I think @Mjag might be able to offer some insight.
For some reason “Freemax” sticks out in my memory (from reading his reviews), but there’ve been quite a few revisions and variations over the last few years IIRC. So I haven’t been able to keep up with which is which.
Kudos for trying to help him out, and for trying to keep within his criteria! While we know that it’s cheaper to build your own… Sometimes it’s more important to get them started on the right path, and let them “graduate” on their own.
This certainly sounds like one of those times to me as well. chuckles
When I first started the cig to vape switch, the sub-ohm tank was a little much. I couldn’t get used to the bombastic amount of vapor the sub-ohm produced and I kept having to do gentle inhales. I tried the Nautinlus and felt I came home because the flavor was good and the production of vapor was similar to a cigarette. Of course, I now use nothing but sub-ohms and my absolute favorite, hands-down is the Profile unity with OFRF 316 SS mesh. I wasn’t a fan of the the mesh at first because I didn’t know how to wick it properly but since then, I can’t put it down. I would suggest asking your friend if he wants the sub-ohm experience or wants to mimic a cig. If it’s the latter, try a good MTL tank. Unfortunately, I don’t have one to recommend other than the Nautilus but I’m sure there are many out there. You can run the Nautilus at very low wattage and there have been upgrades to their ready-made coils. I’m sure you can get a ton of other recommendations from the MTL crowd. Good luck and pat yourself on the back for helping him.
I would consider a tank taking the TFV8 coils as a general starting point.
Tanks which have a good flavor are
Geekvape Zerberus
Smok TFV12 Baby Prince
Vaporesso NRG
60 watts…hmmmm. @Sprkslfly was right, the Freemax Mesh Pro is a tank I still buy coils for, the dual and triple only, whichever I can get the best deal on. The only other subohm tank I still buy coils for is the Geekvape Zeus subohm, the 0.20 ohm coil is really tasty but comes alive at 80 watts for me.
For 60 watts I would probably go with the Freemax Fireluke M, was called Fireluke Mesh before if I remember correctly. They did come out with the Fireluke 2 that uses the new TX series coils, love the new coils, not the new tank as it has a slide top that can open in your pocket. Come to think of it the Mesh Pro also has a slide top, I hate slide tops but the Mesh Pro has never opened accidentally on me but I never put a tank in my pocket.
If you can find an original Freemax Fireluke Mesh than that might be the way to go. Has a traditional screw off top and takes the new TX coils. The TX1 and TX2 are both really good and nice at 60 watts.
I am vaping the Geekvape Zeus subohm tank right now at 60 watts and it is good. For me it really got great at 80+ watts, was vaping it at 95 watts and the flavor was excellent until I forgot it was empty and …poof, smoked the coil. I am supposed to review the Zeus Subohm and Aegis X but just haven’t had the time. Spoiler alert, love the Zeus subohm with the .20 ohm coil, not so much the .40 coil. I like it so much I bought a pack of coils that cost me $20 to make sure the .20 ohm coil was really that good and yeah, it is.
Whatever he gets make sure it is a subohm tank that is easy to buy coils for. You can get Smok coils everywhere but it is russian roulette in a pack of Smok coils, not the best quality control. Freemax coils are available in every store in my area.
Might want to consider Horizon Falcon as well but I stopped buying coils for mine. I am just hooked on the 2 Freemax mesh tanks and now the Zeus Subohm.
I will agree with everyone else that building is the way to go but you have to walk before you run. I always start my friends off with subohm tanks then RTA’s, find it easier to make it as easy as possible for them to make the switch.
Good point, some people prefer MTL. He might want…wait for it…can’t believe I am going to say this…trembling…a pod system
I hate to admit it but the Smok Nord 2 with the RPM40 .40 ohm coil is crazy tasty. Any of the Smok pods that use that same coil should be the same. I generally never buy Smok stuff but when my friend told me I had to try the Nord 2 I immediately recognized the juice, one I make for him and I was immediately impressed.
If you do decide to source a sub ohm tank for him I can recommend the one and only non-rebuildable I use - the Nunchaku. I use one for car journeys and dog walks and it never leaks, even when it falls over in my pocket. The flavour from the UN2 Mesh coil is fantastic for a low-ish wattage coil (50-55 watts ideal for me) and as they fit the nunchaku 2 tanks they’ll be around for a while. I’ve never had a dud and they last longer than any other sub ohm coil I’ve used, which admittedly is not that many. The tank is cheap to buy, easy to fill and can take a bubble glass.
(If MTL seems the way to go, I’d recommend the Innokin Zlide).
My two cents here. A tank like the Kylin M is dirt simple to set-up. You can use either pre-cut mesh, normally Kanthal or SS. The other choice is to buy the mesh in 5ft rolls. It’s dead simple to take an original pre-cut mesh, measure it up, cut it and then install it. The Kylin M makes it as simple as it possibly could be. On top of that, the flavor is fantastic.
