Top air RTAs
- Thread starter Shawn Hoefer
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Advken CP-TF
Another single coil, DL top air RTA. BUT, this one is a little different...
It's 25mm overall with the straight glass tank, but looks to be around 24mm at the base. It's 50mm tall. There is a double-sided 3-position clicky airflow ring, a slide-to-fill cap on top, and an 810 drip tip (frosted clear). With the bubble glass, it holds 4ml. The straight glass, only 3ml.
In the box, there's the tank, a bag of spares o-rings and grub screws, a spare glass (bubble... Comes with the straight tank installed), and a hex wrench.
So far, pretty normal... Until you open it up and pieces fall out... Weird!
The Advken CP-TF has a postless deck that is very easy to build, but instead of constructing a double-walled chimney, it comes with a removable inner chimney that serves to direct the air to the bottom and sides of the coil AND reduces the chamber. The idea of a chamber reducer goes way back, but it's rarely implemented anymore, and I've never seen one like this.
The coils have to be wound counterclockwise to fit properly, and trimmed... I recommend a leg length of about 5mm. It will easily handle my standard 3.5mm SS316L fused claptons.
Wicking is a piece of cake... Poke it through, trim it in line with the base's o-ring, thin (not fluff LOL Are you a fluffer?), and tuck. If you have too much shoulder on your wick, trim or tuck a little more aggressively.
Put the cap on (it's impossible to put ut on wrong) then the remainder of the tank.
Fill and vape!
I like it. It's easier to build than the Serpent Elevate (Once you remember to wind your coils counter-clockwise), and will handle a larger coil. It's easier to fill than the Juggerknot/Engine line with their pop-up fill ports, and more convenient than having to fully remove the top.
The airflow is restrictive DL... More than the Intake, less than the Zeus Single... About the same as the Serpent Elevate.
Vapor production is as you would expect, and the flavor is great.
In fact, I can only think to two potential cons...
Another single coil, DL top air RTA. BUT, this one is a little different...
It's 25mm overall with the straight glass tank, but looks to be around 24mm at the base. It's 50mm tall. There is a double-sided 3-position clicky airflow ring, a slide-to-fill cap on top, and an 810 drip tip (frosted clear). With the bubble glass, it holds 4ml. The straight glass, only 3ml.
In the box, there's the tank, a bag of spares o-rings and grub screws, a spare glass (bubble... Comes with the straight tank installed), and a hex wrench.
So far, pretty normal... Until you open it up and pieces fall out... Weird!
The Advken CP-TF has a postless deck that is very easy to build, but instead of constructing a double-walled chimney, it comes with a removable inner chimney that serves to direct the air to the bottom and sides of the coil AND reduces the chamber. The idea of a chamber reducer goes way back, but it's rarely implemented anymore, and I've never seen one like this.
The coils have to be wound counterclockwise to fit properly, and trimmed... I recommend a leg length of about 5mm. It will easily handle my standard 3.5mm SS316L fused claptons.
Wicking is a piece of cake... Poke it through, trim it in line with the base's o-ring, thin (not fluff LOL Are you a fluffer?), and tuck. If you have too much shoulder on your wick, trim or tuck a little more aggressively.
Put the cap on (it's impossible to put ut on wrong) then the remainder of the tank.
Fill and vape!
I like it. It's easier to build than the Serpent Elevate (Once you remember to wind your coils counter-clockwise), and will handle a larger coil. It's easier to fill than the Juggerknot/Engine line with their pop-up fill ports, and more convenient than having to fully remove the top.
The airflow is restrictive DL... More than the Intake, less than the Zeus Single... About the same as the Serpent Elevate.
Vapor production is as you would expect, and the flavor is great.
In fact, I can only think to two potential cons...
- Having a separate inner chimney means there's something else to lose, and if that's lost, the atomizer is toast.
- Not sure how slide-to-fill gaskets hold up over the long run, and I don't recall seeing a spare in the box.
Looks like it came out in October 2108. I still haven't seen any kind of widespread use if it, though... And, I'm only seeing a handful of video reviews...
Juggerknot Mini
Yep. Single coil, top air, little brother (or sister) of the Juggerknot from QP Design. This is 24mm at the base and does not bell out the way the original did. It also ships with glass rather than Ultem tank sections. The tanks will hold 2ml (straight) or 4.5ml (bubble). It comes with everything you'd expect at $50 RTA to come with... Really nice "signature" resin drip tip, too.
Like most every other top air RTA, this uses a double-wall chimney. This chimney, though, is collapsed to fit the little rectangular deck, and spins internal to the tank while the deck remains static... You can remove and replace the tank section without removing the base from the mod.
The deck is a cute little affair with ears to direct the air at the bottom and sides of the coil. There are two large post holes centered in each block, and flat tip screws on one side of the deck to secure things. I had no problem fitting my 3.5mm coil.
Note that the chimney also has a couple air holes, so the coil gets a little air from ALL directions.
Wicking is easy, but the tails of my 3.5mm coil did need a significant amount of combing to avoid choking the juice flow. I'd probably go 3mm is you want to avoid that much thinning.
Filling is via a pop-up ring below the airflow, above the tank section. It's a little stiff to use, and you will occasionally see a ring of liquid around that section when you close it. The fill port is OK, but easy to back up... Fill it slowly to avoid a mess.
