Gotcha.
So how can one tell the Difference between a "Clone" that is Made by an Independent Company? And one that is made by the Original Company but being sold as a "Clone"?
RDA What do you think about RDA/RTA clones?
- Thread starter Jumberlack
- Start date
- th_trl_thread_readers 0
- Status
Gotcha.
So how can one tell the Difference between a "Clone" that is Made by an Independent Company? And one that is made by the Original Company but being sold as a "Clone"?
I would assume the difference is in a combination of origin, markings, packaging, materials and quality, as well as details in design and use of materials. It does get tricky at times that's for sure. There are instances I've heard of where independent companies cloning a certain item actually rework it slightly at it becomes an improved version of the original.
Clones have gotten to a price point where they are cheaper than a single o-ring of an authentic, just look at the Derringer and Bambino clones for under $6, there are members buying the clones just for their o-rings !
The only difference I have seen from most clones is that the aesthetic finish is not as nice as the authentic, nothing a buffing wheel with some buffing compound on a Dremel can't fix !
The only difference I have seen from most clones is that the aesthetic finish is not as nice as the authentic, nothing a buffing wheel with some buffing compound on a Dremel can't fix !
If you ever visited China and seen the e-cig manufacturers, only the top brands like innokin, Kanger and Aspire actually design and make things themselves and even they source their parts out to independent machine shops. The rest is a co-op they make parts and bits that are interchangeable for tens if not hundreds of companies and just slap on a logo/brand for the more well known makes. Sort of like there was a master design/drawing that was researched by the co-op group and then every company without a engineering team can mass produce without having the overhead.
Last edited:
Does AmeraVape ring a bell ? ...LoL
We wouldn't be able to afford anything if they were made here, anyone want to pay $8 for an o-ring or $15 for a contact screw ?
cloned by whom ?
it used to be sheep Japanese coppy s .. now not so much !
now its Chinese ..did you notice some original designs starting to come there ? with exelent quality ?
used to be in the garment industry and had a contract sewing factory . my wife designed a line of bikinies under a different name of course . the store which bought a set from us and ripped them to make a direct copy ! and then came to us .. not knowing who we where ..to contract sew for them .
so we got " cloned " right in orange county ca .
cost of labor ..well we had to make them for about 3.75 a piece ..retailed for 65.00 ..with American labor , taxes , and labor laws. that was not good enough so.
nafta north American trade agreement came and all production went to mexico.
its called competicion ..free trade ..
that's the world we live in and it makes no difference who coppys or clones them .
it used to be sheep Japanese coppy s .. now not so much !
now its Chinese ..did you notice some original designs starting to come there ? with exelent quality ?
used to be in the garment industry and had a contract sewing factory . my wife designed a line of bikinies under a different name of course . the store which bought a set from us and ripped them to make a direct copy ! and then came to us .. not knowing who we where ..to contract sew for them .
so we got " cloned " right in orange county ca .
cost of labor ..well we had to make them for about 3.75 a piece ..retailed for 65.00 ..with American labor , taxes , and labor laws. that was not good enough so.
nafta north American trade agreement came and all production went to mexico.
its called competicion ..free trade ..
that's the world we live in and it makes no difference who coppys or clones them .
My personal feelings on it, doesnt bother me one way or not.
I buy a lot of tools. If Milwaukee releases some new saw that cuts everything under the sun and wipes my ..., I will put it on my "future purchase list". If Makita releases a similar saw and it comes out to be $50 cheaper (pending model and manufacture info), I would purchase the Makita. While I would tip my hat to the company that came up with the idea, I will still purchase what my wallet prefers.
I know this isnt an exact apples to apples comparison, but if you have to replace a dented part on your car. Do you go to the dealer and pay dealer prices for authentic? or do you pay a body shop that will get a knock-off part that is made to OEM specs? The difference there is hundreds, if not thousands, for what is essentially the same part.
Atomizers, I buy both clones andd authentics. Depends on what I am looking for and what I can afford. Authentic Magma? No way I am spending $100+ when I was starting out. But hearing how good it was, and seeing a clone for under $20, it was a no brainer.
Mutation x2, authenic for 30 vs clone for $15. Meh, i was at my local B&M, picked up the authentic.
If its under $40, I will mostly go with authentic since its cheaply priced. Any higher, clones for me.
Now the batteries and pv's I use, those are all authentics. Personal preference, but if I am holding what could be a possible face-grenade, i wouldnt like to chance it.
I buy a lot of tools. If Milwaukee releases some new saw that cuts everything under the sun and wipes my ..., I will put it on my "future purchase list". If Makita releases a similar saw and it comes out to be $50 cheaper (pending model and manufacture info), I would purchase the Makita. While I would tip my hat to the company that came up with the idea, I will still purchase what my wallet prefers.
I know this isnt an exact apples to apples comparison, but if you have to replace a dented part on your car. Do you go to the dealer and pay dealer prices for authentic? or do you pay a body shop that will get a knock-off part that is made to OEM specs? The difference there is hundreds, if not thousands, for what is essentially the same part.
Atomizers, I buy both clones andd authentics. Depends on what I am looking for and what I can afford. Authentic Magma? No way I am spending $100+ when I was starting out. But hearing how good it was, and seeing a clone for under $20, it was a no brainer.
Mutation x2, authenic for 30 vs clone for $15. Meh, i was at my local B&M, picked up the authentic.
