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Old Man Vaper
This man’s mods are on fire... literally
Ask The Ohmies Four men and a mod, the future of vape channels
Weird Vapes
A tank that looks like an aquarium? Sounds a bit fishy.
Show Guide Pages 26-29
Editor Notes
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e hope you’re reading this at Vape Jam 3. The sheer man hours and effort put into this event by the community truly is something to behold.
Make sure you come on down and see us - we’ll be the guys holding in our guts pretending to know about rebuildables. This show promises to be the event of the year, and we’d love to hear your opinions (no autographs please). You probably noticed the fantastic cover shot. It’s a beautifully crafted coil build by Chris Grimes. The staggered coil is not an easy build to master, especially with finer gauge wires. Coil aficionados should take note; great work Chris! If you think you can build like this we’d love to hear from you! Send us your photos, and you could appear on the cover and be the envy of your friends. This month’s issue is full of the best and latest vape news as well as an interview with the man behind the mods - Christian Viola - and some of the weirdest boxes and tanks you’ve ever seen. See you next month and keep your head in the clouds.
Contacts
Charlie Kent - Publishing Editor Kent@sub-ohm.co.uk +44 (0)7900 353 611 Josh Paine - Feature Editor Paine@sub-ohm.co.uk +44 (0)7943 096792 Milo Phillips - Publisher milo@kentphillips.co.uk +44 (0)7557 121733 Address: 4 Una Way, Kings Langley HS, Herts WD4 8BH Follow us on social media: @subohm_magazine Subscribe for free at www.sub-ohm.co.uk Subohm magazine is published 12 times per year by Kent Phillips Publishing Ltd. Subohm Magazine is distributed exclusively to professionals in the e cigarette trade and is not intended to be viewed by consumers. We make every effort to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material we publish, and accept no responsibility for claims made by contributors, manufacturers or advertisers. Copyright for all material in this journal rests with Kent Phillips Publishing Ltd and their Agents. © Kent Phillips Publishing Ltd. 2017
Contents 4-6 Snapdragon
Callum Ferrier reviews the V1.5 RDA.
9-10 Crystal Cloudz
Pete the Pogonophile tastes four juices from Crystal Cloudz.
12-13 BRIX
The Devil Vaper reviews the Diamond Mist BRIX Kit.
15-16 Serpent RDTA
Nate Homer tries Wotofo’s first RDTA.
21 Juice Bomb
Ashleigh Gilbert tries the three from the Juice Bomb range.
22-24 Ask The Ohmies
We catch up with the guys from the Ideal Ohm Show.
30-33 Old Man Vapes
Christian Viola opens up to Subohm.
34-35 Dr Fog
Rach Saffer tries the Dr Fog juice range.
38-41 Strider
Stephen Nichols gives the Asvape Strider a go.
42-45 Weird Vapes
The Weird Vapes hardware range gets a review.
46 Sluice
Ashleigh Gilbert chooses his top three from the Sluice range.
48-50 Ohm brew
A beginners guide to DIY mixing your own juices.
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hardware review
SNAPDRAGON V1.5 RDA by Eden Mods Review by Callum Ferrier Think back to the days when you’d just started vaping, the juice you were using actually tasted like strawberry or blueberry and it blew your steam-soaked mind.
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hen you started sub-ohm vaping, the old juices tasted like chemicals and the juice you were trying now felt like you’d reached a new level in flavour. Now, I know what you’re asking - what has this got to do with the Snapdragon? Well, this is the next level of flavour right here. The small chamber size, and the tight draw of the RDA, lets even the beginner build
taste like it’s been wrapped by Valkyries and the juice cried by angels. Yes, I’m being dramatic but, let me assure you, I’m by no means exaggerating. The airflow comes from the bottom of the deck at an angle pointing towards the two posts (in an effort to tempt some vapour towards the drip tip a little easier) which are wide enough to take any wire thrown at them. This is because the posts’ holes aren’t really holes – they’re clamp posts
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hardware review
which are secured by a screw. The wire can freely move out of the gaps, unless secured, which they will do every time you try to install more than one coil. These posts allow you to put any form of battery-draining, obnoxiously large, coil in to it and allow you to clamp them down with some very smooth Philips head screws. You’re able to replace these
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unique posts with a set of standard velocity posts which area available separately but,being the masochist I am, I chose to disregard these. I’m the same when it comes to video games, I’ll never turn the difficulty to ’easy’, no matter how often I’m prompted. I don’t like the idea of an ‘easier’ deck being sold separately;it’s like some
over-priced DLC for the aforementioned game. Don’t get me wrong though, this is a prize stallion among drippers, I just needed to nit-pick. The Snapdragon is the next level of flavour drippers allowing you to separate the wheat from the chaff - the men from the boys - when it comes to great tasting juice. So find one and buy it.
