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Vaping Diaries #131: The Vape Tree Review

The Vape Tree is a relatively new e-liquid company that focuses on complex juices that use several ingredients. I recently vaped three of the company’s e-liquids: Pinoy Punch, Banyan Tree, and Royal Tobacco. I liked one of them and loved two. The two Vape Tree e-liquids I loved were unique and complex — very distinct blends that stand out. The one I loved the most featured one of my favorite fruits — a fruit that’s very uncommon in the vaping world. I definitely recommend giving the two juices I loved a shot. You’ll see why in the tasting notes below, but first, a few more details.

As I mentioned in Vaping Diaries #87, The Vape Tree pre-steeps its e-liquids using an ultrasonic cleaner. The juices spend around three hours in an ultrasonic cleaner before being shipped. This is the rough equivalent of three weeks of steeping. With that in mind, it was no surprise that the juices were great to vape out of the mail. Additional steeping helps the flavors unify, but many vapers will find that these e-liquids are good to go straight away. As far as vapeability goes, these three Vape Tree juices are very clean and suitable for all types of juice delivery systems. Banyan Tree was slightly heavier than the others, but still quite clean.

The Vape Tree has an October promotion for Banyan Tree and Pinoy Punch. Using the coupon code “FightCancer” will give you 30 percent off of those juices, with The Vape Tree making a 10 percent donation to the Susan B. Komen foundation.

Now onto to the flavor breakdowns and steeping notes!

Pinoy Punch: As a Filipino-American, I’m a sucker for any juice that has the word “Pinoy” in it. Yes, it has a name that I love, but I also genuinely love this juice. It’s a tasty blend of tropical fruits. There are many, many juices out there that mix tropical fruit flavors, but there were two things that made this one stand out. First, it has a thick texture that I really enjoyed. Secondly, it has…mangosteen! This is one of my favorite fruits in the world and there aren’t many e-liquids that use it. The mangosteen flavor made this Vape Tree juice a total winner in my book.

Banyan Tree: To be completely honest, I probably enjoyed Banyan Tree as much as I did Pinoy Punch, but this juice doesn’t have the word “Pinoy” in it so it got the silver medal. This is another complex blend with several different flavors that mix together nicely. The end result is a moderately sweet juice with a bakery-type flavor that has an earthy tobacco undertone. It’s pleasantly unusual. In some ways, it reminded me of a Heather’s Heavenly Vapes NET e-liquid, but was still very distinct in its own right. Some vapers view Banyan Tree as The Vape Tree’s signature juice and it’s easy to understand why. It’s well done and stands out.

Royal Tobacco: This one I didn’t enjoy as much as the others. It’s a medium-bodied tobacco with mild-to-moderate sweetness. It wasn’t bad, by any means. It’s just that this category has a ton of competition. For medium-bodied tobacco e-liquids, Ahlusion’s non-aromatic juices and Goodejuice’s House Brewed Line are fantastic choices. This is “only” a good one.

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.

Pinoy Punch (The Vape Tree)
50/50 PG/VG ratio, 6mg nicotine
Uncapped: July 31, 2013 2:12PM
Vaped: September 24-30, 2013

Banyan Tree (The Vape Tree)
50/50 PG/VG ratio, 6mg nicotine
Uncapped: July 31, 2013 2:12PM
Vaped: September 24-30, 2013

Royal Tobacco (The Vape Tree)
60/40 PG/VG ratio, 10mg nicotine
Uncapped: August 3, 2013 4:32PM
Vaped: September 24-30, 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.

Vaping Diaries #130: Kebo Russian Atomizer Review

The Kebo Russian is a bottom-coil silica atomizer that offers fantastic flavor and high capacity. It’s a 1:1 copy of the Svoe Mesto Kayfun 3.1, which many vapers love for its strong performance. While other companies have tried to mimic the Kayfun 3.1, they’ve mostly offered an inferior experience. The Kebo Russian offers the same outstanding performance as the product it’s based on, but for a much lower price.

