5 general questions about rebuildables

[kurotoshiro]

Hey ho, rebuilders! Your opinions on the following would be very much appreciated. (I'm particularly interested to see if these questions generate divergent responses, or indicate a widespread concensus.)

(1) What would you say is the most faff-free mesh-based rebuildable?

(2) What would you say is actually the best (in terms of vaping quality) mesh-based rebuildable?

(3) Would you say that the difference in vaping quality is worth any additional faff that might be involved?

(4) What would you say is the best (in terms of vaping quality) silica-based rebuildable?

(5) How would you compare your answer to (4) with the Clockworks RDA? (Miles better? A fair bit better? Slightly better? Negligible difference?)

Cheers!

[maccafan]

(1) What would you say is the most faff-free mesh-based rebuildable?

AGA- S

(2) What would you say is actually the best (in terms of vaping quality) mesh-based rebuildable?

AGA-S

(3) Would you say that the difference in vaping quality is worth any additional faff that might be involved?

Hard one..Depends on how discriminating your palate is and what you mean by faff. I find gennies just as easy to setup as a silica based rebuildable. For tobacco flavours, I have found gennies much better and silica wick for dessert/fruit flavours.

(4) What would you say is the best (in terms of vaping quality) silica-based rebuildable?

The best silica based one I have ever tried is the Dream BT 804..Unfortunately it suffered from chrome plating issues. On that basis, the Kayfun should blow the socks off almost anyone. Terminator (Ody clone) is very very good too as a lower cost option.

(5) How would you compare your answer to (4) with the Clockworks RDA? (Miles better? A fair bit better? Slightly better? Negligible difference?)

I have tried the CW but I think the Kayfun will still be a fair bit better judging from the vape quality I got from the dream.

[Roger]

I think you have also got to say, loosely, how much you are happy to spend. I know it shouldn't make much difference, but some will say it does!!!

[beardo]

Mar 9, 2013 18:30:29 GMT maccafan said:

(1) What would you say is the most faff-free mesh-based rebuildable?

AGA- S

(2) What would you say is actually the best (in terms of vaping quality) mesh-based rebuildable?

AGA-S

I have one of these on my eVic at the moment. I wouldn't say it's exactly faff-free (been battling a top-coil hotspot for two days now...) - fairly simple though, and it does kick out plenty of decent vapour and flavour

[kurotoshiro]

Mar 9, 2013 18:39:45 GMT Roger said:

I think you have also got to say, loosely, how much you are happy to spend. I know it shouldn't make much difference, but some will say it does!!!

I'd prefer answers that don't take cost into account. I can look that up if I'm interested.

[Skwoddy]

1. I'll go with the AGA-S for ease of setting up, made even easier with ribbon kanthal, Capacity lets it down for me but it is a demon

2. The DID and Foggatti have been the best mesh based vapes for me, with Mini Did, Aga-s and aga-t following.

3. Mesh based rigs are a faff by default, compounded when they develop a fault if your out and about, but at home where fixing is easier its fine, the vape is largely unbeatable for flavour. again, Ribbon Kanthal alleviated alot of maintenance issues for me.

4. Kayfun, all day long, currently unbeaten in my opinion. Having original Odysseus and Penelope here they finally got beaten (although they are still fantastic for flavour - but a faff with wire joining). The Kayfun 2.1 is more intense on flavour than the 3.1 and I use it solely for menthols. The 3.1 has become a third appendage for me for the past 10 days and I cant see anything replacing it just yet.

5. The RDA is a great vape, probably one of the best, alas, its a dripping atty, great for testing new liquids, or vaping if dripping suits you, The kayfun easily matches the RDA for me in terms of flavour but not so intense. If I do require intense, i'll lower the resistance on my coils.

[kurotoshiro]

Mar 10, 2013 11:20:03 GMT Skwoddy said:

The RDA is a great vape, probably one of the best, alas, its a dripping atty, great for testing new liquids, or vaping if dripping suits you

Yep, I drip all the time. I can drip while walking.

Mar 10, 2013 11:20:03 GMT Skwoddy said:

The kayfun easily matches the RDA for me in terms of flavour but not so intense. If I do require intense, i'll lower the resistance on my coils.

Just to clarify: When you say "intense" here, do you mean the amount (or the heat) of vapour?

