Aesthetics of Vaping Part 2 The Golden Rainbow

My last column on vaping aesthetics has been the most read column I’ve written in 5+ years. When Dave showed me the number I was shocked. Happy, yes, but shocked as well. I had no idea that there were so many other vapers out there that are interested in the aesthetics of vaping. Naturally, my column needed a sequel. In fact, as long as the audience holds out, perhaps a monthly look at the new aesthetics in the newest vape gear is in order.

Gold Means Limited Edition, Sometimes…

While It’s been some time since the following box mods were released, and reviewed by Spinfuel VAPE, new editions have been released with a gorgeous GOLD finish, breathing new life into this marvelous mods, and causing many fence-sitters to finally take the plunge. Before I discuss the details, I think a paragraph or two about ‘color’ and the Chinese is in order.

Every culture on the planet has their unique idea about color. For the Chinese culture, their perspective of certain colors is very different than ours. If you’ve been vaping for a while you might remember that when a Chinese manufacturer released a mod in the color ‘red’ it often looked like hot pink. Blue looked Teal, green looked like lime green, and so on. Thankfully, the manufacturers adopted the western perspective on color, and now, mods and tanks ship in colors we understand. Reds are deep, rich reads, Blues are deep blue, royal blue, or bronze blue, and green is now a deep, luscious, Ireland countryside green.

In the past, Chinese manufacturers shipped mods with gold finishes that often looked more yellow than gold. Today, Chinese manufacturers paint their gold mods and tanks in a gold that oozes rich, luxurious, GOLD. A gold finish that makes every mod look “special”, or at the very least, “a limited edition” look and feel, even if that product’s color is not a limited edition.

Below are a few box mods I recently repurchased in gold. These box mods are currently in my vape gear rotation. In their own right, these SMOK products are spectacular. Powerful, very well made, and very, very beautiful (for vape gear). CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE

SMOK G PRIV – $74.95 – Element Vape

The SMOK G PRIV Gold Edition (Dual Hi-Amp 18650) was released with the Gold finish on day one. Unlike the others in this list, SMOK chose to release a black/red, silver/black, and gold/black. Prior to picking up the gold/black edition I owned the black/red model, the most common color combination for the G PRIV and most other SMOK box mods. It was only after buying the SMOK H PRIV Pro in Gold that I decided to go back and pick up the Gold G Priv.

Element Vape carries the SMOK G Priv mod, not the G Priv Kit  that Vapor Authority sells, but not in the Gold Edition.

The SMOK G-Priv is SMOK’s Touchscreen box mod with a maximum wattage output of 220W, full Temperature Control, and all the rest of the goodies that come with a modern SMOK box mod. The “Kit” edition includes the Gold SMOK Big Baby Sub-Ohm Tank.

SMOK H-PRIV Pro  – $59.95 Element Vape – And  SMOK H-PRIV Pro At MyVaporstore for $64.95 

The SMOK H-Priv Gold Edition (Dual Hi-Amp 18650) uses the same internal technology that the G-Priv uses, except for the touchscreen technology of course. 220W of maximum output, Temperature Control, and all the safety features of the modern box mod.

The SMOK H-Priv uses the term “Pro” to indicate that the package includes a SMOK Big Baby Sub-Ohm tank. In the Gold edition, the Big Baby is also Gold.

SMOK Marshal G320 TC Kit – $74.95 Element Vape

The SMOK Marshal G320 Gold Edition (Triple Hi-Amp 18650) yields a massive 320 watts of power, full Temperature Control, and all the features of the other SMOK mods above, including the safety protections. The Kit version ships with the SMOK Big Baby Sub-Ohm tank as well.

The Marshal G320 is my latest acquisition of the Gold SMOK mods, and after seeing how beautiful the other Gold editions were, I had to add it to my collection.

