What’s up vapefam!
SirRisc is back with another review courtesy of Gearbest.com!
In the past couple of days I’ve been tooting on a single coil RTA we all know in different forms, the mini, the nano, the original…
This one is the latest iteration and with its 7ml capacity also the biggest one in the family, the Kangertech Subtank Plus!
Premise
Ever since I started vaping several months ago, I’ve been using Kangertech products. I started out using a Kangertech EVOD Glass with prebuilt coils at 1.8ohm if I recall correctly.
After a while of buying coils and generally feeling like vaping didn’t save me any money in comparison with smoking, I started looking up how it could be done cheaper.
I came across a store that sold the older model of Kangertech coilheads which were able to be pulled apart for rebuilding, and bought two of them, effectively starting my decent into the madness that is rebuilding.
Since then the market has changed a lot. We have subohm tanks now, and the Subtank is one of the original subohm tanks. Kangertech didn’t just jump on the bandwagon, they were laying the rails.
In the past couple of months we’ve seen several iterations of the Subtank hit the market, starting with the original Subtank, then the Nano and the Mini, and now the Plus.
They all have a couple of things in common, one of those things is the square shaped OCC coilheads that come in 0.5ohm or 1.2ohm variations.
Another thing they have in common (bar the Nano) is the ability to fit the RBA base if you want to build your own coils, and the most obvious thing is the red o-rings they use.
Those red o-rings are available in other colors too now, for those of you who don’t like the red ones.
Specifications:
- 304 Stainless Steel
- 25mm diameter
- 7ml capacity
- Glass/Pyrex tank
- Gold plated 510 pin
- Able to fit OCC Coils in both 0.5ohm and 1.2ohm
- Able to fit the Mini RBA Base for your own coilbuilds
- Reinforced tank
Unpacking
One thing that’s always been impressive with Kangertech is the way they package their gear, the Subtank Plus is no exception to this rule.
The Subtank Plus comes in a rather large box wrapped with a red and black cover sleeve, which is open on the top and shows the authenticity scratch code on the bottom.
Inside of the cover sleeve is a black box that feels very sturdy and slides out to the right to reveal the tank and its accessories.
Once you slide open the box you’re greeted with a card explaining how to prime your OCC coils, something I really appreciated since I’ve seen so many posts of people burning their OCC coils from the start.
When you remove the card, you’re faced with a red foam insert which holds the tank.
My first impression was one us guys love to hear from a woman: “Oh my god, that’s huge!” (Stop laughing!)
Underneath the insert there are more goodies waiting to be discovered, the insert doesn’t come out as easily as I’d like but if you tip over the box with the tank still in it and shake it a bit, it pops right out.
You’ll be greeted with the user manual which lists specifications and instructions, and a card which explains how to check for authenticity.
The user manual will give you a good laugh if you’re into bad English by the way, I’d expect a large company like Kangertech which takes such proper care about their packaging to at least hire a decent translator.
Either way it’s fairly clear how to use the tank so it doesn’t really matter.
When you remove the user manual you’ll have three compartiments.
The top one contains two branded bags.
One with a piece of Japanese Organic Cotton, which I suspect is Koh Gen Do by the looks of it.
The other bag contains two spare screws for the RBA base, a set of black o-rings for the tank for those of you who don’t like the red ones, a coil for the RBA base which is rated at 0.6ohm, and the infamous blue screwdriver. (Another one for the ever growing collection!)
Below that is another compartiment holding a spare glass tank, which is actually quite nice. We all know accidents can happen.
On the bottom are two smaller compartiments holding the RBA Base for your own coilbuilds, and an OCC coil rated at 1.2ohm.
The tank itself has the 0.5ohm OCC coil already fitted and the RBA base has a 0.6ohm coil fitted too.
Performance
The tank is big, let’s get that straight. You’ll need a bulky mod to put this on because of its 25mm diameter, and it’ll still look ridiculously huge.
7 milliliters is a lot of juice and you’ll want to make sure the juice you’re pouring into this tank is one you like, or you’ll be forced to dump a large amount of it in the sink.
When you choose juice to put into this though, it’ll taste like it’s intended to taste. There’s no weird metallic taste, no strange burning taste, it’s very pure.
