Steampugs
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Steam Crave Glaz V2 RTA
'There's one in every family'
Ever since I was a child I have heard this muttered in my general direction more times than I care to remember, try and hide your surprise, it’s not like I went out of my way to be the black sheep of my family, yet....nature chose me to be the one who carried our family's torch for all those who appeared to be a little....different.
I don't mean in a particularly evil way either, I wasn't prone to kicking puppies or pissing in my sister’s wardrobe.....the latter came much later when I discovered drinking, but.....if there was ever a situation requiring a degree of seriousness, or a united family front, coming together to support other family members in a time of dire crisis then....the stern request of 'Keep him in the fucking car'.....was quite often spoken. Was it justified?...Possibly, although I was always sure to be understanding in such a situation... even at that age...
Yet, because of this biological affliction, I find myself quite attracted to anything that is a little 'wayward'. It's almost as though I feel a kindred affiliation with the 'alternative'......SO.....it really came as no surprise that when I learned about the item I am reviewing today, I was instantly smitten.....not at first you understand, this thing is after all 18 months old, which in vape terms is a lifetime, and in reviewing terms is even longer than that. But once I learned that this particular device was different to anything else that a company synonymous with 'not straying from the path' actually do....well...
Had to see it.....call me fickle.......don't....if you do I'll kick the crap out of your puppy. Shall we....
Welcome back once again my pondering little plume puppies, back again with more of the same, except not quite. Same but different. Same manufacturer that I've been fixated with lately, yet....different for them, which is particularly infuriating for me given that a few weeks ago I was singing their praises for never faltering from their course, but hey....I'm not perfect after all...who'd o' thought it....
No need to be rude. SO! The manufacturer is of course Steam Crave, and to say I'm currently riding the Steam Crave steam train is sugar coating the shit out of it. I quite simply cannot get enough. In fact, I already have three of their devices lined up for review in the coming weeks, happy fucking days.....but...today, today is a different day, because today I am reviewing one of their devices that - to all intents and purposes - could well have been made by someone else. And like I said, this item has been cherry picked from their back catalogue, being released early last year....I'm nothing if not punctual, and I do enjoy randomly dropping in with a review for an older device with all the grace and elegance of a true professional...
So without further ado, let us get into the thick of it, and I do mean thick - I would even go as far as to say 'girthy' -with the 'awkward step-son' of the Steam Crave family.....Courtesy of my new friends over at Healthcabin ...the Steam Crave Glaz V2 RTA ..
Now, there will be those of you out there who have already met this wayward upstart, but I'm going to continue this review as if that's not the case, because, well....I've only just met it, and to me....I'm all that matters (dick). And even if you have heard about it, and watched/read reviews on it, but didn't actually pull the trigger on one, maybe it's high time you took another look, because let's face it....the Steam Crave Glaz V2 RTA is no munter.
But the best reason for a re-visit I shall come to a little later. For now, let us grab a hold of this girthy gargantuan, and test its metal.
The Lowdown
The Steam Crave Glaz V2 RTA is a 31mm tank (31!...that's...more than 30!) with a dual coil postless build deck and a 7ml (10ml with bubble glass) juice capacity. Now...I know that doesn't sound like a lot when compared to the newer Steam Crave tanks...the Plus V2 for example can, in it's fully erect state (ahem), take a whopping 28ml, and...that's only a 30mm tank. But forget what you know, because believe me this tank has NOTHING to do with any other Steam Crave tank on the market - except obviously the newer Glaz mini MTL RTA which, it would appear, has completely replaced its big brother on Steam Crave‘s own site. For that reason alone, I can only imagine the Glaz V2's days are indeed numbered.....more reasons to read ahead, so....you've seen the numbers, now let's take a look at just what makes this troubled teenager so very different from the rest. We'll start at the top...
Shittest drip tip ever!.....I'll just throw that out there. Thankfully, in the 18 months or so since this was released Steam Crave seem to have learnt this particular lesson, and their newer stuff has had some serious attention thrown at it in that particular area. But this?....This is shite. For a start, it's not 810 - it’s a smidge bigger, which I wouldn't have as much of an issue with if the tip itself was a worthy crown for such a beautiful piece of vape jewellery, but alas...it's thin plastic and incredibly cheap looking. Thankfully, out of the 50 or so tips in my stash, I did find a couple that happened to fit with an extra O-ring, so.....throw this shit in the bin...and do that.
