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The Cromwell

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Are referring to the RDA or RDTA?

RDA. Not interested in RDTA's they just add another level of complexity for cleaning and such.
A squonk RDA is all one needs.

Tried the Serpent RDTA. Was good but too much trouble for no real gain over a squonk RDA.

Was not even aware that they had an RDTA.
 

The Cromwell

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I have no use for any tank, etc that aside from the coil screws I have to use tools to disassemble for cleaning and such.
 

bobnat

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RDA. Not interested in RDTA's they just add another level of complexity for cleaning and such.
A squonk RDA is all one needs.

Tried the Serpent RDTA. Was good but too much trouble for no real gain over a squonk RDA.

Was not even aware that they had an RDTA.

Thanks.
 

Polargirl

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Innokin Ares MTL RTA
I guess being a reviewer would be an advantage- he has vaped on hundreds of tanks- good, the bad and the ugly and would really understand what would make a great MTL tank, but again those are his likes or dislikes, since I am a DL vaper this tank would not interest me, but nice to know that he is trying to build a great tank for the MTL crowd!
The thing with most vape gear and liquids is subjective- what I like, you may hate and vice versa!
When these two reviewers are reviewing mods- they are using all the testing that is possible to try to understand a quality or faulty mod- pros and cons.
Heck I have made some bad decisions in my 3 years of vaping, nothing is perfect, I just narrow down what I like, or what I think I would like and give it a try, don't know till I try it!
I usually only use single coil RTAs, but recently took a chance on the Ample Pixy- dual coil RDTA- such a fun tank, vapes great, absolutely no leaking and I am so glad I took the chance on trying something I was unsure of as there are not many reviews on this tank.
Starting out as a reviewer is an excellent background to work up to product design. This is true of most products since engineers usually lack a marketing background.

Of course one cannot objectively be both simultaneously.

It will be interesting to see how the Innokin Ares MTL RTA compares to the Digiflavor Siren 2. Not much feedback on either yet. I wouldn't be surprised if Phil's atty wins that.
 

SnapDragon NY

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No matter how bad the worst SMOK mod is or its warranty- NOTHING is worse then to continue smoking cigarettes!
All the decades of research on those horrible things and you still use them! Maybe if you really looked at the results of studies on cigarettes and their effects on the human body, you would be more apt to quit cigarettes any way possible and as quickly as possible!
Also the enormous waste of money spent on packs of cigarettes that are just thrown away in the trash!
All the research you are doing on ecigs- maybe you should have researched cigarettes- you would have never picked them up and smoked them in the first place!
I am a smart person, but back in my day everyone smoked, on TV in movies, I could go anywhere and smoke like the Bank,Movie Theaters,Grocery Shopping, Dr waiting room- heck my 1st Dr smoked cigarettes! Years down the road later, I knew after all these studies I had to get cigarettes out of my life, and ecigs have been the 1st things that have worked for me! When you watch someone you love more than any thing in the world die of lung cancer- I held her hand while she passed- she fought every day to live! In her honor I quit cigarettes!
 

The Cromwell

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Starting out as a reviewer is an excellent background to work up to product design. This is true of most products since engineers usually lack a marketing background.

Of course one cannot objectively be both simultaneously.

It will be interesting to see how the Innokin Ares MTL RTA compares to the Digiflavor Siren 2. Not much feedback on either yet. I wouldn't be surprised if Phil's atty wins that.
Hmm have to see Vapiing with Vics review on that comparison.
He is one of the few other reviewers that seems to know much at all about real MTL.
He loves the Digiflavor Siren 2.
 

The Cromwell

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No matter how bad the worst SMOK mod is or its warranty- NOTHING is worse then to continue smoking cigarettes!
All the decades of research on those horrible things and you still use them! Maybe if you really looked at the results of studies on cigarettes and their effects on the human body, you would be more apt to quit cigarettes any way possible and as quickly as possible!
Also the enormous waste of money spent on packs of cigarettes that are just thrown away in the trash!
All the research you are doing on ecigs- maybe you should have researched cigarettes- you would have never picked them up and smoked them in the first place!
I am a smart person, but back in my day everyone smoked, on TV in movies, I could go anywhere and smoke like the Bank,Movie Theaters,Grocery Shopping, Dr waiting room- heck my 1st Dr smoked cigarettes! Years down the road later, I knew after all these studies I had to get cigarettes out of my life, and ecigs have been the 1st things that have worked for me! When you watch someone you love more than any thing in the world die of lung cancer- I held her hand while she passed- she fought every day to live! In her honor I quit cigarettes!
I started vaping and got off of cigs without knowing anything about vaping/ecigs.
Wife got sneaky and bought me an overpriced cigalike kit. So I figured I would try it.
Rapidly got self educated on vaping by using the web though.
Before she got me the kit I knew vaguely that ecigs was a thing....
 

