Arctic V8 and Arctic V8 Mini Review

Horizon Arctic V8 Sub-Ohm Tank 4mL – $28.00

Horizon Arctic V8 Sub-Ohm Tank – MINI – 3mL – $25.95

Available at MyVaporStore

 With each new Sub-Ohm Tank review we see more and more similarities. Any past problem concerning vapor production or decent flavors have, pretty much, disappeared. All the newer tanks produce tremendous vapor. Flavor, while decent enough on most tanks, still varies widely from tank to tank. The new Arctic V8 and V8 Mini have many common traits of other sub-ohm tanks, and a few that are specific to this tank. We’ll try to cover them all, and in the end, we’ll let you know the  answer we suspect you may be asking; Is this a tank we would spend money on?

The Arctic V8 and V8 Mini separates from the pack with its extraordinary choices of prebuilt coil heads. The Arctic V8’s offers pre-made coils in single, dual, quad, nickel and octuplet styles, each built for maximum flavor and vapor production. For this review we spent 2 hours vaping with each available coil, using a High VG eliquid we have used for months. We know what it’s supposed to taste like, and we know how much vapor its capable of producing, so while using each coil head we compared the performance to what we normally expect from this juice.

Construction and Materials

The Arctic V8 and Mini V8 uses 304 stainless steel (Kitchen grade) in its construction along with a large high quality glass tube with a 4ml capacity, and 3 mL capacity for the Mini V8. The lines are straight, elegant, and polished. There is no extravagant knurling anywhere, save for the base of the tanks, the rest is all shiny and clean. The mouthpiece, aka, Drip Tip is a wide-bore, but not overly wide, and the top cap can accommodate other, more natural drip tips should you want to replace it. The V8 and Mini 8 are available in Stainless Steel, Black, and Gold.

Feature Highlights

Top Fill – Both the Arctic V8 and V8 Mini are top-fill tanks. Remove the top cap to reveal an inner cap with a nice sized curved slot for easy filling and refilling.

Airflow – The Arctic V8 and V8 Mini have adjustable airflow valves that you’ve seen a hundred times before. The adjustments are smooth, precise, and allow you to customize the airflow to fit the firmness of the drag you’re looking for at the time.  The Arctic V8 and V8 Mini also have a new feature that is, in essence,  a spiral splash-proof vent that helps reduce and spit-back issues. The effectiveness of any spit-back issue is only as good as the user, so proper filling and handling will reduce spit-back, but sloppy filling, getting eliquid where it shouldn’t be, is a sure fire way of preventing a spit-back scheme from working as it should.

Overall Performance

The most obvious performance highlight is the amount of power the V8 and V8 Mini can take. All the different coil heads can take quite of bit of power without producing vapor that is too hot, and using the airflow slots are their maximum opening allows for cooler vapor, which in turn allows for even more power.

Standard Coil Heads

The Arctic V8 and Mini come with the V2 coil, 0.5-ohm, and the V4 (preinstalled) at 0.2-ohm. We’ll discuss these two coil heads first as these will be the most likely coils you’ll use when you buy the tank. All the other coil options are purchased separately.

Artic V8 V2 – Dual Coil – The V2 is a dual coil Kanthal A1 wire coil head. It features an innovative design, with integrated Kanthal wires with Bottom Vertical Dual Coil structure with a maximum wattage of 80 watts. Kanthal heating elements are truly reliable and deliver consistent flavor and vapor production. The Arctic V8 V2 Coil Heads are constructed with surprisingly high quality, constructed with high quality stainless steel and 100% organic cotton.

Sold for around $20 for a 5-pack, these coil heads seem to work best with a High VG eliquid at 60-watts, although I was able to vape at 80-watts for a few minutes. 80 watts doesn’t burn the cotton or overheat the tank, but the vapor is just a little too hot for me to enjoy. Of course, the Kanthal A1 wire produces the best flavor, for my preferences with my favorite eliquid, but you might find other metals reflect a better flavor for you. In my opinion, the V2 is fine coil head for every day use.

