More vaping…Cartos and clearos and nanos, oh my
With vaping, all three parts of the system are equally important when it comes to overall quality of the experience.
While I only looked at three basic types of batteries in part 1, there are endless opportunities to customize the look and feel of these, and as you move to more advanced models, you can do even more with the aesthetics while tweaking the performance to suit your specific habits and preferences. I don’t fully understand the technical aspects yet, but in terms of style, you have much more opportunity to “make it your own” than the basic batteries where you can pick manual versus automatic, color, length, LED style and other simple elements. With the mod systems though, you’re not connecting the vessel to a self contained battery, but using something that more closely resembles a Duracell inside of a housing that holds the rest of the circuitry and whatnot. These housings can be almost anything, as long as they can hold the “guts” of the system. Most of the commercially available mods are metal or plastic, with the higher-end ones often having digital displays that show charge, voltage and other settings. When it comes to the creative, DIY types, it’s pretty much anything goes. I’ve seen systems housed in empty cigarette packs, Altoids tins, even some incredibly elaborate ones carved from wood. These don’t come cheap though…while a basic battery will run between $10 and $20 (the lowest price I’ve seen is $5 on sale. Haven’t tried it yet, but placed an order last week), these custom mods seem to start in the $50 – $75 range, with some going for as much as a few hundred dollars. This is, by far, the most expensive part of your vaping “rig.”
When it comes to the liquids, the number of options is enough to make you dizzy. There are the traditional tobacco and menthol flavors, more coffee varieties than a Starbucks, other drinks (both “adult” and non-alcoholic beverages) fruit, candy and baked goods, and that’s before you get to the weird ones. The farthest I’ve gone is pancake and waffle, but some places I’ve browsed have things like bacon, pizza, butter and barbecue. I’ll admit, some of them are slightly intriguing, but I’m afraid straying into the exotic could result in sensory overload, pushing me back to analogs.
Of course, you can’t just drip liquid onto a battery and puff. The juice has to go somewhere, bringing us to the third piece of the puzzle, which I like to call the vessel. While there are options for the technical aspects like resistance, and for aesthetic items like color, these typically fall into one of three categories – cartomizer, clearomizer and tank. There are loads of options within these buckets, but there isn’t much variation from one to another. I’ve tried all three options and while I have a definite favorite, there are advantages and disadvantages to each one.
L-R: Carto, Carto, Tank, CE4, Nano, CE3, Vivi Nova
Cartomizers
The cartomizer is the basic option, and the vessel you’ll get with most starter kits. It’s a small metal tube, about the size of a cigarette filter, threaded on one end with a rubber gasket type thing on the other. Inside, it has a coil that heats the liquid and cottony filler that holds your smoke juice. You can get blanks that you fill manually by dripping liquid in, or buy them pre-filled. For a pre-filled cartomizer, the process is as simple as screwing it to a battery and vaping. When they’re used up, you can refill them a few times, saving a bit more money. To fill, you remove the gasket, hold it at a 45 degree angle and drip liquid onto the sides, letting it run into the filler. Keep doing this while rotating to get it even, and keep dripping until it’s saturated, usually 20-30 drops. The biggest benefits are simplicity and durability. They’re metal, so they won’t crack, the post is fixed, so there are no issues there, and while it can take some time, they’re easy to fill. Some types also come with different colored wrappers, making it easy to color code based on flavor. Many of the pre-filled carts have the flavor written on the wrapper too.
As for the drawbacks, it can be difficult to tell when you’re running low in a cart – you basically have to wait until it starts tasting funky or stops producing vapor. In my opinion, the fiber fill also doesn’t give you a pure taste for some of the liquids. Of course, this is all subjective, and some people swear by carts. Finally, while it isn’t hard to fill a cartomizer, of is kind of a pain in the bum waiting for the drops to saturate the cotton so you don’t overfill.
Tanks
A tank is basically a large plastic vessel with a cartomizer in the middle, sort of a hybrid between the cartomizer and clearomizer. The cart has holes in it, so the liquid constantly saturates the cartomizer filling. To fill, you have to drip liquid into the cartomizer, then open it up slightly to fill the tank, and close it tightly to make sure no liquid leaks. The biggest benefit to a tank is capacity, as most of them hold between 3 and 6 ml of liquid. Since you can see how much liquid is in the tank, it’s easier to tell when you’re running low too-it’s not a guessing game like it is with cartomizers. They’re a little expensive, but most of them are rebuildable, giving them a much longer shelf life. On the down side, they’re more of a pain to fill and more prone to leaking if you don’t do it exactly right. Because they have the filling, it’s possible to get the same distorted flavors you get with carts. Finally, while the size is nice (you can probably vape all day on a single tank, which is great if you have a favorite flavor), they tend to look a little silly on the cigarette style batteries, at least in my opinion. In the interest of full and fair disclosure, I’ve only tried one tank, and didn’t use it extensively, so my negative opinion may not be completely qualified.