juice review
FEET ON THE GROUND Head in the Cloudz Crystal Cloudz by Pete the Pogonophile Today I’m please to bring you four juices from Gloucester based – Crystal Cloudz. Spinel I was really looking forward to this as I love a grapefruit vape- and this delivers it well. It’s beautifully refreshing but still sweet
while presenting a little tartness. It certainly doesn’t give you pursed lips and a squint in the eyes like actual grapefruit does. It tastes like a small amount of coolada in there to add the freshness.
I don’t think they need the coolada, but that is down to personal preference. Is it an all-day vape? Well as long as I can get in a 3mg, most definitely. Kyanite As soon as I tried Kyanite I had to chuckle. My thoughts drifted back to childhood visits to my Gran who always had a bag of Mint Imperials on the go. There’s a wonderful sweet mint at the base of this juice - just like the sweets. On the inhale I was greeted by a delightfully juicy raspberry just wanting to burst out and a sweet mint comes following. On to the exhale the raspberry is still dominant, the mint starts to fade and, in the background there’s the
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juice review
slightest hint of blueberry. I did ‘umm’ and ‘ahh’ as to whether or not there needed to be a little more blueberry, eventually coming to the conclusion – not. This juice is great as it is. If you like fruity, minty vapes then this is a must try. Dragons Egg I found this juice strangely satisfying - a strong element is how it messes with your senses. There are subtleties of pear and orange around a prominent dragon fruit flavour which, for me, gives a satisfying
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sensation of a dry vape. On the inhale you experience the arrival of dragon fruit, which has notes of pear dancing around it and an undercurrent of citrus notes. On the exhale it becomes apparent that the citrus note is an orange which comes further forward almost encapsulating the dragon fruit and leads to the pear disappearing. An all day vape indeed. Red Sardonyx Oh my goodness what an amazing juice! There’s nothing like saving the
best until last even if it was completely accidental. Have you ever had a Solero ice-cream? It’s the best. This juice is just like a Solero. Thank you Crystal Cloudz for bringing itinto my life! I find with juices similar to this, the mango tends to take over but not in this case. On the inhale, passion fruit floods in with mango sitting right behind it - so rich and full-bodied. On the exhale a creamy, vanilla ice-cream drifts into the mix creating a crescendo of taste. This juice makes melong for summer days. Definitely my favourite.
hardware review
Diamond Mist BRIX KIT Review Part One by The Devil Vaper
There’s so much to say about this little kit that I’m making this a two part review. This month I’m talking about the TC Box and next month I’ll cover the Cumulus Tank….. and my final thoughts.
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irstly, the packaging is attractive and informative. Inside the box there are two sections. One side contains an extremely detailed instruction manual, a spare tank glass, spare drip tip, o-rings and a micro-USB charge cable. On the other side you have the Brix Mod and the Mini Cumulus tank. I received the white and rose gold version - and it looks beautiful! The white housing has a slight rubber, grippy texture to it and, teamed up with the shiny rose gold, it definitely looks the part!The buttons are conveniently laid out and the screen is clear and easy to read. The matching rose gold Mini
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Cumulus sits on top beautifully. There isn’t any overhang and it doesn’t look out of proportion to the Brix Mod. So, let’s start with the Brix mod. It has an internal battery rated at 1500mAh and maximum output of 50w in power mode along with Ni, Ti and SS316L Temperature Control Modes. It’s a simple 5 clicks on, 5 clicks off device. On the screen you have the resistance, voltage, amperage, battery level and your applied wattage. To get into the menu you click the fire button 3 times - you can select Power or Joule mode as well as System Settings using the plus and minus buttons.