SnapDragon NY

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I started vaping and got off of cigs without knowing anything about vaping/ecigs.
Wife got sneaky and bought me an overpriced cigalike kit. So I figured I would try it.
Rapidly got self educated on vaping by using the web though.
Before she got me the kit I knew vaguely that ecigs was a thing....
I heard an ad on the radio about them! I know no one in my life that has used or ever used an ecig! Started with the Mistic Bridge Kit,some carts and Haus eliquid in 24 mgs and managed to quit my 30+ year cig habit! I gave myself two weeks to cut down set my quit date Dec 1, 2014 and the rest is history!
Sometimes I think there is almost too much out there in the market- when many have to reach down in their soul with will power too, they seem to forget that!
 

JuicyLucy

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While nothing beats your own personal experience - learning to trust the experience of others you have learned to trust is a the next best thing - and that takes time

Also, knowing the difference between what is fact and what is a matter of opinion is equally important

Yesterday, Cromwell posted a thread regarding long-term storage of juice and the effects on taste in glass vs plastic bottles

My long experience with Cromwell tells me that his experience was genuine and should be heeded as fact

Equally important is opinion: he likes Kanger squonk boxes; I think they are meh - these are matters of opinion and if you ask us why we have that opinion, you can decide for yourself whether it is a good squonker for you - depends on what you are looking for *shrugs*

Another example for juice is my experience with Mykreign, known him less time than Cromwell, but we have a lot of the same DIY interests and I trust his judgement because we have a lot of similar tastes and have traded recipes, etc and helped each other out
a lot this year

So if I was looking to try a new flavor but could not decide on a brand, I would trust his opinion - and know he would also be honest and say "never tried that flavor-but..." instead of spouting nonsense based on who knows what

Actual reviewers require the same amount of vetting and a similar process
 

Polargirl

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No matter how bad the worst SMOK mod is or its warranty- NOTHING is worse then to continue smoking cigarettes!
All the decades of research on those horrible things and you still use them! Maybe if you really looked at the results of studies on cigarettes and their effects on the human body, you would be more apt to quit cigarettes any way possible and as quickly as possible!
Also the enormous waste of money spent on packs of cigarettes that are just thrown away in the trash!
All the research you are doing on ecigs- maybe you should have researched cigarettes- you would have never picked them up and smoked them in the first place!
I am a smart person, but back in my day everyone smoked, on TV in movies, I could go anywhere and smoke like the Bank,Movie Theaters,Grocery Shopping, Dr waiting room- heck my 1st Dr smoked cigarettes! Years down the road later, I knew after all these studies I had to get cigarettes out of my life, and ecigs have been the 1st things that have worked for me! When you watch someone you love more than any thing in the world die of lung cancer- I held her hand while she passed- she fought every day to live! In her honor I quit cigarettes!
Well, not necessarily true. A hybrid mech mod with a coil under 0.1 ohms for someone who knows absolutely nothing about vaping probably is worse than smoking.

I don't say that just to be contrarian but dangerous to the ignorant mods and defective products can indeed be more dangerous than cigarettes.

Sorry in advance for what I am about to post since this is contrarian but I have to for amusement's sake. The one thing that would be more dangerous and destructive than all of that?

32oz_2.jpg


+

87900.ashx
 

JuicyLucy

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Well, not necessarily true. A hybrid mech mod with a coil under 0.1 ohms for someone who knows absolutely nothing about vaping probably is worse than smoking.

I don't say that just to be contrarian but dangerous to the ignorant mods and defective products can indeed be more dangerous than cigarettes.

Sorry in advance for what I am about to post since this is contrarian but I have to for amusement's sake. The one thing that would be more dangerous and destructive than all of that?

32oz_2.jpg


+

87900.ashx

Using a syringe to extract nic?
 

Polargirl

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Using a syringe to extract nic?
Sadly, people do shit like that just to be edgy especially on drug forums like Bluelight. I've seen a few threads where people experimented with getting high on epinephrine so they injected themselves with an EpiPen just to feel what synthetic adrenaline is like as a high.

