Review: The Micro Deck Build Station by DS Vape Accessories

User Level – Intermediate to Advanced

Ease of Use – 8

Quality – 8

Durability – 9

Price Range – $216 For Reviewed Version

Overall Rating – 8.25

 

A couple months ago I came across a post from Matt Bradley, the owner of Sky Vapor, about a product he was carrying in his shop. As a builder, I am always on the lookout for new tools that will let me work a little smarter in my coil builds and the limited amount of space I have to build in. Seeing a product being touted by someone I have met and trust to be putting out quality equipment got my attention.

The Micro Deck Build Station from DS Vape Accessories is a power house for builders operating with limited work space. Put together – by hand! – with a focus on giving even basic builders all the tools they could think of to get the job done and grow their skills, this little work bench has it all. It comes complete with a full set of basic tools (decent quality I must add) to work on most decks, including screw drivers, wire snips, needle pliers, and snips for cutting your cotton to wick. It also includes a basic meter to check your builds when you’re finished. I have been told by the manufacturer that future versions will come with a built in meter similar to the 521-tab system.

The top plate has a mount for your RDA while you build to let you clean up and install new coils / wicks without moving multiple times. The opposite side has a hand crank system which you can either install a jig to quick wrap basic coils (it comes with multiple sizes), or the included mandrel that will let you do some solid Clapton / Clapton variations with a little practice. I was able to throw out a decent set of fused claptons in about 5 minutes, which is not that much longer than when I use my drill to wrap.

Each deck is hand built from quality plating, with each top plate individually C’n’C cut for all the tools. The Micro Deck also has spool holders and feed eyelets on the front for two spools of wire – and does come with two 30 foot spools from Kidney Puncher. Both spool holders have adjustable tension bars to allow for larger amounts of wire on the same spool size. DS Vape Accessories has been working with Kidney Puncher so that customers wanting to reorder different wire sizes to work with can get the right spool size on their orders. Again, the Micro Deck was designed from the base up to give the user the most options with the smallest footprint, and make sure it lasts pretty much a lifetime.

Like any product though there are some downsides. Although the tools are decent that come with it, especially the screwdrivers, the slots for the cutters and pliers don’t fit all the ones out there. I was happy with the fact that my ergonomic Kline cutters fit wonderfully in there, and like me I’m sure some of you have your own favorites you like to work with. The tensioners on the wire spools were a little temperamental at first, at it took a little bit to get them adjusted to a level I was happy with. Although my spools for my usual choice of wire fit ok, they weren’t a total match which means hand spooling on to the included wire spools or ordering from Kidney Puncher instead of my normal supplier. I minor thing, but still something to mention on a piece of equipment with this price tag.

You can order from DS Vape Accessories through their site: http://www.dsvapeaccessories.com

For those who are running a shop, or for the build teams out there, the owner is happy to customize decks with your logo on them, and does do wholesale to retail shops wanting to put out his product. I actually enjoyed getting to speak with him during the process of getting mine, and look forward to exchanging more ideas on some additions to the product. Vape on!

Review: The VT200 DNA mod from HCigar

User Level – Intermediate to Advanced

Ease of Use – 6

Quality – 8

Durability – 8

Price Range – $130 to $150

Overall Rating – 7.25

 

HCigar is fairly well known inside the vaping industry for making decently priced, reliable equipment (both original pieces and clones). They were one of the first on the market with a DNA 200 mod, the VT200. I’m not normally a fan of LiPo mods, mainly because of the safety issues involved with LiPo packs being exposed to the high heat that vaping can entail and the hazards of a cell rupturing. With the VT200 those concerns were addressed by HCigar straight off, by using a well insulated and rugged anodized case and temperature safeguards available through the DNA 200 chip.

The form factor on this mod is really comfortable. Measuring roughly four inches tall by two inches wide, and about an inch thick, the box fits comfortably in the user’s hand. A three button design, with a 1.5 inch by 0.5 inch LCD display, it’s easy to operate physically. The micro USB port is located on the face just below the up / down buttons. Finally the casing is well ventilated to make sure the LiPo pack has plenty of air circulation when charging or in use.

On the performance side, the DNA200 chip allows for some incredible options on the users part. By using the Escribe software, the user can create custom menus including graphics. The chip allows for eight profiles to be set up covering battery output, charge conditions, VW / TC use and timeouts. Users can monitor battery performance, voltage drops between the mod and atomizer…well pretty much everything that happens or can happen with the mod. This really lets each mod be a unique piece customized by the owner like no other, outside of commissioning a maker for a custom piece.