Arctic V8 V4 Quad Coil – The V4 Quad coil is also a Kanthal A1 wire heating element coil head, but with twice of the number of coils.  The new Arctic V4 Coil is also a part of Horizon’s new integrated V Coil System. The V4 has a unique coil structure where it uses 4 coils in a Clapton-style heating wire, all the while being in a vertical position. This coil has a resistance of 0.2 ohm, with a range of 60 watts to a monstrous 150 watts. When using this coil, make sure the device you’re using is capable of handling this kind of power. The most noticeable aspect of this coil head is how easily you can vape with it and still get humongous vapor. The flavor is awesome, very heavy and dense flavor with it.

Vaping at 60-watts barely begins to test the mettle of this particular coil head, and its upward of 80w where it begins to produce superior flavor and wicked vapor. For the first time ever I was able to vape a prebuilt coil head above the 100-watts threshold. I was comfortably vaping at 110-watts with warm, but not overly warm, vapor and super flavor. Like the V2, I was able to manage the 150-watts on a SX Reuleaux with fully charged batteries, for a few minutes, and using the iStick TC100W I managed to get quite a good vape when maxed out, but I felt it could do more with a higher wattage device. That was surprising, seeing as how I seldom pushed the iStick past 70-watts before now.

Other Coils Available for the Arctic V8 and V8 Mini

The V8 Bottom Vertical Octuplet Coil

The V8 Coil is also part of Horizon’s new integrated V Coil System, of course, and offers a crazy level of performance when matched with a mod that can handle it.

Like the V4, the V8 Coil uses the same high performance coil structure, but instead uses regular Kanthal heating wire but not in a Clapton-style build. Inside this coil head is a total of 8 coils that have are positioned vertically.

This coil has a resistance of 0.2 ohm, which allows a range of 60 watts to 130 watts. The flavor from this coil was pretty much the same as the V2 and the V4, and the vapor production was very similar to the V4. The major difference, if there is one, is how fast you can vaporize eliquid and drain your battery. To my mind, the V8 Bottom Vertical Octuplet Coil is more hype than improvement. Well, except for one thing, when using this coil with the Arctic V8, pressing the fire button on something like a DNA200 mod, the vapor ramps up on par with quad coil setups, but it takes barely a breathing motion to start the flow of vapor. A huge lung hit is only possible for me with a Max VG eliquid and a slow inhale.

Ni200 Coil Head

These temperature sensing coil heads uses integrated Ni200 Nickel wires in a Bottom Vertical Single Coil structure capable of firing down to 0.2ohm with a temperature range of 212 to 572 degrees Fahrenheit. This coil head is constructed with the same integrated superior stainless steel exterior and 100% organic cotton as the other Arctic V8 and V8 Mini coil heads.

When vaping with Ni200 or any other temperature sensing wire I insist on having adjustable wattage capability while in TC mode. That being the case I found this single coil Ni200 coil head worked best at 40-watts and 560 degrees. Performance was excellent, but nothing that isn’t seen in other Ni200 coil heads. Here the tank itself makes all the difference. The airflow system when combined with the nickel coil wire produced excellent flavor and vapor production. If you’re looking to get more mileage out of your Arctic V8 and/or V8 Mini, these Ni200 coil heads will certainly get you in the TC game.

Horizon Arctic V8 Ni200 TC Coil Head Features:

• 0.2ohm (212-572F)
• Bottom Vertical Single Coil
• Ni200 Nickel Heating Elements
• Temperature Control Capability
• Pre-Built with Japanese Organic Cotton
• Stainless Steel Construction

Speciality Coils For the Arctic V8 and V8 Mini

Snake Coils

Specialty coil heads are now available for the Arctic V8 and V8 Mini, and they include the Bottom Vertical Snake Coil, using Kanthal wire, Japanese Organic Cotton, and rated at 0.3ohm. The Wattage Range is a nice 40W – 70W.

A snake coil is exactly what they seem; coils wrapped like a coiled snake. Snake coils are custom designed for the Horizon Arctic V8 Mini & Arctic V8 tanks.