Clearomizers
The clearomizer is an interesting take, but my personal favorite of the bunch. It’s a plastic container with a metal tube and some sort of wicking material inside. They start at around 1ml (about the size of a cartomizer) but go much larger. The larger ones can be customized by changing the resistance on the atomizer, and some of them are rebuildable so you can repair, upgrade and otherwise tweak. I use clearomizers more than tanks or cartomizers, so this is going to be the longest section as I’ve experienced a few different varieties. In my completely unqualified opinion, clearomizers produce the best flavor as far as tasting like the flavor on the label.
CE4, 5, etc.
This was the first clearomizer I tried, and it’s nice. It’s a plastic tube with wicks inside, that holds around 2ml of liquid. The base is wider than a cigarette style battery, but it fits perfectly on a fat-batt. To fill, you unscrew the drip tip and drip liquid right in, then screw the cap back on. It holds a decent amount of liquid and produces a genuine flavor with a good vapor.
Nano
The nano clearomizer is a fairly new arrival. It’s similar to the CE4+ style as far as being a plastic tube with a drip tip. They’re smaller, only holding 1ml, which I prefer since I enjoy changing flavors, but I know some people want more. The wick in these is inside the metal tube, and liquid reaches it through holes in the bottom. There’s a metal seal underneath the drip tip, and you unscrew it to fill, drip your liquid in and screw the top back on. As with the entry above, I think they produce a “true” flavor of whatever you’re vaping, while the size makes it easier to have some variety in your vaping. These things are great, almost perfect even. The only issue is the build quality, which, frankly, sucks ass. The drip tip (black plastic thing you wrap your lips around) breaks very quickly, and while you can still use it, it’s annoying having to constantly put it back on; the plastic tube comes loose way too easily, at which point it can leak; and it doesn’t always hit the battery properly, so instead of getting a delicious vapory hit, you get an annoying, gurgling sound and maybe a drop or two of liquid on your tongue.
CE3
I’ve seen these sold under different names, but the concept is largely the same. It’s a clear plastic tube, slightly longer than a traditional cartomizer, with a post in the middle that has wicking material inside. At the top of the post, there’s a rubber gasket with a small hole in it, and a drip tip goes over that. Just like the other clearomizers, these produce a good, tasty vapor in decent quantities, generally don’t leak, and are more reliable performance-wise than the nano variety. Their biggest drawback is filling. Remember that gasket with the small hole? Well, you have to put around 1ml of liquid into a syringe (usually included) and inject it into the clearomizer held upside down. You may not mind this, and I’m generally willing to endure this hassle for a superior vaping experience, but it could become tedious if you’re filling a bunch of them, or if you just want a quick hit. I’ve gotten a few duds, but when it comes to consistent performance, they run circles around the nano overall.
Vivi Nova
I may be wrong calling this a clearomizer rather than a tank, given the size, but I’ve made my choice and I stand behind it. Vivi Nova, I believe, is a specific brand, but the only other names I’ve seen are plays on “vivi” and “nova.” These are pretty big, with the ones I’ve seen having capacities of 3.5-6ml. Inside, there’s a metal flow tube and an atomizer head that has wicks on it. To fill, you simply unscrew the top and fill. The beauty of it is that they’re completely rebuildable…you can replace the atomizer and other parts if something breaks, rather than scrapping the whole thing. I just got my first one of these a few days ago and it’s quite nice, although I think I’d prefer something a bit smaller and less conspicuous.
The clearomizer is my vessel of choice, and I’m alternating between the nano and CE3 most of the time. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my Vivi Nova, but because of the size, it’s unlikely I’ll use it as my everyday vessel.
If you’re wondering which one you should get, my advice is to try them all. Pre-filled cartos are perfect for starting out, but as you get more comfortable, the sky’s the limit.
As for where to buy, I’m sticking with the usual suspects, but adding a newbie to the mix…
Cartomizers:
Smokeless Image and Vapor 4 Life
Tanks:
CE4+:
Nanos and CE3s:
Smokeless Image (If anyone from V4L or Vape Dojo sees this, START SELLING THESE)
Vivi Nova:
Healthy for the Wedding 