Nicotine can be hallucinogenic at the 20 times a cigarette level of nicotine that Ancient Mayans used in ceremonies. If people would try epinephrine, then it goes without saying they would experiment injecting nicotine.
 

KingPin!

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That is what forums are for since no empirical data will ever come out of China on Chinese products. Forums have to be a very poor substitute but what else does the vape gear buying public have?

Right now, it is Smok that is having the most problems. Hopefully, they do clean their act up and maybe forums (not just this one) provides sufficient incentive to do so.

Before Smok, it was other companies and it will be another one after Smok but Smok is the company generating the most complaints presently.

Do they have more problems though? Think we should bear in mind volumes of sales here... Smok are arguably the largest brand, what percentage fail in comparison to other brands and their line ups? as Cromwell said earlier in this thread the data isnt published,but it stands to reason more “my smok mod doesn’t work” threads exists over other brands because of volume sold.

Based purely on the forums it would be easy to assume it’s hit or miss depending on which plant made the product, and with smok you’ll either get one that lasts for ages or one that craps out after a couple of months based on this forums feedback alone (hence the don’t recommend pot)...best people to ask would be the shops but they won’t be reliable because they want the sales, so all we got for now is user feedback on the forums and with that there will always be an element of group mentality.

If you were to run a poll of “is my smok mod still working after 3 months”, wonder what that result would be in here? in fact that might be a good starting point for a sample test

In my opinion ...Rapid expansion to keep up with demand and increasing the speed of release for new products ultimately impacts quality unless you gear up with sigma practacies first, but that doesn’t fit the business model of releasing new products every few months does it, shouldn’t that be a red flag?

Were the aliens always bad or have they become more problematic as time goes on? I dont remember seeing loads of issues when they first came out and plenty of people were recommending them (why wouldn’t they) ...... smok could barely keep up with sales of the mod for a time and we have since seen issues creep in....I’ve also seen plenty of V8 issue threads lately so views quickly change on a manufacturer

Let’s see what happens with the likes of smoant in a years time see how they are still doing :)
 

Polargirl

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Do they have more problems though? Think we should bear in mind volumes of sales here... Smok are arguably the largest brand, what percentage fail in comparison to other brands and their line ups? as Cromwell said earlier in this thread the data isnt published,but it stands to reason more “my smok mod doesn’t work” threads exists over other brands because of volume sold.

Based purely on the forums it would be easy to assume it’s hit or miss depending on which plant made the product, and with smok you’ll either get one that lasts for ages or one that craps out after a couple of months based on this forums feedback alone (hence the don’t recommend pot)...best people to ask would be the shops but they won’t be reliable because they want the sales, so all we got for now is user feedback on the forums and with that there will always be an element of group mentality.

If you were to run a poll of “is my smok mod still working after 3 months”, wonder what that result would be in here? in fact that might be a good starting point for a sample test

In my opinion ...Rapid expansion to keep up with demand and increasing the speed of release for new products ultimately impacts quality unless you gear up with sigma practacies first, but that doesn’t fit the business model of releasing new products every few months does it, shouldn’t that be a red flag?

Were the aliens always bad or have they become more problematic as time goes on? I dont remember seeing loads of issues when they first came out and plenty of people were recommending them (why wouldn’t they) ...... smok could barely keep up with sales of the mod for a time and we have since seen issues creep in....I’ve also seen plenty of V8 issue threads lately so views quickly change on a manufacturer

Let’s see what happens with the likes of smoant in a years time see how they are still doing :)

If Smok chooses not to publish empirical data, then it is on them. Can't blame the victims for being forced to rely on subjective gossip.
 

KingPin!

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Subjective sometimes but that’s more a I don’t like this product kind of thing which is what Teresa was saying earlier and just because person A doesnt like something doesnt mean person B won’t. This is where there is always heat around reviewers and who to trust and where the main bun fights in the forum occur ;)

issues where users post picture evidence I’d say are a little more than just subjective and are the key posts ....they are the ones to truely keep an eye out for to see what the failure was and go from there
 
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Polargirl

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Subjective sometimes but that’s more a I don’t like this product kind of thing which is what Teresa was saying earlier and just because person A doesnt like something doesnt mean person B won’t. This is where there is always heat around reviewers and who to trust and where the main bun fights in the forum occur ;)

issues where users post picture evidence I’d say are a little more than just subjective and are the key posts ....they are the ones to truely keep an eye out for to see what the failure was and go from there
It isn't just this forum. It is every forum and Reddit which is necessary to aquire quantitative information when a company can sell products without having to publish empirical safety data that they would have been required to in the US and a whole lot more in the EU.

