STEAM CRAVE GLAZ MINI MTL RTA 23mm
The Steam Crave Glaz Mini MTL RTA 23mm, could it be the best MTL RTA of 2019? All will be revealed in our review!
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by Si Davies
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Purchased from Egicone: (Check for current discounts)
https://www.ecigone.co.uk/steam-crave-glaz-mini-mtl-rta-23mm
RRP = £39.99
**I am going to attempt yet again to keep this as simple as I can rather than waffle on about its features, specs etc.**
Steam Crave Glaz Mini MTL RTA is a 23mm diameter rebuildable tank atomizer with 2.0ml e-juice capacity with an extension option making it 5ml.
The innovative glass chamber claims to enhance the flavour. It has top refilling, adjustable bottom airflow, and single coil build-deck.
In a Nutshell
The Glaz Mini MTL RTA 23mm is a fantastic tank. Steam Crave have absolutely nailed it with its innovative airflow and amazing flavour. It's easy to build and wick and, despite some stiff competition, this is the best MTL RTA of 2019. The only main flaw is its 23mm size overhangs most 22mm mods and I had a tough time matching it up.
FEATURES
WHAT'S IN THE BOX
- 1x Glaz Mini RTA 2.0ml
- 1x Spare Glass Heating Chamber
- 1x Spare O-rings & Screws
- 1x 3ml Extension
- 1x Spare 2.0ml Glass
- 1x Steamcrave Sticker
- 1x Tri Tool
- 1x User Manual
Unboxing
Nothing remarkable with the traditional Steamcrave packaging, it has a flip lid opening with a red felt insert holding everything you need:
I’m really pleased they included both inner and outer spare glass pieces. The only things missing are coils and cotton which is common with Steam Crave tanks.
Stripdown
Typical of Steam Crave, the Glaz has many parts. It is very similar to the Aromamizer range but the main difference is the glass inner chamber encased in a cage component.
It looks complex while stripped down but it is very easy to assemble. With superb quality machining along with intuitive assembly, you can’t really go wrong as long as you ensure the silicone seals are in place.
Build Deck
Ingenious yet simple, the build deck is very well thought out. The four hole airflow is one of the contributing factors to its flavour and smooth draw. The coil posts are nothing new but very well constructed and trap coils in place perfectly.
I chose to use one of my favourite MTL coils by Vandy Vape, Ni80 Fused Clapton 1.2 Ohms 2.6mm inside diameter. There appears to be room for a 3mm diameter coil which is a nice option. Fitting the coil was a breeze, the post screws retain the legs inside a notch which is machined to the perfect width for the screw so no annoying legs popping out as you tighten.
Trimming the legs has the option to pull them along a notch to ensure it doesn't foul on the inner chamber. Being glass, there is no issue of causing a short but you do need to trim them close as not to scratch the it.
**TIP**
My chosen build turned out NOT to be the best option. It was good, but my trusty old 28g Ni80 round wire wrapped 2.5mm inside diameter at 1.2 Ohms actually performed much better and allowed slight spacing.
Wicking
The key to wicking is not to stuff the wicking ports full of cotton, you only need to rest enough about half way down. As a guide, you should just see your cotton through the juice intake hole. Also make sure it’s not too tight, with 2.5 diameter I didn’t need to thin out the cotton but a 3mm coil will likely need to be thinned.
Once you have finished, all that’s left to do is prime your coil/wick with your chosen juice, assemble then fill up the tank. Filling is another pro due to four filling ports which eliminates any airlocks. Closing the top cap is smooth and faff free, it’s a screw on style but takes little effort to centre it.
Before I talk about performance, the elephant in the room is the 23mm diameter. This made finding a mod to suit it quite a challenge. I have a touch of OCD and overhang irritates me. Most of my suitable MTL mods are made for 22mm tanks, I tried the Glaz on several and all though the overhang is only 0.5mm, it still stood out (especially on a pen mod). I eventually found a few options:
Ironically, the worst purchase of 2019 turned out to be a good option, the iJoy Diamond Pod system. The pods were f**king dreadful and leaked, fortunately the mod had a 510 connection along with variable voltage/wattage and worked a charm. There is a little overhang but the bulging shape hides it well and it feels perfect in the hand.