SMOK Sub-Ohm Tanks

My favorite sub-ohm tanks for the style of vaping I like (Direct Lung), are the TFV8 series are all available in various colors, some of the colors are only available in the Kits, such as the SMOK Marshal G320 in purple. The GX350 ships with the full blown SMOK TFV8 Cloud Beast, while the others ship with the Big Baby. So far, I cannot find the GX350 in the Gold Edition, but I have hopes I’ll find it soon enough. When it arrive, I’ll be there. Element Vape offers the GX350 Mod-Only for $69.95 – and Vapor Authority has the full Kit model for $99.99. I need to ask Element Vape why don’t have the Kit edition in stock, or the Gold edition as well.

SMOK TFV8 At Element Vape

Element Vape has fantastic prices on all their products, including the SMOK TFV8 and TFV12 tanks. Below are a list of the tanks I picked up in the past couple of weeks through Element Vape.

TFV8 Big Baby – Rainbow – $25.95 ($2 premium for the Rainbow finish)

TFV8 Baby Beast – Rainbow – $20.95 ($2 premium for the Rainbow finish)

TFV8 Cloud Beast – Rainbow – $34.95 ($5 premium on the Rainbow finish)

TFV8 Cloud Beast King – Rainbow – $42.95 ($3 premium for the Rainbow finish)

Vaping the SMOK Rainbow

Of all the color choices for the SMOK TFV8 and TFV12 (the TFV12 colors are slowly beginning to show up. So far, all I could find is the Stainless Steel, released first, followed by the Black, released just last week), Rainbow finish is the one that is almost impossible to photograph.

When I decided to collect all the TFV8 models in all the available colors, as I did back in 2012-2013 with the large collection of the SMOK ZMAX in as many colors as I could find (I still have them all)  I had to include the Rainbow finish despite not liking any photograph I’d seen. I’m glad I did because instead of being “cheesy”, the Rainbow finish is literally magical.

The thing with the way in which SMOK has laid in the Rainbow finish is that no matter how

Take a look at the photo to the right. This is the SMOK Alien Kit in Rainbow. The Rainbow accent on the black Alien mod? It’s as unique as the Rainbow TFV8’s I’ve collected. No two are ‘exactly’ the same, which is what draws me to them.

I had hoped to offer up my opinion on the SMOK Alien Stormtrooper edition (see photo) after some serious vaping with it. While the difference between the normal “white” Alien and the Stormtrooper edition is the color accent strip (red for the normal edition, black for the Stormtrooper edition) and a black SMOK Baby Beast instead of the stainless steel, it’s still a must-have for this obsessive collector. So far, I cannot find the Stormtrooper in stock anywhere.

Each week I set aside a little money and search for a new color of TFV8 or TFV12 sub-ohm tank for vaping my favorite vape juice, or I look for new Gold edition mods. The most prized addition to my collection would be the mysterious Rainbow edition of the SMOK GX350. I’ve included a photo of it here. This is an official SMOK product shot, but apparently at the last minute SMOK held back on releasing it.

I have it on good authority, however, that SMOK made many Rainbow GX350 Kits, so I will continue to search for one that may have escaped the SMOK factory. Or, who knows? Perhaps SMOK will decide to release it. Looking at the photo, don’t you just lust for it?

SMOK isn’t the only manufacturer in our industry to release special editions, limited editions, or esoteric colors, but they are the best company doing it. The people that makes the decisions at SMOK have the right sensibilities when it comes to color choices, and especially the ‘shades’ of colors they choose to release. They also design most of my favorite devices.

Conclusion

Naturally, the addition of new colors or finishes on previously available vaping gear is to goose sales. I’m okay with that, I like to use different mods, tanks, and the colors they come in.

The new Aesthetics of Vaping are about the unique baby designs of mods like the Nebula or Innokin Kroma, but it’s also about the unique colors. Our choices in the past were mostly stainless steel or black mods and tanks, with the occasional weird shade of a primary color, and now the vape gear we can use is all about choices, marvelous, beautiful, choices in design and color.

So, dear readers, what do you think of all these new choices in colors and designs? Which colors are your favorite? Is there a product out there that you would love to see in a special color or finish? Shout out in the comments, I’d love to know what you think.

 

Julia Hartley-Barnes