So, we have all seen hand checks and the latest and greatest devices coming out. This is great as far as letting people know what is out on the market today. What I really have not seen is the tried and true setups that keep us vapers going day in and day out. What keeps you from going back to the analogs/cigs? This is not a contest of who has the most badass setup. This is a post to where newbies can come and get an idea of what our setups are and an explanation of why we use them. There are some of the loyalists out there that swear by the name and the company, this is not for that. This is just a combination of products that we keep using in our daily rotation. Here is what I am looking for:
1.) The setup: Mod and Device.
2.) The why: Why is this your tried and true?
3.) What liquids: What do you use with the device combo?
4.) What motivates you to keep using the device combo?
5.) Price point: How much did this combo set you back? (If you review products and got it free, let the user know how much the device is.
In the next post, I will start it off. Will this evolve according to new devices? Of course, it will, but it will give new users a chance to see why we use the combinations that we use. If you have, a few combinations then list them separately. Also new people, ask questions of the setup. The main goal of this is to help you pick a device that may be comfortable to you.
(REMEMBER ALL OF THIS IS SUBJECTIVE; FIND WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU!)
Here is my first setup that keeps me going and have been using daily for 3 weeks now steadily:
1.) The WOTOFO Recurve Mech Squonk and the Drop RDA with BF pin installed. Dual coil N80 claptons with a 20700 battery used in the mod.
2.) I can put just about any liquid in the device and it shines. This is from Fruits/Tobaccos/Creams/Custards you name it and I pick up nuances from all the liquids used. The Mod itself just conforms to my hand. It is one of the most comfortable devices I own. Especially in terms of grip.
3.) All types of juice that I make go into this and just shine on a daily basis.
4.) The vapor and flavor production of this device keep making this a no brainer in my opinion. I chuck some voluminous clouds and get great flavor off the device.
5.) Price point: I have seen the Drop go for about $30 locally and the Recurve go for as little as $25. This makes for a very affordable setup in my opinion.
(Know OHMās Law when building on this! It is a mech!)
Here is my second setup that keeps me going and have been using daily for 1 month now steadily:
1.) The Vandy Vape VapingBogan Bonza kit, with the Bonza 1.5 RDA installed. Dual coil N80 claptons with a Sony VTC6 battery with adapter used in the mod.
2.) I started getting into mechs with this device. It is sort of newb friendly when getting into mechs. The throw on this device is somewhat wonky, but gets the job done. I cannot recommend a 20700 or 21700 battery due to arcing on the button. I have used the Profile Unity on here and it does perform very well. Just not in my top 5 usage category.
3.) I notice that creams/coffee/custards all to me taste better in this device. Is there some sort of molecular thing happening here, I do not know. It just gives more of a mouthfeel to the liquids.
4.) When the throw is working right the vapor and flavor production on this device is superb. (This is when the stars, moons, and planets align. Takes some fiddling to get it right.
5.) Price point: I have seen the kit go for as low as $45 to as high as $85. Try to go for the lower price if you can.
It is a āminiā setup I can have it with me all day. I am a mtl user so I donāt really need much power. Great taste for me. I am more on the tobacco (both synth, Net and Absolutes), caramels and nuts, so I donāt really know many thinks about fruits and deserts.
Not expensive at all, it costs me about 30ā¬ (mod), 25ā¬ (doggy), 10ā¬(battery) from a local store, if you buy it from a eshop you can find in almost half of this price.
I have the same and is my only mod and dattery almost 2 years and I can run it all day at around 9-13W. Doggystyle 2k18 is my main rta and I have it 4 months. I like it because it have topfill but is not easy to wick it or you have leaks. Doggystyle 2k16 is bottomfill but very veryā¦ I meanā¦ very easy to build/wick and never leaks, atleast to me.
The last one is my Digiflavor Siren v2, easy to build/wick, never leaks, great flavour, but a bit bigger in size with less ml capacity (2.5ml on the tank). Doggystyle is 3.5ml on the tank.
