Now I understand this feeling all too well…I have three children myself, and naming them all was one of the most traumatic and long winded challenges I have ever faced, you have to get it right, I mean…this is going to stick with them for their entire life…and on that basis… it’s a huge responsibility, and no matter how hard I tried to evade that dreaded ‘R’ word…it was inevitable that one day…it would catch me…
That being said…
My first is called Kieran, my choice, I just liked the name…and to be fair he’s never complained…but then came the second…my first choice of ‘Offspring B’ was quickly slapped off the table by my better half…killjoy…and so…the process began…
“What name do you really like?”
“Kieran”
“You have a Kieran…and this is going to be a girl”
“Well you asked me what name I liked…and I like Kieran”
“You can’t call a girl Kieran…and you can’t have two kids with the same name”
“But again…that’s not the question you asked me…you asked me what name I really liked…and I answered correctly, and may I also take this opportunity to remind you that you have already poo pooed my first choice for our new baby…”
“You can’t call a girl Kieran…or Offspring B…and I know what fucking question I asked you, now stop being an utter dick…and help me by thinking of a name for our unborn daughter!..Now what name…do you really like?”
“Kieran”…“NO!”…“Offspring B then”…“NOOOOO!!”…“Keira then”
“You’re just saying that because it’s almost ‘Kieran’ …you can’t have kids called Kieran and Keira it’s confusing”
“okay…just Kieran then”
“Why am I still with you…”
And so it went…for several days…and then…Keira it was, which to be fair, I kinda wanted anyway but I just needed to make it by far the better option, yes…I’m absolutely a manipulating, annoying, soul destroying, life sucking, lovable rogue…but then she wouldn’t have it any other way…(says you)
OBS however…clearly don’t have a rational ‘better half’ in their life…my guess…one middle aged single man, whose soul purpose at OBS, is to come up with names for their products…and I, for one, can totally relate with this mans struggle…
…
Welcome back my magical misty minions, back again with more of the same…and this time, we have a break from the ‘clearing the decks’ run of mini reviews…which was already a break from normal run of things…so…we have a break…from the break…with a ‘shoe in’ review. It was bound to happen of course, just when I was making some headway, an item comes on the market that deserves instant attention, and I have to admit, things had gone a little ‘flat’ of late, so this is indeed a welcome respite. So let’s just crack on, and find out what the hell that intro was all about…courtesy of my long time partners, Heavensgifts …I present to you, the OBS Crius II RTA Dual Coil…
Okay, okay, I know…it’s not what you would call…‘Striking’…looks just like any other RTA…but beauty is only skin deep…no wait that’s the wrong analogy…it’s not what’s on the inside that counts…nope…wait…I’ll get it…every rose has it’s thorn…oh bollocks…wait…(stop it…you’re an idiot)…
The Lowdown
The Crius II RTA Dual Coil is a 25mm tank with a 4ml capacity, it has bottom adjustable airflow with 4 inlets on the AFC ring…
A fully adjustable juice flow control…
An underneath that’s all…underneathy…
OBS’s lovely top fill system hidden under a pull-up sleeve…
And a 510 wide bore resin drip tip…
Apart from the surprising 510 drip tip, it’s all as expected from an updated version of OBS’s second best RTA…the Engine obviously being their biggest seller… So…What gives?..What’s its purpose?..Why is it different?..and why do they keep calling everything the Crius?!? …Well…let me explain…first…we had the Crius RTA, and it was a good dual coil 22mm RTA back in the day, and there were a couple of variations of this tank, different post designs, bigger post holes etc…Then…we got the Crius II, fatter at 25mm, but this time only a single coil. This tank was very good and much raved about by the single coil crew…so much so in fact…that OBS decided to bring out the…yes…you’ve guessed it…The Crius II Dual Coil RTA…so it’s the Crius II V2…not the Crius III…it looks nothing like the Crius II and this time it has dual coils…so…totally new tank…with the same name…and to make matters worse…the Crius RDA came out just before the latest RTA rendition…you follow?..
Clear as mud…
However…This Crius may well be adorned with the same name, but what sets this particular version apart from the other renditions…lies beneath the surface…like the heart of a cabbage…(I have no words…sigh)
Look familiar?..Of course it does, it’s pilfered the post design from the Crius RDA, complete with a thick slab of creamy Zirconia filling…delicious…nom nom nom…
I love this build deck, not only does it look the shit, but it’s incredibly easy to build on…
Simply unscrew the central Philips head, slide your legs in, pinch the coils together and tighten it up again. Thanks to the stepped Zirconia slab in the middle, your legs are completely separated, making trimming your leads an utter piece of piss, and as is pretty standard for OBS these days…those lovely fused claptons were included in the package.
