What’s up vapefam!
SirRisc here with another gear review!
I haven’t been dripping for over a week (queue the dramatic music) and there’s a good reason for that.
I’ve been using a tank that gives me nearly the exact same performance, but without the hassle of having to carry around a bottle of juice and stumble around with the topcap of my Troll.
The Smok TFV4 is what I’ve been using, and it’s fucking great!
This tank was sent to me for the purpose of this review by Gearbest.com!
Premise.
If you’ve read my previous reviews, you probably noticed I didn’t exactly show much love for Smok when I reviewed the Xpro M45.
I didn’t love it because the quality control on it was just bad. I had to break apart the entire thing and resolder just about everything to get it to work safely.
As a result of that I stayed away from Smok products for a while, until I started seeing other reviewers rave on about the Smok TFV4.
After a bit of research I found that this might actually be very different, and I wasn’t wrong. This baby is close to being perfect.
Sit back, have a vape and join me as I explain why it’s so great!
Specifications.
- Stainless Steel
- Silver plated positive pin
- 510 threaded
- Adjustable airflow
- 510 driptip included with airflow control
- Several coilhead options ranging from single coil to quad coil, from Kanthal to Titanium, to Ni200
- Single coil RBA included in the kit, dual coil RBA available
Packaging.
The TFV4 comes in a pretty cardboard box, sturdy and well packed with goodies.
The black box comes wrapped in a grey and white paper with the tank depicted on the front, specifications and warnings on the back.
The black box has the Smok logo printed in silver lettering. Clean, I like it.
When you open the box, you’re greeted with the tank itself locked in a foam insert.
The insert pops out with the help of a ribbon on top, and reveals all the accessories Smok included.
The kit comes with a triple coil head installed in the tank, but underneath the insert are the goodies.
A spare glass tank (bonuspoints!), a quadruple coil head, a single coil RBA, a spare topfill seal, a black and a white vapeband, a pack of Japanese cotton and a black screwdriver (which is the heavy metal version of the blue screwdriver! \m/ ).
There’s also a QC/Warranty card which I wasn’t too happy about as it states the warranty only covers Dead-On-Arrival, and a user manual which is clear and well illustrated.
But enough about the packaging, how does it perform?
Performance.
In short it performs well enough to keep me from using RDAs, which is saying a lot.
Thanks to the somewhat mental way Smok has built up these coilheads, it’ll perform almost as a dripper in fact.
The kit comes with a few options in terms of coilheads, a triple coil clocking in at 0.2ohm which is rated up to 130W, a quadruple coilhead clocking in at 0.15ohm rated up to 140W and an RBA section for single coils with ample room and juice channels you could lose a ship in.
I decided the best idea to put this tank through it’s paces was to try the triple coil first, since I could run this at 100W without issue.
The flavor is on par with a dripper, it’s warm, full bodied and pure.
It’ll do clouds too, and it’ll do them well. I get approximately the same volume and density as I do from my Troll RDA which is very nice.
However what amazes me most is that I’ve been using the coilhead for 2 weeks now and it’s still performing like it was the first day. It hasn’t degraded or gunked up, it hasn’t lost flavor.
I’ve heard a few people complain about leaking with this coil, but my TFV4 hasn’t leaked a drop so far.
The RBA section was the next challenge, single coil and juicechannels that are rivaling the Strait of Gibraltar.
The issue with this is getting your wicking right, it’ll leak like a keg on a stagparty if you don’t plug the juicechannels with some wick.
I’ve found the best way to wick it is to cut the wick so it reaches the bottom of the channels and then pry the wick in with a screwdriver after putting the barrel on.
The deck itself looks a bit like a Kayfun on steroids, but it performs a lot better in both vapor and flavor.
After a few days of vaping a regular Kanthal coil at 0.4ohm, I decided it was time to turn the dial to eleven.
So I put a small clapton coil in there which ended up at 0.18ohm, proceeded to wick it with rayon, and got her all wet (rawr).
It’s… by lack of any other word, absolutely insane.
It’s a very warm vape but that’s where the included driptip does some of its magic with the airflow control.
That brings me to the last coil included in the kit, a quadruple coil at 0.15ohm.
This is far down the subohm territory and won’t even fire on some mods.
Especially when you know the coilhead is rated to go up to 140W, in what is essentially a clearomizer.
This one does seem to lack a bit on the flavor side of things, but in terms of vapor it outperforms the triple coil.