After selecting Joule Mode you then select what material you are using, what unit C/F you would like your temperature to be displayed in and, after that, what temperature you would like to vape at.
this mod is the battery life. I have found that it lasts around three quarters of a day and I’m not the heaviest of users.
Come back next month for a full review of the Cumulus Tank and my thoughts on the kit as a whole!
After pressing the fire button to confirm these settings you are sent back to the main screen where your power is adjusted in Joules. Overall, I love the layout of the buttons and screen and the easily navigated menu screen. It fits nicely in the hand - it’s pretty stealthy and doesn’t weigh a massive amount. The only slight negative to 13
hardware review
SERPENT RDTA By Nate Homer
The Serpent RDTA is a genesis style atomizer, and Wotofo’s first RDTA. It utilises a dedicated single coil clamp-style deck. Each box comes with: Serpent RDTA, spare parts, user manual, cotton, 2x prebuilt coils, Wide bore drip tip and user manual.
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he deck uses two clamps, centered around a massive central airflow hole. After doing a few builds on it, I’m a big fan. It’s very forgiving to work with, and easy to wick. Installing coils into this thing is a breeze, and it makes a really solid connection. I have not owned many rebuildable atomizers with clamps, but it’s a fantastic design and has really started to grow on me. Even after tinkering around with your coil and re-positioning it, the clamps will hold solid and won’t need re-tightening. Love this deck. When the airflow is cranked wide open, it gives the perfect restricted lung hit, very smooth and nonturbulent. The airflow only comes in from one side, giving an amazing restricted lung hit that I’m constantly 15
hardware review
grateful for. The airflow can be reduced - to give a really stiff draw, and can even be shut enough to give a nice MTL hit. It’s a very versatile experience. Oh my god, the flavor off of this thing. It gives by far the best flavor I’ve ever gotten from an RDTA, and even rivals my favorite flavor RDAs. With a Clapton build, fired at around 45W and the airflow wide open, it’s the president and CEO of ‘Flavour Land’. If you are a flavour chaser, this was made for you.
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Filling is easy, with the two grommet holes - on the opposite side of the airflow. It works best with unicorn bottles, but filling with dropper bottles isn’t exactly difficult. This is due to the fact that there is a hole for filling, and for air to escape. The tank fills quickly and can accept a ton of liquid. Overall, I love this thing. I’m so happy that Wotofo
isn’t following the “massive everything” trend, because this style of atomizer is what I love. It’s 22mm in diameter, looks great, performs perfectly and gives amazing flavor. Overall it’s just a pleasure to use. This is the best RDTA I have ever used, and I highly recommend it.
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juice review
DROP THE BOMB Juice Bomb E-Liquids By Ashleigh Gilbert
Juice Bomb have been a staunch favourite of mine since I discovered them at Vapefest back in Summer 2016 and I’m delighted to tell you about my top three today.
Bullet This juice packs a wallop definitely a flavour for those
with a sweet tooth; a full burst of cherry, followed by a chilling,cool menthol. Bullet is closer to the richer dark cherry, than the glacé variety found in many liquids. Dynamite One of my all-time favourite lemon tart flavours. On inhale you’re struck by the taste of flaky pastry, smooth and buttery, on exhale a sharp lemon tang, which doesn’t overpower the
pastry, but is just enough to create a zingy finish. Missile A refreshing blend of mint and liquorice - the tang of the aniseed plays very close to black liquorice, which means it’s very sweet, to the point of being tart. On its own this would be very unbalanced but when you combine it with the menthol it really works well.
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interview
Ask the OHMIES If you haven’t heard of the Ideal Ohm Show you’ve been living under a rock. The escapades of Ric, John, Craig and Rich are full of laughs, reviews and solid vape knowledge.
How did the channel get started? John - The Plumes of Hazard felt they needed a better, British version, of their boring show and asked us for help. We nailed it in my opinion. Ric - The Plumes needed another show to try to up their dropping exposure so they put the A-Team together. One mention of them on the Ideal Ohm Show doubles their views. Craig – Yeh they looked at VTUK, but their idea was for more intelligent vaping with actual content - so they asked us. 22
What is the weirdest vape related item you’ve received as a gift/to review? John - Not weird to anyone else probably, but I was asked to put a faux leather mod cover and review it, I said no.
