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eLeaf is upgrading the GS 16 – Here’s a first look
There are more atomizers on the market today than you can shake a stick at. From the horrible to the sublime, new atomizers seem to be appearing out of thin air… Is there room for still more models? Certainly. Each new glassomizer we see are (mostly) steps forward, not backward, and that seems to be the case with the glassomizer I’m reviewing today.
Joining the ranks of the crowded glassomizer market comes the GS Air Atomizer from eLeaf. I first experienced what a good glassomizer the GS 16 is while reviewing the eLeaf D14 and D16 APV’s. The GS atomizer is a part of the D14 and D16 starter kit. Resistances of the coil heads are either 1.6ohm or 1.8ohm. Except for the metal drip tip (which is removable) they performed well. Lots of flavor and vapor, and they fit the D series batteries perfectly.
The one we are reviewing today the not-yet-released GS Air, a high-wattage glassomizer equipped with a 1.5-ohm dual bottom coil. A tefferic companion for the eLeaf iStick.
GS Air Glassomizer
The GS Air is an upgraded version based on GS 16.
It features a 3.5V-5.5V-voltage spread and can handle up to 20W of output (power). The 20W dual-coil GS Air head helps deliver outstanding vapor even at lower voltage settings, and the flavor is just as good as the GS 16, perhaps a smidgen better.
Air Flow – UPDATE – Now that the GS Air is available (11/26/2014) I can tell you that the airflow controller is available by turning a tiny screw that is placed between two drilled out holes at the base of the atomizer. In all honesty, this function didn’t seem to work in the prerelease model, and it might have undergone some changes before reaching the mass production stage.
Original Text 11-24-14 – I noticed a drilled out hole at the base of the glassomizer and on the outside surface right between the two holes, is a tiny screw. I thought at first, that perhaps this might be the airflow controller, tighten the screw, constrict the airflow…but it didn’t. Hopefully the GS Air will feature a real airflow controller by the time it ships.
Compatibility
The GS Air Atomizer can be used with just about any 510-threaded or eGo-style batteries (inner threads of the spinner worked fine). Although we are reviewing the 510-threaded version, eLeaf will probably ship a full-eGo version just as they do with the GS 16.
It doesn’t take a lot of power to drive the atomizer, though it can certainly handle it, so during the review period I used the GS Air on everything from the D16 battery, my eVic Supreme, and a few Spinner batteries as well. Tom used it for a day and got good performance with his Sigelei 50W at 15-20w, and he used it with a device we’re in the process of reviewing right now, the Vaporfi VOX 50, again, at wattage settings between 15-20w. There is no doubt that this glassomizer can handle that much power and provide a lot of vapor doing it. While it’s true that the GS Air is ideal for the iStick I wouldn’t want to restrict its appeal to only the iStick.
Real World Usage
I enjoyed using the D14 and D16 from eLeaf, which came with the GS atomizer, though not the GS Air. The difference, really, isn’t much. It’s a good glassomizer, and if you don’t mind the 2.6ml capacity, it will make a fine choice for many vapers. Although there is a way to control the airflow, I found it to be slightly annoying when so many of the glassomizers on the market today have better ways to control the airflow.
Prerelease Doesn’t Always Mean “Shipping Version”
This is a prerelease glassomizer, as I indicated above. As with the GS atomizer the metal drip tip is removable, and if you don’t like metal drip tips you can use just about any 510 drip tip instead. I tried several and the only one that gave me grief was the wooden one I have, but it’s almost 2 years old now so the 510 “size” might be off. Otherwise no problem switching it out.
The atomizer delivers excellent flavor and vapor, so as far as I’m concerned there’s no need to make any adjustments to the coils heads. The coil head is short, fat, with 4 slots running vertically up the side. The wicking showed through, telling me this dual bottom coil is packed tight.
I suppose the only issue I have with it is the airflow. Having a good airflow controller, especially on high performance glassomizers, is expected, as it should be. eLeaf’s decision to use a tiny screw to control the amount of air reaching the eliquid doesn’t quite cut it for me.
Because it is a prerelease glassomizer I have no information on availability, or price. In fact, when I went searching on Google to see if any vendor had it, or if the eLeaf website had more information, I couldn’t find a thing.
We’re probably looking at a few weeks time before it ships, and perhaps in that time they will make some changes to the final design, so don’t take this review to mean that the GS Air will ship exactly as stated.
All in all, I give the GS Air a grade of “B+”, because of the lack of a solid airflow controller. If you like the GS16 you’ll really enjoy the GS Air, and that too is expected. And, let’s face it, if you’re using the eLeaf iStick you’ll get the best performance was from it by using the GS Air.
Specs: Length: 67.6mmDiameter: 16.5mm
Capasity: 2.5ml
Voltage: 3.5V-5.5V
Wattage: 8W-20W
Resistance: 1.5(+/-0.1)ohm(dual coil)
Color: silver
Thread Type: 510
John Manzione