On the downside, as with all tech when a system offers a huge amount of options it presents a lot of steps to get through the simple parts in some cases. In the case of a vape mod which has limited space for a screen and buttons, allowing the user to make changes in settings becomes very cumbersome. To get the mode in to TC mode, for example, you have to first lock the mod before locking in the resistance by holding fire and up. Next you have to trigger the temp control settings by holding up and down. You then have to unlock the mod and fire it, so that you can adjust the wattage level to control how quickly it will reach the set temperature timeout – in effect setting your inhale limit.

Although I found the buttons to be solid physically, all three had issues with having a very light pressure point, leaving it open for unintentional changes to settings but worse – causing the mod to fire easily. On a couple occasions while testing the mod for review, it fired while in my jacket pocket. On two instances the mod fell over where it bumped against something else and the wattage got changed. To me this presents a safety concern, since not everyone will remember to lock the mod before placing it in a pocket or setting it in the cup holder of their vehicle. I personally don’t lock my regulated mods before placing it in either spot when driving or going in to a store. I don’t know many users who do honestly. Now it’s possible this may have just been an issue with the mod I was using, rather than something that is a flaw in every one that’s been sold. But based on the feel from pressing the button when looking at the same mod in several different shops, it seems likely that it is a production issue that should be addressed. Using a sleeve on the mod (sold separately by outside companies) seemed to reduce this happening by requiring more pressure on the button – but not by much.

In the end I still have to call this one a solid buy for the money. The tech driving it is great, and is finding its way in to many more mods, though at higher prices. The battery pack delivers a full days use while maximizing the cells performance through the DNA chip balancing the load. Performance is solid in both VW and TC modes with an impressive voltage loss rate. Its hit and miss on which shops you will find it in, but I found it available in just about every online shop I typically hit in researching prices. Even with shipping it’s worth the investment if you want to get a DNA200 mod at a reasonable price point.

Review: The 521 Tab by Coil Master

User Level – Intermediate to Advanced

Ease of Use – 7

Quality – 8

Durability – 7

Price Range – $40 – $50

Overall Rating – 7.25

 

Coil Master specializes in products for the building crowd, primarily coil building jig kits and tools. Over the last year especially their kits have begun showing up in more and more B&M shops across the country. Ranging from basic tools, to large kits with meters and all the hand tools a builder would need, their equipment is decently priced and holds up well to regular day to day use. Their latest entry is the 521 Tab, and it is honestly a builders dream.

If you have ever spent time building coils, then you know that it can be time consuming doing it safely. Even a basic coil build means either putting a deck on a backup mod / build deck or pulling the batteries on your only mod, stripping the RDA, wrapping your coils, installing them on the RDA, metering the RDA, rebuilding the coils if they’re too low, firing the RDA to heat the coils, pinching and refiring until you clear all the hot spots, wicking, juicing and then you can finally vape. For those who do it, it’s a labor of love really because you build for how you want to vape not just settle for what a premade coil pack can do. And all of this may be after spending the time building a specific type of wire conglomeration, which could take anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours depending on just what all you have to assemble.

Now the 521 Tab can’t do anything to help you with making specialty wire. What it CAN do is provide you with a build deck, meter, and firing stand. And for an added bonus, you can also use it to check your battery levels if you run a mech mod, your output voltage for any mod, and trouble shoot any voltage drops coming off your mod. These last ones I will get to in a second, so for now let’s look at the build side.

The 521 Tab has a 510 connector to attach your RDA, and operates off a single 18650 30 amp battery. Once connected and your coils installed, you switch it to meter mode to get a resistance read for your deck. The meter measures down to 0.01 Ohms – well below anything that even the craziest builder would be pushing on a mod. From there it’s a simple matter of flipping the switch on the side to fire mode, and you’re ready to pulse your coils. The 521 Tab will only pulse fire builds down to 0.2 Ohms due to being powered by a single 18650 battery. But let’s be real: outside of a cloud comp who is going to vape below that regularly even on a true mech with no mosfet?

One of the nice features of the 521 Tab is that it has a micro USB port to charge your battery, so you don’t have to swap it to a separate charger after use. Just plug it in on a standard USB wall charger the same as your phone uses and you are good to go. The charge cycle is about the same as using a separate 18650 charger, depending on the wall chargers output. Typically though I found it to be about 3 hours on my Apple charger with the battery at about 40% charge.

Outside of the build features, the 521 Tab comes with a clip that attaches to the build deck with its own 510 pin. This clip lets you attach to a mech mod and measure its output voltage when firing. This will let you troubleshoot problems with you mod as well, if you suspect that you are having major voltage drops when vaping. The kit also includes a set of alligator clips, which you can connect to the 510 and base plate on your mod to troubleshoot firing problems and drops from your batteries to your 510 base – a useful function if you’re running a true mech with no mosfet protection.

