Category: Vaping Diaries

Vaping Diaries #385: Uwell Crown 2 vs. Uwell Crown 3

The Uwell Crown 3 is the latest in the company’s line of sub-ohm tanks. The original Crown was one of the first sub-ohm tanks to use stainless steel coils and was able to handle higher wattages than its competitors. While it vaped nicely, it was a bit of an eyesore. The Crown 2 offered greatly improved looks, but the initial coils were troublesome. I still enjoy the original Crown and, after some coil revisions, the Crown 2 has become one of my favorite sub-ohm tanks. With all of that in mind, I was excited to check out the Crown 3. Uwell’s latest tank looks similar to the Crown 2, but has a number of substantial differences under the hood. Let’s check it out!

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Vaping Diaries #384: Vape Master App Insults Vapers

Vape Master is a recently released game for Android, iOS, and Flash, published by Play Chocolate. The app’s creator claims that it’s supposed to be a parody — something that pokes fun at a certain subsection of vapers. In reality, Vape Master is an insult to every vaper that’s not a “cloud bro.” Before I get ahead of myself, here’s the app’s (sophomoric) official description.

Description: Are you ready to become a Vape guru? Grab your mod and blow massive clouds to fill the room with vapor! Beware of security guard, beat your noob opponents at different locations, like bar, theatre or even stadium in this first vaping game ever!! Change your style! Lots of items, from haircut and caps, to eyeglasses and stickers, are waiting for you. Upgrade you vaper and battery! Begin with low capacity battery, end with gigantic MOD with ultimate vaper! Compete friends in “vape duel” online, earn points, rank up and become Vape Master!

Ugh.

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Vaping Diaries #383: Are 21700 Batteries in Vaping’s Future

18650 batteries have been the go-to vaping battery for years, but will they be supplanted by 21700 batteries in the near future? The production of 21700 batteries is booming and poised to become tremendous. Samsung already uses the battery size for electric bicycles and is rumored to be using them in future BMW automobiles. Panasonic and Tesla will produce millions of 21700 batteries for the upcoming Model 3 car (Tesla is calling them 2170 batteries). With two major players in the battery market going large with 21700 batteries, will the other majors — LG and Sony — follow suit?

There are several reasons a move from 18650 batteries to 21700 batteries is desirable. The form factors aren’t too different and the performance gains are substantial. The cell itself would be roughly 10-percent larger, while the energy capacity would be 35-percent greater.

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Vaping Diaries #382: Fruit by the Ounce E-Liquid (ECC 2016)

Fruit by the Ounce is the first line of vaping e-liquid from E-Liquid by the Ounce. As you’ve probably inferred, the flavors are fruit-based and the bottles are large. You won’t find any wimpy 15-milliliter bottles here. Instead, Fruit by the Ounce comes in whopping two-ounce bottles (that’s 60 milliliters for people in countries that sensibly use the metric system). While fruit vapes usually leave me with a profound sense of ennui, I was impressed by these flavors. They’re refreshing, accurate, and skillfully blended.

Fruit by the Ounce Official Descriptions

Before I get into my impressions of these vape juices, here are the official flavor descriptions.

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Vaping Diaries #381: Smoking Vapor Mi-One Starter Kit

The Mi-One starter kit by Smoking Vapor was easily one of the most popular vaping devices at ECC 2016. It’s easy to see why. It’s terrifically small and irresistibly cute. The Mi-One looks like a high-end box-mod that was hit by a shrink ray (Evil Genius™). While it might not be the most practical vaping device for hardcore vapers, it excels as a stealth vape and is an excellent conversation piece.

Below are the key specs of the Smoking Vapor Mi-One, accompanied by a bunch of photos of the kit.

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Vaping Diaries #380: OLC Mod Prometheus v2 & Stratum

At ECC 2016, OLC Mod showed off some of the lightest box mods I’ve ever encountered. The company claims that its Stratum and Prometheus v2 box mods are the lightest 18650 and 26650 mods on the market, respectively. While I can’t verify that, both are among the lightest vaping devices that I’ve ever held. They’re also quite beautiful. Below are more details and photos of the OLC Mod Stratum and Prometheus v2.

OLC Mod Stratum Specs
  • Dimensions: 24 x 38 x 76 millimeters
  • 18650 Battery
  • YiHi SX350 Chipset
  • Up to 60 Watts
  • 85 Grams Without Battery
  • Anodized Aviation Aluminum
  • MicroUSB Charger Builtin
OLC Mod Prometheus v2 Specs
  • Dimensions: 30 x 50 x 80 millimeters
  • 26650 Battery
  • YiHi SX350J v2 Chipset
  • Up to 75 Watts
  • 89 Grams Without Battery
  • Anodized Aviation Aluminum
  • Highest Quality Stabilized Wood

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Vaping Diaries #379: Klir E-Liquids (TFN)

Klir is a line of vaping e-liquids made with tobacco-free nicotine (TFN). Produced by Ventura Vapor in Southern California, these e-liquids feature classy packaging and clean flavors. The main draw is, of course, TFN, which is still relatively uncommon in the vaping world at this time.

For those of you not familiar with TFN, it’s a lab-produced nicotine, as opposed to the plant-derived nicotine the vast majority of vaping e-liquids use. The advantages of TFN are that it offers a remarkably clean taste, it vapes noticeably smoother than plant-based nicotine, and there’s no risk of other substances from the plant entering the mix. The disadvantages are that it’s more expensive than common nicotine and some e-liquid companies successfully use the taste of plant-based nicotine in their flavors.

Klir has launched with three e-liquid flavors. Here are the official descriptions.

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Vaping Diaries #378: Philip Morris iQOS Submitted For FDA Approval

Philip Morris International has submitted the iQOS smokeless tobacco e-cigarette for FDA approval. Many consumers know the Philip Morris brand from tobacco cigarettes like Marlboro and L&M. The iQOS is a tobacco vaporizer that works similarly to the PAX line of herbal vaporizers. It uses tobacco leaf catridges, which are heated rather than burned like a traditional cigarette.

According to Reuters, Philip Morris International is the first company to file for FDA approval since the new laws were passed in Summer 2016. According to its report:

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Vaping Diaries #377: Dream by Shy Kane E-Liquid

Dream by Shy Kane is a new line of e-liquids from one of the most popular models in the vaping business. At ECC 2016, Shy Kane was on hand to debut her new flavors. Many enthusiast vapers are familiar with Shy from her various promotional work and beautiful photographs. She has access to all kinds of vaping hardware and e-liquids, so she certainly knows her stuff. When she decided to come out with her own brand of e-liquids, her legions of fans took notice.

Dream by Shy Kane has launched with two flavors Glitter and Gold. Glitter is described as “strawberry white chocolate wafer,” while Gold is described as “creamy green tea wafer.” I tried some of both at ECC 2016. While I enjoyed both flavors, I greatly preferred Gold.

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Vaping Diaries #376: Beautiful People at ECC 2016

While ECC 2016 had loads of excellent vaping hardware and delicious e-liquids, my favorite part of the show was the people. More specifically, the beautiful people of ECC 2016 made the event something that I’ll remember for years. The vaping business is full of beautiful people that are clever and charming. There are so few of us. To have several of us together at the same event over the course of a weekend is…miraculous. Below is an extremely special photo gallery of several of the outstanding people I spent time with at ECC. For your convenience, their Instagram handles are below so that you can see more of these beautiful people.

Included in the “Beautiful People of ECC 2016” gallery are:

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