship clone by Infinite is BETTER than the original if you can believe it, from performance (silver instead of brass contacts), looks (sharper/deeper engraving and nicer brushed 304 stainless steel), and especially value. The Dominator RDA was the best RDA I'd had to date without a doubt, and it was for about 2 months, and that's when the middle post started rotating on it's own. It had worked it's way loose (I'm cursed when it comes to posts lol), eventually I found out the silver 510 screw had been stripped just from being tightened on mods over and over. So I was impressed, and then not so much, this is where I fully realized that not all authentics are perfect, and not all clones are lower quality.
Skip to the current future and my favorite setups are mix matched with high quality clones, and high quality authentics. I mainly vape 26650 setups now, just because I like the extra battery life, and "extreme" vapor builds. My favorite 26650 mod is the 4nine clone, which I would gladly buy from the original creator Tarsius, but they don't make a 26650, I own their 18650 authentic though, which is paired with an authentic Tobh Atty. Funny enough, my 26650 copper 4nine clone has on top of it, the awesome 26650 Tobh Atty clone by Tobeco. So I have a mini authentic setup, and basically a cloned big brother that vapes twice as hard! lol All 4 of them are built exceptionally well, and have the same awesome design. The 26650 4nine clone ironically has a better voltage drop than the smaller original (most likely due to the size/battery though, not build quality, which appear to be equal). The Tobhs are literally identical besides their size, only the authentic Tobh has black oxidized screws, which doesn't make a difference that I notice.
SO! In a nutshell, I'm on both "sides" of the fence, I'm not biased towards anything, I do trust some manufacturers (clone or authentic) more than others, but that's about it. I now research the heck out of a products reviews from trusted reviewers (Todd, Grimm Green, Vaping with Twisted 420, Ruby Roo, Z Vaper, Trevor Jones, even Rip etc.), and other feedback from forums and youtube, to get (usually a spot on) idea of what a products quality level is, and most importantly, how it performs. I've learned that if you'd like a mod that hits hard, either cheap clone or expensive authentic, copper is the way to go, because not much can mess up the conductivity. I've learned that some authentics can be terrible, and some clones are absolutely amazing. It really all depends who's making it.
There's ONE THING, I was cloning companies would stop doing: Using original creators LOGOS. Using the original logo is pretty uncool in my book, because in some cases, they're so similar it's hard to tell who made what. And it also implies that you want to pretend you have the authentic, which is lame, when I have a clone, I own it, who cares. I have a Stillare clone with no logo on it, and I think it looks way cooler without cursive all over it, and it's not taking that products entire image, you know it's just a replica of a shape of metal that works awesomely. I personally don't like laser etching anyway, but that's a personal preference, deep engravings are awesome though. In my opinion, if you can mimic an authentic device that isn't patented, and make it obvious that it's not by that original creator (don't use the logo, or make your own in other words), and that aforementioned clone can perform/look just as good for a fraction of the price, then I can fully respect that.
If a "cheaper" company can create a less costly product, that competes with the authentic which is overwhelmingly more expensive, my mind has to ask, "Why can't the authentic manufacturers be closer to that price?" I know, I know, certain situations are different, like if a device uses real gold instead of brass, or the authentic creator is making them homemade out of their garage, I understand that. Sometimes the authentics cost more because materials are more expensive where they are made, but it's never 5x more expensive. I have to say I bet some authentic makers, are making quite the hefty profit. BUT! More power to them, I'm more than happy to pay a little extra if I really want a device for those differences.
Thanks for the input in advance! I'm excited to see what your stance/thoughts/opinions on authentics and/or clones are! Remember we're all vapers trying to beat tobaccy here, let's be ladies and gentleman about this. No reason to get flustered over battery tubes and hunks of metal. I hope everyone enjoys this thread, and it's not used to make others feel bad about what they vape with, or insult in any way. Vape happily, and relax!
Vape onward!
(1) No snark, attitude, or bashing whatsoever. (2) No calling out certain manufacturers/countries in a negative way. (3) Needs to be a stimulating discussion without any negativity. I (the original poster) DO NOT have a preference/bias for either clones OR authentics, just making that clear!*** , as my gigantic colored disclaimer implies above, I want this to be a thread that simply discusses the authentic/clone topic, but in a positive and cognitively stimulating way! As it'll most likely be the main topic, it's ok to discuss the ethics of cloning, but it can't be in a directly (or passive aggresively ) negative way. Almost as if we're discussing it in a court room.It's also a place to discuss why you prefer authentics and/or clones, and your reasoning behind it. Maybe your like me, and you simply do your best to research the best (or best looking) devices for your personal vaping needs.