As already told, mostly tobaccos type flavours, caramel and nuts.
1.) The setup: Any regulated MOD 80 watts or greater. With the Steam Crave Aromamizer Supreme V2 on top
2.) The why: Why is this your tried and true? Nothing provides greater Flavor production then the Steam Crave Aromamizer
3.) What liquids: What do you use with the device combo? Fruits, Desserts, Creams & Non-Tobacco Eliquids
4.) What motivates you to keep using the device combo? The Excellent Flavor production
5.) Price point: How much did this combo set you back? Generally I spend about $30 on the Regulated device with 2-4 Battery capacity. And the Aromamizer Supreme is available for about $30. Once you purchase an Aromamizer Plus, you will never have to purchase another RDTA.
|1.)|The setup: Mod and Device.|
Steamcrave aromamizer titan kit
|2.)|The why: Why is this your tried and true?|
Awsome flavour and 4 batteries
|3.)|What liquids: What do you use with the device combo?
60 40 to 80 20. Custards and deserts as thats all i make
|4.)|What motivates you to keep using the device combo?
Flavour is great and i fill tank and change batteries in the morning and its good for a full day at work with no spare batteries or juice.
|5.)|Price point:|
Ā£78 is what i paid
Although you need a fairly big pocket to carry this sucker.
Set up
Therion 133/OBS Engine Nano
Build AVS ss 6 wrap ss 3mm tri core fc
Juice, always an orange mix
This set up just checks every box for me; hand feel, battery efficiency, flavor, af, etc. First and last thing in my hand daily since Iāve had them.
I have several setups I use throughout the day. Devices, Detonator, sxmini SL, Therion 166. Attys, Nano, Juggerknot mini, VLS rda. Builds, multi wire ss or ni80. Juices, fruits, cheesecake, occasionally ice creams with caramel/toffee with nuts.
My current āgo toā setup : Lost Vape Drone BF DNA 250C paired with a Wotofo Profile RDA, squonk pin installed, firing Vandy Vape SS mesh.
Why is this tried and true? First itās a DNA device. Note: This is a fairly advanced mod and some users could possibly be overwhelmed by the numerous options. If you just want to press a button and vape youāll probably want to look at something else. However, once itās dialed in with Replay Mode engaged, it has the ability to give you a supremely satisfying vape. And with the advent of mesh coil technology the Wotofo Profile and Profile Unity atomizers are the logical choice for both flavor and cloud output. Set it and fuh-get-abou-dit!
E-liquid has always been DIY. Mainly custards, fruits and cream profiles. For me Iāve settled on 75vg/25pg for best all-around flavor and cloud ratio.
Why do I keep using this device combination? Read #2 again.
Lost Vape DNA Drone $139.00 - Wotofo Profile RDA gifted to me by a generous and respected user, @eStorm.
I absolutely canāt agree with this statement since you can always get yet another Aromamizer and you can never have enough of them
And now on topic:
1.) The setup: Yihi SX-mini G-class with Steam Crave Aromamizer Plus on top
2.) The why: superb TC and amazing flavor, with better batterly life than my DNA 250c devices
3.) What liquids: Mostly fruit and desert flavors. Iām not a tobacco person
4.) What motivates me: amazing flavor, and decent battery life
5.) Price point: a bit high on this setup, especially where I live. $200-ish for the mod, $35-ish for the tank, and at least $40-ish for two pairs of batteries
The setup :
Mod : paranormal 250c, lg hg2 batteries.
RTA : gear from ofrf when at home / work, with clapton 26/36 at 0.5-0.6 ohm and pharaoh rta when around, with fused clapton 26*2/38 at 0.25-0.3 ohm
Why : never have any problem with this setup. Iām lazy, so replay is a blessing.
