Packing-1 |
You can find
these kits starting at around $10 for a basic kit complete
with a pack of 10 cartridges. While, there are plenty of negative responses to these 'disposable' e-cigs, e.g batteries dying quick, attys failing, bad taste.etc.., You CAN actually get a decent vape out of them if you know how to tweak the parts. When they're working well, they are genuinely fun and the best of them can produce a lot of luxurious vapour. I mean $10 a pop, c'mon. |
Packing-2 |
Plus | Minus |
On the plus side,
they have the
closest resemblance to real
cigarettes, this is handy if you don't want to be noticed
while vaping. I mean who wants to have to explain
what they're doing everytime one wants a vape? I have
used these small-minis everywhere, and nobody gives you a
second look. For those who miss analogs, these are a nice reminder of the good old days, the 'real' look and feel of a standard sized cigarette in your hands brings back fond memories. You don't act as though your testiing out a new-fangled device, you just vape instead of smoke in exactly the same way, you can half-day-dream like before when you had a real cig, there's no need to press a button to spoil the moment. Vapour is cooler and smoother than most 'minis' and penstyles (if you like that sort of thing). With real cigarettes prices these days, a small-mini cartridge is actually cheaper than one analog cigarette. The cheapest kit (1 e-cig + 10 carts) I've seen is $8 US. This is the same price for a pack of marlboro in new york city. A 20ml bottle of e-liquid costs about $4, it will last for a week. |
Poor or cheap quality / construcution have given the
small-mini a bad reputation. This together with the
strong opinions of manual-big-battery (e.g ego)
enthusiasts on forums have put a lot of people off
small-minis. Cartridges and batteries are smaller and so run out quickly. Slightly less flavour and throat hit than 'mini's and 'penstyles'. |
The
manufacturers vary these specs slightly to make it
difficult to be compatible with other
brands. The cartridges can have differing heights. The threads can be slightly different in diameter and thread pitch. The atty diameter and height can vary , The atty bridges are different . The same (china) branding can produce different e-cigs with the same packaging. e.g both B and C use Packing-1. A. M401 (anycig.com) B. e-health cig (shop 1) C. e-health cig (shop 2) D. disosable e-cig (shop 2) |
These are all
essentially the same '401' type atties that may be
slightly different in height. Note the differing battery lengths. The threads could also be slightly different and also the thread heights and positive pole indent height. Becareful when cross-exchanging batteries/atties. The posiive contact might be forced inwards permanently. so the original batteries/atties would not make contact anymore.
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Uniqueness |
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Most
intrigueing is the atty. The bridge and mesh is
exposed outside instead of enclosed inside and is used
to puncture a new cartridge when snapped on. The
e-liquid is then in contact with the atty. Because of this,
most small-mini atties are pointed 'V' shaped instead of
'U' shaped like on minis or
penstyles. |
Battery Types | Battery Care |
All small-minis
to date come with auto-batteries. There are two main
types a) vacuum activated and b) sound activated (although I have never seen a sound activated battery, so this may be a myth). Most people prefer type (a) as tyoe (b) tends to be too sensitive. For some models even type (a) is not all that realiable. You have to be lucky here, some models have siwtches that aren't sensitive enough and require a hefty drag. The e-cig model 'D' in this article is an example. I never use that battery, replacing it with one from another model instead. |
The main
complaint is that the switching device in the battery is
unreliable and mis-behaves. This is usually due to e-liquid
getting into the battery. One must remember that the vacuum
type 'automatic batteries' are not suited to
'direct-dripping'. The battery needs an inlet to
sense the draw, e-liquid can leak into this hole, and the
switch then goes to cuckoo land. They should really be used with catridges or at most 'dipped' instead of 'dripped'. When experimenting by interchanging batteries onto different model atties, becareful that the anode (positive point) of either the atty or battery is not unintentionaly 'pushed in' . This can lead to a non-contact. To correct this, you need to pick the anode back out with a paper-clip or toothpick. |
Air Flow | |
Air-flow is personal taste. I tend to be real picky about air-flow, as I prefer it to imitate real analog cigs. Air-flow is essential for a good vape. It affects the vapour production, the taste and overall experience of a vape. It can also have some influence over the battery switcher. Some e-cig models give way too much air-flow, here are a couple of techniques to reduce it. Method 1. |
Cartridges | |||
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As you can see they are designed to let air flow around the
sides of the cart. The carts are very small but with care, can be refilled. First poke them out witth a paper-clip. Then apply 4 or 5 drops of e-liquid. The most I've got going in is about 7 or 8 drops max. The problem with stock filler is that it doesn't absorb too well during refill, you normally have to agitate it with a paper-clip or toothpick. Personally, I always replace the filler material with my kfoil-cart-mod. This is because the stock filler dries up too quickly at the bottom, meaning you have to wait a while before the e-liquid evens out through the filler, ruining your session. A good filler should be able to retain e-liquid and give up-most of it when heated. Cartridges are interchangeable and are probably the most universal thing between brands. B. e-health cig (shop 1) D. 'D' type. e-health cig (shop 2) & disposalble e-cig (shop 2) A. M401 (anycig.com) |
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B | D | A | |
Type - A cart with kitchen-foil filler mod. | |||
When travelling,.. The cart shell, sealed with a square bit of scotch-tape to minimise e-liquid evaporation. |
A | M401 |
anycig.com us$31 kit. (2 batts). |
The atty
overheats too quickly. Vapour is only good for the first 3 to 5 puffs. Too much airflow from the 4 holes. Battery is longer in length than other small-minis but after just a few puffs, the current/voltage dies down and delivers not enough amps to make decent vapour. This is the worst part of the kit. Conclusion: A waste of money. The only part of the kit that was positive was the inner-cart design (cart type-A). A disappointment, considering all the rave reviews I've read. (It's only fair to point out that no branding was found on the atty e.g no letters like 'SLB' were inscribed. This may well have been a fake, but I doubt it because anycig.com is essentially e-cigarette-mart.com and other products I buy from them are the real deal). |
B | e-health cig | (shop 1) us$23 kit. | Thread diameter
was middle of the road, fitting nicely with
all batteries of other kits. Two-hole - Perfect Air-flow (without having to block any holes). Atomiser makes a lot of really nice vapour. Battery lasts for a good 3 sessions. Conclusion: Highly Recommended. I could not believe how the high quality of this product could end up with such cheap packaging. The only downside is the tiny cartridges it came with. Replacing them with cartridge type-A has made this my work-place PV daily vape. |
C | e-health cig | (shop 2) us$8 kit. | Atty
easily leaks and clogged. Also it is not easy to
clear it with a blow. Battery is o.k though. Conclusion: Cheap cheap cheap. Buy this only for the battery. Throw away the atty. |
D | disposable e-cig "X1" | (shop 2) us$10 kit. | Atty
is decent, very similar to kit-B. Battery is shortest (length) I've ever seen but needs a strong powerful draw to get it to switch. Thread size is a bit bigger than other small-minis. Conclusion: Battery is unreliable and non-standard thread size is not enough reason to buy this, even though it is relatively cheap. |
Best performing Atty | B and D |
Best Battery | B and C |
Best Cartridge | A |
Best Overall Kit | B |
Best combination | Kit_B + Cartridge_A + Kfoil_cart_mod |