Gitchy
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- Feb 13, 2017
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Kavis @Sourcemore sent me this to try out. I am not affiliated with POTV or Sourcemore, nor do I get paid to review things.
The BP Mods Pioneer V1.5 RTA
https://www.sourcemore.com/bp-mods-pioneer-v1-5-rta-atomizer.html
The original BP Mods Pioneer RTA is one of my favourite MTL RTAs. It was a bit tricky to wick but there was a great thread on here that helped immensely and I have never had a problem with it because of that personally. Again there is a fantastic thread on here for the V1.5 and it’s here:
https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/...mods-pioneer-1-5-rta-community-review.214434/
The guys in the community review thread did a superb job and there are tons of great photos of the tank as well; much better than my paltry efforts so it is worth a look. @Phrasing also did a fantastic job with wicking advice so I would highly recommend having a read if you’re looking to get this tank.
Anyway, rambling over. Onto my review.
The Pioneer 1.5 is a 22mm RTA that gives you a lot of options for how to build. It’s packed in with accessories to make it an RDL or DL tank as well as being a very good MTL tank. You get 2 different drip tips and an extra post to facilitate the DL aspect. There’s an airflow ring that has MTL adjustment and a big cyclops DL hole as well. The pack comes with 510 pins that also let you adjust the amount of air going through the tank. There is a lot to adjust and you’ll be just as well looking at the specs etc rather than relying on me to catch everything that is customisable on it. The main thing I like here is that you get the DL chimney and post in the pack this time. I had to buy it for the original.
In the box you get:
1 BP MODS Pioneer V1.5 RTA (With MTL Chimney and 0.8mm Airflow Pin)
1 Tobacco & DL Chimney
1 DL Drip Tip
1 Post Screws (Slot & Phillip's M2.5 X 2.5)
1 DL Positive Contact
1 DL Postive Post (Airflow 4.0mm)
1 Gasket (For Tank)
1 Gasket (For Top Cap Slider)
1 O-ring (18*1mm)
1 O-ring (8.5*1mm)
1 O-ring (6*1mm)
1 Airflow Pins (1.0/1.2/1.5/2.0/2.9mm)
1 BP MODS Single Coil #2 (28Ga Ni70, MTL)
1 BP MODS Single Coil #2 (28Ga A1 * 2 +40Ga Ni80, RDL)
1 BP MODS Single Coil #3 (26Ga A1 * 2 +40Ga Ni80, DL)
Design wise it looks like a higher end RTA imo. I do really like the look of the tank and I also like the drip tips included this time as the original had a horrible colour to it. Filling is done by slightly unscrewing the top cap and pushing at the little marker dot to slide the top and reveal the filling port. I didn’t realise this the first time and just screwed the whole thing off! The good part of this is that you can lock the slide so it doesn’t open in your pocket like some others do. I did find the AFC ring to be pretty tight and hard to adjust when the tank is on a mod but I always set that first anyway so it’s not annoying for me.
In use it works like a dream for MTL, if you get the wicking right. I’m an old hand with the pioneer so I already know where to cut the cotton (right on the edge of the deck, not over it or just slightly past it, like right on the edge). You really need to think about where you’re cutting it and not leave too much cotton to push into the wells, just make sure there’s enough to cover the holes and not poke through. And I know to keep the cotton away from the sides of the deck as much as possible to stop liquid in the mouth. The guide from @Phrasing in the community review thread gives a great guide to wicking, with a step I hadn’t done before that really helped.
I started with the included MTL coil, which came out at 1ohm exactly for me. It was a 2mm diameter coil so I used the BP Mods 2.5mm cotton. Maybe my preference, but I do like to use this cotton 0.5mm bigger than the diameter of the coil. Feels too loose otherwise. Once I’d wicked it up I got the 2.0mm 510 pin out as I do like a loose MTL and fitted that, then set the AFC to the highest MTL setting with all the holes open. I filled and fired it up. It was just as good, if not better, than the original Pioneer. A very smooth vape and no harshness. I do sometimes find MTL harsh as I’m an RDL/DL vaper mostly but I do love a smooth MTL when I’m having a pint of an evening.