I'm not one of those right wing altruists that puts globalist profit before my safety so I won't shed any tears for any vaping company whose reputation gets ruined by gossip that otherwise wouldn't have if they only published empirical safety data most western governments would have legally mandated.

Of course it is all subjective information. Like the information of knowledgeable forum people, company brands all come down to reputation. Evolv seems to be the only company that has a good reputation for dealing with mass defects.
 

JuicyLucy

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Synphul

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Yes, of course every mod maker has had a defective product reach the consumer market. Even Mercedes Benz and BMW have had defective cars some with deadly consequences sold to consumers at some time in their history. BMW just recalled one million cars a day or two age due to fire concerns.

Thank you for stating the obvious. But comparing a Smoant Battlestar to a Smok is just as much of a false equivalency as comparing a Toyota Corolla to a Pinto as equally safe and non-defective.

Sure, there are worse mod makers than Smok with Wismec probably a candidate and they might very well get their own thread. Ijoy had more than their 15 minutes of infamy especially around the time they made the Asolo.

The reason for a Smok thread is after having a better earlier history, their QC has gone down the tubes and their are the mods people are currently complaining the most about.

It may not be long before DNA mods are complained about. Like BMW, these things do happen but not in the present.
Exactly, currently complaining about the most. Trend bitching, it's nothing new. I haven't seen a great number of dangerous smok mods catching fire or blowing up. Shorted boards, failing chips etc sure. Nothing to warrant a recall, they've never made a recall - which is what this subsection of the forums is for. Actually yes, all those issues I pointed out with mods have happened presently aside from the reference to the istick autofiring issue. Many of which are documented right here on these forums.

You can tell it's trend bitching though when for instance smok came out with their mag kit. Everyone clutched their chest and said oh muh god oh muh god, no smok, this is terrible. Now everyone's going to get shot cause they're vaping. Where was the outrage over the etaliens mod? How about the target pro? As a matter of fact I've seen people post pics of the ballistic mpv phil and comments were drooling all over it.. oh wow, that's a gorgeous mod. (photo for reference to the mpv)
4e6182216b374a6c195bbdd1be5a712c--philippines-trigger-happy.jpg

So yea, the hate isn't geared toward anything in particular other than 'oh, smok bad'. Blatantly so.
 

Synphul

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Any vape gear that is 'designed' by a vape reviewer gets rave reviews from all the other reviewers it seems.
Not when Jai Haze is reviewing them. He doesn't get all technical with ohm meters and calipers, his reviews are his experience/opinion and clearly stated. However he doesn't give a shit whose name is on it.
 

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So far the only device that has ever given me a major scary problem was the Voopoo Drag.

It woke me up out of a deep sleep auto firing so I grabbed it and tried to unscrew the RTA off as quickly as possible.

It burnt my hand when i grabbed it and i cut my thumb in the process.
Luckily the mods 10 second cut off kicked in and it turned itself off before i was able to get the batteries out.

Now all it does when i put power to it is light up "off".
Since so many people bought the Voopoo Drag and are happy with it i don't think a recall is in order.

Also i have never heard of this happening to anyone else so it's not a pattern.

Now in addition to not ordering batteries with "Fire" in the name, I will not be ordering mods with "Poo" in the name.
 

Polargirl

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Exactly, currently complaining about the most. Trend bitching, it's nothing new. I haven't seen a great number of dangerous smok mods catching fire or blowing up. Shorted boards, failing chips etc sure. Nothing to warrant a recall, they've never made a recall - which is what this subsection of the forums is for. Actually yes, all those issues I pointed out with mods have happened presently aside from the reference to the istick autofiring issue. Many of which are documented right here on these forums.

You can tell it's trend bitching though when for instance smok came out with their mag kit. Everyone clutched their chest and said oh muh god oh muh god, no smok, this is terrible. Now everyone's going to get shot cause they're vaping. Where was the outrage over the etaliens mod? How about the target pro? As a matter of fact I've seen people post pics of the ballistic mpv phil and comments were drooling all over it.. oh wow, that's a gorgeous mod. (photo for reference to the mpv)
4e6182216b374a6c195bbdd1be5a712c--philippines-trigger-happy.jpg

So yea, the hate isn't geared toward anything in particular other than 'oh, smok bad'. Blatantly so.
Cromwell did link to a Reddit thread where there was real safety issues.

https://www.reddit.com/r/electronic_cigarette/

High quantities of defects is more than trend bitching. It is a manufacturing defect and a company that doesn't care about its reputation. That is most mod making companies and not just Smok.