Craig - To be honest, getting anything for nothing is weird - even if it’s something that one of the other Ohmies have sent. I hope that never wears off.
have you got? Just today I received a top secret prototype charger that doesn’t work…. and some brushes that I assume are for combing your eyebrows.
Ric - A Chinese tea set. The thought was there though.
At the time of writing you’ve released 72 shows, what’s been the biggest challenge so far?
Rich – Damn how long
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interview John - Fridays! I’m shattered when I wake up and sometimes a little hungover. Craig - The nerves. I still don’t quite get why folk sit and watch us, so I get nervous. Rich – The hardest bit of the show for me is when one of my kids wake up and I have to rush off and sort them out. I don’t think the other guys mind and it’s a nice break from me for the audience, but it’s very tricky getting a little one back downto sleep and returning to the show like everything is fine. You often have guests on the show, who’s been your favourite? John - Scott Bonner because he’s a vaping legend and Ruby because she rocks. To be honest, that question is a bastard because I can’t think of any guest that has been less than exceptional. Craig - Ruby is ace, as are all the reviewers. They’ve done this for so long they’ve got game. I’d still go with Mooch though, as he’s a great bloke and he’s given us vapers so much. Rich – I’m going to say Flitz. He’s not super well-known in the UK but he’s a bit of a legend in my eyes. He’s been around the scene as long as anyone and I have talked 24
to him for years so it was awesome to see him on the show just being himself. He was one of the originators of the live vaping show so it’s nice to square the circle.
hear him; it was dark and people were interrupting him… TV gold! What’s been your favourite E Liquid released in the last twelve months?
What has been your funniest vaping muck-up?
John - Cactus Punch!
John - Dean misreading MAX in the reflection to be ‘Xam’, it’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Craig - Mumford Juice Co. “Playtime”. Only had the one bottle and it never made it over to the UK, but I kept about 2ml for a benchmark.
Craig – Ric, and beer coming out of his nose. It’s hidden away in a show, but when you see it……. Ric - Over squeezed a Squonker and the juice squirted out of the drip tip of the atomiser. That and soaking myself with beer during the show. Rich – Craig went to last year’s Vapefest on the Thursday and tried to broadcast live from the field. It was a car crash - he couldn’t hear us we couldn’t
Ric - Hard to say, it hasn’t been released but Woowaa Cigar ticks the box. Ice Cream Man is a winner and Code Vaporz -Roasted. Bubble Melon Jelly by Sweet Jesus Juice is bang on too. Rich – All the juices the guys have said, plus one that is not new this year, but new to me - Gluttony by DB Liquids. It’s a really special flavour in my opinion. It’s hard to find truly unique juices these days, but this is a gem.
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interview
Old Man VAPER Last month we introduced you to Christian Viola and his wild homemade mods - this month we wanted to find out a bit more about him.
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How long have you been building mods for? I’ve been building mods for about two years. You’ve built some outrageous mods, what’s your most ambitious build? My most ambitious build is currently an ongoing concern - a water cooled mod.
I started with some pure water, immersing a homemade PCB PWM mod board called ‘dumb and dirty’ in it - including the lipo battery! To my surprise it worked perfectly (for a day or so) however, pollutants in the atmosphere - such as dust - started to short out the components, so my new water cooled mod is now in a sealed unit using the NLMPWM board by Voltrove. It will have a bubbler going
up through the water, passing the board, to reincorporate the hydrogen produced by the electricity flowing through the water. With so many giant mods how much E Liquid do you get through in a week? The amount I use every week is huge! That’s why I buy basic ingredients in 5L bottles and mix my own VG/ PG based solutions using
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interview Flavour Art to give it taste; if I bought commercially branded products all the time I would be bankrupt! What has been the biggest vape disaster you’ve experienced? Well, as far as disasters, go it’s all been smooth sailing - apart from things catching fire, melting circuit boards, legs burning off because of overpowered mods and the room filling up with poisonous gas! Really, nothing to talk of, it’s been extremely relaxing building
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mods and I’m still alive! Which do you prefer Tanks or Drippers? For everyday use it has to be a tank. My favourite one at the moment is the Aromamizer Supreme RDTA; I love the way I can unscrew the base and fiddle about with the coils leaving all the juice inside. As for drippers, I have gone down the squonking route. I’ve been turning bottles into mods and my latest incorporates a 60ml juice bottle by OMG Darth Vapour so it takes a day or two to run out!
use the trigger as the firing button. I’m sure it would blow me away! What are your top E Liquids at the moment?