The bottom airflow which sits directly underneath the coil is square…exactly the same shape as the underneath of your coil, meaning there is no waste in air contact…at all. Square air inlets are by far the most efficient method of dealing with airflow, and thanks to that solid golden wall down the middle of your build deck…there is literally no other place for your air to go, but straight through your coil…and straight up the domed and highly polished chamber…
Wicking is completely standard, 4 large juice channels that you simply tuck your tails into, not too much though…there is a ‘Goldilocks zone’ to this type of wicking, too much and you get dry hits, too little and you will flood your build deck…but before you screw it all back together…there is of course…the obligatory prime coat…
Sploodge…
The Vape
Well, If anything I’ve said so far has made even the slightest bit of sense to you then…you’ve already worked out that the vape from the Crius II RTA Dual Coil…is quite simply…one of the best tasting vapes I have ever had from an RTA…end of.
It smashes the Engine in terms of flavour production, and my go-to flavour RTA…the Ammit Dual Coil RTA…at last, has a friend on the number one podium…I shit you not…apart from one…small thing, the 510 drip tip. Choosing to put a 510 drip tip on a dual coil RTA seems a very odd decision to me. It’s just that tiny bit too restricted for the amount of vapor this thing is capable of delivering, I mean at least fit it with an 810 and include a 510 adaptor?..Give the option, But it is what is, and what it is - is a 510 wide bore drip tip. Don’t get me wrong, it takes almost nothing away from the epic vape this thing delivers, but for me personally, I would have preferred the airier vape that you only get with an 810…on the plus side though, the drip tip is kinda cool, it’s an ever so slightly swirly resin drip tip, not too crazy, barely even noticeable in fact…but it’s a step up from a plain black or Ultem one.
The Specs
Size: 25mm x 57mm
Capacity: 4ml
Material: 304 stainless steel + pyrex glass
Thread: Gold-plated 510 connection
Easy top side refill
Adjustable bottom airflow
Juice flow control
Dual coil deck with high-tech Zirconia
Detachable structure for cleaning
It comes with
1x Crius 2 RTA dual coil version
1x Extra glass
2x Clapton coils (0.3ohm)
1x Spare parts bag
Final Thoughts
My final thoughts on the OBS Crius II RTA Dual Coil are that once again…OBS have knocked it clean out of the park. They consistently bring us top quality and great performing devices, but this…in my opinion…is their best work to date. The build deck from the Crius RDA was made for an RTA, and it’s that alone which makes this tank, the flavour is off the charts, it’s super easy to build on and the airflow is perfectly delivered…if only it had an 810…because if it did, this thing would be as close to perfect as I have seen in a tank.
Sure…it may look a little dated by today’s standards, but man is it machined well, everything about it is super smooth and well above average in terms of fit and finish…even the way it’s presented blows most other manufacturers out of the water in terms of retail presence…
The only thing that is distinctly average…is the price…
The Price
At time of writing, Heavengifts have this on sale for £28.44 / $39.90…like I said…average, and to sprinkle that with a little financial seasoning…you can use my discount code APUGS15 to get a further 15% off the price, bringing it down to £24.17 / $33.91, and at that price I would recommend this tank to absolutely anyone, find that deal here…
There is of course the issue of the name…it’s total moot point, but come on OBS, it’s a whole different tank, what’s the deal with ‘Crius’??..(Erm…what’s the deal with Kieran??) …Okay…I accept that, but still, at least I had the sense to call my third child (offspring C) something totally different…and yes, that was again thanks to my other half who quite rightly pointed out…“You can’t have another child beginning with ‘K’…because that would be three 'K’s…you really want that tattooed on your arm?”…She had a point…and also, yes I may have gotten away with it with Cerys - seeing as it sounds the same but…actually…you know what…I’m clearly not the right person to be giving OBS grief about their name choosing…
Enough said.
As always, our doors are always open over at Steampugs HQ, so if you would like to see how this epic tank scored against other bit and pieces then feel free to hop on over where you will find a positive cornucopia of excellent vape reviews as well as a shop choc full of highly discounted vape gear, see you there.
Until next time.
Pugs
🖒