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Julia Reviews The Freemax Starre Tank
The first thing you need to know about the Freemax Starre subohm tank is that you will see reviews everywhere in the coming days and weeks. Why? Because the company that manufacturers this new tank is making damn sure it reaches the hands of as many reviewers as possible. That, in it self, is not a bad thing. In fact, more companies might want to make these products available to more reviewers than the top 10 or 15 video reviewers or publications like Spinfuel.
In less time than it takes to bring a child into the world the subohm tank market has grown into a huge segment of our community. No longer are huge clouds and intense flavor restricted to the ‘rebuildable’ community, and with each new tank that reaches the market we get closer to the “dripper” experience. However, with so many choices in such a short time the question on many vapers minds is “Which tank should I spend my money on?”
Unlike reviewers, real every day vapers actually pay full retail for these subohm tanks. While they can range as low as $18 (the Herakles) to more than $40 (This Starre tank), buying a tank is rarely an impulse buy. Since that is the case, I strongly recommend that before you buy a tank, read and watch as many reviews as you can. As a matter of fact, I’m told that Freemax has set a firm resell price for the tank and it must be sold at $44.95. Apparently some vendors are breaking the rules because I’ve seen this tank as low as $25.99.
Let’s Get Personal
When Dave handed me one of the Starre Tanks I immediately looked over the specs and the price, and filled it with my current all day vape. Soon after I began using it I imagined that I was no longer in this part of the community, the part that gets tons of equipment for free, and tried to decide two things; which tank is right for me, and if I did buy a particular tank would I buy one or more than one.
All my friends that use vaporizers usually buy one tank and a pack of replacement coils, and that’s it. If they like the tank after a few weeks they will continue to buy coils for them, but it isn’t until the tank begins to leak (worn out O-rings or whatever), do they even consider buying a second or third tank. A typical reviewer has draws full of these tanks, coils replacements, batteries, and various mods. There is little value in the things that we get for free, unless a conscious effort is made to keep perspective. Recommending a product if it’s a good one is very easy to do because there is a tendency to think that are easily attainable. As you very well know, for most people that is simply not true. Spending $50 for anything these days is a serious chunk of change, not to be made lightly, so it is up to reviewers to keep that in mind. (Just my 2 cents here)
The Freemax Starre
The Starre Tank is capable of firing between 20 to 100 watts, or 3v to 6v, for vapers using high-wattage devices. The 0.25-ohm coil requires way more than 20 watts but the 0.5-ohm coil gives you a semi-decent vape at 20 watts. While vaping the Starre Tank with the 0.25-ohm tank I found the best vape to more than the 40 watts my everyday vaporizer is limited too. However, that sweet spot is excellent, but maxing out at 40 watts delivers a solid vape experience.
The capacity of the Starre Tank is a full 5mL, about as much as the Atlantis Tank with the larger 5ml 
glass tank accessory. The Starre Tank is also taller than the other subohm tanks I’ve been using, except for the Kanger Subtank Plus of course. The airflow controller has a wide knurled ring, which makes for an easy adjustment, and it also ‘clicks’ into place, so it isn’t easily moved about. I like that feature, but frankly that knurled ring also feels kind of cheap, more like a base metal than stainless steel or aluminum. Freemax indicates that the tank is stainless steel, 304 stainless steel at that, but if that’s true for the entire tank then the airflow ring has to be very thin. Since I have no way of knowing if the ring is stainless steel or not, I’ll leave my comments about what its made of here. UPDATE: An email from Freemax tells us that the Airflow Control Ring is Stainless Steel. Okay, I trust their word, I only wish it were thicker, and/or smoother.
There are six steps in the airflow controller; all of which click into place as you turn the ring. The coils are dual vertical coils, and they can produce massive amounts of warm vapor when the right amount of wattage is applied. There are four circular holes along the side of the coils allowing for a tremendous amount of juice to saturate the cotton and reach the dual coils.
The amount of organic cotton in the coils remind me of the Horizon Arctic Tank, versus the cotton-deprived coils in the Matrix Tank by High Voltage (though the Matrix is just as capable when it comes to vapor production) The metal drip tip (stainless steel) is a wide bore tip.
Filling the Starre Tank looks easier than it really is. Like all the other subohm tanks except for Kanger’s Subtank, there is a narrow opening on both sides of the center post braces that make filling them a task to be reckoned with. I’ve refilled the tank almost a dozen times and have yet to do so without dripping some juice into the post or the outside of the glass.
Performance
I used a high VG eliquid to review the Starre Tank. I did so because that is all I vape now, and higher VG means the juice is thicker and the vapor production is heavier.
