The Battle of Giants: Atlantis GT vs. Falcon King!
I was not planning to write about vaping and various devices, but since I quit smoking again and got back into this hobby, I wanted to post some general thoughts about the two popular tanks.
I used to vape for years, back when ProVari was the top of the line device and out of stock everywhere, up to when “SubOhm” vaping became a thing, which I have embraced begrudgingly... Then I can’t remember what happened, I dropped my device and broke the tank, went out and bought a pack of American Spirits, perhaps? I also used snus for a while, the real Swedish one, and then tobacco-free pouches, but kept coming back to cigarettes, especially when being especially stressed out…
Well, in consideration of my health and finances (a pack of Spirits is around $16 after taxes in this area, and by some standards that’s quite “cheap,” though I remember when cigarettes where half of the price, and a person could smoke at bars and restaurants, oh the times long gone, plus I always been a pack/day type chain-smoker), so I decided to get back into vaping, though this term sounds lame to my ears. “Ecig” sounds even lamer, but, I suppose, no one came up with a better way to describe the activity.
A note about the nicotine used in vape juices currently — it’ the “base” form of nicotine (-HO), such as nicotine hydro-oxide, thus requiring it much less heat to vaporize. Think of the difference between the salt-version of cocaine and the base, “crack,” version of cocaine. So yep, the juice these days is made with “crack” nicotine. Some tobacco brands through selective breeding have been trying to increase the nicotine-HO in the tobacco leafs. It seems Newports and American Spirits are most rich in this type of nicotine among easily found brands in the US. Nicotine salts (-HCL) break down with higher temperature and don’t penetrate the blood-brain barrier as easy as the nicotine-HO. Though folks say that these different types of nicotine affect them in different ways. I, personally, don’t notice the difference, as far as there’s plenty of nic in my blood-stream, regardless of its composition. There are, however, nicotine salts for sale, and they are quite popular. I may give them a shot some time, though, I think, they won’t be easy on the coils (but I may be wrong!).
After digging into my old box of vaping gear, I found a battered Smoat Battlestar, accepting two 18650 batteries, still working like on the first day I got it. It’s a great device, compact and sturdy, and I might write about it another time. I just placed an order for a spare one, tough, I think, that was a scam, so I had to open a ticket with PayPal… I tried various other mods and they all broke, while the Battlestar survived. (My favorite was the one with magnetic covers for the batteries that came in a variety of colors, alas the device itself ended up dying on me, twice).
Nevertheless, I decided to get new tanks and did some preliminary, but limited research. I ended up getting:
Atlantis GT & spare coils (made by Aspire) — the stainless steel protection of the tank seemed like a nice thing to have for someone like me, who is clumsy, and has pets, and would like to reduce an appearance of bio-hazard areas the best I can. It also seemed fairly tame, with the sock coil at 20 watts providing plenty of vapor, satisfying with a stronger 12 mg / 1 ml juice. And it is capable to accept coils with lower resistance for higher-wattage vaping as well (as well as with higher resistance once, too). I also remember that I had another Aspire-made tank, and it was decent. I remember the guy at a local vape shop recommending me this brand, stating the coils last the longest, or something like this. My memory is murky, so this is certainly an anecdotal slice of information.
Falcon King (by Horizon) & spare coils — the large 6 ml tank seemed attractive, as well as the acceptance of Mesh Coils, Dual Coils, having bamboo fiber (bamboo is an awesome plant!!), and it’s generally tailored for higher-wattage vaping. The idea was to use it with juice that has lower concentration of nicotine, when stealth-vaping is unnecessary, such as when I am at home at my desk...
Both are made with steel chassis, both feature strong glass for the tank, both have about the same price below $30, both come with a spare coil. The packages were different through. I liked the plastic tower-like box the Falcon King came in. I’ve been using this box to store the Atlantis GT when it’s not in use. Very convenient! Also both featured resin mouth-pieces of the standard 510 format.
I posted a picture showing both tanks. It is hard to beat the steel cover for the tank, even of a lower capacity than that of the Falcon King’s. But Atlantis GT ended up being a bit leaky, for the lack of a better word. Accidental addition of too much juice — made it leak from the bottom air-ways. The way they have set-up the regulation of the air intake is nice, while rotating the ring, it makes satisfying clicks. Though I always use the setting with the max airflow, and didn’t find it necessary to adjust, regardless of the wattage used.
