Comparison KangerTech Toptank Mini vs KangerTech Subox Mini Starter Kit

— Starter kit. A set also known as a “kit” or “box mod”. It includes everything you need for vaping — both a battery mod and an atomizer; in other words, a “kit” is a ready-to-use electronic cigarette (except that in some models the battery has to be purchased separately). At the same time, this category includes both relatively inexpensive and simple devices and high-end models. In any case, starter kits will be appreciated by tech who do not want to select a battery mod and atomizer separately and would like to immediately receive a device whose components are optimally compatible with each other.

— POD system. A specific type of electronic cigarette that uses replaceable cartridges — “pods” — instead of traditional atomizers. Each cartridge consists of an evaporator and a container with liquid; the “pod” can be either open (with the ability to refill at your discretion) or closed (disposable, supplied filled and thrown away when the liquid supply is exhausted). In any case, POD systems are usually sold as ready-made kits, which have a number of advantages over traditional vapes. Firstly, cartridges are relatively inexpensive and take up very little space; as a result, you can carry several “pods” with different flavors and/or strengths at once, changing them in a battery mod as desired. Secondly, the battery mod...s themselves are more compact and lighter than in regular electronic cigarettes, they are more convenient to carry and do not attract as much attention. Thirdly, POD systems are extremely easy to maintain - in fact, there is no point in making replaceable cassettes serviceable. Among the disadvantages of such devices, one can note the relatively small capacity of batteries and reservoirs in cassettes, although there are exceptions.

— Disposable. Disposable POD systems are vaping devices without the ability to fill liquid and recharge the battery. The liquid reservoir in their design has a certain volume, and a specific battery capacity is selected for it (based on the specified number of puffs). When the “disposable” runs out of vaping liquid or the battery runs out, the device can be thrown away. Due to their compact size, disposable electronic cigarettes easily fit into a pocket, a small compartment of a bag or backpack. Also, they often lack controls and settings - the heating element is activated as soon as the customer takes a puff. In terms of flavor, there are many different options for disposable POD systems on the shelves.

— Atomizer. A separately sold vaporizer of an electronic cigarette — that is, the part where the vapor is generated; for operation, the vaporizer is installed on a battery mod (see below). Some types of such devices are also called "clearomizers", but this term is used less and less often; nowadays, all vaporizers are usually united under the term "atomizer". Be that as it may, the overall impressions of the vape are mainly influenced by the characteristics of the vaporizer: in particular, the taste and richness of the vapor, as well as the ability to customize the vapor to your preferences, directly depend on them. So in order to change the sensations of vaping, it is enough to try a different atomizer. In addition, when buying a new vape, many users (especially experienced ones) prefer not to rely on ready-made starter kits, but to choose an atomizer and a battery mod separately, at their discretion.

— Battery mod. The part of the electronic cigarette responsible for powering the evaporator (atomizer). The functionality of such a mod can be different - from the simplest container for a replaceable battery with an on/off button to an advanced device with complex control electronics and advanced capabilities (see "Battery mod"). Be that as it may, separately sold battery mods are designed for tech who want to assemble an electronic cigarette according to individual requirements, without relying on the starter kits.

The type of battery mod supplied separately or as part of a starter kit (see "Type"). In this case, battery mods are divided into types according to the presence or absence of additional boards; the types of batteries used are listed in a separate paragraph (see "Battery type")

— Electronic. Battery mods that have additional control electronics (“board”) in their design — in addition to the battery (battery compartment) and the power button. Such a board contains at least a charge / discharge controller, and often additional settings such as wattage or thermal control (see "Board functions"). Electronic battery mods, even the simplest ones (having only a power button), are noticeably more complicated than mechanical counterparts, which somewhat reduces reliability. On the other hand, they are more convenient and, most importantly, safer: the board provides the optimal battery operation mode, which minimizes the likelihood of its overload and related troubles. Therefore, this option is highly recommended for novice users. However, it is also preferred by many experienced vapers — electronics allow you to enjoy the vapor without worrying too much about the battery life.