The 1ohm coil wasn’t great for the occasional RDL puff that I like so I replaced it with a 28AWG 2.5mm Ni80 round wire coil at 0.7ohms and used the 3mm BP Mods cotton to wick it up. Still the same smooth open MTL draw and a good blast on really restricted RDL when needed.
As noted earlier the package comes with a tobacco/DL chimney included, as well as an extra post for DL vaping. I love that. It makes the V1.5 so much more versatile and is appreciated as you had to buy a separate kit for the original to be able to do this. The spare chimney you get has a bit more depth to accommodate larger coils. The extra post you get has a nice big hole in it so you can open the airflow right up as well, instead of using the airflow pins; although you can just use the airflow pins on the pre installed post instead to tailor a more restricted draw to your taste if you like.
I tried the included fused Clapton coil. Not sure which one I used, the RDL or DL but it came out at 0.3ohms for me and I was using it at 35-40w. It’s nice, the draw is still very good and you get a good blast of vapour. It is perfect for the RDL draw I like with the cyclops AFC hole about a third closed and using the DL post. Opening it up gave a bit more air and I can see it being quite good for lower ohm coils as well but I do wonder if the chimney is a little too small for the bigger, fancier coils. The deck itself and the holes on the posts for wire are quite petite as well so you’d have to use few wraps on, say, a flapton or low guage alien coil.
Overall the Pioneer V1.5 is a great, versatile tank. It does MTL brilliantly with a bit of a tinker of the wicking and with the included chimney it does RDL or DL brilliantly as well. You can tell it’s been very carefully designed. As noted I do worry it won’t suit those who like the bigger, fancier, lower ohm coils but then it’s not been designed for that. Chuck some brochrome or a low gauge round wire in and it’ll work brilliantly, along with the included RDL/DL coils as well, which I think are fused claptons.
I personally like my mesh rebuildables for RDL/DL these days so I’ll keep this for MTL as it is probably the best MTL tank I have now, but if you like to switch between MTL and middling watt DL then this is definitely the tank for you.
The BP Mods Pioneer V1.5 RTA
https://www.sourcemore.com/bp-mods-pioneer-v1-5-rta-atomizer.html
The original BP Mods Pioneer RTA is one of my favourite MTL RTAs. It was a bit tricky to wick but there was a great thread on here that helped immensely and I have never had a problem with it because of that personally. Again there is a fantastic thread on here for the V1.5 and it’s here:
https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/...mods-pioneer-1-5-rta-community-review.214434/
The guys in the community review thread did a superb job and there are tons of great photos of the tank as well; much better than my paltry efforts so it is worth a look. @Phrasing also did a fantastic job with wicking advice so I would highly recommend having a read if you’re looking to get this tank.
Anyway, rambling over. Onto my review.
The Pioneer 1.5 is a 22mm RTA that gives you a lot of options for how to build. It’s packed in with accessories to make it an RDL or DL tank as well as being a very good MTL tank. You get 2 different drip tips and an extra post to facilitate the DL aspect. There’s an airflow ring that has MTL adjustment and a big cyclops DL hole as well. The pack comes with 510 pins that also let you adjust the amount of air going through the tank. There is a lot to adjust and you’ll be just as well looking at the specs etc rather than relying on me to catch everything that is customisable on it. The main thing I like here is that you get the DL chimney and post in the pack this time. I had to buy it for the original.