Flavor profile : tobacco, dessert
Why using this : number 2 explains it
Price : where Iām at, the mod is about $100-110, batteries about $8 each, gear rta about $22 or so, pharaoh rta about $30 or so.
My go to is the arctic dolphin crea mod, it is a mechanical squonker I picked up from vaporL for $9.90, on top is either a hermetic rda for cinnamon vapes($10 online somewhere, maybe 8vape), or my focus ecigs wanko rda for custards($7 on I think vaporbeast a year ago).
I have been running .2x.8 flat wire claptoned with 36g, all SS316L on both drippers, and 25r batteries. I mostly vape custards and bakeries, and this is my go-to setup because I get fantastically full flavor from a single coil at around .35 ohm.
I keep using this setup because it works well, and Iāve got less than $25 in the whole thing lol.
1.) The setup: Mod and Device: Eleaf Pico Squeeze 2 squonk mod, with a Wotofo Profile RTA. Coils are VV 316L 200 mesh wire (coming in at .17 ohm), or sometimes OFRF mesh. Right now this is my one and only, so when I say its satisfying to me all day, every dayā¦ I mean just that. This is my sole setup, at the moment. The Coral 2 RDA that comes with the Eleaf Pico Squeeze 2 kit is also great, if youāre a budget vaper and wanna buy the kit and nuthin else! 2.) The why: Why is this your tried and true? Its inexpensive and suuuuper satisfying. I love the option to drip onto Profile if I want a āblastā of another flavor, while still having my main flavor in the squonk bottle. Its a CUTE setup, in the Dazzling (rainbow) with my own tips and accessories. 3.) What liquids: What do you use with the device combo? Storebought and DIY juices, mostly creamy desserts and cereal flavors, occasional pop of straight fruity flavor. DIY Recipes right now in my adv lineup (both from ELR) are Kreedās Custard, and Shroomyās Frosted Flakes. My 3 āmust haveā store bought juices are from The Sauce LA, Capone (awesome fruit loops w milk), Open Road (Rice Crispy Treat drizzled in Caramel) and Caramel Waffle Cappuccino (nuff said). New customers can try an ounce of each at The Sauce LA for $3 total, so run! lol 4.) What motivates you to keep using the device combo? Incredibly economical, cute, and suuuper easy setup. Iād forgotten how much I love squonking! Also, I should say I tend to be a low temp or lowish wattage vaper. My sweetspot with the .17 ohm mesh is about 35 w in VW mode, in TC mode I prefer it about 50 w at 220 degrees F. My setup gives me great flavor and solid, dense vape, nice clouds at that low wattage, which is always my goal. 5.) Price point: How much did this combo set you back? (If you review products and got it free, let the user know how much the device is. You can get the Eleaf Pico Squeeze 2 kit with Coral 2 RDA, AND a 21700 battery for $30 at Breazy.com now. Its a solid $75 device, small but hefty and very substantial, well machined, and likely to last. Iāve used a lot of devices over the last 9-10ish years, and this is among my alltime faves. And suuuper cheap! The Wotofo Profile RDA runs about $24, so worth it! And rather than using the OFRF mesh, I got 5 FEET of the VV 316L 200 mesh for $9, and since u use an inch to make a coil, Iāll have coils, quite literally, for at least the next 5 years.
Iāll preface my post with the following:
For a brief time, I could have been considered āone of theseā where Smoant was concerned. Unfortunately, their design team split after the creation of the 218w devices (the Cylon, Ranker, and the 218w Charon variation; all of which used the ST Microelectronics chip set). When this split occurred, the remaining designers at Smoant then started using an inferior chip with a firmware to match. The products that followed are āokā, but not nearly the same caliber IMO. Especially in TC which is my personal preference.
The mod: Smoant Cylon
The atty: Wismec Theorem
Excellent flavor across a variety of profiles, with consistency and repeatability in the power delivery, and longevity of operation (by the mod) after sustained daily use over two plus years.