I chose two vaporizers to test the review, a 40w Vaporshark (a gift from Keira) and my Eleaf iStick 50w. After testing on these two vaporizers I decided to push the Starre Tank to 70 or 80w with the SMOK XPro M80 Plus, to my disappointment I could not get the XPro M80 to fire this tank with the 0.25-ohm and 0.5-ohm coils. I checked and rechecked the coils, placed other tanks on the M80 Plus and they all worked fine, the only tank it would not fire was the Starre Tank.
As always I will not exaggerate the performance. If you decide to purchase this tank I recommend you find a vendor you can trust, more so than the price. However, because the price can range from $30-$45 dollars, please look around some.
Vaporshark rDNA 40 – 0.5-ohm Coil @ 40w
Flavor: 3.5 Stars – Vapor: 4 Stars
I was surprised by the vapor production using the Vaporshark with this 0.25-ohm coil. I expected to see good vapor, but not extreme vapor that easily clouded my field of vision for several seconds. The vapor was barely warm so if you need warmth you need a higher wattage vaporizer. There was plenty of flavor to be had here, but again, a high wattage device would no doubt pull more flavor.
Vaporshark rDNA – 0.5-ohm Coil @ 40w
Flavor: 4.5 Stars – Vapor: 4.5 Stars
There is no doubt in my mind that the Starre Tank produces thicker, more voluminous vapor than any other subohm tank I’ve tried to date, including the Matrix, Arctic, Subtank, Atlantis v1, and Herakles, at 40w. And yes, that 40w is a qualifier. You’ll get plenty of flavor and warmer vapor with the Starre Tank at 40w with the 0.5-ohm coil, but you can tell there is more to had with a higher wattage vaporizer.
Eleaf iStick 50w – 0.25-ohm Coil @50w
Flavor: 4.75 Stars – Vapor: 4.75 Stars
Here at 50w you begin to notice just how much wiggle room there is with regards to wattage. Improvement was noticeable, but had the SMOK XPro M80 Plus worked as advertised I am sure I could have squeezed more flavor and more vapor at 65-70w. That said, I can’t complain with either coil with eLeaf iStick or the Vaporshark. Both devices, both coils will provide an excellent vape experience.
Eleaf iStick 50w – 0.5ohm Coil @50w
Flavor: 4.9 Stars – Vapor: 4.9 Stars
The iStick 50 pushed to 50w and the 0.5ohm Coil provides a vape experience I have not found with the other tanks at 0.2ohm or 0.5-ohm. If you own an iStick 50 your best bet with the Starre Tank is to use the 0.5-ohm coil all the time. The Vapor is warm, though not as warm as it could be, and the flavor is tremendous, though you get the feeling that if you just had another 10w of power you could pull a bit more from it.
Bottom Line
When Dave told me that I would be reviewing the Starre Tank he also told me that the rep that he exchanged email with was determined to have Spinfuel review these tanks. I took that as a sign that they would expect a good review, but whether or not that good review would be based on the quality of the tank or the generosity of the rep, I could not say. Sometimes companies are constantly urging us to review a product and when we (Dave) finally relents and agrees to “take a look at it” the product is crap and we tossed it in the trash. Could the Starre Tank be one of those products? Ah, no.
When I took the tank out of the plastic box my fingers went straight for the airflow control ring and the slightly flimsy feel to it, as it turns out however, the rest of the tank is first class. If they (Freemax) could go back into the design and upgrade that ring this tank would be, so far, the best of the bunch.
Both coils worked well with both devices and I doubt anyone would complain about flavor or vapor. Having said that, clearly this tank can take more and produce more at higher than 50w, though to need to do so you would have to be a demon cloud chaser. I think this tank at 50w with either coil delivers as much vapor as I can stand.
John wants all of us to ask ourselves this question at the end of every review moving forward: If I somehow lost the Starr Tank would I buy another one.
My Answer: Most definitely.
Julia Hartley-Barnes
Freemax Starre Subohm Tank
Product Features:
- 22mm diameter
- 0.25 or 0.5 ohm coils
- 20 – 100 watts
- 3 – 6 volts
- 304 stainless steel
- 5ml capacity
- 6 airflow settings
- Wide bore drip tip
- 75mm in height (with drip tip)
- Dual Vertical Coil Technology
Includes:
- 1 x Starre Sub-Ohm Tank
- 1 x Wide Bore SS Drip Tip
- 1 x Spare Glass Tube
- 2 x Sub-Ohm DVC Coils (0.25 and 0.25 ohm)