What’s in the Kit: The Kebo Russian comes with the atomizer, a clear tank, a stainless steel tank, a 510 drip-tip adapter, a plastic needle-tip e-liquid bottle, a screwdriver keychain, wick, wire, extra screws, and extra O-rings. Kebo calls the extra O-rings and screws “spear parts,” but they don’t fit on any of the spears I have at home.

The extra parts are certainly useful, but I wasn’t a fan of the refill bottle and screwdriver. Using the included bottle makes refilling a slow process and I don’t like metal-on-metal contact. I highly recommend going with syringes and plastic tips; using that combo makes refilling fast and you don’t have to worry about metal scraping on metal. The screwdriver is small and difficult to generate torque with. It’s okay for making on-the-go adjustments or for people that don’t have a set of computer tools. It’s nice that Kebo included these items in the kit, but I recommend replacing them straight away.

Build Quality: The build quality of Chinese clones is all over the place. Some products are well made and others are hot garbage. Then there’s the Kebo Russian. This is, without a doubt, the best vaping product from China that I’ve ever used. It’s primarily made from stainless steel, including a stainless steel valve from the USA (China outsourcing to America?!? That’s crazy!). The materials used for the Kebo Russian are top notch.

The Kebo Russian is shockingly well made and on par with the Kayfun 3.1. Some longtime Kayfun users will be able to spot small differences in build quality, but many vapers will find them identical. Given how complex this atomizer is and how many parts it uses, the excellent build quality is even more impressive.

Design: The Kebo Russian is a complex atomizer that holds roughly 4.5ml of e-liquid. With its numerous parts and high capacity, it’s quite large. It’s 60mm long, with a 22mm diameter. For many vapers, the combination of performance and capacity is totally worth it. Some vapers will find it cumbersome.

Aesthetically, the Kebo Russian is a handsome device. The stainless steel has a sandblasted finish that’s slightly darker than the one Svoe Mesto uses for the Kayfun 3.1 Beta model. As someone that greatly prefers brushed, matte, and sandblasted steel over polished steel, I was quite pleased with The Russian’s finish.

Performance: Thousands of vapers have been enamored with the performance of the Kayfun 3.1. The Keebo Russian offers the same great flavor, a satisfying draw, and decent vapor production. Airflow can be adjusted to accommodate a variety of vapers. The range is very good and should satisfy everyone, save for those that like extremely tight draws. As someone that prefers a firm draw, I enjoyed using the Kebo Russian.

While it’s not the best choice for cloud chasers, the Kebo Russian offers stellar flavor. Between the small air chamber and the tight drip tip, you get a deliciously concentrated vape. Naturally, a lot depends on your setup. My personal preference is flat ribbon and Twik Ekowool. In the Kebo Russian, this combo offers outstanding flavor that’s on par or better than any Genesis-style atomizers I’ve used.

Ease of Use: For such a complicated atomizer, the Kebo Russian is relatively easy to set up. It’s slightly more involved than using a rebuildable dripping atomizer and much easier than setting up a Genesis-style atomizer. Most vapers that can build a coil for an RDA will have no problem using the Kebo Russian. Building space is small, but still quite manageable. My rebuilding skills are average and I found the Kebo Russian easy to work with using a variety of wire and wick materials.

Maintenance is straightforward, though clumsy vapers will have to use extra care when washing the Kebo Russian. There are a lot of small parts that can be lost or washed down the drain.

Verdict: The Kebo Russian delivers everything that I love about the Kayfun 3.1, but is much easier to get and significantly cheaper to buy. It’s available for around $115, while the lowest I’ve seen the Kayfun 3.1 is $175. For juice delivery systems with high capacity, this type of atomizer is my favorite. It holds a lot of e-liquid and offers great flavor. While I’ve enjoyed products like the AMP Tank and GP Spheroid, I prefer the Kebo Russian over both of those high-capacity atomizers.

For some vapers, there is an ethical dilemma when it comes to the Kebo Russian. It’s pretty much an exact copy of Svoe Moesto’s work and some vapers have issues with companies making money by lifting another company’s design. Some vapers don’t care about that and are only concerned about their vaping budget. Both sides are understandable. I’m not judging — just throwing it out there for people to decide.