If its under $40, I will mostly go with authentic since its cheaply priced. Any higher, clones for me.
Now the batteries and pv's I use, those are all authentics. Personal preference, but if I am holding what could be a possible face-grenade, i wouldnt like to chance it.
Clones let those unable to afford the genuine, a chance to see if it is worth attempting to save for the genuine, or simply be happy for a good deal using the clone. Granted a person can get defective clones, they can also get defective genuine articles. Toss up either way. I do not feel good/bad about either. You use what you can afford and hopefully have some choice in using.
I love clones and would never buy an authentic even If I did have the extra money. I love the fact that Socialism has come to America and everyone is vaping on it ! ...LoL
I'm all over the map with this, but slightly unique perspective I guess, so I'll post a few thoughts:
- Often, the REASON I want a product is due to feedback from users about the fantastic quality, perfect tolerances, and a unique design that a clone is likely to not get quite right. For those types of wants, I only consider an Authentic. Purchases I've made like that are VERY often satisfying, long-term buys. Examples include products from ReosMods, and back-in-the-day Provape, Kir Fanis, GP, ByLeo, MarkBugs...
- Sometimes, I KNOW I want something, and I am VERY confident it'll be a keeper, and in that case, I prefer to wait until I can get and pay for an authentic - and my expectation is that the quality will be higher
- Sometimes, I'm curious and want to give an RDA a try, but suspect it very well may NOT be a keeper. In that case, if the authentic is $100, I'm probably not going to go for it - I may buy a clone if they have good feedback.
- My experience with clone RDA's is about 50/50. Meaning about half seem to be made pretty well, and probably perform comparably to the authentic. In a RARE case, that's been good enough that I then want the original. Usually not though - that's not my justification. My justification is that it's just an experiment and might be worth $15, but not worth $115.
And in many cases, I've had clone RDA's arrive, and they're crap. Fatal errors in machining or assembly that make then unusable, and for $9 or whatever, I'm not going to go deal with return and replacement either...
So I have several clone atties sitting here never built.
I have several clone atties sitting here that were interesting, but just not right for me.
I have a couple clone atties in "top 5 rotation".
And I have a few originals too.
MOST recently, the last category - The "hard to get" RDA.
I bought a clone Narda, and a clone M-Atty.
Either one of those I might well have opted for the authentic, based on so much positive feedback, but they're not available. Oh well.
Hell, I would have PRE-ORDERED and waited a month for a Narda, if they did that.
But now that I have the clone, I'm probably done. Unless they drop to $30-$40, I don't need two, I like variety.
(PS - ChiNarDa is very nice. The TIP seems cheap, but I have tips. In fact there too - I have some pricey brand-name tips, and some $3 FastTech tips. Some of each suck, and some of each are great and in rotation).
- Often, the REASON I want a product is due to feedback from users about the fantastic quality, perfect tolerances, and a unique design that a clone is likely to not get quite right. For those types of wants, I only consider an Authentic. Purchases I've made like that are VERY often satisfying, long-term buys. Examples include products from ReosMods, and back-in-the-day Provape, Kir Fanis, GP, ByLeo, MarkBugs...
- Sometimes, I KNOW I want something, and I am VERY confident it'll be a keeper, and in that case, I prefer to wait until I can get and pay for an authentic - and my expectation is that the quality will be higher
- Sometimes, I'm curious and want to give an RDA a try, but suspect it very well may NOT be a keeper. In that case, if the authentic is $100, I'm probably not going to go for it - I may buy a clone if they have good feedback.
- My experience with clone RDA's is about 50/50. Meaning about half seem to be made pretty well, and probably perform comparably to the authentic. In a RARE case, that's been good enough that I then want the original. Usually not though - that's not my justification. My justification is that it's just an experiment and might be worth $15, but not worth $115.
And in many cases, I've had clone RDA's arrive, and they're crap. Fatal errors in machining or assembly that make then unusable, and for $9 or whatever, I'm not going to go deal with return and replacement either...
So I have several clone atties sitting here never built.
I have several clone atties sitting here that were interesting, but just not right for me.
I have a couple clone atties in "top 5 rotation".
And I have a few originals too.
MOST recently, the last category - The "hard to get" RDA.
I bought a clone Narda, and a clone M-Atty.
Either one of those I might well have opted for the authentic, based on so much positive feedback, but they're not available. Oh well.
Hell, I would have PRE-ORDERED and waited a month for a Narda, if they did that.
But now that I have the clone, I'm probably done. Unless they drop to $30-$40, I don't need two, I like variety.
(PS - ChiNarDa is very nice. The TIP seems cheap, but I have tips. In fact there too - I have some pricey brand-name tips, and some $3 FastTech tips. Some of each suck, and some of each are great and in rotation).
Just got a el diablo clone from ft for $10.50 and can't imagine the authentic being any better.
Sent from my LG-E980 using Tapatalk
Sent from my LG-E980 using Tapatalk
I would vote for him if I was American, only sane one out of the bunch !
Political discussions aside, I can't see myself paying over $100 for a piece of machined metal. I've bought some crap clones, and some damn good ones too. If I buy a crap clone that I see enough potential in it, I'll shell out the bucks for an authentic. If I get top notch performance out of a clone, or if I don't like the design, then I'm not making any additional purchases.
- Status
