Tag: Janty

Vaping Diaries #84: Janty Ludo’s, RY4-X, SE555 Review

Here’s a review of three e-liquids from Janty, best known as the creators of the original eGo e-cigarette and the RY4. Ludo’s, RY4-X, and SE555 are covered in this article. The first two juices are based on two of the excellent RY4s I covered in Vaping Diaries #82, while the other is Janty’s take on a popular artificial tobacco flavor. Here are the flavor breakdowns and steeping notes.

Ludo’s: This juice is named after Janty’s president and founder Ludo Timmermans. It’s based on the company’s DK RY4, which is my favorite artificial RY4 on the market. The first thing that hits you is mint, followed by the excellent DK RY4 flavor (neutral tobacco + caramel + vanilla), and topped off by a coffee after taste. It’s a very interesting and complex juice, but it’s definitely not for everyone. Personally, I loved the striking blend and found this juice to be the most enjoyable of the three covered. Some of my friends found the mint overpowering and didn’t care for the coffee note…but I (respectfully) think they’re nuts. This is a great juice.

RY4-X: If you took Janty’s Classic RY4 and cranked the tobacco up to 11 then you’d have RY4-X. To me, the unique tobacco flavor and great balance is what makes Classic RY4 so excellent. While this is certainly a very good juice, turning up the tobacco actually made RY4-X less enjoyable to me than Classic RY4. My personal preference is for naturally-extracted tobacco, so if I want a tobacco-heavy RY4 then I’ll go for something like Goodejuice’s GJ4. Again, this is a very good juice, but the balance of Classic RY4 is what makes it great and that’s out the window with this juice. If you’re a fan of lab tobacco flavors and want a bit of sweetness to round things out then you’ll probably like this one.

SE555: Many vendors have e-liquids based on State Express 555 cigarettes. They’re almost always sweet tobaccos with a touch of nuttiness (the fruit variety, not the mentally unstable variety). Janty’s RY4 is a good 555 e-liquid, but it’s not as distinct as the two RY4 variants above and it’s comparable to many 555s that are available. At $15.95 for a 20ml bottle, the online price is expensive. You can find 555 e-liquids that are just as good or better for a lower price.

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.

DK Ludo’s
House PG/VG ratio, 11mg nicotine
Uncapped: April 24, 2013 7:12PM
Vaped: May 14-June 15, 2013

Classic RY4X
House PG/VG ratio, 11mg nicotine
Uncapped: April 24, 2013 7:12PM
Vaped: May 14-June 15, 2013

DK SE555
House PG/VG ratio, 6mg nicotine
Uncapped: April 24, 2013 7:12PM
Vaped: May 14-June 15, 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 #82: Janty RY4 Review (DK, Classic, Elixir)

RY4 is arguably the most copied e-liquid in vaping. It was invented by Janty back in 2007 (more details here) and the vast majority of e-liquid companies in the world have served up their own version. For this installment of the Vaping Diaries, I checked out three RY4s from the company that started it all — Janty’s DK RY4, Classic RY4, and Elixir RY4.

When newer vapers hear RY4, they think of sweet e-liquids that highlight caramel and vanilla flavors. Those are modern RY4s. Classic RY4s, like these three, are generally bright, balanced, and slightly to moderately sweet. They use a relatively neutral tobacco flavor that’s complemented by caramel and vanilla flavors. The result is something quite unique. Some classic RY4s have an element that many RY4 aficionados call “sour.” I’m not certain that’s the best word for it, but I can’t think of a better one, so let’s just go with that. You can definitely tell that these three e-liquids have the same roots, but they diverge in different manners. While two of these juices have relatively old formulas, to me they’re still among the best RY4s you can buy. While the other is very good, I don’t think it’s quite in the same league as its sister products.

Here are the flavor breakdowns and steeping notes.

DK RY4: This juice is the closest to the original formula and to me it’s still the best synthetic RY4 out there. The balance is perfect; the tobacco, sweet, and sour notes come together seamlessly and no one flavor dominates. Out of these three juices, it had the most “sour” flavor, which can taste strange to those that have only vaped modern RY4s. I’m sure that most newcomers will get over it and enjoy this incredible juice. After trying a few dozen RY4s, this is still my gold standard — the one I compare all other RY4s to.

