What were your best and worst vaping purchases 2017?

[Fractal]

In defence of Smok - the RSST was a legit very good atty, and IMHO wiped the floor with the AGA-T. That said, it was very much a rip off of a much more expensive atty. Oh, and their shielded pyrex carto tanks could take a hell of a beating! Smok did really good beater carto tanks.


Back on topic - My year has been pretty decent, far more hits than misses. And of those misses, they've all been clones I've bought when being "less than clear minded" .

Biggest Steaming Pile of Disappointment :
* SMJY Hurricane v1 clone - Oh yeah, buy one of these! It's got great flavour and good for in between MTL and DL! YEAH NO. The chamber is WAY too big for a single coil deck, the airholes are huge, and it'll dump a full tank through your 510 in a night. Even for the price it was bad.

Favourite Current Vintage bit of Kit :
* Stattqualm SQuape [E]motion - The biggest annoyance I have with this atty is typing out the name. I'm honestly surprised it hasn't gotten more love. It's a doddle to build, capturing wires is dead easy, wicking is easy, juice control works, o-ring tolerances are dead on, machining is excellent, it's stable in TC, and it's a damn good vape. Reliably and consistently good.

Honourable Mentions :
* Stattqualm SQuape [X]s - It was close between the SQuapes, it really was. What pipped it was the [X] is a bit more picky on the wicking (harder to get it perfect consistently), and the top cap isn't as nice for on-the-go refilling as the [E]'s "cogpiece". I also didn't find the single coil deck all that much chop due to the chamber not being reduced enough, and the air path being too wide - I think it vapes much better as a dual coil atty, which does make building it slightly more involved than the [E] on the C or W deck.

* JAC Vapour Series-B DNA 75 - Looks fantastic, great size and weight, good build quality - but it's being held back by that damn oversensitive fire button. I have to lock it before I pocket it, and I'm always concerned that it's eating battery by turning the screen on all the time. That and - while the battery door looks great, the cold metal and slick feel do make me double check for juice leakages all too often.

* Lost Vape ePetite DNA 60 - Loving the DNA 60, great board. Mod is very solidly built, and has a particularly good 510. What lets it down was the fitment of the battery panel (it moved and needed tape), and the chunky, boxy hand feel.

* Lost Vape Therion 75C - Very nice solid feel, great 510, really well built. But I'm not sure I'm quite at home with the DNA 75C board yet. It's a lot of fun, and I'm enjoying it for home / occasional outing use - but the fact that I need to look at the screen to interact with it, and the fact it turns the screen on when making adjustments in stealth mode means it's a no-go for taking to work.

* Vapecige SD Nano DNA 60 - Just got this one in, so the novelty hasn't worn off yet - I'm actually a bit hesitant to mention it. Anyway - it's tiny, it's adorable, and the black one has sparkles! The shape in the hand is really, really comfortable. It's also crazy cheap. But the paint is also kinda squeaky, I suspect it may not hold up over time, the indent around the 510 is REALLY annoying with tanks that have an AFC that extends to the bottom of the tank (the indent grips the AFC and makes it impossible to adjust when the tank is screwed down), the battery contacts are downright agricultural, and the 510 is press fit (well, it seems - I do hope it holds up, but I feel that it wouldn't with the bayonet closure on the SQuape [X]s - that tank can be really hard on the 510).

The "It's Complicated" :
* Malaysian Juice - Damn, it's good (if you're into sweet fruits and Koolada). Really, really hitting the spot. BUT DAMN THESE DAILY REBUILDS ARE GETTING OLD FAST.

Favourite Bit of Hardware "of all time" still in rotation :
* They will pry my Veritas from my cold, dead, lifeless hands . Sorry 2017... you produced some good things, but still nothing that knocks that from top spot.

[MrGruffy]

Best
Eleaf Icare mini, for hospital, dates and other stealth requiring places with background noise

Worst
Every squonking thing I bought, stand by for xmas special coming up

[Gandalf]

Best. $12 hadaly clone and a few $6 derringer v3 clones , pack of cotton bacon and a vt inbox (has grown on me)

Worst: probably the hidra clone squonker I got from mallee , absolute pos. But in his defence he had not even bothered to use it and did not know how crap it was, also got a decent atty in the deal

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

[Crisscross]

In defence of Smok - the RSST was a legit very good atty, and IMHO wiped the floor with the AGA-T. That said, it was very much a rip off of a much more expensive atty. Oh, and their shielded pyrex carto tanks could take a hell of a beating! Smok did really good beater carto tanks.


Back on topic - My year has been pretty decent, far more hits than misses. And of those misses, they've all been clones I've bought when being "less than clear minded" .

Biggest Steaming Pile of Disappointment :
* SMJY Hurricane v1 clone - Oh yeah, buy one of these! It's got great flavour and good for in between MTL and DL! YEAH NO. The chamber is WAY too big for a single coil deck, the airholes are huge, and it'll dump a full tank through your 510 in a night. Even for the price it was bad.

Favourite Current Vintage bit of Kit :
* Stattqualm SQuape [E]motion - The biggest annoyance I have with this atty is typing out the name. I'm honestly surprised it hasn't gotten more love. It's a doddle to build, capturing wires is dead easy, wicking is easy, juice control works, o-ring tolerances are dead on, machining is excellent, it's stable in TC, and it's a damn good vape. Reliably and consistently good.