I have a feeling we'll get some interesting replies, and find out what the vaping community generally thinks about the topic. It can be anything from the economics involved, quality, myths, materials used, recommended (or not recommended) manufacturers etc.
I'll start us off!
What made me want to start this thread, was I was thinking about how I went back and forth between my authentic/clone preferences. When I first started vaping I was using brand name carto/glassomizers from Aspire (the ET-S and then the Nautilus, which doesn't have much of a clone market lol, it's probably the only "un-cloned" categor in vaping equipment). After I rebuilt my first coil in my Nautilus, and noticed the noticeable difference, I immediately got into mechanical mods and RDA's. Naturally, not sure if I'd like it or not, I took the advice of some fellow vapers to try a lower priced clone setup to see if I liked it (so I didn't waste too much money if I didn't care for it). So I went to FastTech and bought a Trident clone, and a copper nemesis. They were pretty amazing because (now I know) I was born to be a dripper, and they did me well for the first month of vaping. Unfortunately, after screwing down my nut onto the Trident (quite hard in it's defense), one of the negative posts broke off one of it's "teeth" (because the Trident has a slit style post). This bummed me out quite a bit, because I could only single coil until my next RDA got here.
I decided to try another clone, so I got a Helios. And this clone was much better, I'm not sure who it was made by, but it wasn't from FastTech this time (nothing against FT btw). It was a pretty sturdy RDA, and very capable, especially for less than $20, what a freakin' deal! It's the RDA that got me on the path of "chasing the clouds". I really started to learn what I wanted from a setup, and was quite an expert by the time it too failed me
. Again in it's defense, I'm terribly rough on my RDA's, I pull and tug on my coils in the process of making them perfect, you'd almost think I torture them on purpose. But while tugging with considerable hand strength, the middle block (the Helios has a T-post, with 2 positive hole connections) popped right off, and you could see that it was basically just press fitted together. So being quite hooked by now, I wasn't happy having to wait for another RDA while vaping my handicapped trident .I decided to go full authentic this time; since I know I love dripping, I'm going to splurge on a new mechanical mod, and atty. By now I'd heard from alot of people on the forums that authentic's are much high quality, and that you get your money's worth etc. etc.. So I found the Brass Monkee RDA, a frankly fairly priced amazing atty for $80, and spent $230 on a Red Copper Limited Edition Stingray Mod by JD Tech. When these two showed up, it really was an eye opener (I still love these two, I chose well), they were definitely nice than the really low priced clones I'd previously used. The Brass Monkee was shiny, heavy, super solid (most important for me
), and came with an extra top cap to drill out along with the adjustable airflow control cap, that was a nice touch. The Red Copper Stingray frankly blew the FT Nemesis clone out of the water, I now know that I'm OCD about my mods buttons, and that nemesis button suuuuucked, it was crunchy, wobbly, and I couldn't set it down without it either firing or tipping over. The stingray had a voltage drop of .05! Thanks to it's big adjustable silver contacts, and it's button, OH THE BUTTON! It's so buttery, and the magnetic throw on it is so short, it literally feels like it's touch sensitive, yet I could set it down and it would so much as wiggle (or fire). So at this point, I though I was an "authentic only" person.Eventually I grew bored of the Stingray, and I'd made the Brass Monkee look terrible due to a bad drilling job, so I thought I'd try something different. I bought an authentic Dominator RDA, and a Turtleship V2 clone from infinite. Amazingly enough, the Turtleship V2 clone is my favorite 18650 mod to date, it had a great .08 voltage drop (and it's stainless steel, so it won't tarnish! looks great too), came with silver contacts, fully adjustable, and the best button in the world. It came with optional button magnets, and when those are installed, it feels like the firm button is rolling on bearings it's so smooth, I've never had the button fail, ever. This is when I realized not all clones are made equal and that infinite truly makes "authentic quality" devices, at an amazingly competitive price! The Turtleship clone by Infinite is BETTER than the original if you can believe it, from performance (silver instead of brass contacts), looks (sharper/deeper engraving and nicer brushed 304 stainless steel), and especially value. The Dominator RDA was the best RDA I'd had to date without a doubt, and it was for about 2 months, and that's when the middle post started rotating on it's own. It had worked it's way loose (I'm cursed when it comes to posts lol), eventually I found out the silver 510 screw had been stripped just from being tightened on mods over and over. So I was impressed, and then not so much, this is where I fully realized that not all authentics are perfect, and not all clones are lower quality.