The fact that the tank is made of glass is a definite plus because it’ll keep the flavor better than plastic or steel would.
(See what I did there? Subtank PLUS, a definite plus… Not funny? Ok. 
)
The glass is being reinforced by steel bars running down the tank and it should prove pretty sturdy when you carry it around.
Considering the name SUBtank, and the fact that Kangertech delivers it with a 0.5ohm OCC Coil prefitted means that these tanks are able to perform nicely with subohm coils.
I’ve mostly been using the RBA Base since I got it and am running a 0.22ohm Ni200 build in there suited for temperature control, and it’s doing great!
However, the RBA Base does have one problem, the juicechannels are too tiny to wick properly with any juice above a 50/50 ratio.
Being a tinkerer by nature I took the Dremel to it and made the channels a bit bigger, making it wick more effectively.
If you do this yourself, please be wary of the threading!
With the OCC coils the tank performs just as well, the 0.5ohm OCC coil wicks perfectly and gives you a somewhat warmer vape at 30W. They are rated for 15W to 30W.
The 1.2ohm OCC coil wicks equally effective, and they are rated for 12W to 25W, though I would advise to start at 12W with these to prevent them from burning the cotton.
Aesthetics
What sets this tank apart from all the others is the capacity and size. It’s fucking huge (pardon my language) and it still feels fairly light to carry.
Styling wise it’s a very noticable tank because of the red o-rings, but Kangertech was smart enough to realise that not everyone will like the red o-rings.
Even with the black o-rings though, it’ll stand out.
On the bottom of the tank is a knurled ring which provides excellent grip to take it off or put it on your mod.
Just above that is the rather large airflow control ring, which clicks into place.
The airflow on this Subtank has been redesigned and now features a wide open setting which provides the ability to do straight lunghits if you prefer.
On top of the tank is an embossed logo by Kangertech, which doesn’t look bad but seems a bit over the top for my taste. To each their own of course.
The driptip delivered with the Subtank is a wide bore, but feels a tad flimsy. I would have preffered it to be a bit thicker material.
It does sit in there pretty tight though, which is a definite advantage.
Pros and cons
Pro
- 7ml of juice should last you the entire day
- Easy to fill
- Red as well as black o-rings
- Gold plated 510 pin
- Glass/Pyrex tank and a spare
- RBA Base
- Organic Cotton Coils at 0.5ohm and 1.2ohm
- Pure flavor
- Rebuild without dumping juice
Con
- 7ml is a lot of juice
- 25mm will cause overhang on some mods
- Driptip is rather flimsy
- RBA Base screws don’t do well with thinner gauge wire
- It’s huuuuuge
- It’s huuuuuge
- Did I mention it’s huge?
In conclusion
The Subtank Plus is definitely a niche product in my opinion, the huge capacity and size is something you’ll have to get used to.
The fact that Kangertech delivers it with a spare set of black o-rings is something I appreciate greatly, at least that way it’s a little more stealthy.
In terms of flavor the Subtank Plus performs great, I can’t say I’ve had any juice in there that tasted different from its intended flavor.
Being able to rebuild with the RBA Base or the ability to switch to prebuilt coils is great, and there are also Ni200 OCC Coils available for purchase now making the Subtank Plus one of the great allrounders out there.
All in all it has very few downsides besides the size, and if you’re looking for a good single coil tank the Subtank should prove to be a good choice.
In closing I would like to thank Gearbest for sending me the Subtank Plus for review, and all of you for reading! I do hope my reviews help you choose a good vape.
Seeing as Belgian customs decided to take two entire weeks to check how much they could charge me to import this (seriously guys, two weeks? Are you fucking kidding me?), I want to apologise for the lateness of this review as it should have been online a week ago.
I’m always looking for more opportunities to review, so get in touch if you want me to review something from you! Juice, RTA, RDA, mods… it’s all welcome and I’m sure we can work something out!
#staycloudy !
SirRisc disappears in a vanilla scented cloud of vapor
If you buy the Subtank Plus, you buy it because of the capacity, so the fact that it’s huge should be a huge (heh) plus! 