My next option (and favourite) was my oldest trustworthy mod, the Arc Pico Grande (which is an Eleaf Pico Grande rebranded). It suited the mod and the slightest of overhang actually looked deliberate to adjust the airflow.
The only perfect fit I found was the Eleaf iStick 50W. If I had the black Glaz, it would have looked like it was made for it as a kit.
Most of the other mods I tried that took 24mm or larger tanks on just looked plain wrong. Obviously I don’t have every mod out there but I have quite a lot. You might have something ideal in your collection but it is worth considering. Also the colour is another consideration, I would have had more options if I bought the stainless steel version.
RIGHT my picky OCD out of the way, onto the performance…….
As mentioned earlier, my first build didn’t turn out to be ideal. I was still impressed but it didn't have the ‘Wow’ factor I was kind of expecting. I could just tell that my chosen coil wasn’t right for this tank so I stripped it down after vaping it for a while and rebuilt it with a 1.1 Ohm Ni80 28g plain wire (7 or 8 wraps from memory), rewicked and filled her up again, then whoop - this dog bites! Even before the coil and cotton bedded in, the flavour and draw impressed me big time.
It only got better as it broke in and I tweaked airflow and power. The airflow control ring has four options from very tight to loose MTL. I tried to DTL draw on the widest option–no chance! This is a pure MTL tank and all the better for it, the tightest airflow is sublime.
It’s all too easy to get over excited with new shiny gear, and a fresh build is always pleasurable, so I tried not to get too carried away with my initial thoughts and tested a few juices from freebase to nic salts. I also flipped between my current favourite MTL RTAs and Pods/AIOs. After a while, I came to the conclusion that this was a clear winner. The only thing to beat it for flavour was the Aegis Boost AIO with the 0.6 Ohm coil, but the airflow and draw was far more pleasurable with the Glaz. Overall, I would go as far as to say it really is the best MTL RTA I have experienced. I thought I had already found the best MTL Top 3 for 2019, but this jumped the queue right to the top.
Juice flow is superb and keeps up with chain vaping easily. There is no leaking. The wicking and coil life also lasts longer than my other favourite RTAs. I have ended up having to lower my nicotine level from 20mg nic salts to 10mg as I couldn’t put it down. I also like how you can see your wick through the clear chamber. The hybrid 510 drip tip is pretty good though it’s very ‘Berserker-like’ and doesn’t quite match the tanks styling by adding a third colour into the mix (Unless you get the Black version). That said, I haven’t felt the need to swap it.
I prefer the ‘shorty’ 2ml configuration, purely aesthetics wise, as I really couldn’t tell the difference in flavour with the 5ml extension fitted. This surprised me as the vapour needs to travel further. The 2ml configuration also has no branding on display whereas the extension is engraved. The branding isn’t bad at all and I’m sure I will use the 5ml occasionally.
Conclusion
Steam Crave have come up trumps (not in a Donald way!) with this simply amazing MTL RTA. Any niggles I have about it are simply forgotten due to its performance and flavour. If you enjoy MTL (Mouth To Lung), then this is a must have tank to add to your arsenal. Trust me, you won’t regret it. The Glaz MTL is clearly the best MTL RTA of 2019 for me. I’m resisting saying the best of all time, but it is right up there (excluding high end/high price tanks).
Pros
- Pure intense MTL flavour
- High quality construction
- Good range of airflow adjustment from tight to loose
- 2ml and 5ml configurations
- Glass inner chamber
- Innovative design
- Contemporary styling
- Grippy knurling on fill cap and airflow ring
- Spares
- High end performance at an affordable price
- Fast wicking
- Easy to build and wick
- Flavour, Flavour and FLAVOUR!
Big cons, little cons, cardboard box…………..
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23mm is a mm too far.
That really is my only main con. Sure I could nit pick (one isn’t enough, no coils or cotton, drip tip maybe?), but the bottom line is not even the 23mm bothers me in the slightest once you experience how this RTA performs. I wouldn’t resent buying a mod to suit this tank as it’s that good.
Score 9/10 – BEST MTL RTA of 2019
(It would have scored 9.5/10 if it was 22mm)
More reviews:
https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/reviews
Or visit the forum for a complete list of my reviews
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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