I go for strong flavours, Ice Koolada is great, it’s like vaping liquid nitrogen and goes well with a water cooled mod!! Horny Strawberry is another personal favourite.
Which artist would you like to perform a charity duet with? Motorhead and their hit ‘Silver Machine’ as I am tone deaf and my wife says that’s the best song I do. If you could make a box mod out of anything what would it be? When I was a young boy I had a semi-automatic pistol called the Desert Eagle. I loved that pistol, it was nice and heavy and it packed a punch, so in my old age I would love to get hold of a Desert Eagle, after deactivation. It would take a lipo or two 18650s in the magazine/grip, then I would put a 510 in the end of the muzzle and fix on an RTDA as if it’s a silencer and I’d 33
juice review
THE DOCTOR IS IN Dr Fog Review By Rach Saffer I love ice cream. Apart from those who are lactose intolerant and people trying to lose weight who doesn’t? So, ice cream lovers - Dr Fog is here to save the day. Polaris whisks you away to a County Fair. It reminds me of the fast-melting treats devoured as a child. The flavour is likedeep-fried raspberry ice cream. The raspberry is very tangy with a sweet delicious vanilla finish. Alpha is something a bit different; it moves away from classic ice cream flavours and is more of a sorbet. The lovely, deep watermelon flavour is followed by a fizzy tropical sherbet, guaranteed to stave off the cravings of dessert until after dinner. If you ever get the chance to go south of the border, down Mexico way, I beg you to try a churros, it’s a fantastic piece of pastry. So my heart soared when I saw that Rigel was a spot-on pastry flavour paired with rich nutty praline and, 34
of course, finished with ice cream leaving a nice dairy finish.
On a parallel with Polaris we have Sirius swapping raspberry for strawberry.
Personally this was just a bit too much on the sweet side for me, however, I feel like that about real strawberries let alone in vape flavours. Combined with that deepfried ice cream it’s quite moreish but not one I could handle all day. If Elvis Presley was to vape this would be his favourite, it combines two of his, and my, favourite snacks peanut butter and bananas. Mixed together Vega creates a buttery sweet treat, finished off with a light hint of vanilla.
and can outshine entire galaxies and solar systems - which is exactly what this aptly named flavour does. Compared with the rest of the range it goes completely back to basics with simple vanilla and caramel and it’s as good as the first day I tried it.
As you have no doubt noticed these flavours all have names related to the cosmos and, in my opinion, they really are out of this world.
Lastly, a Supernova is an exploding star that has reached the end of its life 35
hardware review
THEY CALL HIM STRIDER… ASVAPE STRIDER 75W BOX Review by Stephen Nichols The Asvape Strider 75W mod arrived at my house direct from China. It comes packaged in a flip top box and is very well presented.
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t includes an 18650 battery adaptor (the mod runs off a single 26650 battery or an 18650 with the adaptor), micro USB cable and a cleaning cloth. The strider makes a good first impression - it fits well
in the hand and feels very solid. The carbon fibre has been finished to an almost glass finish and hand cut buttons add to the high quality feel. Pop in a battery and you’re greeted with the Asvape name followed by the words
“powered by VO chip”. My confidence in this little mod kept on rising as it utilises a decent chipset - the American VO75. Five clicks and you’re into the menu system allowing you to access four different modes: Power mode allows you to ramp up to 75 Watts straight out of the box, a firmware upgrade takes you up to 80 watts, V.P.C (Variable Power Curve) kept me occupied for hours - there are six points on the screen to adjust the wattage for a fully customised vape. Temperature Control is everything you would expect from a proven chipset -
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hardware review
adjustable in degrees Centigrade (100-300) and Fahrenheit (212-572) Bypass Mode provides direct battery output. In all modes, this little mod was spot on. There is rarely a time when I struggle to find something that I don’t like about a mod, but this little blighter had me stumped. The feel, the look, the chip, the build quality and the massive 510 deck were all spot on. The only thing I could find to moan about was that some of the powder coat had gotten on to the threads of the battery door and made the threads feel a bit rough but overall this is a well thought out, wellconstructed, and well-made mod. I love it.