I’ve never understood the resistance some people show to a bit of learning and work when it comes to vaping. Almost all of us here have quit smoking because of vaping. It’s not like a person is being asked to learn something for the sake of itself. We’re talking about a life changing thing that will improve and extend one’s life dramatically. Isn’t that worth a bit of effort?
Yep, good advice. For me, I prefer the Geekvape Cerberus with The Aegis X. (I will have a review for the Aegis X very soon). The reason I go with the Cerberus is the fact that they keep sending the damn thing to me and second, the coils go on sale a lot and are easy to get and a bonus found by… was it you @Lostmarbles? Anywho, you can use v8 baby coils and if you friend finally decides to build, he can use the v8 baby RBA. (it works too).
Awesome! I recently converted another cousin and I make his juice for him.
LOL. Yes, that is a good point. I got you there too. I would pick up the Aspire Zelos Kit which comes with the Nautilus 2S which IMO has the best pre-built MTL coils on the market.
I mainly use the FreemaxMeshPro with double mesh coils, I have Several of them and vape at 60-62 watts, I never had leaking in pocket but many ppl have complained of that problem.
Another tank I would Highly recommend is the Valyrian 2, I have one and plan on buying more!
I agree with @natbone. I have both mesh sub-ohm tanks and mesh RTA’s. From a cost and flavor perspective, the mesh RTA’s gets my vote. Sub-ohm coils are a tad pricey and usually don’t last as long as the mesh strips (IMHO). The Kylin M is very easy to wick although a beginner might need a few practice runs to nail it.
But the nice part about a mesh RTA is you can easily change out the wicking while keeping the mesh intact. You can’t do that with the sub-ohm versions.
Thanks everyone, to address the rebuilding statements, he is the type of guy that will end up letting his stock coils go an extra day or two cause he doesn’t feel like dicking with it to change them. I offered to give him a squonk setup, all he would have to do is change cotton, and he is not interested at all lol. He hits my vapes every now and then and he can rip a 60 watt coil in an rda no problem but he thought my 80 watt coils in the boreas were a little hot. I think that a pod system with internal battery would probably piss him off because he would forget to charge it and end up smoking again, I’m giving him a triple battery mod and with a 40-60 watt tank he should have to charge his batteries every other night.
I am super impressed with the Voopoo NAVI mod/pod. So much so I can overlook the small juice capacity and small’ish fill hole. The flavor is fantastic!!! Burnt coils are a thing of the past. Very pocketable, quick charge, don’t need to change settings at all(automatic) but you can if you want to. Choice of draw or button activation, or both. Fantastic flavor. I’ve run 50/50 pg/vg as well as 05/95 and many combinations in between without even noticing a difference!!! I’ve used salt nic and regular nic both. The damn thing is just hard not to love and want to use. I really hate that whenever I see it or think about it I also know in my head that I could give away ALL my other vape gear and still be satisfied with the NAVI as a smoker(but not as a hobbyist). I have tried desperately not to attach myself to it. I’ve made a rule for myself to only use it when I’m charging my three daily drivers. If they make a larger capacity tank with a larger fill hole
Despite the naysayers on subohms, I really like the freemax mesh pro. I am not good at building coils and wasted too much time with pre-built coils. I used the triple coils and buy them on sale. Much happier using this set up then fiddling with coils and cotton.
@scifoc I gave a Freemax Mesh Pro to a friend while I took his Aromamizer Plus in to see why it was leaking, turned out he bent the top on the AP so I was able to bend it back to stop the loss of air via the top cap.
He wound up loving the Mesh Pro so much he bought a second for his wife and a bunch of the dual mesh coils. He has the AP back but told me he is going to use the Mesh Pro for now, he and his wife love it.
The Freemax Fireluke 2 tank is wonderful and the TX series coils give plenty of options. I like the TNX2 coils which ohm at 0.5 ohms but they have some that ohm at 0.1 and also some kanthal and at least one that’s stainless for use with TC if that’s his thing.
In the 40-60W range there’s nothing better than Uwells Nunchaku tanks. The mesh coils are just fantastic. There’s the original and a version 2. I prefer the original but both are great. The coils are what sets them apart from all the rest. I’ve tried lots of the bigger name mid range tanks, and none out perform the Nunchakus.
The original comes with two different coils. They’re both clapton wire coils. Those ate nice but the mesh coils are better, and last longer. I use the .2Ω UN2 Mesh coils for my tanks right at 50W. They’re rated up to 60W but 50 is about where I like them.
I’d suggest a Fireluke 2 as a runner up but the top fill part of that tank is horrible. It slides open if the wind blows. When that happens it dumps out all of its liquid. Mine leaked out in my pocket and in my bag one too many times. I haven’t used it since. Freemax makes great coils though. The Fireluke Mesh tank has a screw on/off cap which is much better. Both can use the same coils.
