Category: E-Cigarettes

A friend of mine from the Ahlusion forums recently started selling Twik Ekowool. This is a modified version of Ekowool silica cord, which is one of the most popular wick materials for rebuildable atomizers. Many vapers love it for its superior flavor (over standard silica) and durability. Twik Ekowool adds an organic cotton core to the mix. On paper, it offers improved wicking and flavor. I’ve been using Twik Ekowool for the last few weeks and was mostly impressed. Here’s a breakdown of my Twik experience (which is like the Jimi Hendrix Experience, but with organic cotton).

Wicking: Twik Ekowool’s super wicking was easily noticeable. I tried it out on a variety of atomizer setups from 0.5-ohms to 1.5-ohms. I purposely took longer-than-normal drags just to see if Twik could keep up…and it did. In the case of my 0.5-ohm dual-coil setup, Twik Ekowool was able to wick longer and faster than standard Ekowool. Generally speaking, the faster wicking was more beneficial as I lowered resistance, which makes sense since e-liquid is being vaporized faster because of the higher heat. If you’re using a dual-coil low-ohm dripping atomizer or a bottom-coil silica atomizer, then you’ll likely benefit from Twik Ekowool’s superior capillary action. (Hmmm, I think I’ll call my next band Superior Capillary Action.)

Flavor: Many vapers believe that cotton offers the cleanest and truest flavor. Flavor is also subjective, so your results will definitely vary. Personally, I have no problem with the flavor that standard Ekowool produces, but a few of my friends think that it adds an earthiness to e-liquid. While I found that Twik Ekowool offers slightly better flavor than standard Ekowool, I can totally understand someone else saying that the cotton core makes a big difference as far as flavor goes.

Workability: For the most part, Twik Ekowool is as easy to work with as the original. Since it’s softer than standard Ekowool, you’re able to squish it (technical term) into atomizers that have tight spaces. One minor drawback is that you can’t torch it when it’s dry. Torching has two benefits: it helps eliminate frayed ends and it stiffens up the fiber. If you like to use atypical shapes for your wicks, the latter comes in handy. For example, when I use a dual-coil setup in a dripping atomizer, I use one piece of wick shaped in a loop (affectionately called The Jacoji Loop). Torching makes it easier to get the precise size and shape of the loop. While I was able to make a Jacoji Loop with Twik Ekowool, it was a little harder because the soft fiber wouldn’t always stay where I wanted it to. All that said, most vapers use a straight setup and shouldn’t have any problems working with Twik Ekowool.

Maintenance: This is one area where standard Ekowool has a clear advantage; maintaining it is idiot-proof. You can torch and dry burn Ekowool all you want. Since Twik Ekowool has a cotton core, you shouldn’t dry burn it, since the cotton will burn. Torching it dry is out of the question too. You can torch the coil while the wick is still wet, but you have to be careful (I’ve messed this up a few times). This isn’t a big issue for vapers that enjoy clean juices, since rinsing will be enough. It can be an issue for vapers that enjoy heavy e-liquids that gunk up coils, like those made with naturally-extracted tobacco. Since it can’t be dry burned or torched dry, more vapers will get longer life out of standard Ekowool than Twik Ekowool.

Price: Twik Ekowool is very fairly priced at $4.99 for two feet with free shipping. That’s inline with prices for small quantities of unmodified Ekowool; Kidney Puncher sells straight Ekowool for $4.45 for two feet, while Stormy’s Vapor Cellar sells two feet for $3.99 — shipping is an additional charge for both vendors. Considering the extra labor it takes to thread the cotton core through hollow Ekowool, Twik’s price is great. Of course some people are going to say that they can buy dozens of feet (or meters, as Ekowool’s Russian creators measure it in) for less, but we’re talking about small quantities here.

Verdict: At the very least, Twik Ekowool is definitely worth trying. The price is comparable to the going rate for small quantities of standard Ekowool. You get superior wicking and better flavor. Just keep in mind that maintaining it isn’t as idiot-proof as caring for standard Ekowool. Vapers that are unsatisfied with the flavor and wicking of Ekowool should definitely give Twik Ekowool a shot. Even those that are happy with Ekowool should try it. The price is low enough that it’s worth experimenting with to see if the addition of a cotton core will make a significant difference in your vaping.