Evolv had a history of taking care of mass defects which is why they still have a reputation. I don't know if Yihi ever had a history of defects to challenge its reputation.
 

The Cromwell

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Been using a Trust fire TR02 charger daily for over 2.5 years with no issues.
Most run screaming into the distance at the mention of that charger.
 

The Cromwell

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I keep my charger in a 50 gallon steel drum of sand, 500 yards from any structures (standard ordnance distances) in a 20 foot pit surrounded by sandbags.
That must suck in bad weather.

Actually Lucy my Trustfire charger is only about 18 inchest from my head when I am at my desk on my computer such as now.

and it is happily charging a pair of over 2 yr old HG2's as I type.
 

Polargirl

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About 8 feet away.
Curiously close to a pint bottle of 90% isoptopyl...
It really isn't safe to keep a battery charger that close or on a table/shelf. You should get something that was specifically designed for a XXXFIRE charger charging XXXFIRE batteries to go on top of like below.

Semtex1000g_-_600.jpg
 

The Cromwell

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It really isn't safe to keep a battery charger that close or on a table/shelf. You should get something that was specifically designed for a XXXFIRE charger charging XXXFIRE batteries to go on top of like below.

Semtex1000g_-_600.jpg
Ohh I do not use XXXFire batteries.
Only Mooch approved batteries.
I also do not abuse my charger.
I never let the spring loaded negative contact snap up.
And if I spill Mt Dew on it I promptly clean it up.
 

JuicyLucy

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Ohh I do not use XXXFire batteries.
Only Mooch approved batteries.
I also do not abuse my charger.
I never let the spring loaded negative contact snap up.
And if I spill Mt Dew on it I promptly clean it up.

:giggle::giggle::giggle:
 

5150sick

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I think Smok mods are like anything else that's popular.
People usually come to forums to bitch when something breaks and rarely go out of their way to post about how great their average $50 mod works.
Even if one smok alien out of 10,000 was a dud it would be enough for there to be multiple dozens of "Smok mods suck ass" posts.
 

Polargirl

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I think Smok mods are like anything else that's popular.
People usually come to forums to bitch when something breaks and rarely go out of their way to post about how great their average $50 mod works.
Even if one smok alien out of 10,000 was a dud it would be enough for there to be multiple dozens of "Smok mods suck ass" posts.
That rate of failure is an assumption. Had they made products in the US and far more so in the EU, these kind of assumptions wouldn't have to be made because there would be legal testing and reporting requirements.

If a globalist company hides behind their home country's lax safety reporting laws forcing their customers to rely on gossip for safety information, I won't be compromising my safety to white knight a foreign multinational corporation whose reputation is being ruined by the consequences of their bad choices and certainly not by gaslighting their victims. I never got this pathological altruism for multinational corporate entities so many people seem afflicted with.
 

JuicyLucy

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legal testing and reporting requirements

US manufactures are not currently required to "legal testing" nor are there reporting requirements
 

JuicyLucy

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None of the product safety requirements are in effect yet - it's still an unregulated market for hardware at the present time
 

JuicyLucy

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skt239

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That must suck in bad weather.

Actually Lucy my Trustfire charger is only about 18 inchest from my head when I am at my desk on my computer such as now.

and it is happily charging a pair of over 2 yr old HG2's as I type.

I'm working on a camo-mesh canopy that cannot be detected by black helicopter.
 

Polargirl

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Not a single one of them requires any "legal testing" of one thing as of yet

The few "reporting requirements" that have dated in at this point have ZERO legal impact on product safety at this point in time
I guess it depends on how tight testing and reporting is defined. As if now, the laws are broad simply requiring inspection of facilities and explanations of process while the FDA does most if the data collection. This will tighten up unfortunately and reckless manufacturers are in part to blame.

Underwriters Laboratories was created in 1894 to help private companies make their electrical and other products safer to the public rather than wait for a reactionary government to do it for them as a pretext to a whole different agenda that cares little about public safety.

Some localities allow building contractors to self-certify safety with the data available to the public.

If the minimum like those two examples of self-initiative aren't done, they invite destructive government agendas that will use it as a pretext to harm and exploit the very people they claim to help like ENDS and TPD.

Companies that are reckless aren't just digging their own grave; they are digging the grave for their entire industry and its customers. I won't defend companies that do that.
 

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