Innokin Sceptre Tube
Si checks out the Innokin Sceptre Tube kit, perfect for if you like a no nonsense RDL vape or if you are a new vaper looking for a stress free set up
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by Si Davies
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Supplied by Innokin for review:
https://www.innokin.com/sceptre-tube
With the success of the Sceptre Pod kit just over a year ago, it’s interesting to see that Innokin are still supporting the coil platform with a new tube kit. The Sceptre Tube is clearly aimed to be a more starter friendly kit with no bells or whistles, but will it deliver in the all-important vape quality? We take a closer look….
Though the Sceptre Tube kit appears to be limited with only one 0.5ohm coil option, the reasoning behind this starts to become apparent later on with the performance.
Unboxing
The Sceptre MTL version was the first time we saw Innokin’s new eco-friendly packaging, and the Sceptre Tube comes packaged in the same all paper based box and padding.
18 months on and Innokin are still the leaders in environmental packaging, and it’s good to see they are continuing the trend. The main box has all the contents and basic specs printed on the back along with a scratch and check authenticity code.
The contents include; the Sceptre Tube mod (battery) and pod, a second 0.5ohm coil, a USB-C cable, a few spare pod seals, and the documents. The manual is a multilanguage pamphlet style and is very easy to follow, but to be fair there’s not much to know about operating this kit so I doubt you will need it. Everything other than the hardware can be recycled.
The kit is a simple two piece battery and pod setup. The pod comes with a 0.5ohm coil pre-installed, the mod comes with a partially charged internal 1300mAh battery, essentially you can just add e-liquid and start vaping after a few minutes (once the coil is primed).
Style wise; there isn’t a whole lot going on but tube kits are designed to be a simple and cost effective setup. The main mod (battery) has a two tone gradient finish which is semi-gloss and feels smooth to the touch. The fire button is well positioned and slightly protruding so it’s easy to find.
(The Black and Silver options are one solid colour)
On the opposite side is the USB-C charging port which is only 1 Amp so it doesn’t feature fast charging, but it doesn’t take too long to charge (around an hour from low).
The branding is fairly subtle and toned to suit the colour scheme apart from the etched compulsory markings on the base.
The pod is a magnetic fit and sits inside securely, it is designed to rotate so you can adjust the airflow and feels smooth but it is tight enough to stay in place.
The pod is quite interesting with the sliding top fill mechanism. The drip-tip is a standard 510 fitting so you can swap it for one of your choosing, the included one is okay for RDL but a bit too wide bore for tighter MTL, but this is the first clue that the Sceptre tube isn’t really aimed at pure MTL users but is a good middle ground, the 0.5ohm coil is the other clue in this.
Though the coil is a press fit, it has to be fitted into the coil adaptor first which is a screw fit. While this is far less wasteful in the amount of metal that gets thrown away, you will need to make sure you don’t accidentally throw it away with the coil (easily done as I had to rifle through the bin to retrieve mine – live and learn).
I really liked the top-fill mechanism which you just slide open to reveal the fill port, I had no issues with 10ml bottles but removing the drip tip helped for chubby shortfill bottles. Filling it up was generally mess free and easy to see the level.
Operation
Though Innokin have kept this as simple as possible, you do still have the option to adjust the power between 18 to 20 watts.
- 3 x Fire = Turns device On/Off
- 2 x Fire = Toggles power setting: LOW (Blue) 18watts and HIGH (Purple) 20watts.
That’s it! But even if you forget those simple instructions, it’s no biggie as the difference isn’t that much between the two power modes, and the default is 18watts. Turning it off and on again between vaping sessions is effortless.
The status LED light is embedded around the fire button and lets you know the power level, battery status and power On/Off process. Curiously it flashes the battery level after every vape, I’m not sure I like this feature but I didn’t really notice it that much unless I looked.
Performance
I wasn’t too sure what to expect with the performance or what style of vape (MTL or RDL) the Sceptre Tube offered, but I decided to try MTL first. The airflow was too loose with the ports exposed, but by turning the pod to fully close it off I was able to get a surprisingly decent MTL draw from it.
