I was a bit gun shy doing this as I have seen reviewers shunned for even mentioning a clone but hey fuck it lets have a look anyhow.
I purchased both of these mods but that will not have any effect on my opinion.
So to truly compare 2 things all the variables have to be exactly the same this is how I have set up.
2 Aromamizer plus with 20ml extension tanks
Identical dual coils in each .32 ohms** (single 316l 26 wrapped in ss316l 40 3.5mm id 7 wraps)
Same juice Diy Strawberry Cream Pie
4 x new vtc5a batteries in each mod.
All coils were wicked with the same strip of rayon.
1x Authentic 4 Horsemen Hammer of God v3.1
1x Clone Hammer of God v3.1
** The manufacturer recommends no lower than .4 ohm coils but they also say you should not leave it unattended or use it in any sexual nature so meh. That said please know you batteries and Ohms Law and build safely.
The Authentic Build Quality:
As expected the build on this mod and the finish is very good, not perfect but very good - everything is clearly marked (battery direction etc) the engraving is perfect. The one fault I can find is the top plate is not quite flush on one side. I am positive that I can sort this by disassembly but for a mod this expensive should I have to do that? I would say no I should not. It should be 100% perfect.
The Clone Build Quality:
The finish on this mod is also very good there are a few little defects the top plate is not quite flush on one side on this as well, the button protrudes ever so slightly from the body (it is 100% flush on the authentic), the adjustment of the 510 is a lot stiffer than the authentic and is quite hard to turn, the battery indicators are stamped on the mod (same as authentic) but it lacks the indicator stickers the authentic has.
The clone button protrudes just a little which does actually make it easier to find with your finger (the buttons are the same size I am just a just shit with a camera).
The authentic has some extra stickers for battery direction.
After a week of use the clone button started to stick and the mod would continuously fire not so good with 4 18650’s results may be very unpleasant. I disassembled and turned fire pin 180 degrees which fixed it for the next week it then started happening again. I removed the top plate again and had a bit of a muck around.
I ended up putting a small washer under these two screws it appears to have stopped the button sticking (for now).
How do they vape:
Well it pains me to say they are exactly the same to me - blind test with someone else holding the mod (button & engravings would give it away) they were indistinguishable from each other.
I was not really too surprised with the result as both mods are aluminium and to me aluminium is aluminium had they been made of copper or brass I suspect the result would have been quite different.
Conclusion:
There is always a bit of controversy with clones and arguments for and against. TBH I prefer authentic and will buy authentic over a clone (IF I CAN) as it supports the original manufacturer and it is in my opinion ethically correct, however, I have one or two clones of mods that are only now available as clones, the original has long since stopped being made. Do I feel bad about having them? Nope not at all.
Is the cheap clone of the HOG worth having? Now that is a hard question to answer since it has misfired on me more than once and I really don’t like that in a mod (and I will be looking for a permanent fix if I am going to have it in my rotation). If you cannot find original and don’t mind a hiccup or 2 sure buy the clone but be warned if the button sticks you have to be fairly quick to remove the topper or the batteries.
Warning Book:
One other thing you may have seen posted in various places the weird list of things not to do with the HOG (thanks to @mew for the pic)
I got this list in the clone only, the authentic had a nice little booklet (same warnings) so if you buy an authentic and it has a printed list you have most likely been ripped off (I don’t know about v1 or v2 HOG).
Vape Advocacy;
Please support Vape Advocacy - protect your right to vape.
http://notblowingsmoke.org/
http://casaa.org/
http://vaping.org/
https://gfn.net.co/dialogues/autumn2017/london
https://gfn.net.co/dialogues/autumn2017/durham
http://sfata.org/past-newsletters/
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Health_Aged_Care_and_Sport/ElectronicCigarettes
Check Out Steampugs for more info and more awesome bits of vapeology.