Desserts, fruits, drinks/āalcoholā, etc (most anything, but not a tobacco or floral connoisseur)
Very comfortable in the hand, with one of the slimmer dual 18650 profiles, though there is a slight drop in power when the batteries hit the ā40%ā charge remaining mark. And another slight drop at the 20% mark. (To me, this works as an indicator that Iām almost out of batteries, which oddly enough, I appreciate. Kind of similar to the warning you get when a wick is about to go dry in TC mode.)
This particular combination yields the widest spectrum of flavors to be easily perceived on the palate, as well as the olfactory senses. Itās repeatable from a mod/atty made from the initial release, all the way to a year, or even two years later (which to me says that the unit was sufficiently tested prior to release, as well as was designed using quality components, and that nothing changed when they decided to release additional runs of the hardware. A VERY RARE occurrence in vape hardware)
My first versions of these (2017) are not only still going strong, but have identical performance to the units that were just made and QCād in Feb 2019.
The mod: between $40-$50. (from either USA or China)
The atty: from $3.95-$7.95
I do need to qualify some key points here though.
I typically vape around 30-45w, and use SS coils (both Clapton [26/36] and fused Clapton [26x2/36), which range from 0.17ohm to 0.23ohm)
Power is flavor profile dependant of course.
I use a Friction Fit 510 with an ultra wide bore (because itās the only way to get a bore that large ON a 510 drip tip), which is critical to releasing the full flavor that the Theorem can actually produce. ALL OTHER DRIP TIP TYPES I have tried, hurt the flavor production in some way.
I only use the airflow ring with the single notch in it. And itās positioned āfull openā, over the top of the coil.
Coil positioning and height are also critical. But once you get things down, results are identical. Every time.
Iāve had dual coil āpowerhousesā that canāt deliver the same level of flavor this combo does.
I know this is long, but had I not āovercome the quirksā of the atty, I would have written it off like so many others have. Suffice it to say that Iām glad I persisted (way back when).
|1.)|The setup: Mod and Device.|
Lost Vape Triade DNA 250C / original Goon
Usually I have dual 316L fused claptons (26g/40g) around 0.15ohm but sometimes I use a flapton or whatever else I have available. I always use KGD for wick. Tried lots of other materials but so far nothingās better in any way.
|2.)|The why: Why is this your tried and true?|
Triade DNA 250C:
Havenāt put this mod down since I got it. Love the Replay function. I change batteries once every 2 days using this mod only, truly amazing. Itās a very light mod as well, the whole setup doesnāt weigh much more than the 3 18650s itās carrying. I could do without any other my other mods as long as I have this one.
Goon:
Great flavor, easy builds. This was my 2nd RDA (first one that wasnāt rubbish), 2.5 years old. Itās in great shape and after all this time, I still didnāt have to dig in my bag of spares. About half a year ago I lost my drip tip (got pushed off in my pocket) so thatās the only thing that changed. I didnāt like the additional wide bore drip tip that came with it (less flavor).
|3.)|What liquids: What do you use with the device combo?|
Lately Iāve been vaping a lot of RY4 Double / Cream liquids, but the current build and wick has also seen mango, baked apples, custard and a Kentucky Bourbon juice so I really need to put in a new build.
|4.)|What motivates you to keep using the device combo?|
With the Replay function, itās so easy to vape my cotton bone dry, squirt a new juice in and continue. If I keep vaping the same juice, obviously I donāt wait until my cotton is white again.
The Goon does it all, flavor, vapor, ā¦ Iād buy a 2nd in an instant if theyād still sell the original.
|5.)|Price point: How much did this combo set you back? (If you review products and got it free, let the user know how much the device is.|
I paid US$95 for the Triade (Ali Express) on Black Friday. The Goon cost me Ā£65 (vape shop). At least 75% of all the e-liquid I vaped has gone through this RDA, so itās by far the cheapest RDA per toot Iāve ever owned, not counting give-aways.