— Mechanical. He is also a " mechmod ". The simplest battery mods, consisting of a case, a power on/off button and a battery compartment (usually removable). Power to the atomizer in such devices is supplied directly...from the battery, without the use of control circuits; An external charger is required to charge the battery. In addition to simplicity and low cost, the advantage of mech mods is the extended possibilities for experimenting with power. On the other hand, such devices require careful handling and strict adherence to the battery charging / discharging regimen. At the same time, the user himself must monitor the mode, and violation is fraught with malfunctions and corresponding troubles (suffice it to say that the infamous battery explosions happened mainly on mechanical mods). In light of all this, the “mechanics” is suitable only for experienced vapers who are attentive to the correct use of the “materiel”.

Additional functions of the board provided in the electronic battery mod (see "Battery mod").

— Varivolt. Battery mods that allow you to adjust the voltage supplied to the atomizer. Due to this, the power supply changes and, accordingly, the heating power and the general vaping mode are regulated. At the same time, unlike the varivolt (see below), the voltage change in the varivolt is carried out only manually, regardless of the resistance of the atomizer. In fact, this means that if the user wants to get the same power on an atomizer with a different resistance, he will have to reconfigure the varivolt.

— Variwatt. Battery mods with the ability to automatically maintain the specified power supplied to the atomizer. An automated version of varivolts, which is able to automatically adjust to changes in the resistance of the atomizer. The voltage in the variatt is set for a specific resistance of the atomizer; if the resistance changes, then the electronics automatically sets the voltage at the output of the battery mod so that the power remains unchanged. Thanks to this, you can put heaters with different resistances on the battery pack without worrying about reconfiguring the power parameters — the variatt will independently select the desired voltage, keeping the intensity of soaring at the usual level. The main disadvantage of this option com...pared to the varivolt is the relatively high cost, and compared to thermal control(see below), the need to choose the power experimentally, by trial and error.

— Variwatt + Varivolt. Battery mods capable of operating in two different modes — varivolt or variwatt, at the request of the user. These modes are described in more detail separately, and their combination in one battery pack can be useful for those who appreciate the advantages of vari-watt, but are not averse to experimenting with vari-volt as well.

— Thermal control + variatt. Battery mods that combine the variatt capabilities described above with the thermal control function. Thermal control allows you to monitor the temperature of the spiral, maintain it at an optimal level and turn off the power when approaching critical heating. The combination of these two adjustments is the most advanced option for today, in fact, eliminating the need for the vaper to manually select the optimal power settings. At the same time, the steam turns out to be pleasant to the taste (both due to its own temperature, and due to the fact that the probability of burning the wick is reduced to almost zero), and the battery charge is consumed in an optimal way. A serious drawback of thermal control, in addition to a rather high cost, is limited compatibility with atomizers: for this function to work correctly, a “head” with a coil made of nickel or titanium is required, and such models are relatively rare, and they are not cheap in themselves.

— Thermal control. Battery mods, the settings of which are limited only by thermal control. This function is described in more detail above; here we note that thermal control itself does not allow controlling the intensity of soaring, therefore this option has not received much distribution.

— Unattended. Maintenance-free called atomizers-tanks (with a container for liquid), in which, in principle, it is impossible to replace the factory heater (spiral and wick) with its own winding. Thus, when using such an evaporator, you will have to periodically (most likely once every 2-3 weeks) change the “heads” (heaters). Maintenance-free vapers are a good option for those who are just about to try vaping, as well as for experienced vapers who don't want to mess around with custom coils. Their main disadvantage is the inability to adjust the atomizer to your own preferences — you have to make do with what the manufacturer originally provided for in the design.

— Serviced. Tank atomizers (with a container for liquid), in the design of which the manufacturer initially provides for the possibility of replacing the heating element (coil and wick) by the user. This is more difficult than changing the whole “head”, as in a maintenance-free atomizer; but winding can be done according to your own preferences, without relying on a factory design, and consumables for winding are cheaper than whole heads. On the other hand, the possibility of replacing the entire “head” in such models is most often not provided for — the only option is manual winding. In light of all this, serviceable atomizers will be a good choice, especially for experienced vapers who want to have the maximum opportunity to pers...onalize their electronic cigarette.