Honourable Mentions :
* Stattqualm SQuape [X]s - It was close between the SQuapes, it really was. What pipped it was the [X] is a bit more picky on the wicking (harder to get it perfect consistently), and the top cap isn't as nice for on-the-go refilling as the [E]'s "cogpiece". I also didn't find the single coil deck all that much chop due to the chamber not being reduced enough, and the air path being too wide - I think it vapes much better as a dual coil atty, which does make building it slightly more involved than the [E] on the C or W deck.

* JAC Vapour Series-B DNA 75 - Looks fantastic, great size and weight, good build quality - but it's being held back by that damn oversensitive fire button. I have to lock it before I pocket it, and I'm always concerned that it's eating battery by turning the screen on all the time. That and - while the battery door looks great, the cold metal and slick feel do make me double check for juice leakages all too often.

* Lost Vape ePetite DNA 60 - Loving the DNA 60, great board. Mod is very solidly built, and has a particularly good 510. What lets it down was the fitment of the battery panel (it moved and needed tape), and the chunky, boxy hand feel.

* Lost Vape Therion 75C - Very nice solid feel, great 510, really well built. But I'm not sure I'm quite at home with the DNA 75C board yet. It's a lot of fun, and I'm enjoying it for home / occasional outing use - but the fact that I need to look at the screen to interact with it, and the fact it turns the screen on when making adjustments in stealth mode means it's a no-go for taking to work.

* Vapecige SD Nano DNA 60 - Just got this one in, so the novelty hasn't worn off yet - I'm actually a bit hesitant to mention it. Anyway - it's tiny, it's adorable, and the black one has sparkles! The shape in the hand is really, really comfortable. It's also crazy cheap. But the paint is also kinda squeaky, I suspect it may not hold up over time, the indent around the 510 is REALLY annoying with tanks that have an AFC that extends to the bottom of the tank (the indent grips the AFC and makes it impossible to adjust when the tank is screwed down), the battery contacts are downright agricultural, and the 510 is press fit (well, it seems - I do hope it holds up, but I feel that it wouldn't with the bayonet closure on the SQuape [X]s - that tank can be really hard on the 510).

The "It's Complicated" :
* Malaysian Juice - Damn, it's good (if you're into sweet fruits and Koolada). Really, really hitting the spot. BUT DAMN THESE DAILY REBUILDS ARE GETTING OLD FAST.

Favourite Bit of Hardware "of all time" still in rotation :
* They will pry my Veritas from my cold, dead, lifeless hands . Sorry 2017... you produced some good things, but still nothing that knocks that from top spot.

Glad to see I was not the only one concerned by the too responsive fire button on the JAC. Shame Its a beautiful mod. wonder if there is a way of fixing.

[Nothingexpert]

Best: Simple 75C - My only custom mod ever. Although I had to send it back to the US for repairs, it is exactly what I wanted - a 20700 DNA75C Squonker and now the 510 is fixed, it works perfectly.
Worst: Lost Vape Drone - the original Therion BF lasted longer before it fell apart.

[Crisscross]

Best
Eleaf Icare mini, for hospital, dates and other stealth requiring places with background noise

Worst
Every squonking thing I bought, stand by for xmas special coming up

Oh dear......... LOL you will never never know until you try.



ps you are not alone with the whole non squonking thing.

[Hoofprint]

My best Mod hands down bar none is istick 100w tc.

Its not fancy, its not expensive it has no bells and whistles. Certainly not the prettiest looking thing.
Its cheap, simple UI, its one of the only mods ive seen with a software and Physical Lock feature for pocket travel.

If you not doing stupid type builds and stick to the tootle puffer/stealth builds with right batteries can honestly hold a charge as long as some 3 battery mods with the same build.

Worst
Every squonking thing I bought, stand by for xmas special coming up

Yeah i get you, TC was my thing. I fkn hated it.
Tried it out for couple weeks then gave it all away.

[AllyP]

Best and worst - Authentic Vika lites - loved them but they died young.

Worst - Four - yes four Nautilus 2 tanks - shoulda tried just one first - so sure I would love them but it was a fail for me.
Best - Vika clones - thanks for the good times FT.
Best - VT inbox - could be more about the XX & Rod panels than the Mod
Best - One or two Provari's - no explanation required

Thankful the fails are getting less these days - takes a good long while to find the Happy place for Vaping but seem to be mostly there now.

[MelbVFR]

And the eLeaf 100 TC has the added advantage that it can be easily converted into a single 18650 Regulated Squonker !

My best Mod hands down bar none is istick 100w tc.

Its not fancy, its not expensive it has no bells and whistles. Certainly not the prettiest looking thing.
Its cheap, simple UI, its one of the only mods ive seen with a software and Physical Lock feature for pocket travel.

If you not doing stupid type builds and stick to the tootle puffer/stealth builds with right batteries can honestly hold a charge as long as some 3 battery mods with the same build.




Yeah i get you, TC was my thing. I fkn hated it.
Tried it out for couple weeks then gave it all away.

[DogMan]

Worst: Lost Vape Drone - the original Therion BF lasted longer before it fell apart.

seems to be most nominated for worst this year

they were $200 odd too weren't they?