Over the past two weeks of my review period for the ADVKEN Manta Sub-Ohm Tank I’ve heard people say everything from it was “weird looking” to “just gorgeous”. While the photos in the review accurately portray what the tank looks like, you have to actually hold it, or attach to a mod of your choosing, before you should make up your mind. I think it is one of the most attractive, well-constructed, tanks of 2018. Looks will get you through the door, but what really counts is not so much what it looks like, but rather how well it vapes. Read on for my experience with Advken Manta sub-ohm and my Lost Vape Triade DNA250C. (review for the Triade here)

The ADVKEN Manta Mesh Sub-Ohm Tank is 24mm in diameter at the base, 30mm at its widest point (the bubble glass section), with a 4.5ml e-liquid capacity. Like most sub-ohm tanks these past months, it uses a mesh style Kanthal heating material that ‘should’ provide the excellent flavor without sacrificing vapor volume.

The Manta uses a sliding top cap filling system. The beautiful 810 Irregular Hexagon Pattern Resin Drip Tip fits snug with zero gap between the drip tip and top cap.

When you buy the Advken Manta you’ll receive a preinstalled 0.2-ohm Kanthal Mesh Coil Head, and a 0.16-ohm Kanthal Coil Head as a spare. (more on the coils in a bit). The bubble glass section comes in a standard clear bubble glass (as the spare) and an irregular hexagon pattern resin tube to match that aforementioned 9mm wide 810 drip tip.

The Manta is available in Black or Stainless Steel. My review unit is the Black model. While the black hexagon pattern resin is downright gorgeous, it does hamper my ability to detect the juice level. The spare, clear with a slight rainbow sheen to it, is easier to see how much eJuice is left in the tank, but it’s not nearly as sexy as the black one.

The ADVKEN Manta Mesh Replacement Coils come in five (5) packs. You have the choice between the 0.16-ohm, which has a range of 60 to 80W, (my optimal wattage is 68W) and the 0.2-ohm, with a wattage range of 50 to 70W (my optimal wattage for this coil is just 62W).

The ADVKEN Manta Mesh Replacement Coil uses a single mesh coil surrounded by organic cotton. Mesh coils are built in a way that provides a huge surface area for the eliquid to come into contact with, and when the current from the mod reaches the mesh coil it produces an excellent flavor and big clouds with little effort. The break in period for these coils are very fast. I was at optimal flavor and vapor in under 5 minutes.

ADVKEN Manta Mesh Coil Specs:

• Manta Sub-Ohm Tank Coil Family
  • 0.2-ohm Mesh Coil Heads
    • 50 to 70W Recommended Range
  • 0.16-ohm Mesh Coil Heads
    • 60 to 80W Recommended Range
  • Compatible with:
    • Dominator Tank Replacement Coils
    • TFV8 Baby Beast Replacement Coils
    • NRG Tank Replacement Coils

As it indicates above, the ADVKEN Manta can also accommodate both TFV8 Baby Coils from SMOK, as well as Vaporesso NRG coils. If you choose to use either of these coils you can expect a slightly less flavorful experience.

Don’t get me wrong though; both the NRG and SMOK Baby coils are fine, and they serve their respective sub-ohm tanks well, but after extensive use with the ADKVEN Mesh coils and the others, the flavor fidelity came easier with the ADKVEN, and the vapor production was just about equal. The biggest plus to the ADKVEN Mesh coils is a longer coil life, at least in my experience anyway. You can read our reviews for the Vaporesso NRG Tank HERE and gain some perspective on the TFV8 Baby Coils in THIS review. Note* The SMOK TFV8 Baby V2 Coils may or may not be compatible. I didn’t have any on hand to check.

The Manta Sub-Ohm Tank has dual airflow slots, but each ‘slot’ consists of 3 holes for a total of 6 slots. ADKVEN markets the tank as having 6 airflow slots, but in reality, when the user turns the base to adjust the airflow there is only 3 usable settings since the adjustment rings moves as ‘one’, you can’t close up 2 holes on one slot and 1 on the other. Sounds confusing, but it isn’t. The takeaway is the Manta airflow system works really well and allows for just about any ‘draw’ the user might want, from airy to MTL.  Each of the dual airflow slots are 5mm by 2mm, set up as two groups of three per side. See? Easy Peasy.

This ADKVEN Manta Sub-Ohm is constructed of a combination of Quality Resin, High Grade Stainless-Steel, and Thick Borosilicate Glass. Borosilicate glass is a type of glass made with silica and boron trioxide. Borosilicate glass is known for having very low coefficients of thermal expansion, making them resistant to thermal shock. What this means is that high wattage vaping won’t cause the glass to get too hot, or shatter.

The ADVKEN Manta Mesh Sub-Ohm Tank is an excellent tank with adequate eJuice capacity, (though I’d love to see a larger version) and will provide the user with a profound amount of vapor clouds and true flavor authenticity from just about any eJuice, though these types of tanks are made for 70/30 VG/PG or higher blends.

2018 has been a banner year for the Sub-Ohm Tank, and in mid-December we’ll be adding the Manta, as well as a few others, like the recently reviewed VSTICKING VMESH to our Best Cloud Chasers list. As a Flavor tank, the Manta passes with flying colors, as long as it’s using the Manta Mesh Coils.

Lastly, the packaging for the Manta is beyond most others. Included is a Doctor Coil Spare Parts Bag and One Microfiber Cleaning Cloth. Now, that’s a nice touch.

When I was given the opportunity to review the ADVKEN Manta I took one look at it and I hoped beyond hope that the performance matched the sleek sexy appearance. It did, it does, and I’ve since placed an order for two more to add to my collection, along with several packs of Manta Mesh Coil Heads.

If you’re one of the Vapers that sees the Manta as “weird looking” then it’s probably not for you. But, if you see the photos and your gut tells you this is one sexy beast, go with your gut. I love this tank for both its look and its performance. Best of all, it looks great on all of the mods I’ve tried it on.

SCORE: A