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Vaping With Julia – The Agony of Mod Clones
Vaping With Julia – The Agony of Mod ClonesOne of the most exciting product launches in the past few months has been the long-awaited, long-anticipated release of theSvoëMesto Kayfun v4 . VapeRev, the official reseller for the device, announced a date and time that they would offer it for sell, in very limited numbers, and I marked the calendar and anxiously awaited for the opportunity to nab a couple of them before they were sold out.
I was lucky, I ordered just in time. The SvoëMesto Kayfun v4 is “Out of Stock”…
When the Kayfun v4’s arrived I opened one and marveled at the fine precision of the design, the materials used in making the device, and the incredible amount of research and development that had to have gone into it for it to be worthy of the 4th iteration of the venerable Kayfun.
Then, this very morning, December 17, 2014, everyone here at Spinfuel HQ received the same email from a company called Cylapex eCigs. The email consisted of the announcement that for a limited time, one week, we, and by ‘we’ I mean Spinfuel, could order a 1:1 Clone of the Kayfun v4 for…. $15.90!
$15.90!
The email showed the Kayfun 4, and whether or not the photo in the email was that of the clone or the real thing, I do not know, but what I do know is that when I saw it I felt sick to stomach. Not because I had dropped $180 a piece for the real SvoëMesto Kayfun v4, but because it is legal in some places to do what this POS company did… create a 1:1 clone of this magnificent work of art.
The Real SvoëMesto Kayfun 4 vs the Mod/Drip Clones
The new Kayfun v4 has been completely redesigned by SvoëMesto and in it they have incorporated many of the features their customers have asked for during the Kayfun 3’s lifespan. SvoëMesto listened to the experts, of which I am not, and created this amazing new product, only to see it bastardized by this cheap imitation.
Each real SvoëMesto Kayfun v4 is manufactured from medical grade 316L stainless steel and comes with three tank options: one crystal clear glass tank, one makrolon tank and one stainless steel tank. The improvements over the Kayfun 3 are obvious…
…One of the more troubling aspect of the Kayfun v3, according to Tom, was filling them with juice. With the Kayfun v4 filling is easier than it has ever been. You simply unscrew the drip tip adapter on the top cap. “No more…”, again according to Tom, “leaky refills”.
The Kayfun v4 is also equipped with eliquid flow control, built into each one. This allows you to access the deck without having to drain the tank first. It also gives users of the Kayfun v4 the option to shut off eliquid transfer to the deck in order to prevent leaks when it’s not being used.
The airflow controller on the Kayfun v4 has also been improved to provide even more vapor production (hard to believe I know). Lastly, each Kayfun v4 deck has 4 coil screws for dual coil builds or they can be used as an additional attachment for single coil builds. However, the SvoëMesto Kayfun v4 is not a SubΩ tank.
If you are an RBA/RDA fan then I’m sure you’re probably as excited about this new atomizer from SvoëMesto as we are. I know Tom, Jason, and John certainly is. Tom has said that the Kayfun v4 would be his dream atomizer if he had one. I wonder if that will remain true once he sees the email from that POS company.
Like many others I am outraged that companies can get away with 1:1 clone making. I also feel horrible that whoever buys one, whoever gets one for Christmas, Hanukah, Birthday, or is just gifted one, will now face other vapers who will question the validity of the Kayfun v4 sitting atop their vaporizer.
I don’t want to make a bigger deal out of this part then I have to, but we all know that there are certain material items we own that we feel proud to own, a symbol that we worked hard to get it, or we are cared about so much that someone has gifted it to us, whether it be the SvoëMesto Kayfun or a Rolex, or a nice car, or even a simple card, and other gesture of goodwill.
It breaks my heart to think of someone like Tom or Jason attending a vape convention and showing others the pros and cons of the Kayfun v4, while surely there will be people, cynical people sure, that will think that Tom or Jason’s prized atomizer is instead a piece of junk clone. I can imagine someone asking them “Is that a real one or a clone?”.
It just kills the mood, lets the air out of the balloon… and that’s just a real shame.
Mod Clones and Drip Clones Everywhere
Yes, I am directing most of my anger at the company that is selling the clone of the SvoëMesto Kayfun v4. Yes, it’s true that I am angry that I was looking forward to seeing the faces of the vapers I was buying them for when they opened their gift. And it horrifies me to think that they will open the gift and wonder, “Did she buy me a SvoëMesto Kayfun or is it the clone?”
But, the saddest thing is that clones are everywhere. If a product becomes popular you can bet that in no time some cheap ass company will come up with a clone and sell it to thousands of people that don’t care whether or not it’s a clone, or a piece of crap, they have bragging rights now, no one need know it’s a crap knockoff. (I was told this many times in the past.)
From atomizers to batteries, soulless companies are killing off true innovation. Why waste so much time, energy, and resources to create something good, something great, only to see it bastardized the minute it hits the shelves? If I were part of SvoëMesto I would be livid that this happened at all.
But I’m sure they expected it to happen. And I have to wonder if part of the price tag of the Kayfun v4 is attributed to the notion that there is a tiny window of opportunity to sell the real thing to people that want a quality product, and the appearance of a look-a-like at a fraction of the price in a matter of a couple of weeks.
It’s Not Just My Protest Anymore
I am not the only one here at Spinfuel that feels this way. We have written about clones and knockoffs before, and no doubt will again someday. It’s worth writing about, it’s worth having our opinion as a part of the archives that is Google.
If we can wake up a single vaper, to make a single vaper understand the harm these clones do, then it is worth the time to write this, to publish it, and to submit it through various social media outlets. If you feel the same you can help by using your social media accounts to spread this piece around.
I have talked to John, our publisher, and we now reiterate our stance of last year, and add to it. And it is this:
Spinfuel will not review clones. We will not allow contributors to publish a video or written review on clones from this day forth, and we will not review or promote any company that makes any type of clone.
We urge every vendor that reads this, or hears about this, to stop selling clones. You are not saving people money… you are selling them crap. In my mind there is no such thing as a “good clones”.
Copyright laws, patent infringement laws, and intellectual property rights exist for a reason. We will not be a part of the problem. We hope you will not be as well.
Julia
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