For what is worth... my review
I have now spent the last 24 using the clone and my initial report is in! This might be a long one, so I apologise now
In the interest of clarity, both tanks were cleaned, rewicked with Muji cotton, primed and part filled with 6mg Powwow Sauce from the same bottle before being attached to a Vaporflask and fired at 14.5w. I went up and down the power settings but this is what I’ve been vaping the original at all xmas so chose to start there. I also spent some time making sure the airflow settings were the same so I could give this my best shot at being a like for like comparison
One of the first things I noticed about the clone was the SMELL. Gees Louise! The machine oil smell was hard to shift but even after a total of 4 hours soaking in hot water and fairy liquid (changing the water every 30 minutes and scrubbing with a firm toothbrush). There was still a slight taste so I used a different drip tip and that seemed to take away the last bit of taste from it.
When I first began stripping it down it was clear the build quality of the original compared to the clone was not in the same league, but let’s be honest, this is £20 clone, not an expensive original. It has very sharp, rough threads but it does all fit together and only the base has a VERY slight wobble/ loose feeling about it. This can be cured by really tightening the 510 pin but then the juice flow control is too tight to use, so it took some fiddling but found a happy medium. I could also see a difference in the metal that the build deck is made out off. The original looks a bit brighter and feels higher quality (but again, it should be for the price). Now interestingly, I have nailed the build on my original, 0.32mm kanthal, 8 wraps, 2mm drill bit reads 1.40/1.41 ohms and gets lovely flavour from the Powwow Sauce. The EXACT same build on the clone is 1.75 ohms, which I did twice just to make sure I hadn’t done something differently. I can only put that down to the quality of the materials on the build deck. The screws did seem okay on the clone but again, there was an obvious difference in materials so can’t comment on how long they will last. I may have to do a follow up after more use, but my first impressions were that they were okay and all of them loosened off and tightened down
To try and give the clone the exact same flavour assessment I tried the juice on the 1.75 ohm build and then rebuilt it at 1.40 ohms just so it was a direct comparison to the original, but I couldn’t pick out much change in the flavour between the builds
I spent the evening using the clone and I felt it performed really well and was getting nice flavour and good vapour production with no leaks. It was then time to try the original again for the last 30 minutes before bed and I have got to say….. the original clearly outperforms it.
Now don’t get me wrong, the flavour from the clone is really good and 1000’s of people will be amazed and over the moon with it for £20/£25, including myself as its going to be perfect for work. I appreciate that for some people £120 is not even an option and I want to avoid the debate of the originals price tag because it is what it is. However, I’m sure providing you get one that has a good build quality, you will be more than happy with a clone
However, for the purists and the true flavour chasers, the original knocks it out of the park with is smoother taste and more intense flavours, not to mentioned the build quality.
For the price, the clone is very good but as the saying goes…. ‘It’s good, but it’s not quite Carling’