Snake coils are flat, and twisted around round Kanthal coils with Japanese organic cotton for wicking. They are 0.3ohm in resistance, with a recommended wattage range of 40-70W.

Tiger Coils

Next up is the Bottom Vertical Tiger Coil. Once again, a Kanthal wire coil head, with Japanese Organic Cotton, a 0.3ohm ratting, and has a Wattage Range of 60W to 80W.

Characteristics:

 The Tiger Coil produces a heavy flavor and vapor, but with a little cooler vapor.   

It contains small juice channels that are formed by the twists of ribbon wire.

Surface area is increased and the resistance is only incrementally increased, when compared with a single strand non-twisted coil.  Cooler vapor, major flavor is the main appeal of a Tiger Coil.

HIVE Coils

Lastly, there is the Bottom Vertical Hive Coil, a Kanthal Wire coil head, Japanese Organic Cotton, and a 0.350hm rating. The Wattage Range for this HIVE coil is a huge 80W – 120W.

Characteristics include:

Huge Clouds and intense flavor

Small juice channels formed with many twists of this Kanthal A1 wire, the surface area is doubled when compared to that of a Quad Twist

The large surface area contributes to the incredible flavor and vapor production. The Ohms are somewhat lower as a rule with Hives, lower gauge wires are also thick.

Conclusion

The Arctic V8 and Arctic V8 Mini are definitely the first “Tank system” we’ve reviewed, and from the 10 days of using this tank we come away impressed. Is it the Best Tank Ever? No, but we’re getting there. It is certainly the most versatile tank system on the market. There are coil heads for any occasion, and they all perform excellently.

What makes this tank worth buying are the options. Lots of coil builders talk about specialty coils and it takes a lot of time and practice to master them. With the Arctic V8 and V8 Mini, Horizon offers these speciality coils already made and built into a replaceable coil head. For that reason alone, it’s worth picking one up for your tank collection.

Although other staffers here have the Arctic V8 and the Mini V8 in Stainless Steel, Tom and I highly recommend the black one, by far. It’s the same tank, naturally, but the black color really makes the laser-engraved logo stand out, and the coated drip tip increases the heat dissipation even more. Not only that, but it looks a lot better sitting atop various powerful mods. Oh, and one more thing; in black, this tank is easier to use an all day tank, something John insisted we add to this review 😉

Recommendation: Good looks, nice price tag, high quality materials, and an abundance of coil options, the Arctic V8 and V8 Mini offer performance and value. This is a tank for any sub-ohm vaper. Is this a tank we would spend money on?

YES!

Pick one up at MyVaporStore.

Tom McBride and Julia Hartley-Barnes

Arctic V8 and V8 Mini Features and Specs:

• Dimensions: 2-3/4″ x 7/8″ (Including Threads and Drip Tip)
• 22mm Diameter
• 510 Threaded
• Top filled design
• 4ml Tank Capacity – 3mL Capacity for V8 Mini
• Adjustable Airflow Control Valve
• Stainless Steel Construction
• Glass Tank
• Spiral Splash-Proof Vent
• Compatible with Single, Dual, Quad, Octuplet, and Nickel Style Arctic V8 Atomizer Heads
• Organic Japanese Cotton
• Optional RTA Kit (Sold Separately)
• Insulated Drip Tip

Replacement Coil / Atomizer Head for Horizon Arctic V8 and Horizon Arctic V8 Mini

Quad V4 (Clapton)

Bottom Vertical Quad Coil V4 – Clapton Wire / Japanese Organic Cotton – 0.2ohm Wattage Range: 60W – 150W (Recommended: 80W – 100W) – 0.5ohm Wattage Range: 60W – 140W (Recommended: 70W – 90W)

Octuplet V8

Bottom Vertical Octuplet Coil V8 – Kanthal Wire / Japanese Organic Cotton – 0.2ohm Wattage Range: 60W – 130W (Recommended: 60W – 80W)

Ni200

Bottom Vertical TC Ni200 Coil – Nickel Wire / Japanese Organic Cotton – 0.2ohm Temperature Control Range: 212F – 572F