[Roger]

Mar 10, 2013 9:05:30 GMT kurotoshiro said:

Mar 9, 2013 18:39:45 GMT Roger said:

I think you have also got to say, loosely, how much you are happy to spend. I know it shouldn't make much difference, but some will say it does!!!

I'd prefer answers that don't take cost into account. I can look that up if I'm interested.

What I was trying to say was that a lot of the answers may be for the higher end attys.

[Greigster]

This may not be much help to you but from my limited experience I have found Genesis type atties a bit hit and miss probably due more to operator error than anything and I have tried several.
Like the above posts, my choice would be for the Kayfun, easy to wick/recoil, easy to fill, no leakage once you get the hang of re-filling the attie almost upside down, great amount of vapour/flavour and better than the Penelope/Oddy and maybe the Speroid (jury still out on that one)
If you like dripping, and again I am new to it, I have just got the Igo-L and it is amazing.
So as you can see, my preference is with Silica. I have 4 mods by my side all the time at home, 2 Kafun Mini`s 1 Spheroid and an Igo-l, any of which I can take out with me and not have to worry about suffering any leakage.

[karl6k]

kanthal ribbon nearly every time eliminates hotspots very cheap from here the mesh company

[Skwoddy]

My short time with the Clockworks RDA had me thinking it was a very warm vape, which makes sense because of the relatively small chamber and short travelling distance, the kayfun requires a lower resistance coil to match it, although as said (at least on the 2.1) I think the flavour matches it if not marginally beating it, plus the added bonus of tank capacity.

[womble]

Mar 10, 2013 13:08:50 GMT karl6k said:

kanthal ribbon nearly every time eliminates hotspots very cheap from here the mesh company

Wow that stuff looks really good, thanks for the link!

[kurotoshiro]

Mar 10, 2013 12:20:04 GMT Roger said:

Mar 10, 2013 9:05:30 GMT kurotoshiro said:

I'd prefer answers that don't take cost into account. I can look that up if I'm interested.

What I was trying to say was that a lot of the answers may be for the higher end attys.

That's OK. The question I'm interested in is what is the best, not what is the optimal choice within a given budget. (Although obviously others reading this thread may be more interested in the latter. And so might my wallet. But I'm mainly interested in the hypothetical "If money was no object ..." type of answer.)

[blakey]

I'd be happy to go along with the Aga s as a good low faff mesh attie
The hellfire is probably still top or near top of the performance list for mesh rebuildables
For me, mesh is only worth while if the the type of juice that you vape is suited to it. Tobacco flavours mostly are the types of juices that shine. None of my favourites perform better with mesh so I've stopped bothering with it.
The best performing silica based atties for me are still the RDA's, clockworks version is one that I'm still a big fan of.

I've been through many many versions of silica based tank atties and without a doubt the best performing rebuildable silica wicked tank attie is the kayfun closely followed by the I-atty for performance. As for comparing to the clockworks RDA, no tank matches a dedicated dripper. The kayfun is very very close for me. But it's not so simple to answer that question, personal preference plays a massive part.If you like a very warm vape then the kayfun will be no good to you.
You would need to specify the type of vape you prefer in order to obtain a more accurate answer.

[maccafan]

Hmm perception may not be reality and usually never is..

A more expensive object is automatically perceived as a better product and the association is quite powerful and ingrained into all of us but there is also an element of truth in it otherwise brand premiums will never work.. So asking a hypothetical " money is no object" will not necessarily get you an answer which is not linked to how much it costs. So I can understand where both Roger & Kuro are coming from.

Trying to be as objective as possible, in my limited experience, for any atty, the experience is better where:

1. It is able to vapourize a large amount of juice at a single burn without the wicks drying out and is able to do this at the the right temperature for the juice you are using. A lot of this depends on the coil structure that you put into it and this is where rebuildables come into their own. For example, if you setup a Kayfun with a just one coil of 0.1 mm Nichrome and it will perform badly.

2. It is able to do this consistently over a tank full of juice.

3. It is able to get enough air into the mix whilst inhaling so that vapour production is satisfactory. Airflow being adjustable is a BIG bonus. An atty which carries vapour from the point of vapourization to the mouth with a venturi effect, ie. the vapour path also seems to enhance the experience.

4. It has a small confined vaporizing chamber which makes the flavour and throat hit much more intense regardless of brand..

There are other factors, like the whether the mod you are using can be adjusted to compensate for coil structure, distance of the coil from the mouth, type of flavour you vape, etc., which can significantly alter the vape quality etc.,