After seeing a few people report a chemical, plastic taste from the coil I was rather cautious but I didn’t experience this myself.
Taking the coilhead up to 140W I even had the feeling it could go a little more, so I tried a couple of hits at 150W and it performed flawlessly.
Remember when we were all excited to see Aspire release a dual coil head for the Nautilus we could run at 15W? We’ve come a long way…
The topfilling mechanism is absolute bliss too, it allows you to refll the tank without much hassle.
Just pop the top to the side, stick in the dropper and watch the tank fill up. Easy as fudge.
The gasket is made in silicone and can fit most droppers, and does its job of sealing off the tank very well.
Standing the tank on the driptip for a while didn’t cause any leaks, and I have yet to spill any juice with this tank.
The airflow is ample and allows for direct lunghits with ease, closing it off wasn’t an option for me as it seemed to heat up the vapor too much for my taste.
The AFC ring on the bottom doesn’t click into place but it also doesn’t move around. It’s held in place with o-rings, I think.
The driptip also has airflow control, which works great to cool down the vapor!
However the TFV4 does have one very big disadvantage, it guzzles juice like there’s no tommorow.
The tank has a capacity of 5ml but it feels more like 1ml because you will go through it in no time.
I reckon that’s the biggest negative to this one, as well as with some other RTAs (Cthulhu, Goblin, I’m looking at you!).
That said even with the prebuilt coilheads this tank will laugh at the thickest of juices.
Max VG is no problem, at all. Where most tanks will struggle with wicking, this one just powers through.
Aesthetics.
What is there to say about the umpteenth subohm clearomizer really? It looks alright, but it’s nothing special.
It’s big, it’s bulky, and it comes with a black and a white vapeband if you so choose.
There’s a little bit of subtle branding on the tank, just above the AFC is an engraving of TFV4 and the topcap has SMOK embossed into it.
I’ll let the photos speak for it.
Pros and Cons.
Pro.
- Great flavor
- Big clouds
- Lots of coil options
- Two kinds of RBA available
- Easy to fill, topfill
- Spare glass (Thank you Smok!)
- Runs at higher wattages if you so choose
- Looks alright
- Driptip with AFC, doesn’t heat up
- Vapebands!
- Coilheads last a loooooooooooooong time
- Max VG wicks perfectly, even with the prebuilt coilheads
Con.
- Expensive
- Expensive coilheads
- Doesn’t seem to perform as good on lower wattages
- Driptip is prone to lipgunk (ewww!)
- Guzzles juice
- Heavy and big
- Topcap can slip open if you carry it in your pocket
In conclusion.
I think this might be the first tank to keep me from dripping for a good while.
I wasn’t a fan of Smok’s mods, but they have redeemed themseves with the TFV4.
The myriad of coilhead options available, with even more coming, is a good strategy by Smok because it allows you to customize your experience without having to buy different tanks.
The pricing is something I don’t quite agree with, the tank in itself is not cheap and the prices of coilheads are bordering on the ridiculous.
I think it’s worth it. The performance is amazing, the tank feels well made, the coilheads last forever, and it’s the first tank I have that takes such high wattages without even flinching.
In closing I would like to thank Gearbest for sending me the TFV4 for review!
And of course all of you who read my reviews, thank you!
For those of you who wonder where the electronic cigarettes category went on Gearbest, there’s a new website from them that is now the dedicated home of the vaping supplies.
You’ll find it at vapor.gearbest.com now, making it a little easier to find what you’re looking for.
(Disclaimer: I do NOT work for Gearbest, nor did I get paid for this review. I’m just letting you know.)
I’m currently looking for more opportunities to review! Do you think your stuff has what it takes? Get in touch!
I can be reached on my website, via DM on Instagram, on the Facebook page, via DM on Reddit, or via DM on ELR.
#staycloudy !
SirRisc disappears in a cloud of Crunchberry scented vapor
PS: I know our admin, Lars, has just posted his review of the TFV4 too and this is sort of a repetition of what he has said. He was quicker than me on this one… DAMN YOU, LARS! YOU’VE MADE A MORTAL ENEMY! I WILL DESTROY YOU! shakes fists in evil villain style
PPS: Of course I am kidding, I love Lars! <3
It is a marvel of a tank! 
Sorry about beating you to the punch though 
I wouldn’t want to bother you with ordering, receiving, repacking and sending one tiny thing - I’m hoping I can track down one in Europe before too long