On the other hand, the Falcon King has a top part that slides off after a press of the button, there’s a spring to assist the action, revealing a substantial opening for juice, making it easier to fill it while it’s standing vertically. The Atlantis GT needs to be tipped a little for re-filling. The Atlantis GT, to get filled, needs a rotation of the metal ring towards the top of the tank, that reveals an opening for the juice, with rubber-like sides, probably for security, but it’s necessary to tip the tank to add the juice, and it take a bit of experience to do this without a mess, and avoid overfilling.
Overall, I found it that the Atlantis GT doesn’t like to be tilted too much, especially when full, or nearly full, of juice, thus it makes me carry a piece of a paper towel, to ensure no juice escapes and sticks to my hands or clothing. Cats rub against me all the time, and if a cigarette can kill a horse, I would imagine it won’t take much for a small mammal to suffer the ill-effects of the, basically, poison, when coming into contact with it.
On the other hand, the Falcon King seems to keep the juice in a bit better. It does require around 40 watts with the originally installed coils to be effective (and it, easily, can take more, I just found it to be the least power-hungry, yet an effective setting for the base coils), it does produce plenty of vapor, making it a bit a harder to stealth-vape, though it still can be done, just requires some training to increase the lung capacity (kind of kidding). I haven’t tried the mesh coils yet. Though it sounds exciting. I am not even sure why exactly they are called such, as not all the coils have some kind of a mesh? *thinking smiley*
I always thought that flavor is all about the juice, not the tank or the coils, but I am wrong. Whatever engineering magic Aspire does with the Atlantis GT — makes the juice hit with a bit more flavor, regardless of how much air is allowed to enter. I find it to be a nice plus. I always prefer having less juice used for more flavor/effects.
In conclusion, I will be using both tanks. The Atlantis GT would likely be the one for when I venture out of the house, with higher nic juice in the tank, for stealth-vaping, when needed, not to attract too much attention with potential clouds, as well as to use less power for longer battery life. Steel tank protector is a great merit, especially in the event of dropping the device, or having other things in the pocket besides the device. I have already dropped it once at home, though onto the wooden bedroom floor, and the tank held, though the batteries flied all over.
It is fun blowing out clouds of vapor out of your car while driving, as silly as that sounds. Certainly better than “rollin’ coal.” Which is still possible with the Atlantis GT, at slightly higher wattage than 20 watts, and especially if using appropriate coils. Gladly, there’s a good variety of the available coils with various resistances, and they are affordable, and most shops carry them.
The Falcon King is likely going to be my indoor device, where fresh batteries are available, higher wattage use is not as much of a factor, and with lower nic juice used to balance the amount of vapor this beast can produce. The flavor, though, doesn’t seem to come out the same, hotter or less hot, regardless of how the airway is adjusted (which is simply done through rotation of a bottom ring, though no clicks, alas, but it is a smooth action). The flavor between the two devices is just not the same and I am not sure why that is so. Perhaps different coils would change this, but I only used the devices in their stock configuration. Which seems to be what most of vapers would be using upon getting them…
The either device certainly functions well, and provides the nicotine on demand. Perhaps different types of juices would work with the Falcon King better. I need to mention that the coils for the Falcon King are more expensive than the coils for Aspire tanks, and come in smaller packages. I cannot tell at this time if coils of one device last more than that of the other. So far I used the originally included coils for a few days on both, and haven’t found any need to replace them. Though I am excited to try different types, and see how they change the experience.
I normally vape clear juices and a lot of juices by the “Naked” brand, as they don’t seem to be too sweet, too concentrated with flavorings and colors, and thus seem to keep the coils working for longer, and lungs feeling better... However, that’s just my personal experience, and truth be told, I haven’t tried a ton of different juices. Jeez, there must be close to a hundred popular brands these days of all sorts of flavors. I just found something that seems good and works for me, and then have been sticking with the brand for the most part. Also, less chemicals entering my lungs — is a good thing. I will gladly take up any suggestions! I usually like minty and menthol-y juices, as I used to be a menthol cigarette smoker for the most part.
Even after few days of vaping, I feel much better in the morning, no coughing, less shortness of breath. It’s too bad that this hobby requires the vaping mod, tanks, coils, juice, batteries, charging device, cables, perhaps a little case to take along with fresh bats, and a smaller container for the juice to keep the pockets less full. I already have a little box from Amazon in a hard to reach place for my cats, packed with peripherals. It’s a very nerdy hobby, which is not a bad thing. Still, a lot of variables, a lot of things to consider, a lot of things to, potentially, go wrong, and deeper pockets are needed... But also it requires some level of intelligence. Undeniably, there’s certain beauty in just having a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, or matches, and not having to worry about all these factors. Yet, objectively, vaping certainly seems to be much less harmful, at least when better juices are used. Though I am not a medical professional and it’s really just my 1.5 cents from the life experience.
