Aspire Nautilus Review

Aspire Nautilus Glassomizer – $33.99

by John Manzione – There is a war raging between Kanger, Vision, Innokin, and Aspire (or Aspire’s parent company). It’s the Clearomizer War, and it is a battle for dominance. On what seems to be a monthly basis now, the aforementioned companies are releasing increasingly sophisticated clearomizers, playing leap-frog over each over with abandon.

Last month everyone in the biz was talking about the Kanger AeroTank and its magnificence as the best thing to happen to clearomizers, and therefore vapers, in years. Now, a new King of the Hill presents itself, the Aspire Nautilus, and let me tell you, this mother of a clearomizer comes ready to rumble. Is the war now over? Don’t bet on it. But right now, Aspire has clearly won the most recent battle.

 

A Nautilus by any other name…

The Aspire Nautilus goes by various names, depending on where you are and where you’re buying it. Looking to pick up several of these from a wholesaler I’ve seen them called the Aspire Nautilus Glassomizer, Aspire Nautilus Clearomizer, and the Aspire Nautilus BDC (Bottom Dual Coil). For this review I’m going to call it simply the Aspire Nautilus, or ‘Nautilus’, despite the kind folks at Vapor Authority (on sale now for $29.99!) calling it the GENUINE ASPIRE™ NAUTILUS BDC GLASSOMIZER. It was Vapor Authority who were kind enough to send one our way.

Is The Nautilus The New Standard?

Is the Aspire Nautilus setting a new standard for Pyrex tanks with an adjustable airflow? Or, among experienced vapers (and newbies as well), is the Nautilus a step too far? Let’s talk about that.

Size

Comparing it side by side to the AeroTank by Kanger it’s about 20-30% bigger all the way around. The packaging, which I hope will remain the same until I take delivery for a case or two, is spectacularly overblown. The black box it comes in is wrapped in a thick plastic slipcover, and when slipping the box out of the cover it opens to reveal the; best manual I’ve ever seen for any vaping product from China, a fully assembled Nautilus, and an extra coil head… oh, and a stainless steel beauty ring too. All the parts are snuggled in perfectly measured cutouts made of a steady, felt-like material. When you get yours, and you should, you’ll think you’re unwrapping an expensive piece of electronics, at least I did…or maybe jewelry.

Like the Kanger AeroTank, the adjustable airflow really works; it’s not just some hackneyed thrown together design made to partially work. You will be able to open it up for a very easy draw, or close it down to the point where you think you’ve broken it, or gummed up the coils, or it will remind you of trying to suck up a Frosty through a straw at Wendy’s. However, finding just the right draw is incredibly easy after you’ve accidentally opened it up too much, or closed it down completely a few times, like I did. It takes maybe a half a day to get comfortable with it. At least that’s how long it took me, but I’m pretty dense so your mileage may differ.

Listen To What The Man Said

The scuttlebutt as to why the Aspire Nautilus is such a dream come true for vapers (from what I’ve picked up on the Internet) is that the engineers actually created a tank based on user feedback, and they did their very best to design a glassomizer that performed the way serious vapers wanted it to. And, except for one little thing, they did exactly that. I’ll get to that ‘one little thing’ shortly.

Oh The Airflow!

I’m going to talk about airflow first because this is where a newbie could have the most trouble with it, and veteran vapers will be the happiest. It’s all about airflow now…

The widest ring just under the Pyrex tank is the airflow control knob. As you twist it each quarter-turn has a ‘click’ that you can feel (but not hear) to let you know which port size you’ve reached. Yes, there are four distinct portholes that control the amount of air coming into the chamber/coils. (see photo)

Airflow sizes:

• 0.9mm
• 1.1mm
• 1.4mm
• 1.8mm

Just by turning the lower ring you’ll have four options for adjusting the airflow. Each one is designed to tailor your vape in ways you never thought you’d be able to do with a mass produced glassomizer. You can adjust the drag, as well as the warmth of the vapor, and how much vapor you want to produce. And, rather astonishingly, it works extremely well. When you combine this kind of airflow control with a variable voltage or variable wattage battery the combinations are many.