I found that at 18 watts and with the 0.5ohm coil, it was a bit too strong for my tastes, so I ended up opening up the airflow and started vaping RDL (Restricted Direct Lung), and I soon found that this is where the Sceptre Tube excelled. Even with 20mg nic salts, I was really enjoying the vape, full bodied flavour, warm but not too warm, and smooth. The vapour production was pretty decent for such a low wattage.
The main surprise for me was the coil life with this 0.5ohm coil. I always used the 1.2ohm coil in the original Sceptre pod and the coil lifespan was decent but not what I class as exceptional, but this 0.5ohm coil was exceptional.
I ended up switching e-liquid to a thicker 70VG/30PG to see if it could handle that, the simple answer is yes though it did affect the coil life a little when chain vaping. It’s not very often I properly hammer coils by chain vaping but it’s something I do when reviewing, the coil itself kept up without a dry hit but the coil life was noticeably shorter so I switched to 60VG/40PG e-liquid and it suited it much better. By now I had sussed what the Sceptre Tube kit was good for:
RDL, 6mg 60VG/40PG
Not only was this more suitable, but it excelled at it. I don’t recall another kit that I enjoyed RDL this much, the odd limitations of this kit started to make a lot more sense now and I’m fine with that.
Sceptre on Sceptre
Part of me thinks that this tube kit is nothing like the other Sceptre, the only thing in common is the S-Coils it takes and it only takes the 0.5ohm coil at that, there’s no auto-draw, the sceptre styling isn’t there, and it feels worlds apart to vape with.
I guess the point is the coil compatibility and a far more budget friendly starter kit, keeping the S-Coil line going can only be a good thing and a new kit should extend the availability of this coil range.
This is especially good news for me as I regularly buy S-Coils for the original Sceptre and the superb Sensis (which has just had a revamp with the Sensis EZ), I wasn’t expecting the Sceptre Tube to replace either of these and it doesn’t, however it has found a slot in-between as a superb budget friendly RDL option.
Conclusion
The Sceptre Tube kit is a bit of a strange one, limited to just 1 coil (0.5ohm S-Coil), 18-20 watts and aimed at RDL users which makes it a little niche, but with that it does excel in what it sets out to do, and the simplicity makes it a really good choice for new vapers and the budget friendly price makes it an even safer bet.
It should also appeal to MTL users that prefer a higher wattage and airier draw, I tend to use 20mg nic salts but this kit will suit something like 6mg freebase e-liquid. The simplicity, price and compact size makes it a rather decent little tube kit. There’s little to no innovation, but generally tube kits are designed this way to be simple and convenient.
Pros
- Compact and pocket friendly
- 0.5ohm S-Coil performs flawlessly in this kit
- Slide top-fill
- Flavour
- Ideal for RDL
- Budget friendly
- Easy starter kit
- 510 drip-tip
Cons
- Quite niche limitations (0.5ohm 18-20watts)
Final Thoughts
I’ve arrived at the end of this review liking the Sceptre Tube kit a whole lot more than I had expected. I have quite a few tube kits but this one really found its place for RDL and uses the superb S-Coils. The proof of the pudding and all that; I will be using this one well beyond the review period.
Scoring is going to be tricky, but if I take it at face value as an affordable basic starter tube kit, then it starts to score well.
Score: 8.5/10
Si Davies
Reviewer at POTVMy background is Engineering and Professional Photography. Mostly from POTV users knowledge I learned so much about pretty much all styles of vaping and equipment, Cloud Chasing, Squonking, Mouth To Lung, Direct To Lung, Pods, Mechs, Rebuild-able tanks and atomisers etc, and have experience with many many devices and atomisers, it's become a hobby and enjoy trying out the latest gear. I like to think my reviews are plain speaking and informative without getting too technical, if I have to resort to reading the manual then I don't consider it user friendly!
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