Personally, I’m going to keep buying both. I’ll use Twik Ekowool for most of my setups and standard Ekowool for when I want to build things like The Jacoji Loop. If you try Twik Ekowool, please leave a comment below and share your experience with it.

Buy Twik Ekowool

Clever Vape is a relatively new e-liquid company that sells some interesting juices. There are several unique blends in the Clever Vape lineup and I recently vaped three of them: Nostalgia, Brooklyn Pop, and Abandon Mint. They’re three very different e-liquids that will appeal to all sorts of vapers. For the most part, I was very pleased with my first Clever Vape experience.

The company’s 30ml bottles are glass and feature stylish labels. The juices are fairly priced at $14.99 ($18.99 with a flavor boost). Abandon Mint and Brooklyn Pop vaped very cleanly, while Nostalgia was a “dirty” juice. This wasn’t surprising, since it’s made with real tobacco in a process that the vendor calls “true tobacco synthesis.” Nostalgia gunks up coils quickly and probably isn’t the best choice for a carto/tank.

Abandon Mint and Brooklyn Pop are good to go straight away, with only slight changes after a month of steeping. Nostalgia changed more and I suggest giving it at least two weeks of steeping.

Here are the flavor breakdowns and steeping notes for these Clever Vape juices:

Nostalgia: Vapers looking for a bittersweet tobacco e-liquid should definitely give Nostalgia a try. It’s a lovely melange of tobacco and black honey. The mix is very flavorful, with a medium-strength tobacco playing off the honey flavor nicely. As a huge fan of tobacco e-liquids, I enjoyed this juice. It almost reminded me of something that Heather’s Heavenly Vapes would make.

Just keep in mind that it’s heavy, so you’ll have to dry burn your coils relatively frequently and probably shouldn’t vape it in a carto/tank; when I was dripping it in a Nimbus, I couldn’t even get a full day of vaping before a large chunk of buildup appeared on my coils. As I said before, the taste is worth it.

Brooklyn Pop: This is a great black-cherry-cola juice with an excellent kick of spice. The cola flavor is authentic and not candied. The end result is similar to a gourmet soda. It was a close call between Nostalgia and Brooklyn Pop being my favorite Clever Vape juice of the bunch, but Brooklyn Pop gets a slight edge for its addictive spiciness.

This juice is a good choice for vapers trying to lower their nicotine levels. The spicy kick adds a sensation that helps compensate for loss of throat hit you get as you go down in nicotine. Even though I was born in the Bronx, I have to give it up for Brooklyn Pop. Clever Vape did an excellent job with this juice.

Abandon Mint: This was my least favorite of the bunch, but it’s a good choice for those that want a combination of sweet and minty. When I was dripping it, I could make out the different mints and menthols used in the juice (spearmint, wintergreen, etc.). In a cartomizer and clearomizer, the separation was lost to the sweetness. I would have loved this juice if the sweetness was toned down and the various mints were played up. Vapers that like mint candies will probably enjoy this juice, but for me the sweetness negated the complexity.

Steeping Notes
On the advice of Wlad from Ahlusion, I’ve been trying a new steeping method starting December 27, 2012. When the e-liquids arrive, I leave them uncapped for five minutes. Previously, I left them uncapped for about two days. After the liquids are given a few minutes to oxidize, the caps are put back on. The bottles are shaken every day for at least two weeks before vaping.

Nostalgia
50/50 PG/VG ratio, 6mg nicotine
Uncapped: July 5, 2013 6:56PM
Vaped: August 18-24, 2013

Brooklyn Pop
50/50 PG/VG ratio, 6mg nicotine
Uncapped: July 5, 2013 6:56PM
Vaped: August 18-24, 2013

Abandon Mint
50/50 PG/VG ratio, 6mg nicotine
Uncapped: July 5, 2013 6:56PM
Vaped: August 18-24, 2013

Review Process (Updated February 17, 2013)
RPad.TV e-liquid reviews focus on the flavor of the e-liquids, since throat hit and vapor production can be altered by the PG/VG ratio and nicotine level selected. Each juice is vaped over a period of days in an atomizer, a cartomizer/tank setup, and a clearomizer. The exception is naturally-extracted tobacco (NET) juice; since those are known to clog up cartomizers quickly, those are vaped in atomizers and clearomizers.