In the end, this is a tool that no serious builder should overlook. The dimensions are perfect to fit nicely in most vape bags or kits. Maintenance is pretty minimal, with a great return on performance. Although mainly a composite plastic, its durable design means it will hold up well for years of use. The meter is well calibrated, and on par with most of my much larger professional testing equipment. The price point is the final piece to really make this a sought after purchase for serious builders. This has begun showing up in more B&M shops around the country, but if your shop doesn’t carry it or can’t order it in you can buy it direct from Coil Master at http://www.coil-master.net.

Review: SMOKTech Taste Furious V4 (TFV4)

User Level – All

Ease of Use – 8

Quality – 7

Durability – 6

Price Range – $35 to $45

Overall Rating – 7

 

Each month it seems like we are seeing newer and higher running sub-ohm tanks hit the market. They all have a unique twist – better airflow, easier fill options, higher operating wattage. Really if you can think of a combo, it’s out there somewhere. The best ones though have a solid combination of each little sought after piece, which is where the SMOKTech Taste Furious V4 (TFV4) series of tanks come in.

SMOK has been around the vaping scene for quite some time now, with mods and tanks alike which is a bit unusual in a manufacturer anymore. Most prefer to concentrate on one particular product type. SMOK though has done a solid job on this series of tanks, giving users a full size and “mini” version to really fit everyone’s needs. Again this is something that most manufacturers tend to avoid, just because they don’t want to saturate the market with similar products all at once.

The TFV4 and TFV4 mini have the same bottom airflow, giving the user a lot of room in finding their best setting for flavor and vapor depending on coil type, juice, and wattage / TC setting. Four equidistant and equally sized holes with an easy to twist ring keep things running smooth. Both tanks are top fill with a unique slide open aperture. A slotted gasket makes filling the tank easy while preventing leakage no matter the tanks orientation. Gaskets on both the upper and lower assembly keep the glass secure and leak free, with the top attaching to the bottom via threading on the chimney which screws in to the top of the coil pack. Both tanks use the same coil packs, so finding replacements is a snap and users don’t have to choose their tank size based on the coil pack they want. Both versions also have a “dual layer” drip tip with adjustable airflow as well, to really let you fine tune your vape.

There are some differences that set the two apart to keep in mind.

Aside from the obvious size issue (the full size holds 5ml of liquid, while the mini holds 3.5ml), the drip tip for the full size is two separate metal sleeves which screw together, while the mini has a glass inner sleeve and metal outer sleeve. Both come apart easily for quick clean up. The tank glass and gaskets are also slightly thicker on the full size versus the mini, which lets it hold up a little better to travel and heat up a little less than the mini.

Both tanks come with triple and quad core coil packs, along with a rebuildable deck pack. This lets the tank run up to 120 watts, which can produce a large amount of vapor with the right liquid and airflow combination. The RBA pack performs ok, and is capable of running Clapton coils easily (up to 26g core) which is what comes pre-installed. I was able to easily place a 30/36 fused Clapton on the deck, with plenty of space around the pack cover. I wicked with Japanese organic, Pima and Egyptian cotton with all doing decent enough at the 30 to 35 watt range. Juice flow unfortunately just isn’t enough to support vaping with this option above that range.

Both kits come with the usual replacement parts: gaskets, spare coil for the RBA pack, cotton for the RBA pack, small screwdriver for the RBA pack, and extra screws. You also get a replacement glass, which will come in handy if you’re one of those vapers who tends to bump or knock over your deck. I can’t speak for all kits, but the one I received came with two vape bands as well, which will also help with that issue. A word of warning however on the mini: because the glass is a little thinner, make sure that you allow the tank to cool fully before changing the coil pack, as the glass can crack and split. I unfortunately found this out the hard way, as did several other vapers who ordered with me at the same time. If this does happen, make sure that you replace the gaskets as well, so you get a solid seal on the new glass.

Overall both versions of this tank are solid performers. Both flavor and vapor production is very good, with the triple coil pack giving the best performance combination in my opinion. The change to a glass inner sleeve on the mini’s drip tip cuts down on the “singe effect” that can happen with some tanks running over 100 watts. The sweet spot for most of the liquids I tried in the tank was between 70 and 80 watts to keep a relatively cool vape while getting good cloud production and flavor. It’s certainly worth the purchase, either from most local B&M shops or you can even order direct from SMOKTech at http://www.smoktech.com.