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WEIRD Vapes In our time vaping, we’ve seen it all: huge tanks, stabwood panel boxes and all manner of liquids. Every now and then something crops up that catches our eye, stuff that is just plain weird.
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he Vapmod X-Tank 4.0 looks like a damn aquarium and holds a whopping 10ml of juice. This was
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released back in 2015 when TPD was nothing but a vague threat and all box mods werepowered by nuclear reactors…. you’d be hard pressed to find a
box it would look normal on. Fumi Vapor’s GangMod is exactly what you need if walking through a rough
neighbourhood and outputting up to 150 watts. It’s shaped like a knuckle duster and comes in silver or black, how very niche! Do you ever wish your vape was more than a vape, that it was a die-cast animal statue as well? Homai, the Chinese e-cigarette company, has got your back. In 2015 it released two AIO vapes ‘The Wolverine’ and ‘The Bear’.
They look as good in your hand as they would on your grandmother’s mantelpiece. You know those awesome vape flavours that just blow your head off? Well some vapers have gone one step further creating some rather terrifying vapes out of replica or decommissioned firearms. These are obviously all DIY creations however, they look great for
cloud chasing and getting rid of that gang problem in your neighbourhood ‘you feel lucky, punk?’ There you have it - the weirdest of the weird – but you know what would look really strange? If someone invented a mod that looked exactly like a cigarette - we could call it a cig-a-like. Nah, it’d never catch on.
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juice review
SLUICE JUICE Part Three by Ashleigh Gilbert
Over the last two issues, Subohm has showcased the Sluice Juice range of E Liquids. I couldn’t bear to be left out any longer so here are my top three.
Gold Stash This presents itself predominantly as a very strong custard flavour accompanied by light notes of vanilla - very pleasing,nice and creamy. My favourite element is the ‘secret flavour’ which I can’t quite put my finger on but, due to the slight spice, I think it’s cinnamon. Lemon Meringue Pie Lemon meringue pie is one of my favourite desserts and 46
this juice hits the spot. It starts off with a lovely biscuit base then comes the zingy lemon on top. It’s actually quite a sugarycitrus, which means there’s not too much of a stark contrast between that and the pastry. Raspberry Sour It was difficult enough to wrap my head around Raspberry Sour, let alone my tongue. This is because it’s actually quite an intense and complex flavour. You’re immediately hit with the
raspberry on inhale, which is sweet - even a little bit tart (always fun) - and the sour sherbet that comes afterwards is a great compliment. This is my favourite because of the clean sweep between sweet and sour.
ohm brew
DIY MIXING A BEGINNER’S GUIDE
Those of you who know the Subohm Team will know we really enjoy the DIY side of Vaping, particularly mixing our own E Liquids. This can seem like quite a big step to a lot of junior vapers, which is understandable as you’re dealing with potentially dangerous chemicals. So we’ve outlined our top tips.
Safety First - this seems like quite a basic point but it’s notsomething that should ever be overlooked. We recommend always wearing latex gloves for mixing, to avoid nicotine being exposed
to skin. Also, do it in a safe and clean mixing area not on the back seat of the 42 bus, which I once saw. Purchase your kits from a reputable source - The idea
of bulk buying cheap liquid can seem like a real plus, as most of us beginmixing our own flavours as a money saving tactic. That doesn’t mean you should scrimp on price altogether as some available mixes are volatile and not tested to the same high standards you’d expect from ready-made E liquids. As always invest in your hobby. Steeping - all good things take time. This is no truer than DIY mixing. A good wine can take years to mature. We’re lucky that a good solid E Liquid takes only a few weeks. If you’re unsure information is
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ohm brew
usually available directly from the company. On average about two to four weeks is about right. Always be ready to experiment! A high amount of concentrate might be right for one person but not necessary another. Remember to take a walk on the wild side - this is supposed to be fun! If all of this seems like too much hard work remember a large number of companies are creating ‘one shots’ - that makes mixing as simple as pouring a bottle of nicotine into a PG/ VG solution. 50