Skip to the current future and my favorite setups are mix matched with high quality clones, and high quality authentics. I mainly vape 26650 setups now, just because I like the extra battery life, and "extreme" vapor builds. My favorite 26650 mod is the 4nine clone, which I would gladly buy from the original creator Tarsius, but they don't make a 26650, I own their 18650 authentic though, which is paired with an authentic Tobh Atty. Funny enough, my 26650 copper 4nine clone has on top of it, the awesome 26650 Tobh Atty clone by Tobeco. So I have a mini authentic setup, and basically a cloned big brother that vapes twice as hard! lol All 4 of them are built exceptionally well, and have the same awesome design. The 26650 4nine clone ironically has a better voltage drop than the smaller original (most likely due to the size/battery though, not build quality, which appear to be equal). The Tobhs are literally identical besides their size, only the authentic Tobh has black oxidized screws, which doesn't make a difference that I notice.
SO! In a nutshell, I'm on both "sides" of the fence, I'm not biased towards anything, I do trust some manufacturers (clone or authentic) more than others, but that's about it. I now research the heck out of a products reviews from trusted reviewers (Todd, Grimm Green, Vaping with Twisted 420, Ruby Roo, Z Vaper, Trevor Jones, even Rip etc.), and other feedback from forums and youtube, to get (usually a spot on) idea of what a products quality level is, and most importantly, how it performs. I've learned that if you'd like a mod that hits hard, either cheap clone or expensive authentic, copper is the way to go, because not much can mess up the conductivity. I've learned that some authentics can be terrible, and some clones are absolutely amazing. It really all depends who's making it.
There's ONE THING, I was cloning companies would stop doing: Using original creators LOGOS. Using the original logo is pretty uncool in my book, because in some cases, they're so similar it's hard to tell who made what. And it also implies that you want to pretend you have the authentic, which is lame, when I have a clone, I own it, who cares. I have a Stillare clone with no logo on it, and I think it looks way cooler without cursive all over it, and it's not taking that products entire image, you know it's just a replica of a shape of metal that works awesomely. I personally don't like laser etching anyway, but that's a personal preference, deep engravings are awesome though. In my opinion, if you can mimic an authentic device that isn't patented, and make it obvious that it's not by that original creator (don't use the logo, or make your own in other words), and that aforementioned clone can perform/look just as good for a fraction of the price, then I can fully respect that.
If a "cheaper" company can create a less costly product, that competes with the authentic which is overwhelmingly more expensive, my mind has to ask, "Why can't the authentic manufacturers be closer to that price?" I know, I know, certain situations are different, like if a device uses real gold instead of brass, or the authentic creator is making them homemade out of their garage, I understand that. Sometimes the authentics cost more because materials are more expensive where they are made, but it's never 5x more expensive
. I have to say I bet some authentic makers, are making quite the hefty profit. BUT! More power to them, I'm more than happy to pay a little extra if I really want a device for those differences.Thanks for the input in advance!
I'm excited to see what your stance/thoughts/opinions on authentics and/or clones are! Remember we're all vapers trying to beat tobaccy here, let's be ladies and gentleman about this. No reason to get flustered over battery tubes and hunks of metal. I hope everyone enjoys this thread, and it's not used to make others feel bad about what they vape with, or insult in any way. Vape happily, and relax! Vape onward!
). I've personally never wanted a Nemesis because the design doesn't jive with my vapers OCD lol, I really don't like the adjustable firing button gap that differs depending on the atty, it's mainly the button that irks me, the rest is BEAUTIFUL, but that button that wobble when sat down (even on Atmomixani's, with a stock coil anyway), and the thinner button cap that wraps around the bottom just doesn't feel/look right, I know it works good, it's just me being picky. I'd surely take one if someone gave it to me, don't get me wrong lol, but it's never been stellar in the voltage department, although it looks cool. I have heard that the HCigar copper clone of the Nemesis is basically identical, and even giving it's performance a run for it's money. 