Also around the top we have Steam Crave’s signature engraving...
Just in case you forgot who it was you were actually sucking on, which is apparently a problem for some people... Now....here cometh the first oddity!......I for one, am a huge fan of Steam Crave’s top fill system; 2 massive kidney shaped fill ports, heavily recessed into the top. But the Glaz's 'I'll do what the fuck I want' awkward adolescent approach to everything completely does away with it, and instead, we go a little 'Wismec'...
The Steam Crave Glaz Mini MTL tank thankfully does not have this. I say 'thankfully'....because I fucking hate it, sure...the opening and closing mechanism and tension are absolutely perfect as you would expect from them, but fuck me sideways I've never warmed to this ideas. It is fraught with issues. Firstly, if you're using a Chubby bottle you have to take off the drip tip to get your bottle close enough, and secondly, when you do, the hole is barely big enough to get your tip in....hey, I've been an awkward teenager...I know how much of a problem that is..
Moving swiftly on..... To add insult to this adolescent injury, there isn't...as far as I can tell...a pressure release hole, meaning, the air will come out of the same hole you are pushing your liquid into.....LOOK...there are just simply too many innuendos I can use to describe what's going on here okay!...Just...grow the fuck up ffs.... Where was I...?Yes...this can be a messy issue, and also, the rubber grommets they tend to use in this kind of system can get kinked up and stuck in the top cap when you close it. I had this thing throw its entire contents out through the airflow twice just because the rubber grommet had got snagged up and air was getting in, so there I was, with a terrible wet mess all over my jeans, and all down to a split rubber...........Oh fuck off. Moving down we come to the glass of the Glaz. Out of the box you have the 7ml straight glass already installed, but as the bubble glass is included, and I fucking love my bubbles, it was the first thing to go - followed closely by the drip tip.
They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, well this window is the window to another window.....
Deep indeed, right to the core of things in fact. And here....is where you will find the very reason this tank is called The Glaz....even though it's not spelt properly....but we'll overlook that, maybe it's just its nickname used by the other tanks....like...Gaz...anyway, you don't need to be eagle eyed cherry to see that what we have here is a little 'unique'....a glass chimney with the build deck on view?....What is this fuckery??....Well....it's essentially this..
Now I never had the V1, but I have friends who did and I have read their reviews and done a little research. There are two main differences here which were upgraded in the V2. Firstly, the interior has been upgraded for strength by including those SS reinforced 'struts' running up along the inside of the glass, I would imagine that if you dropped the V1 on it's head - which didn't have these - all that glass would just crush in on itself quite easily. And secondly, the glass is no longer threaded....I mean that's just a bad idea all around anyway, so it's nice to see common sense take a good turn for a change. Which brings us next to the visible build deck...
Unlike anything that Steam Crave have done before, there's no 'pop out' from the bottom affair like on all their other tanks, and there's no second option either. If anything, this time it's done in the same way as any other tank out there, screw off the bottom and the whole thing is detachable without the need to drain your tank....it's....'familiar'...however the deck it's self is anything but. I believe one of the complaints from the V1 was a lack of juice flow, and this has been addressed by leaving the bottom of the juice channels open instead of having 2 small holes for your juice to squeeze through, allowing more flow to feed your wicks. There is still a 'ledge' around the bottom for your wick ends to sit against, but for the best part it's gaping. Building on this 'X' shaped postless deck is just as simple as any other postless deck, and all the tools for the job are included. Steam Crave tend to get some flack for their use of tiny hex screws, but to be perfectly honest I've never had an issue with them - I find them easier to use, and as long as you don't over tighten them then you shouldn't round them. I've never had one round on me yet, but if they're a real bugbear for you, then they have included some spare standard flat-head grub screws in the box.
There’s enough room in there for a pretty serious build too, and wicking is also relatively straight forward - give your tails a good comb through, and tuck the ends into the juice channels, just be sure not to over, or under stuff them. There's always a 'Goldilocks' zone with this kind of thing, but it's not difficult to get right, and of course it's always a good idea to prime your wicks prior to screwing it all back together again..
Then simply screw it all back together, get in a terrible mess filling it up, and you can then see the Glaz in all its transparent glory....which I have to say, is rather beautiful.....I almost got a bit teary...
