Technology & Culture

Subohms and the SUBOX – The future of vaping?

Failure rates for successful smoking quit attempts using an ecig has been linked to a poor vape experience. Has Kangertech broken new ground in solving this?

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The Planet of the Vapes forum and social media platforms buzzed with the news of the impending launch of the SUBOX Mini Starter Kit. Surely something that excites dyed-in-the-wool vapers has to be great news for the community and smokers looking to switch?

Cloning and people wanting to “subohm” are the two issues guaranteed to raise polarised opinions within the vaping community. The development of tanks using 0.5Ω coils took off towards the end of 2014 and attracted many experienced vapers as well as people new to vaping.

The key feature was the ease of use; dropping a premade head into a tank to produce a rewarding vape and pronounced nicotine hit held mass appeal. Chinese manufacturers, ever able to spot a trend, set to developing this market sector. Kangertech enjoyed success with the three versions of its Subtank and the Kbox was warmly welcomed due to the incredibly low price. The imminent Subox kit appears set to take the marketplace by storm.

Video by POTV member Pauly Meatballs

One of the amazing aspects to the kit was the news of the selling price, around the £50 mark in the UK and available direct from China for a little as the mid £30s. Considering the Subtank Mini already sells for about £25 it makes the whole kit an attractive proposition for new vapers and affordable for experienced people to augment their collection.

Despite initially releasing some rather dubious images featuring the Subox juxtaposed with guns (as if vaping didn’t have an image problem already), Kangertech have done an incredible job of whipping up interest; the striking black or white appealing to current Subtank owners and those yet to buy alike.

The initial run of Subtank Plus had reports of o-ring issues, which were then addressed by the company. It is unfortunate that a number of preview videos have highlighted a problem with the ceramic coating on the white Minis. At this moment in time there is no indication if this is a preproduction matter or whether once cleaned the flaking persists.

The other area of concern to some is that the budget 60W mod doesn’t have a floating or adjustable 510 pin. Kangertech designed the unit to be used solely with the Subtank, eliminating the need for an adjustable connection – when considered in this light the design makes sense although it will put off some buyers who prefer to mix and match atomisers and mods.

Further, the closed system of this pack addresses fears that some may use subohm atomisers on inappropriate mods and place themselves at risk. Kanger advise: “Customers need to choose suitable 18650 cell and the corresponding charger. The cell output should be 20A or above.”

Do you think this defines the future of vaping? Will you be buying one? Be sure to check out our Vendor section on the forum and the Discounts page.

Dave Cross avatar

Dave Cross

Journalist at POTV
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Dave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous vape companies to develop content for their websites.

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