The Juggerknot Mini got a lot of buzz, and it's a very nice RTA. However, with the Serpent Elevate and Advken CP-TF also competing for the same niche, the price tag is a little tough to swallow. Of course, it is made in Canada rather than China, so... Yeah, that... Of the three... Well, they each have pros and cons... I like not having to remove bits and bobs to fill, but I also like a really clean fill. I also like being able to build without keeping track of bits and bobs. I guess I just don't like bits and bobs very much.
Yep. Single coil, top air, little brother (or sister) of the Juggerknot from QP Design. This is 24mm at the base and does not bell out the way the original did. It also ships with glass rather than Ultem tank sections. The tanks will hold 2ml (straight) or 4.5ml (bubble). It comes with everything you'd expect at $50 RTA to come with... Really nice "signature" resin drip tip, too.
Like most every other top air RTA, this uses a double-wall chimney. This chimney, though, is collapsed to fit the little rectangular deck, and spins internal to the tank while the deck remains static... You can remove and replace the tank section without removing the base from the mod.
The deck is a cute little affair with ears to direct the air at the bottom and sides of the coil. There are two large post holes centered in each block, and flat tip screws on one side of the deck to secure things. I had no problem fitting my 3.5mm coil.
Note that the chimney also has a couple air holes, so the coil gets a little air from ALL directions.
Wicking is easy, but the tails of my 3.5mm coil did need a significant amount of combing to avoid choking the juice flow. I'd probably go 3mm is you want to avoid that much thinning.
Filling is via a pop-up ring below the airflow, above the tank section. It's a little stiff to use, and you will occasionally see a ring of liquid around that section when you close it. The fill port is OK, but easy to back up... Fill it slowly to avoid a mess.
The Juggerknot Mini got a lot of buzz, and it's a very nice RTA. However, with the Serpent Elevate and Advken CP-TF also competing for the same niche, the price tag is a little tough to swallow. Of course, it is made in Canada rather than China, so... Yeah, that... Of the three... Well, they each have pros and cons... I like not having to remove bits and bobs to fill, but I also like a really clean fill. I also like being able to build without keeping track of bits and bobs. I guess I just don't like bits and bobs very much.
I think it’s designed in Canada but made in China. I agree I have an authentic JK mini & a Elevate & I cant honestly say the JK mini is better.
I like the jk mini better but I think that is due to it being an easier build and wick, it feels more familiar and easier to dial in my sweet spot than the Elevate. Will admit the elevate is worth the time to dial in, flavor is good. AF is a touch of a pita though.
Fill port is okay for me but the engine ports are better and more efficient. QP port is too narrow and the mini is easy to flood if you don't fill slowly. Price is not bad when I consider the jk mini will easily outlive my nanos. 50.00 was worth it for me anyway.
Thanks to @Letitia I had my eye on a jk mini, missed a great sale (53CAD shipped) but stumbled onto an Ulton knockoff in a flash sale (17USD), was satisfied with my ammit 25, loved the intake despite losing a little flavor but this clone outdoes them both. I wish I hadn't missed that sale, QP deserves the bucks for the design - maybe I'll get lucky and they'll do some more runs or maybe even a gunmetal one like they did with previous hits, wouldn't mind a second one in another non-silver color at all.
If there was one thing I could wish for though, would be for the top platform to be screwed in because I just know that o-ring under the fill ring is going to need replacing one day. The fill method squeezing a little juice out is messy, but at least a predictable mess unlike the AF randomly getting messy on the ammit 25. ~Sigh~ no matter how great... there is always something.
Thanks @Shawn Hoefer for finally getting to the juggerknot mini, and all the interesting reading you've put into this thread!
If there was one thing I could wish for though, would be for the top platform to be screwed in because I just know that o-ring under the fill ring is going to need replacing one day. The fill method squeezing a little juice out is messy, but at least a predictable mess unlike the AF randomly getting messy on the ammit 25. ~Sigh~ no matter how great... there is always something.
Thanks @Shawn Hoefer for finally getting to the juggerknot mini, and all the interesting reading you've put into this thread!
Thanks again Shawn for all your reviews! Really appreciate them.
Shawn, I'm playing a little catchup, but you found the Elevate more restrictive than the Intake? And the JK mini about the same? Only asking because at least for me that's fairly restricted. I find the Intake a restricted airflow, any more and it might be a bit too tight for me with an RTA.
Until Shawn answers to me the Elevate & JK mini has about the same airflow & I use both half way closed. With the Intake a use it fully open. The Elevate & JK mini are both more airy compared to the Intake.
'Fraid you got the backasswards... From most to least: Serpent Elevate, Juggerknot Mini, Intake. Note that the Serpent Elevate has only a little bit more than the Jugg Mini. The Intake has the least by a long shot. The CP-TF has less than the Jugg Mini, but a lot more than the Intake. Don't forget that there are also other single coil options... The Vapefly Horus, the Kaees Solomon 2, and the OG Geekvape Zeus. Personally, I find the Intake almost unusable... Not tight enough for MTL and way too tight for reasonable DTL.
If you want it wide open the Elevate is loud, I have to cut af by at least a third to quiet it down.
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