— Semi-maintenance. Tank atomizers (with a liquid container) that combine the capabilities of serviced and non-serviced models. In such a “tank” it is possible to install both unattended “heads”, which are completely replaceable, and serviced heaters, which can be rewound by the user himself. Thus, the vaper can choose the option of his choice: either use simple and convenient interchangeable “heads”, or spend a little time and effort, but wind the coil according to his own preferences. On the other hand, most users do not need such versatility, so relatively few atomizers of this type are produced.

— Drip atomizer (RDA). A distinctive feature of this type of atomizer is the absence of a liquid container: before each vaping session, the wick must be moistened directly from the bottle with a few drops of liquid (hence the name drip). This is not as convenient as having a tank with a supply of liquid for several sessions on hand — in particular, also because it is not easy to control the remaining liquid in the drip. On the other hand, this option has an important advantage: due to the excellent blowing of the heating elements, the “drips” give a very plentiful and saturated steam, in this indicator they are noticeably superior to the tanks. And so that such an atomizer does not have to be frequently refilled manually, manufacturers can provide various tricks — for example, in the so-called "squonkers" have a tank installed in the battery pack, and from this tank, by pressing the "feed" button, the evaporator wick is fed.

— Bacodripka (RDTA). Combined devices, in accordance with the name, combining both a tank and a drip. From the first variety of RDTA, they took a tank for themselves, which allows them to keep a supply of liquid on hand for several soaring sessions, from the second — a heater design that provides abundant and intense steam. Thus, such atomizers combine the advantages of both types. On the other hand, baco drips are expensive, have a very high fluid consumption, and are often difficult to maintain: in many models, cotton wool plays the role of a wick, which must be laid in a special way when replacing — otherwise leakage or burning is possible.

— Genesis. A specific type of atomizer tanks, usually serviced (see above). The key difference between the Geneses is the design of the wick: it is a fine stainless steel mesh wrapped with a heater coil. This gives a number of advantages compared to the classical design, where the wick is made of cotton wool, vegetable fibers, etc. Taste is considered the main of these advantages: genesis does not give a burnt aftertaste and provides almost perfect steam purity. In addition, such "heads" can serve without replacement for a very long time (several months), and the replacement of the wick and the heater is quite easy and fast. The main disadvantage of this type of atomizers is their rather high cost. Separately, we note that the installation of a metal wick in a classic evaporator does not turn it into a genesis — the design of the atomizer must be initially optimized for the grid.

The volume of the liquid tank provided in the design of the atomizer. Note that this parameter can be specified even for squonk atomizers (see "Filling type"): although they work with an external tank, however, a certain amount of "liquid" can fit in the evaporator itself.

The larger the tank, the more liquid you can keep in an electronic cigarette and the less often you have to refill it. On the other hand, capacious tanks have the appropriate dimensions, and too large a tank would be inconvenient, and liquids are consumed relatively little even in one long session of soaring. As a result, a volume of more than 6 mL is already considered quite large for vapes, and in the smallest models this figure does not exceed 2 mL.

Also note that when choosing a tank capacity, manufacturers usually take into account the resistance of the spiral, the power of the battery (if it is included) and other parameters that affect the expected flow rate of the liquid. There is no hard dependency here, however, in general, more powerful atomizers are usually equipped with larger tanks.

The number of individual heating coils provided in the atomizer.

The simplest design option provides only 1 spiral, however, 2-spiral atomizers have gained the most popularity: it is easier to achieve intense and saturated steam in them (however, for efficient operation, higher power is required, and the liquid flow rate is higher). However, it is worth noting that there is no rigid connection between the level of the atomizer and the number of heaters: among other things, there are advanced models with one coil, and low-cost solutions with two.

There are also more spirals — three or even four, but such solutions are quite expensive, difficult to maintain and high consumption in terms of energy consumption, which is why they have not gained distribution.

The type of battery that the battery mod is equipped with or designed for (if the battery is not included).