For vapers that have always wanted a Kayfun 3.1, but have been unable to nab one because of price or availability, the Kebo Russian is a fantastic alternative. It’s cheaper and easier to find, while delivering the same awesome performance. While I still enjoy using a good RDA, the Kebo Russian has become my top choice for when I need a juice delivery system with high capacity. It’s a well-built atomizer that offers high capacity and flavor on par with Genesis-style atomizers, but without the leaking issues inherent to Gennies. If you don’t have a problem with the copying issue then I highly, highly recommend picking one up.

Vaping Diaries #129: Naturally-Extracted-Tobacco.com Review

Earlier this year, Naturally-Extracted-Tobacco.com opened for business. As a huge fan of NET e-liquids, I was really excited to see what this vendor brought to the table (or atomizer, more accurately). When I learned about the company’s different extraction and bottling options (detailed in Vaping Diaries #96), I was even more excited. After vaping the company’s Bombay, Chris’ Blend, and Coventry e-liquids, I’m pleased to say that Naturally-Extracted-Tobacco.com is a very good choice for tobacco fans, with the potential to be a great one.

In broad terms, Naturally-Extracted-Tobacco.com’s e-liquids are on the strong side, though not quite as heavy as many of the Ahlusion aromatic and Want2Vape Signature Blend juices I’ve had. The three juices covered in this review are complex and feature a blend of different tobaccos. I noticed a significant difference between the heat-extracted and cold-maceration versions of each juice. With one exception, I preferred the cold-maceration version of the e-liquids, as they brought out the complexities of the tobacco mixes. However, for clearomizer users, I recommend heat extraction, because the subtleties I enjoyed with the cold macerations were mostly lost on clearos.

While these Naturally-Extracted-Tobacco.com juices aren’t quite as harsh on coils as Want2Vape’s notorious brews, they’re definitely on the heavy side (as pictured in the video review). As far as steeping goes, I enjoyed these straight out of the mail and only experienced slight changes with steeping. I’d classify these as “vape ’em if you got ’em” juices.

Now for the flavor breakdowns and steeping notes of these Naturally-Extracted-Tobacco.com e-liquids.

Bombay: This is the boldest blend of the bunch and my favorite Naturally-Extracted-Tobacco.com juice so far. It’s a mix of Georgian Virginia, black cavendish, Mexican burley, and smoked Cyprian latakia tobaccos. The latakia gives it a spicy kick, while the cavendish adds some sweetness on the backend. Mixed with the other tobaccos and you have a flavorful, rich, and layered vape. There’s a lot going on with this juice and I definitely recommend it to fans of complex pipe-tobacco vapes. One minor criticism I had with Bombay is that I wish it had more latakia and less cavendish. The thing I enjoyed most about this juice was its latakia kick and the cavendish overshadowed it a bit. Still, I very much enjoyed this one.

Chris’ Blend: I’ve made up plenty of stories in my head about this Chris person and how he came up with this blend of black Cavendish, golden Virginias, and Turkish tobaccos for Naturally-Extracted-Tobacco.com. I’d share them with you, but my tobacco fan-fiction sucks. Instead, I’ll tell you about this sweet and nutty tobacco blend. This was definitely the sweetest e-liquid of the bunch and almost fits into that “dessert tobacco” category. It’s not like a Heather’s Heavenly Vape juice where the tobacco is a supporting player; the tobacco is medium-strong here, but the sweetness is quite high. Unlike the other two juices in this review, I preferred the heat-extracted version of Chris’ Blend, as the sweetness was toned down compared to the cold-maceration version. It’s good choice if you’re a fan of dessert-tobacco vapes and want something with more of a tobacco kick, but it’s not quite what I enjoy for this style of e-liquid.

