Innokin steps into the Sub Tank ring later than all the others. Kanger has already had 3 revisions on their Subtank series. Aspire as a V2 of theirs. The Arctic is now available in 5 ml tank capacity. Eleaf came out with the Melo to accompany their 30 and 50 watt iSticks. The Herakles, the Starre and the Maganus all tout giant air flow and high wattage capability. So is Innokin’s offering too little too late? Is their room in the market for yet another sub tank? Innokin is betting yes.
And I agree.
Now let’s preface this with a little backstory. I was super satisfied with the Kanger Protank. It was revolutionary. It vaped good, they figured out a way to put a coil on the bottom and it was cheap. I used one for many months. Until I got into dripping and the world of flavor that it brings. At that point, tanks were dead to me. I tried rebuildable tanks of all shapes and sizes. They just could never compete with the airflow and flavor that a dripper would provide. But dripping is a pain in the ass sometimes. Driving, tight spaces, trying to text, all of these scenarios are not ideal for drippers. Add into that the process of coil building, wicking and re-wicking and carrying at least 1 bottle of juice around and it’s more than a lot of people want to do, but we still want the benefits of lower resistance and higher airflow. Enter the sub tanks. They combine the best of both worlds. The ease of fill-and-go of a tank and the vapor production and flavor of a RDA. The need for drippers to experience the pure flavor has been met by these tanks. There’s only one problem…. They’re expensive.
Metal, pyrex, huge organic cotton stuffed coils and adjustable airflow all add into the cost to produce and therefore the cost to consumers. Then add that you won’t be able to swap juice as easy as burning off an RDA and your desire for more than one sub tank is hard to deny. It’s hard to drop the dime required for a new higher wattage device and a sub tank (or two), plus the juice you’ll go through. Innokin’s iSub solves that problem. A sub ohm tank at half (or more than half) the cost of the competitors opens up many people to having the experience.
The iSub features a polycarbonate tank, replaceable .5 ohm coils, adjustable airflow and a unique coil removal system that doesn’t require you to open the tank, a permanently affixed wide-bore drip tip and comes in 4 colors, pink, blue, black and clear.
First impressions:
I like the color choices. They make perfect sense, as they match the color scheme of Innokin’s flagship device The MVP 3.0. The design isn’t game changing, as it’s a whole new game. No one has done a polycarbonate tank on a sub ohm tank. No one has done colors like this. Sure, you can get tinted glass for the Kanger Subtanks now, but this is real color. And at 4 ml, it’s one of the larger tanks available.
Coil setup is pretty standard fare at this point, but a couple of neat additions . The holes in the coil for wicking are about 2 mm, of which there are 2. The coil is a single coil, horizontal configuration. It’s wicked with Japanese cotton. It is rated for 20 – 35 watts and for me, on the Sigelei 150, it runs best around 28.5 watts. 30+ is too hot and kills the flavor. The air inlet in the bottom features large exposed sides that allow maximum airflow. The coolest part is a mesh screen, much like those found in Aspires, but with larger holes. This is to prevent splash back, and so far, it works well. Even pulling as hard as possible, I’ve found no juice coming through the tip. Longevity of the coil is still up in the air, as I’ve just been using it for a day. I’ll come back and throw in the length, but I’d be surprised if it lasts as long as the Arctic coil, which averages about 3 weeks on a 50/50 blend cheesecake juice.
Airflow is, for me, best wide open. Though even at a smaller setting, it still produces a good amount of vapor, just delivering it much hotter. The amount of restriction is about the same as an Arctic wide open. Flavor is good, though I question constantly if it’s wicking fast enough. While I haven’t had a dry hit yet (4 tanks in), I am used to the safety net that are the 6 x 2 mm slots in the Arctic and am simply assuming at one point, I’m going to dry hit.
The tank features a coil housing system that is completely different from anything you’ve seen (unless you had an iClear30S. The bottom airflow ring spins off, exposing the lipped coil that is then able to be pulled out and replaced. This is a feature unlike any other sub tank on the market, but it’s really unnecessary. The tank is easy to fill and seals well. No floods or leaks at this point.
My only complaint, if I had to have one, is the tip doesn’t come off. This wouldn’t be an issue if it was delrin insulated, but the metal to metal set-up gets increasingly hotter as the vape pulls go. But it’s by no means a deal breaker.
Overall, I give this tank a thumbs up. Sure, the majority of my wattage is remaining untouched with the single coil and I’d much rather have seen a dual coil setup, but for the money, this tank is worth every penny.
Available now at The Vape Shop.
Until Next Time….
Vape Church 