Although the coil head is not the same design as you see in the other Aspire clearomizers and X.Jet’s, this newly designed coil head gives as clean a flavor as the Aspire/X.Jet coil heads I love so much.

Real World Airflow

I didn’t bother reading the manual (till later) because I’m a bonehead. It’s not hard to figure out where the juice goes, so I went right for it, filled it up with 5ML of eliquid, put it back together, screwed it onto my ProVari, set the ProVari to 4v (not the sweet spot, I was winging it) and away I went. I don’t recommend you do the same.

After a few drags the pressure began building up (like it should) but because I had had the airflow adjustment set so tight it shut down entirely. Pressure will build up anyway when you’re taking a drag on any airflow setting, and it is that suction that builds up the pressure and draws more juice into the coils.

But when I began hearing a ‘gurgling’ sound, I did what I was supposed to and adjusted the airflow by choosing a different port size on the airflow ring. I opened it up some to allow more air to enter the chamber and it instantly vaporized any extra juice, thereby getting rid of the ‘gurgling’ sound wicked fast. Once I got my head wrapped around how it was going to work I didn’t have any issues with it. So why was it a mistake not to read the manual? Had I done so I would have began my experience with enough knowledge not to freak out when the Nautilus pretty much shut down. And freak out I did.

When the draw got impossibly tight I spent a good 5 minutes frantically staring into the tank trying to see if I had gummed up the coils with a 50/50 PG/VG (Bird’s Nest Fanfare). Had I been a little smarter about it I would have known what was coming and could have saved myself the aggravation. So it pays to read the manual.

In order to get an idea of just how marvelous the Nautilus truly is I recommend that for the first few hours at least you play around with the airflow adjustment ring, AFTER you read the manual of course, or have at least absorbed this review. Unlike other airflow rings you may have used, the effects of spinning the dial are dramatic. For the first time as a vaper I felt in total control of my vape experience once I got it through my head that the airflow control actually works.

Stainless Steel Nautilus Tank

The Nautilus Pyrex tank is all stainless steel and glass. The coils inside the tank are 1.6-ohms. Here’s something I can’t quite figure out though. The coils in the Nautilus are 1.6ohms, but the replacement coil in the same box is 1.8ohm. There is a slight chance I’m reading the ohms wrong in the tank, but I’m not the only one reporting it. Even Vapor Authority says it’s a 1.6ohm coil, but why? Anyone?

When I showed the Nautilus to my wife we had a bit of fun trying to come up with names for the things the shape reminded us of. Names like the Stratosphere casino in Las Vegas, or a bell tower, or various steampunk items, and even something from the world of Doctor Who. After that bit of banter we decided that it was more steampunk than anything else. If only there was some brass on it, then it would scream steampunk.  Most of all though, the Nautilus looks damned serious.

Not Rebuildable??

Above, where I mentioned that there is one thing veteran vapers may disapprove of it’s this: the coils are NOT rebuildable. At least not officially. That said, you could bet that as more and more veteran vapers get ahold of a Nautilus there will be many attempts to rebuild the coil, and they’ll probably do it. But, is it worth it? For me, and others that I know, the answer is no. I’d much rather pick up a box coils and be done with it. Depending on where your vape choices are you can choose 1.8ohm or 2.1ohm replacements. Coil head replacements go for about $3.25-$3.50 a piece. I haven’t used it long enough to tell you how long the coils will last, but I can say they are a bit more expensive then the Aspire or X.Jet replacements.

Removable 510 Tip drip

I know I’ve said this more times than I should, but metal drip tips drive me crazy.  I hate the feel of anything metallic in my mouth or between my lips, and the Nautilus of course, comes with a stainless steel removable drip tip. Luckily for me, and others vapers who don’t like metal drip tips the Nautilus can use just about every drip tip made for 510 tanks. I purchased a few wooden drip tips, and some fancy plastic ones and I have yet to try one that did not fit. For me, a wooden drip tip, hand made and crafted by Molehill Mountain is the one I leave on all the time.