Coventry: This was the first Naturally-Extracted-Tobacco.com e-liquid to catch my eye, as I’m a big fan of burley tobacco. Also in this blend are cavendish and vanilla. The end result is a tasty melange where the tobaccos take center stage and the vanilla plays a complementary role. The cavendish also adds some sweetness, though it’s more subtle than the sweetness in Chris’ Blend. While I enjoyed this juice, I couldn’t help but think of Ahlusion’s Vurley, which is a mix of burley tobacco and vanilla. For this style of tobacco e-liquid, I think Vurley is phenomenal, while Coventry is very good. That said, I can see why someone would feel the opposite way. As my buddy ECF y cherry y likes to point out (gotcha buddy!), taste is subjective.

Bombay (Naturally-Extracted-Tobacco.com)
70/30 PG/VG ratio, 8mg nicotine
Uncapped: August 21, 2013 6:10PM
Vaped: October 1-8, 2013

Chris’ Blend (Naturally-Extracted-Tobacco.com)
70/30 PG/VG ratio, 8mg nicotine
Uncapped: August 21, 2013 6:10PM
Vaped: October 1-8, 2013

Coventry (Naturally-Extracted-Tobacco.com)
70/30 PG/VG ratio, 8mg nicotine
Uncapped: August 21, 2013 6:10PM
Vaped: October 1-8, 2013

Vaping Diaries #128: El Kapitan 1.5 Review

The El Kapitan 1.5 is an updated version of a beautiful mechanical mod from the Philippines. Made by Wu Tang House of Mods, the El Kapitan 1.5 features distinct looks and great performance. For those of you not familiar with Wu Tang House of Mods, it’s highly regarded by enthusiast vapers, but isn’t as well known (to American vapers, anyway) as other Filipino vaping companies like Grand Vapor and VapeHead Origins. With products like the El Kapitan 1.5, Wu Tang’s reputation will burgeon. It’s an attractive vaping device that’s among my favorite Filipino mods.

Build Quality and Construction: The El Kapitan 1.5 is available with a stainless steel body with brass caps or a brass body with stainless steel caps. For the last few weeks, I’ve been using the former version. The materials are quality and the craftsmanship is mostly impressive. The stainless steel body is cut well and the threads are totally smooth. While the brass caps screwed on smoothly, you can see burrs on the threads. Some vapers won’t care about this since the caps attach just fine, but it will bother those that enjoy the collectibility aspect of mods.

Ergonomics and Design: Using the El Kapitan 1.5 is just like using other mechanical mods. It comes with 18650 and 18350 tubes, both of which are inline with similarly sized vaping devices. The mod is comfortable to hold and is relatively light. Its 22mm diameter makes it a great match for several Genesis-style and bottom-coil silica atomizers.

One unique feature of the El Kapitan 1.5 is its reverse-telescoping pin. The pin slides up and down, similar to how self-adjusting pins work. However, it also has a smaller section on the top that can be adjusted. For vapers that use different types of atomizers and different brands of batteries, the pin isn’t the simplest solution. It’s not that it’s difficult to use, but it’s not as mindless as floating pins or self-adjusting pins. For anal-retentive vapers that insist on zero battery rattle, a minute or two of pin adjustment is require when changing to a different atomizer or battery.

The firing button on the El Kapitan 1.5 has a short throw and a medium feel. The spring is firm enough that the device can be placed down while unlocked. The throw is short enough that a relatively soft press is needed to fire the mod. Since the firing mechanism uses a somewhat narrow spring, off-center hits can give the mod a clicky feel. Overall, I enjoyed the feel of the El Kapitan 1.5’s firing button; I love that I can place it on a table without having to worry about it firing, while also enjoying a relatively light button press.

Lastly, the design of the El Kapitan 1.5 is just lovely. Several of the more popular Filipino mods have numerous bold lines and/or stylized knurling. The El Kapitan eschews those aggressive designs for something that’s distinctly elegant. It has two engraved swirls going up the body, an anchor logo at the base, and the Wu Tang logo on the firing cap. Put it all together and you have a mod that stands out, but isn’t as hyper-aggressive as some of its competitors. Naturally, looks are subjective. Personally, I think the El Kapitan is one of the most distinctly beautiful mods from the Philippines.

