We got a very nice review from one of the MiniAtty owners: btobw on AussieVapers and on UK Vapers.
She was very kind to allow us to repost it. So here it is. The comments and questions are welcome.
The original post is here:
http://ukvapers.org/Thread-Mods-by-Chels-news?pid=1174142#pid1174142
Review by btobw
G'day folks
I've had my microstick for about a year now and have always adored it. I've been using it with either a ByLeo slim tank/Sophia setup, or a Spheroid, both of which I've been extremely happy with. However, I liked the look of the MiniAtty, so I ordered one to experiment with. That turned out to be a good move, because the coloured microsticks were announced, and I've ordered one of them too; I'm going to need a 16mm atty for it!
The MiniAtty arrived on Thursday afternoon (Australian time). After a couple of hours use, I posted a 'first impressions' review over in the Aussievapers forum. I'm lazy, so I'll quote verbatim in case you're interested. It's a fabulous buy this weekend, given the Black Friday sale prices! I will add a couple of comments:
- I mention 'crackling' - that settled down after a few tanks; a bit of a shame really as I love a little bit of carto-like crackle
- I also mention Tigmann's atty stand, and you won't have a clue what that is. It's a stand made by an Aussie forum member to help with building coils: Tigmann Atty Stand | House of Vape
- The MiniAtty is a bit taller than the Spheroid (by about 8mm?), but the STR10 drip tip pictured makes it a perfect height
Anyway, the 'first impressions':
TLDNR: massive thumbs up
The MiniAtty is a 16mm atty from the makers of the Microstick - and they're made for each other:
With my lovely Spheroid for comparison:
There's no fancy packaging, but the MiniAtty does come with spare o-rings, a spare insulator, and an Israeli coin (for adjusting the juice control).
The threading is smooth and the finish is excellent, as you'd expect from the makers of the Microstick. If you have seen
Scott's review of a prototype, you'll know he had a couple of comments on the finish. The production version has none of the variations in finish seen by Scott.
Scott also mentioned that some drip tips didn't fit. I've tried multiple tips, including one with a particularly fat o-ring that doesn't always fit atties/cartos, but the MiniAtty had no problem with any of them.
I don't use mesh/genesis-style builds so I can't comment on them. I used 29 gauge Kanthal @ 1.5 ohms and KGD cotton - my usual build.
The posts are quite close together, which isn't surprising in a 16mm atty. I had to use a skinny microcoil (1.6mm - the smallest rod that comes with Tigmann's excellent atty stand). The 2.4mm rod was too big, but that's fine. I'm no expert at builds and am as blind as a bat, so I found securing the coil to the posts a little fiddly initially. It took me a couple of attempts, but, considering how
very inexperienced I am, it wasn't bad at all. I had no problem tucking the KGD tails into the wick/mesh holes.
In the interests of doing this 'first impressions', I've been through most of a tank and have just refilled. I have a slight headache
The fill holes in the top of the atty are small, so you'll need a bottle with a syringe-style tip to use them. That works very well, but it would be just about as easy to take the whole top cap off and fill with a normal bottle or dropper.
The air flow is perfect for me. If you take massive deep draws, you might find it a bit tight. But with a nice fresh battery and a newly filled tank, I'm getting a very satisfying vape indeed.
I left the juice control wide open and haven't experimented with it at all (50/50 juice). I haven't had a single dry hit. I do get a little bit of 'crackling'; I used to love the noise of cartos, so this little bit of crackle is a definite plus for me. There's no irritating whistle or anything like that.
I've only been using this for a couple of hours, but so far it gets a
massive thumbs up. And I've always loved my microstick - I'm definitely looking forward to getting my
blue microstick. It's a pity I'll probably be in Perth when it arrives.
PS: I just went back to the Spheroid for comparison:
- The Spheroid seems oddly quiet now
- If anything, the Spheroid's airflow might be a little tighter than the MiniAtty
- The MiniAtty feels heavier
- The posts in the Spheroid are a little further apart and shorter, and I think it's a bit easier to build
- Because of the fluff holding the juice, you can more easily re-wick/rebuild the Spheroid even when the tank is full
- Right at this moment I'm preferring the MiniAtty; that may be unfair as the build and wick in the Spheroid have been in use for weeks.