In the box you get:
1 BP MODS Pioneer V1.5 RTA (With MTL Chimney and 0.8mm Airflow Pin)
1 Tobacco & DL Chimney
1 DL Drip Tip
1 Post Screws (Slot & Phillip's M2.5 X 2.5)
1 DL Positive Contact
1 DL Postive Post (Airflow 4.0mm)
1 Gasket (For Tank)
1 Gasket (For Top Cap Slider)
1 O-ring (18*1mm)
1 O-ring (8.5*1mm)
1 O-ring (6*1mm)
1 Airflow Pins (1.0/1.2/1.5/2.0/2.9mm)
1 BP MODS Single Coil #2 (28Ga Ni70, MTL)
1 BP MODS Single Coil #2 (28Ga A1 * 2 +40Ga Ni80, RDL)
1 BP MODS Single Coil #3 (26Ga A1 * 2 +40Ga Ni80, DL)
Design wise it looks like a higher end RTA imo. I do really like the look of the tank and I also like the drip tips included this time as the original had a horrible colour to it. Filling is done by slightly unscrewing the top cap and pushing at the little marker dot to slide the top and reveal the filling port. I didn’t realise this the first time and just screwed the whole thing off! The good part of this is that you can lock the slide so it doesn’t open in your pocket like some others do. I did find the AFC ring to be pretty tight and hard to adjust when the tank is on a mod but I always set that first anyway so it’s not annoying for me.
In use it works like a dream for MTL, if you get the wicking right. I’m an old hand with the pioneer so I already know where to cut the cotton (right on the edge of the deck, not over it or just slightly past it, like right on the edge). You really need to think about where you’re cutting it and not leave too much cotton to push into the wells, just make sure there’s enough to cover the holes and not poke through. And I know to keep the cotton away from the sides of the deck as much as possible to stop liquid in the mouth. The guide from @Phrasing in the community review thread gives a great guide to wicking, with a step I hadn’t done before that really helped.
I started with the included MTL coil, which came out at 1ohm exactly for me. It was a 2mm diameter coil so I used the BP Mods 2.5mm cotton. Maybe my preference, but I do like to use this cotton 0.5mm bigger than the diameter of the coil. Feels too loose otherwise. Once I’d wicked it up I got the 2.0mm 510 pin out as I do like a loose MTL and fitted that, then set the AFC to the highest MTL setting with all the holes open. I filled and fired it up. It was just as good, if not better, than the original Pioneer. A very smooth vape and no harshness. I do sometimes find MTL harsh as I’m an RDL/DL vaper mostly but I do love a smooth MTL when I’m having a pint of an evening.
The 1ohm coil wasn’t great for the occasional RDL puff that I like so I replaced it with a 28AWG 2.5mm Ni80 round wire coil at 0.7ohms and used the 3mm BP Mods cotton to wick it up. Still the same smooth open MTL draw and a good blast on really restricted RDL when needed.
As noted earlier the package comes with a tobacco/DL chimney included, as well as an extra post for DL vaping. I love that. It makes the V1.5 so much more versatile and is appreciated as you had to buy a separate kit for the original to be able to do this. The spare chimney you get has a bit more depth to accommodate larger coils. The extra post you get has a nice big hole in it so you can open the airflow right up as well, instead of using the airflow pins; although you can just use the airflow pins on the pre installed post instead to tailor a more restricted draw to your taste if you like.
I tried the included fused Clapton coil. Not sure which one I used, the RDL or DL but it came out at 0.3ohms for me and I was using it at 35-40w. It’s nice, the draw is still very good and you get a good blast of vapour. It is perfect for the RDL draw I like with the cyclops AFC hole about a third closed and using the DL post. Opening it up gave a bit more air and I can see it being quite good for lower ohm coils as well but I do wonder if the chimney is a little too small for the bigger, fancier coils. The deck itself and the holes on the posts for wire are quite petite as well so you’d have to use few wraps on, say, a flapton or low guage alien coil.
Overall the Pioneer V1.5 is a great, versatile tank. It does MTL brilliantly with a bit of a tinker of the wicking and with the included chimney it does RDL or DL brilliantly as well. You can tell it’s been very carefully designed. As noted I do worry it won’t suit those who like the bigger, fancier, lower ohm coils but then it’s not been designed for that. Chuck some brochrome or a low gauge round wire in and it’ll work brilliantly, along with the included RDL/DL coils as well, which I think are fused claptons.
I personally like my mesh rebuildables for RDL/DL these days so I’ll keep this for MTL as it is probably the best MTL tank I have now, but if you like to switch between MTL and middling watt DL then this is definitely the tank for you.
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