Modern vapes can use both removable and non- removable batteries. The former are convenient in that a dead battery can be quickly replaced with a fresh one, and while one battery is in use, the second can be charged. However, for many vapes with such a power supply, you have to separately purchase both the batteries themselves and “chargers” for them (for more information about this type of batteries, see the “Removable” section). Non-removable elements, in turn, cannot be quickly changed, but they are more compact, immediately included in the delivery package and extremely easy to use: when the charge is exhausted, you do not need to mess with external chargers, just connect the supplied charger (or even just a USB cable). ).

As removable elements in vapes, 3.7-volt cylindrical lithium-ion batteries are mainly used, here are their main sizes:

— 18650. The most popular size of 3.7 V replacement batteries nowadays. Such cells have a diameter of 18 mm and a length of 65 mm, and their prevalence is due to a combination of good performance with relatively compact dimensions. The number of batteries of this type can be different: for models of relatively low power (up to 100 W), one 18650 battery is enough, in more powerful mods there are 2, and in some models even 3 or more 18650 batteries.

— 20700. The format of replaceable batteries, used much less frequently than 18650 — due to its larger size (diameter 20 mm, length 70 mm). The number of such elements can also be different — from one in relatively low-power models to two or even three.

— 21700. Another relatively rare size of replaceable batteries; has the same length as 20700 (70mm) but larger diameter (21mm). Such elements are used mainly one at a time, vapes for two 21700 batteries are almost never produced.

— 26650. A rather specific size: such elements are the same 65 mm long as 18650, but their diameter is almost one and a half times larger — 26 mm. This provides high capacity and power, but the large size limits the use of this type of power supply, it is found only in single vape models (although there are devices even for two batteries). And in some battery mods for such elements, it is allowed to replace 26650 with 18650 due to the same length.

Built-in batteries, in turn, differ in the technology by which they are made. Nowadays, Li-Ion (lithium-ion) or Li-Pol (lithium-polymer) non-removable batteries are mainly used. They are similar in their main characteristics: they are compact, have a good capacity, lack the "memory effect", but they do not tolerate both frost and heat. The main difference is that in the first variety the electrolyte is liquid, and in the second it is a solid polymer. Thanks to this, Li-Ion cells are somewhat cheaper, and Li-Pol are less sensitive to overloads and safer in emergency conditions.

The maximum power supplied by the battery.

This is one of the main parameters of the battery pack that determines its compatibility with the atomizer. Starter kits (see "Type"), by definition, include atomizers that are optimally suited to a given battery in terms of power, and this parameter is mainly of reference value. But when choosing components separately, you should pay special attention to it. Higher power allows you to achieve more saturated steam, but only up to certain limits — too much heating leads to a deterioration in taste, and even burning of the wick (which, all the more, does not contribute to improving the sensation of soaring). So the atomizer must normally transfer the power of the battery, otherwise, at best, you will have to constantly limit the power with the help of a varivolt or variwatt (see "Battery mod"), and at worst, normal use will be impossible at all.

Note that for classic evaporator tanks with one spiral, power up to 40 W is considered sufficient; more powerful batteries are designed mainly for advanced serviced models, drip atomizers and bacodrips(see "Type of atomizer") that have more than one coil and, accordingly, are more high consumption in terms of energy consumption. Also note that the actual heating power depends on the voltage, and in fact it may be lower than the claimed one, depending on the resistance of the atomizer. See “Maximum voltage".

This feature is indicated for battery mods that are designed to use removable batteries — usually 18650 or 26650 (see "Battery Type"). However, such batteries are most often not included in the delivery package, they must be purchased separately. This, on the one hand, does not allow using the device “out of the box”, on the other hand, it makes it possible to choose batteries at your discretion, depending on which atomizer is supposed to be used and what battery power is needed.

Actually, the ability to select batteries at the discretion of the user is one of the key advantages of this option over non-removable batteries (see "Battery type"). Another advantage is that you can buy several sets of batteries and quickly change dead batteries for fresh ones (and charge the removed batteries separately without taking up a battery mod for this). On the other hand, the battery mods themselves turn out to be heavier and larger than non-separable counterparts, and with comparable quality of the batteries themselves, they are often even more expensive. In addition, to charge the batteries, you will also need a separate charger — even if there is a microUSB port, it is recommended to use it only as a last resort (see below for more details), and many models do not have such a connector at all.