Has Anyone Used The Sapphire Bud E-Cig?

[sovereign51580]

I've been using an eGo-T for well over a month now and while I love the vapor and flavor the LR atty's produce, it's requiring much more finesse and care than I'm willing to give. I've gone through a handful of atomizers and some have been great and some have died prematurely. Leaking is still an issue but significantly less. Filling it is a bit annoying as well.

So I'm thinking about using the Sapphire Bud system. I've seen the P. Busardo reviews and a video from GotVapes and it seems pretty robust. Has anyone here tried them. I'm curious to know what your thoughts are on this.

Thanks!

[JayH503]

I saw P. Busardo's video and the video on the gotvapes site. They look interesting! Maybe someone on here has tried them, so some feedback can be given. I'd like to know if they work also.

[sovereign51580]

Well I ended up jumping the gun and ordered a starter kit. I should have it by Saturday evening. I'll post first impressions when I can, but I'd still like to hear from others if they're out there!

[Jeffb]

I had not heard of this kit until you posted about it. I look forward to your review.

[sovereign51580]

I’ve finally had a chance to use the bud atomizer for a few hours and here are my experiences. Please note that I’ve only had experience with eGo-T type B atomizers, both LR and standard resistance, so I’ll use them for reference. Of course, all my observations are subjective with many factors that vary from person to person (i.e. draw method, type of e-liquid used, vaping frequency, etc.) and your experience may differ greatly from mine.

Background

The bud ‘hybrid atomizer’ is essentially a cartomizer with no filler and is rated for 2.2-2.6 ohms. I believe the standard resistance eGo-T type B atomizer has a similar ohm rating, so I’d consider the bud standard resistance as well. The bud breaks down into three major parts – the atomizer which is in a plastic tube, a silicone stopper and a whistle tip mouthpiece. The starter kit I received contained two manual eGo 1100 mah batteries (five-click on/off protection; no pass-through; 510 threads; LED color is blue when pressed), two silicone bottle nipples, three atomizers, two screw-on mouthpiece caps (one pen-style clip and the other with no clip) and two cones. The exterior finish is matte black with a rubbery feeling. I don’t believe the bud is available in other finishes at this time.

First Impressions/Look and Feel

The bud atomizer looks svelte and streamlined. The plastic tube containing the atomizer itself seems quite rigid and robust. I didn’t feel it flex as I squeezed it. The plastic is clear and glossy unlike the frosted/matte appearance of a clear eGo-T type B tank. The silicone stopper on the bud is small. Its handle is a tapered cone in shape and is just large enough to hold on to with two fingers. It doesn’t seem to require much force to pull off or push back on. The bud atomizers are dry and didn’t have any primer fluid in them. The wick in the bud is in a spike plate similar to an eGo-T type B but extends about 1 millimeter or so out of the spike.

Filling the bud is much easier compared to the eGo type B tank. You simply snap off the mouthpiece, remove the silicone stopper to expose a fairly large fill hole, fill with e-liquid, replace the stopper and snap the mouth piece back on. The included silicone bottle nipples that would seem to fit very snugly on the dropper style tip of your standard e-liquid bottle. I didn’t use these as I have bottles with blunt syringe tips.

The bud’s mouthpiece is flat black in color and much thinner and flatter compared to an eGo-T type B tank. It feels very good between the lips and barely feels like it’s there at all. With a type B tank, you’re quite aware that you have your lips around something. The flatness of the bud’s mouthpiece also seems to provide a better seal. The bud has a single long (and rather large) air vent running the length of its tube while the eGo-T type B tank has two smaller air vents on either side. The air hole in the bud’s mouthpiece is elliptical in shape and is a bit larger than the hole on an eGo-T type B tank.

The cones are cylinder shaped and do not taper like the standard eGo cone. The bud’s cone will screw onto other eGo batteries. The cones also have two vertical, plastic recessed windows on either side. The top edge of the window aligns to what I believe is the maximum fill point for the bud’s tube while the bottom edge of the window aligns to a point just below the top of the spike. The cone threads on all the eGo batteries don’t seem to be consistent, and on my current battery, one window has a view of the air vent while the other has a view of the remaining e-liquid. Upon closer inspection, I found that the plastic windows aren’t glued to the inside of the cone. It’s just a single and somewhat thick sheet of acetate that’s rolled up in there. It seems it can be easily removed with a pair of tweezers.

The bud’s e-liquid capacity is 1.5 ml while the eGo type B tank’s capacity is about 1.8 ml. I didn’t measure precisely how much liquid I put in the bud, but considering that type B tanks need an airspace in order to wick properly, I’d say that the bud’s is just about on par.

The Draw

For comparison I used a brand new eGo-T type B LR atomizer. I used the same e-liquid in the bud and type B atomizer – 50/50 PG/VG menthol tobacco at 12 mg nicotine strength. In my experience, the draw from a new eGo-T type B atomizer (either LR or standard resistance) is a bit thin and on the airy side and produces a slight whistle that eventually goes away. For lack of a better word I’d call the draw from the LR type B atomizer wispy. The draw from a bud is quite a difference experience. It’s extremely smooth, neither thin nor airy. It feels substantial without feeling too thick. There was no whistling sound with the bud cone on or off. Draw force on the bud seemed effortless as well. The draw force felt the same with the cone on or off.

