Tag: Vaping Diaries

The EHPro EA Mod is an affordable mechanical vaping device with surprisingly great performance. It’s a clone of the Electric Angel EA Mod (which some vapers consider a clone of the Golden Greek) with some minor improvements. While the fit and finish aren’t as nice as the Finnish mod it’s based on, the EHPro clone provides better performance for 1/4 of the price. This is the mod that made pay attention to Chinese clones.

What’s in the Kit: The EHPro EA Mod comes in a fairly ordinary box. It’s a clone and I’ve yet to see fancy packaging for a clone. The box comes with a short tube and a long tube to accommodate different batteries (18350 to 18650). Also included is a polishing cloth. One minor nitpick is that the longer tube isn’t long enough to accept an 18650 battery and an Evolv Kick.

Build Quality and Construction: The EA clone is primarily made from stainless steel. The button and contact points are made from gold-plated brass. The gold plating helps the mod’s performance, since gold is more conductive than brass, but users need to treat it gently. Gold is a relatively soft metal, so care must be used when cleaning the contact points. For the price, I was impressed with the materials used.

The mod’s lines are very clean, but the internal machining work is uneven. The threads are decent, but could have been smoother. One of the tubes in my kit had shavings around the threads, which is just sloppy. The overall build quality is good, but not great, which is acceptable for the product’s price.

Ergonomics and Design: The EA clone has a side-mounted firing button placed at the bottom of the mod. I like this type of button placement as the mod’s weight is distributed evenly through your hand, but some vapers don’t like hitting the firing button with their pinky finger. The button itself has a slightly better feel and is easier to take apart for maintenance than the one on the original EA Mod. Most importantly, it didn’t misfire once. I found the mod very comfortable to hold and the button action quite smooth, but that’s subjective.

The mod uses a floating pin, allowing atomizers of various sizes to sit flush. I had no problems with various direct-dripping atomizers, clearomizers, carto/tanks, and rebuildables I used with it. This is a very easy mod to work with in my experience. However, some users have reported that the floating pin is too long and can’t get their atomizer to sit flush.

Performance: The EA clone’s low voltage drop was quite surprising. It’s very, very good — much lower than the original’s. This mod hits hard and delivers true power. If performance is your chief concern then you’ll be quite happy with this mod. I had average expectation’s for the clone’s performance and was pleasantly surprised by what it delivered.

Verdict: While it doesn’t have the craftsmanship of the original, the EHPro EA Mod offers superior performance. If you’re just starting out with mechanical mods then this is a great choice. It’s also a fantastic option for experienced vapers that want a backup device or one that they’re not afraid to beat up. With online prices ranging from $50 to $60, this EA clone is a sweet value. You get great materials and decent build quality in a mod that performs as well or better than those that cost four times as much.

The Vapour Art GP Spheroid (version 2) is a fantastic atomizer that’s great for vapers that love the full flavor of dripping, but are unsatisfied with the airy draws that many Genesis-style atomizers have. It’s a bottom-coil atomizer that uses Sera Wool, which is similar to the material that’s inside a cartomizer. Unlike a cartomizer, the heating element is separate from the filler, so the latter doesn’t diminish the flavor. The Spheroid is a well-made device that has the firmest draw of any rebuildable atomizer I’ve tried.

Build Quality: Vapour Art is known for its top-notch build quality and the Spheroid adds to its reputation. It’s made from surgical-grade stainless steel and has a thermoplastic insulator. The machining is extremely impressive, with silky smooth threads and clean lines.

Design: The Spheroid is a tall and thin atomizer. It has a minimalistic and classy design that’s built around how it works. It’s currently available in a polished finish, with a matte finish slated to arrive later in 2013. It looks fantastic on top of polished steel or polished brass mods. I love the way it looks, but am anxious for the matte version.

Performance: Like I said in the intro, the Spheroid has the firmest draw of any rebuildable atomizer that I’ve tried. If you like tight draws and want a rebuildable then you should pick one of these babies up as soon as Vapour Art releases more. While I love the taste that Genesis-style atomizers produce, I loathe the airy draws that they have. The Spheroid offers the full flavor of dripping coupled with a very satisfying draw.

The Spheroid is a versatile atomizer too. You can adjust the position of the coil relative to the air hole for different results. If you want more vapor then you position the coil lower. If you want more throat hit then you position the coil higher. I was surprised by how a slight adjustment made a very noticeable difference.

The filler material gives you some juice capacity. Vapour Art lists the capacity range as 2.2 to 3.2ml, depending on how much filler you use. I never got that much, since I preferred to use the filler conservatively. Using a thin layer of Sera Wool wrapped twice, I usually got around 1.5 to 2.0ml of juice.

Ease of Use: Setting up the Spheroid is like setting up a rebuildable dripping atomizer (RDA) with one extra step. You set up your wick and coil to the desired resistance. There are several ways to set up your wick; a friend suggested a “lasso” shape and that has worked brilliantly for me.

The next step is wrapping some Sera Wool around the post. This is the easiest part to mess up. When I first got the device, I used too much Sera Wool, which lead to flooding. I quickly learned that a little Sera Wool goes a long way and settled on a thin layer wrapped twice. I know a few people that use a Spheroid and most of them got used to working with Sera Wool quickly. Only one of my vaping buddies hates working with it. Personally, I find it easy to work with once you figure out how much filler works best for you. That said, it is an extra and finicky step that some vapers will not like.

My only issue with the Spheroid is that its posts use thumb screws. This is a thin atomizer and you don’t have a lot of room to work with. The thumb screws can make things difficult for clumsy vapers or those with large fingers. My rebuilding skills are pretty average and there were times that the thumb screws annoyed me. They’re also really easy to lose. I know a guy that has accidentally sent a few down the drain (Hi Tez!).

While it’s not quite as simple as just building a coil for an RDA, setting up a Spheroid is a process that most vapers should be able to handle.

Verdict: There’s a lot to love about the Vapour Art GP Spheroid. The build quality is excellent, it’s a handsome device, the flavor is top notch, the vapor production is solid, and the throat hit is superb. Yes, it requires a little more effort than an RDA, but the effort is totally worth it. Not only do you get a bit of juice capacity, but you get an extremely satisfying draw. Vapour Art releases these atomizers in small batches and I highly recommend picking one up during the next release.

[Edit: August 3] Please note that the b-roll used in the video was just to show the basics of what’s needed for the Spheroid. It was not meant as an instructional or “How To” video. It was filmed quickly so the coil was sloppy and a thicker piece of Sera Wool should be used. While it’s relatively easy to work with, you should be mindful of your coil and the amount of Sera Wool you use to get the most out of this fantastic atomizer.