The Avid Vaper AMP Tank is a juice delivery system that’s fantastic for a very specific type of vaper. It uses old-school dripping atomizers and submerses them in a pressurized tank. The result is the full flavor of dripping combined with a sizable amount of juice capacity. It takes a little time to get the hang of, but vapers that enjoy dripping atomizers and want a simple solution for capacity should strongly consider the AMP Tank.

Build Quality: The AMP Tank is a well-made device with smooth lines. The threading and machining are high-quality. One minor criticism I have with the device is that the materials don’t feel particularly luxurious. It costs $120 and doesn’t feel like it should. Of course you’re paying for the research and development that went into the product, as well as the performance, but several high-priced atomizers feature more expensive metals, such as high-grade stainless steel. Remember, this is only a minor criticism; I was generally happy with how the device was made.

Design: The AMP Tank is available in three anodized colors black, clear, and gold. The different colors complement a wide variety of mods reasonably well. Vapers that use standard-sized atomizers get 3ml or capacity, while users of long-barrel atomizer get 5ml. The device has AMP printed on its base using a stylish, but subtle font. The black model I reviewed looks great on white and steel mods. A friend of mine has the gold model and it looks nice on brass mods. The clear coating is probably the most diverse finish, since it looks good on a variety of mod colors and finishes.

Performance: Once you understand how the AMP Tank works and know how to control juice flow, the performance is brilliant. I’ve used it successfully with atomizers from a number of companies: Avid Vaper, Boge, Empire Mods, Joyetech, and Vapage. It took me a little under a week to get used to manipulating air flow and juice flow; since then, the AMP Tank has become one of my favorite juice delivery systems.

I’ve used the AMP Tank for several months with 70/30, 60/40, and 50/50 juices (PG/VG). I haven’t had any leaking issues after my first week with the device and I rarely had to adjust from the default juice-flow setting. For the first half or two-thirds of the tank, the automatic juice flow worked perfectly. Towards the end of the tank, I’d have to manually manipulate juice flow. It really varies from juice to juice, but in my experience, it works fantastically. That said, I have seen reports from vapers of thicker juices (high VG content) saying that they had problems with getting juice to flow to the atomizer.

Avid Vaper should be commended for its great instructional video (embedded below) on how to use the AMP Tank. While it does require some finessing — particular as the tank gets low — I loved how the AMP Tank performed with my juices. If you vape thicker juices then there’s a chance that the device isn’t for you.

Ease of Use: There is a learning curve with the AMP Tank and there are a few things vapers have to be careful with. Like I mentioned in the performance section, using the device for the first half or two-thirds of a tank couldn’t be simpler (again, it depends on the thickness of your juice). When the tank gets low, it’s simply a matter of covering the air hole, inhaling to draw juice into the atomizer, and slowly removing your finger to get the vacuum flowing again. Yes, it’s not as simple as direct dripping, but it’s still a relatively easy process and you get the benefit of capacity.

Replacing the atomizer and refilling the AMP Tank are simple, common-sense processes. While I don’t recommend this device for beginners, most intermediate to advanced vapers should find using it a cakewalk.

As for what I mentioned about requiring care, this isn’t a device I’d recommend sticking into your pants pocket. The O-rings aren’t snug (by design) and you can have an embarrassing juice explosion on your jeans. Changes in air flow and juice flow can cause leakage out of the air hole. If you’re not careful with juice flow and you start taking trying hits on your atomizer, the coil can pop prematurely. Again, once you learn how the AMP Tank works, that becomes a low-risk issue.

Verdict: Vapers that want the full flavor of dripping have a lot of choices. There are Genesis-style atomizers and bottom-coil silica atomizers (like the excellent GP Spheroid). Those juice delivery systems require some extra work and there are some people that simply aren’t comfortable with rebuilding. While those types of rebuildable atomizers are more cost effective, this one is more accessible. The Avid Vaper AMP Tank fills a niche and does it very, very well. If you want maximum flavor and minimum fuss then the AMP Tank is a fantastic solution.