Vapor Production

On the eGo-T LR type B atomizer with my particular e-liquid, the vapor is voluminous yet airy and appears a very light gray on exhale. On the bud, the vapor was almost on par with that of the LR type B atomizer. It wasn’t as voluminous but much thicker and substantial, almost white in color on exhale.

Flavor

The eGo-T LR type B atomizer has always produced great flavor from any e-liquid I use. The flavor from the bud is similar to that of a standard resistance eGo-T type B atomizer, if not slightly better. I found that harder and longer draws from the bud produced slightly better flavor.

Leakage Issues

In my experience, 8 to 10 consecutive hard and long draws is enough to cause the eGo-Type type B atomizer to flood and leak onto the battery terminal. I tried this with the bud and have experienced no leaks so far. I have yet to flood it as well. I would like to note that there is a small bit of condensation that collects on the silicone stopper after a session of vaping. I didn’t notice any signs of leaking from the bud’s fill hole.

Other Thoughts

When I initially filled the bud, I filled it almost completely to the top of the fill hole and left little to no airspace. This was before I realized that the top edge of the windows on the cone aligned to a point below that hole. The first few draws produced a slight burning taste and I figured that, like the eGo type B tanks, it needs a bit of an air space in order to wick properly. Once the e-liquid level dropped low enough, the burning taste disappeared just as it would in the type B atomizer. Upon closer inspection of the bud’s tube, there is this small lip of plastic that does line up with the top edge of the window on the cone.

I personally like to make sure that the mouthpiece parallel to the button, with the button facing up. The mouthpiece on the bud can’t be rotated with the cone on as it will just unscrew the atomizer from the battery. It’s best to do these little adjustments with the cone off.

Fully assembled (but without the mouthpiece cap screwed on), the bud is about half an inch taller than a fully assembled eGo-T type B. It still fits in my large eGo case with a little room to spare. Even with silicone end caps on the eGo type B tank, there was still some leakage around the spike plate and I always found it annoying to have to wipe down the tank and the inner wall of the atomizer before refilling it. The exterior plastic tubing of the bud is still bone dry and I don’t have any problems wiping off the small amount of condensation on the silicone stopper.

Overall Conclusions

I think the bud atomizer is very well designed effectively addresses the shortcomings of the eGo-T. In my opinion, the bud provides a very good overall vaping experience. Time will tell whether or not the bud will be my preferred e-cig. I’m quite interested to see if the bud atomizer will last weeks and weeks. To date, eGo-T type B atomizers (LR and standard) have only lasted about 6 to 8 days for me. I’m sure the 50/50 e-liquid I use plays a major role in that. I’ll keep vaping the bud with the same 50/50 e-liquid and report back in a week. Regardless, I’ll post any issues I encounter.

[Jeffb]

Nice review. Can you post some pics?

[fran1959]

Very nice review, good job

[sovereign51580]

Very nice review, good job

Nice review. Can you post some pics?

Thanks Jeff and Fran. I left my camera at work but I'll have photos soon. Just a little update: I walked around with the bud in my pocket all day and I haven't experienced any leaks whatsoever. With my eGo-T type B, I would've had to clean the battery terminal 3 times by now. So far, I'm loving it!

[sovereign51580]

So I've gone through three bud cartos and have come to the conclusion that they really don't like a 50/50 mix no matter how dark or light the juice is. I had a new shipment come in and I'm vaping it with 100% PG and it's working just fine. I'm going to try with a 70/30 mix and hopefully that works out as well.

[JayH503]

Wonderful review! I'm going to try this thing out myself. Wasn't impressed with the standard resistance eGo T type A that I got a while back. Would love a tank style unit that works. Thanks for the detailed info!

I always purchase TastyVapor 80/20 Kretek at 24mg. I got mine at 90/10 24mg this time to see if my LR cartomizers last a little longer between cleanings. (Thinner) A working tank unit would be great!

Edited October 8, 2011 by JayH503

[sovereign51580]

Here are some photos! I made them pretty large so you can see the detail.

Fully Assembled

No Cap

No Cone

Detail 1

Detail 2

Detail 3

It's been a week since I started using these and once you use the right mix they are great! Here are a some tips for anyone else using these:

• When filling this, there might be some leaking out of the bottom air hole when you push the silicon plug back onto the filling hole. It's been very minor in my experience. What I've started to do is fill it up, place the plug through it just enough so it doesn't come loose, hold it upside down (so the air space is by the wick) and then push the plug in completely.
  
• Occasionally, there might be excess fluid in the atomizer chamber causing a gurgling sound. I like to hold it upside down and take a dry draw to suck the e-liquid through air chamber. When it starts to pool by the air vent opening, I dab it with a paper towel. There's a constriction at the air vent opening so the e-liquid doesn't flow out freely.
  
• I've had occasional airy/dry hits from this and the best way to remedy this is to blow into the mouthpiece in gentle, short bursts until one or two air bubbles rise through the spike plate. I figure that the extra air bubbles cause enough compression into the tank to push a little bit of liquid back into the atomizer chamber.
  

Edited October 8, 2011 by sovereign51580