Classic RY4: Vapers that enjoy the taste of synthetic tobacco might prefer this juice over DK RY4. Their profiles are very similar, but the tobacco flavor in Classic is more pronounced and distinct. It doesn’t dominate the juice by any means, but its flavor is definitely easier to detect. For tobacco e-liquids, I greatly prefer naturally extracted tobacco (NET) over synthetic tobacco, so this juice’s leanings didn’t do much for me. It’s definitely a top-quality RY4 and I’ve playfully bickered with vaper friends over which Janty RY4 is the best. My pal ECF Jerms, for example, thinks it’s this juice and I totally understand why he thinks so.

Elixir RY4: Elixir is the sweetest of the three, with an emphasis on the caramel (to my tastebuds, anyway). You can tell it’s related to the other two juices, but I didn’t enjoy as much as the others. While this juice has its fans, I don’t think it’s in the same league as its sister products. It’s definitely very good — certainly as good or better than many RY4s you can buy. It reminded me of a celebrity’s less-famous sibling. I don’t want to say it’s Frank Stallone or Ozzie Canseco…. Perhaps Elizabeth Olsen is the right celebrity analogy. DK and Classic are the Mary Kate and Ashley, while Elixir is the Elizabeth. That’s fair, right?

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.

DK RY4
House PG/VG ratio, 6mg nicotine
Uncapped: April 24, 2013 7:12PM
Vaped: May 14-June 15, 2013

Classic RY4
House PG/VG ratio, 0mg nicotine
Uncapped: April 24, 2013 7:12PM
Vaped: May 14-June 15, 2013

Elixir RY4 VG
House PG/VG ratio, 0mg nicotine
Uncapped: April 24, 2013 7:12PM
Vaped: May 14-June 15, 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 #56: Janty President on Ego, RY4, and More

Last month, I caught up with Janty president and founder Ludo Timmermans during my trip to the Philippines. Recently, the company has been making waves with the MiD One — a potentially gaming-changing vaping device with the most advanced features I’ve seen. While Janty’s future is definitely exciting, I was more interested in helping vapers learn about its past. Janty is one of the most influential and copied e-cig companies in the world, but I don’t think it gets enough credit for its contributions.

When most vapers hear “eGo,” they think Joyetech. When they hear “RY4,” they think of Dekang as the originator. The original eGo e-cigarette and RY4 e-liquid are Janty creations (though some longtime vapers dispute the latter claim). These are huge contributions to vaping. The eGo is the most-copied e-cig in the world; it was one of the first devices to offer a significantly better experience than cig-alike products. RY4 juice is one of the most popular flavors ever made; the vast majority of e-liquid vendors have their own version and many offer multiple takes of this juice.

If you’ve been reading my videogame and comic-book articles then you know that I favor creators. In gaming, I care far more about developers than publishers. In comics, I care much more about writers and artists than DC or Marvel. With that in mind, it bugs me that many vapers don’t know that Janty created the eGo and RY4. These are extremely significant inventions that have improved and influenced the vaping industry. I hate to sound like a kiss-ass, but Janty should be recognized and lauded for these two notable contributions.

It was fun spending time with Ludo, learning about Janty’s history, and hearing tales of the early day’s of the vaping business. In the interview above, he talks about the origins of Janty, the creation of the eGo, and the creation of Ry4. He’s an interesting guy with a different approach to vaping. I admire and appreciate that he has an artistic view to vaping. It’s one of the reasons his company has become an innovator, but it’s also one of the reasons why the Janty brand isn’t as recognized as it should be. He’s always looking forward, looking for the next exciting thing. Unfortunately, that approach also caused the company to neglect things like copyrights and trademarks. That said, he has acknowledged his early mistakes and isn’t fretting about the past.

Spending time with Ludo off-camera was fantastic as well. He shared a lot of off-the-record story’s about the early days of the vaping industry (totally Wild West) and his career before Janty. I was surprised to learn that we had several things in common — playing music, working in video, and being in IMDB (his page and my page). His artistic background (and slight craziness) is one of the reasons Janty is bold enough to offer a product like the MiD One and the even bolder products the company has planned for the future. It wasn’t a surprise to learn that Ludo is an Apple fan — the products and the company. I believe that the vaping business needs more people like Ludo and more company’s like Janty. As the legendary Steve Jobs once said in a famous Apple commercial:

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo.

Janty has a long, long way to go (especially on the business side) before people view it as the Apple of vaping, but I believe that it’s in a good position to do so. Unlike many of its competitors, I believe it has the attitude, inventiveness, and craziness to do something “insanely great.” I have no idea if Janty will get there, but I’ll be rooting for it on the sidelines.