Performance: The contact points on the El Kapitan 1.5 are gold-plated brass. Gold is an excellent electricity conductor that isn’t affected by air, moisture, and most corrosive agents. One thing to keep in mind is that gold is a relatively soft metal, so care should be used when cleaning the contact points. The gold-and-brass combination offers a nice blend of power and relatively low maintenance. The mod’s design combined with its materials help it delivery performance that will satisfy most vapers. Voltage drop isn’t as low as some competing high-end mods, but it’s certainly acceptable.

Verdict: Since Wu Tang House of Mods is a relatively small company, vapers can take advantage of direct sales. Wu Tang, along with some trusted Facebook group-buy runners, routinely makes his products available for a relatively low price. People that follow Wu Tang on Facebook were able to get the El Kapitan 1.5 for around $172 shipped. At retail, I’ve seen it for $220 to $250. For $172, this mod is a sweet deal. Even $220 is a reasonable price for a unique mod with high performance.

The issues I have with the El Kapitan 1.5 are minor ones. The caps thread smoothly, but don’t have the smoothest appearance. The reverse-telescoping pin is mildly annoying to use. Those issues are easy to sweep under the rug when you look at everything else the El Kapitan 1.5 brings to the table. The mod is made from quality materials, the workmanship is impressive, the performance is very strong, and it’s simply a gorgeous device. Whenever I meet up with vapers, the El Kapitan 1.5 gets attention for its looks and keeps attention with its performance. If you want a mod that’s beautiful and hits hard, the El Kapitan 1.5 is a fine choice.

Vaping Diaries #127: Vapor Stands Max-E Review

The Vapor Stands Max-E is the latest handmade product from the excellent people at Vapor Stands. In the past, I reviewed Vapor Stands’ Pie Slice and Trek-E v2 products, both of which I loved. Those two stands are finely crafted (made in the USA!) products that blend beauty and functionality. The Vapor Stands Max-E is cut from the same cloth, but is the company’s largest product yet. It has 27 felt-covered holes that hold a variety of products — large mods, eGo-style e-cigs, 30ml juice bottles, atomizers, clearomizers, and drip tips.

Like the company’s other products, the Vapor Stands Max-E features impressive workmanship. It’s made from oak and walnut that’s sanded to a silky smooth finish. The wood is then covered with three layers of polyurethane for a glossy appearance and to protect the wood. The Vapor Stands Max-E looks great on your office desk, in your living room, in the den, etc.

As far as functionality goes, I was mostly happy with the Vapor Stands Max-E, but had one criticism. It held a variety of my gear just fine — 22mm mechanical mods, various eGo devices, rebuildable dripping atomizers, bottom-coil silica atomizers, clearomizers, and 30ml plastic juice bottles. Unfortunately, the holes for the juice bottles are too small for 30ml glass bottles. Several of my favorite juice vendors (Ahlusion, Five Pawns, Indigo Vapor, etc.) use glass bottles and it’s a bummer that they can’t be cradled by the Vapor Stands Max-E.

That issue aside, I was pleased by everything else the Vapor Stands Max-E brought offered. Like its sister products, it’s superbly crafted and looks marvelous. It’s a great choice for vaping enthusiasts that have a lot of gear. It’s currently priced at $60, which is absolutely fair for a quality made-in-the-USA product that featured topnotch workmanship. If you’re looking for a handsome stand that holds a lot of vaping gear then you should definitely consider the Vapor Stands Max-E.

Plastic Piranha Jason Brice Talks Rekoil

Watch Plastic Piranha president & CEO Jason Brice talk about his upcoming game Rekoil. This first-person shooter for Windows PC and Xbox 360 emphasizes skill and balanced gameplay. In the interview, Brice talks about Rekoil’s various modes and different weapons, as well as what makes the game stand out from the competition. While I enjoyed several deathmatch rounds of the game, one of the things that charmed me about Rekoil was the little details. For example, it has a capture-the-briefcase mode instead of a capture-the-flag mode and it has black barrels that explode instead of those deadly red ones we all fear. Those flourishes aside, a lot of hardcore shooter fans have been high on Rekoil. While Brice agrees that it’s a “pure shooter,” he also explains why it’s great for casual fans of first-person shooters.