The 5ML Capacity

The biggest pain in the butt with my X.Jet’s and even my Aspires is that the center post makes it impossible to fill them up. Particularly with the X.Jet Spider. The center post goes up about half way, so despite its size it holds a mere 1.6ML of juice. The Nautilus, on the other hand, is built to minimize a center post so you can, in fact, literally pour in a full 5ML of e liquid.

As far as leaking goes, I may have to update my piece on why clearomizers leak, and the fact that all clearomizers leak. Using the Nautilus exclusively since I got it, and examining it more closely than any other clearomizers I’ve had, I’m pretty confident in telling you that you’ll never have to worry about the Nautilus leaking, unless the tank is damaged. The O-Rings, the coils, and anywhere else on the glassomizer that can leak is set up in such a way that it just might be impossible to leak.

Stainless eGo Beauty Ring

Just for the heck of it I pulled the beauty ring from the box and set about using it, and the Nautilus, on one of my Vision Spinners. It worked great, and the stainless steel beauty ring fit it to a tee. It was massively top heavy of course, but it worked really well. The beauty ring is also functional, meaning that should you desire to use it on an eGo-threaded battery you can.

Price

No matter where you buy the Aspire Nautilus it will cost you more than $30; more like $35-$36, but the Vapor Authority is selling it for just $33.99. You can bet they have shaved the margins on this one, but more likely than not, those couple of bucks matter. They do for me.

Lastly,

I had to ask myself if the Nautilus would become the only clearomizer I’ll use here on out. If I’m honest, and I always am, I have to say no, no it won’t. For everyday use I intend to stay with my X.Jet Spider clearomizers or my Aspire BDC Vivi Nova tanks. They are relatively inexpensive, the coil heads are the best there is, except of course for the Nautilus, and I enjoy the X.Jet’s more than any other clearomizer I’ve had over the past 2+ years. I have a few Aspire BDC Vivi’s and I do use them often enough simply because it holds twice the juice then the X.Jet Spider, and the vape is virtually identical.

But, having said that, there is no doubt in my mind that the Aspire Nautilus is by far the best glassomizer on the market today. You won’t be able to buy a better one for at least a few months.

Whether or not I would use the Nautilus exclusively, I still plan on getting several of them, for the staff and myself. For times when I want to fill it and forget it, the Nautilus will be my go-to glassomizer. But, it is heavier than any clearomizer I have, right up there with many RBA’s I’ve used in the past.

Clouds

If you’re a cloud-chaser with little interest in rebuilding coils getting one of these is going to be like Christmas morning. If you want a glassomizer that will hold a whopping 5ML of juice, and/or if you don’t mind spending $34 and $3.50 for a replacement coil head, then by all means you need to buy one, and soon. The Aspire Nautilus is hot right now; meaning that once the initial stock is sold out you’ll have to wait a few weeks or so to get one.

Bottom Line

The Aspire Nautilus is the best clearomizer/glassomizer on the market. The adjustable airflow works exactly like it should work, and the possibility of fine-tuning your vape has never been this exacting before. Getting in the game will cost you $34, but that $34 will get you a glassomizer that won’t leak, and will last you a very long time and provide you with the opportunity to fine tune a vape with precision you’ve only dreamed of. If you’re a serious vaper it’s a no-brainer, buy one. You won’t have a single second of Buyer’s Remorse.

John Manzione

Specification of The Aspire Nautilus: (from Vapor Authority)

• Height: 83.6mm (3.29 inches)
• Diameter: 23.45mm (0.92 inches)
• Shipping Weight: 190g (6.7 ounces)
• Threading: 510
• Liquid Capacity: 5ml
• Tank Material: Pyrex Glass
• Casing Material: Stainless Steel
• Atomizer Type: Replaceable Bottom-Dual-Coils (BDC)
• Replacement Atomizers: 1.8 ohms, 2.1 ohms

Package Includes: (from Vapor Authority) – $29.99

• 1 x Aspire Nautilus Glassomizer (with 1.6 ohms pre-installed coil)
• 1 x Replacement Coil (1.8 ohms)
• 1 x eGo-Thread Beauty Ring
• 1 x User Manual
• 1 x Gift Box