As my now gone favorite biology Professor from the Uni said, that lungs are meant to inhale a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen, and everything else is not preferable. Words of wisdom, if you ask me, something that has really stuck with me since I heard those words. At that time I was also quite a bit of a pot-head, so it had more dimensions to it than it does now. Currently, pot is more like a once in a while treat, and, somewhat unfortunately, it keeps getting stronger, to the point that I have to be extremely careful measuring the right amount of the plant matter to burn in my bong, otherwise I get a really bad experience. OD’ing from too much pot is really unpleasant, let’s put it that way. Not dangerous, but very unpleasant. Not on the same level as a bad trip from mushrooms, but nonetheless very undesirable. So, for the most part, Ive been weed-free for quite some time, perhaps it’s just a good time to close this chapter for good.
But I digress. I wanted to “say” a few words about the tanks I’ve been using after getting back onto the “vaping train.” Perhaps it may be helpful for some, perhaps not. Personally, I wish I knew about the “leakiness” of the Atlantis GT before buying it, though the steel outer shell of the tank kind of negates that minus. And the fact that the juice seems to taste better out of it, but maybe it’s just me?.. Atlantis GT takes a bit more care and a little slice of paper towel to take with. Which is, in general, a good idea, regardless of the tank being used. It can become handy under a lot of circumstances, vaping-related or not. Gentlemen always carry handkerchiefs for a reason. Be a gentleman or a gentlewoman.
If you want me to try a certain tank or juice, please let me know, I would love to explore more! Also, any comments are welcome!!
Thank you so much! Hope You All Have a Good Time of Day!
Edit: Grammar… : /
Edit #2: 12/4/24. Adding this after a week or so of using the both tanks, and it seems that the Falcon’s coils fail quicker than the Aspire ones. I still use the original coil that came with the Atlantis GT and haven’t had a chance to use the alternative higher-wattage-friendly coil that came with the pack, simply because the original one still works great and no smoky/chemical after taste yet. . . It does take some practice to ensure the tank doesn’t leak, as it doesn’t like being overfilled. While with the Falcon King, the original dual-coil failed within few days. I have soaked it in 99.9% alcohol over-night and washed with nearly boiling hot water. I may have extended its life, it’s in a plastic baggie as an emergency coil. Then, as a replacement, I used the M1 Mesh coil (with bamboo pulp), and it worked great for a few days of heavy vaping, but the flavor isn’t quite as good as from the Aspire device, considering either type of coils I tried. Whether I tried to dial up or dial down the power, the result was a warmer or cooler vapor, but no major flavor difference. The M1 does make good clouds, and the taste was acceptable. Yet in few days I started getting a bad chemical after-taste, had to dump nearly 5 ml of good juice and install a fresh coil (still the M1 mesh type with bamboo pulp). The one I replaced — was all dark inside, so I didn’t try to save it with the alcohol soak and just threw it in the recycling bin after a thorough washing. I love the design of the Falcon King tank, it’s very easy to re-fill (due to the top coming onto the side on a spring, exposing a nice opening for refilling), but I am a bit disappointed with how fast their coils die, the fact that they are fairly pricey, and there’s not a whole lot of choices for replacement at major decent online stores. Still, I ordered a few more, not giving up on the Falcon King just yet. It’s quite resilient, after I dropped the mod with it on wooden floor, the glass held just fine.
Perhaps I just got lucky with the original coil of the Aspire’s device and unlucky with the coils for the Falcon King? I don’t know, but thought to add this extra bit to describe better my experience with either tank.
Also, I could not find a spare Smoant Battlestar, actually kind of did, but got scammed, and worked with PayPal on a refund. Someone with the name “Amanda” got the money but there was nothing happening for weeks. So be ware if you see a vape shop, even on the front page of Google, that seems to have Everything in stock, and nearly 0 reviews. While Battlestar is still going very strong, I looked for a worthy spare, and got myself Valerian 3 in the end, which is also a two battery mod with some good features, a classy look and lots of dragon-type style design elements. Once it arrives, I will give it a shot, it will come with a native tank meant for high wattage sub-ohm vaping. So it will be certainly interesting to see how the coils last and how the flavor goes. I will make another post once I am more familiar with the Valerian.