For more information on Rekoil be sure to check out this excellent preview on PaulSemel.com.

Plastic Piranha Jason Brice Interview

Here’s a short interview with Plastic Piranha president and CEO Jason Brice. For those of you not familiar with the company, it’s the developer of the upcoming first-person shooter Rekoil. Going from movie marketing to creating a hardcore first-person shooter sounds like an odd career path, but that’s the one Jason Brice has followed. Listen to him talk about his coworkers recreating a Call of Duty level in the office to creating CoD maps to creating Battlefield 2142 maps to starting his own development studio. Due to his atypical and unique background, Jason Brice is particularly passionate about giving gamers powerful and robust mod tools for Rekoil.

Vaping Diaries #126: Innokin iTaste VTR Preview

Arguably the most-wanted Innokin product of 2013, the iTaste VTR is a box mod positioned as a premium product. Out of the box, I was surprised by its heft. The iTaste VTR is a weighty vaping device that looks bolder and feels more luxurious than its sister product, the iTaste MVP 2. My initial impression is that a strong argument can be made that this is the best product Innokin has released, but some vapers will be put off by its weight. However, I definitely need to spend more time with the iTaste VTR before passing judgement.

The iTaste VTR comes in a decorative box, just like the iTaste 134. The kit includes the mod, an Innokin iClear 30s clearomizer, and an adapter tube. The unit was made with the iClear 30 and iClear 30s in mind. However, it can hold any clearomizer with similar dimensions (diameter less than 19mm, height around 78mm). For atomizers that won’t fit into the clearomizer cutout, the include adapter ensures that any 510-threaded part will work with the iTaste VTR.

Using the iTaste VTR is relatively easy. While it’s not quite as simple as using the iTaste MVP 2’s various functions, it’s still relatively straightforward. There’s a power button, a function button, and a scroll wheel. The power button turns the device on or off and fires the device. The function button pulls up atomizer resistance, voltage, wattage, and battery life. Voltage and wattage are adjusted using the scroll wheel. The voltage range is 3.0 to 6.0 volts adjustable in 0.1-volt increments, while the wattage range is 3.0 to 15.0 volts adjustable in 0.5-watt increments

So far I’ve used the iTaste VTR with an iClear 30 clearomizer and a Vapage dripping atomizer. The output has been consistent, but I haven’t tried many different settings yet. Most of the Innokin devices I’ve used have consistent output and I expect the same from the iTaste VTR.

Check out the video preview above to see different looks of the iTaste VTR, the iClear 30s, and the optional holster accessory. I’m going to use the device for at least 10 days before reviewing it. Stay tuned for the full review in the near future.

Vaping Diaries #122: Grand Vapor Gab Villapana Interview

As a Filipino-American, I was thrilled that Grand Vapor owner Gabriel “Gab” Villapana came all the way from the Philippines to attend ECC 2013. I’m a big fan of Grand Vapor mods and atomizers (currently rocking a red Sentinel 3.5 and a gold-plated Trident). Gab had several goods on display at the show — the Prometheus Genesis-style atomizer, the Trident 2 dripping atomizer (ECC debut!), the limited edition gold-plated Sentinel, the limited edition sand-blasted Sentinel, the Sentinel v4, and more. Gab talks about the products he had on display, upcoming products, and the hot-button topic of Chinese clones in this ECC 2013 video interview.

Vaping Diaries #121: Five Pawns Rodney Jerabek Interview

Out of all the booths at ECC 2013, Five Pawns had the most impressive setup. The company’s booth was made from reclaimed prune crates and the employees were decked out in black vests. It made the booth feel like a saloon from Old West. Five Pawns had several things going on at ECC 2013. The successful Castle Long Reserve e-liquid got a second release and the upcoming Mixology line was teased. Five Pawns president and founder Rodney Jerabek talks about all the booth, the second release of Castle Long Reserve, what to expect from the Mixology line, and more in the video interview above.