by Tom McBride
I have a real weakness for Carto–Tank Systems. I buy a lot of them. I get them as gifts. People send them to me. I find really nice ones and send out emails to friends with the tag line “The next time you’re looking for a gift, look here.” Seriously. No matter how many I have, I want more. And… I use them all as well.
Of all the Clearomizers I have used, from long-wick to short-wick, top coil, bottom coil, short ones, longs, fat ones, skinny ones, they just cannot produce the same experience as a good old-fashioned Carto-Tank. I have always gotten the best vaping experience from cartomizers that have tanks around them. And despite my current collection of more than 2 dozen different styles of carto-based tank systems the best one I have ever used was discovered by me almost a year ago. I still use them, every day. I have a drawer full of them, more than 100 of them, and several packs of blank cartomizers. I’m not the only one here that loves this particular tank either. My boss, John, loves the damn thing as much as I do, but he’s not nearly as crazy as I am so he has, at most, a dozen of them.
My Discovery Last June
While doing my weekly web surfing last year looking for new and unique vaping products we might want to review I happened along the Vape Dudes website. On the site was a tank called The Texas Tuff Tank Pro3. After reading the details about this cool little tank I decided that if they were as good as they sounded they would make an excellent review. So, I bought a couple of them and never looked back. I did the review, published it, and then went about my time collecting others, trying new ones as they appeared on the market, even one that sells for $48, and not one of them has ever succeeded the vaping experience I get with the Texas Tuff Tank.
The thing is, these carto-tanks are not pretty, they aren’t some fancy precision steel with severe end caps, they aren’t Pyrex glass, they aren’t laser etched, there are no little designs on them or doo-dads hanging off them. They are simple; plastic and rubber tanks with a metal screw on the side, up near the plastic drip tip. And, top it all off, the cartomizers are simple, standard resistance 3.o-ohm Boge single coil.
The secret, well, it’s not secret really, is that the SR single coil cartomizer is double-punched so even though it’s a single coil cartomizer it still gets flooded with juice. After a half a dozen tank refills (at most) I pull out the cartomizer, slide another one in and I’m ready to go,
American Made
The Texas Tuff Tank is American Made. I can’t find out who makes it though, but it is made in Texas. Mountain Oaks Vapor used to sell this tank, but another company made it but the essence of the tank is exactly the same. I cannot tell the difference between them.
Durability
The tank is made of sturdy Polypropylene, and they are built to last.
In the year that I have been using them I haven’t had a single one discolor on me, they don’t absorb juice flavors, and they clean up fast and easy. The 2 rubber grommets and O-ring complete the construction and create a nice tight seal. You can’t run every eLiquid flavor through it though, so hold off running high citrus flavors or heavy cinnamon flavors. Other than that, I haven’t had any issues with any other flavor.
Compatibility
The Texas Tuff TanksBoge 3.0 ohm 510 Standard Resistance Cartomizer has a solid reputation for quality and performance. With the 510-threaded cartomizer you can run the tank on just about any battery. If you have 808 batteries you can attach a 510-808 adapter and it will work fine.
You can really crank up the voltage in your choice of VV/VW APV (Variable Voltage/Variable Wattage). And if you don’t want to double punch them yourself you can pick them up at Vape Dudes for $8.99. They come as in packs of 5, pre-punched and built for the Texas Tuff Tanks specifically. They are popular so if you get the chance stock up on them.
The Best Feature
Texas Tuff Tanks features the tiny hold drilled into the tank and a small screw that seals the hole. This side-screw offers the easiest filling method I’ve ever seen. Filling the tank is as simple as removing the knob, inserting your choice of filling device, I use a syringe with a blunt needle, and fill. It take me less than 2 seconds to fill the tank. Afterwards I screw the knob back on and I’m ready to go.
When I first started buying them I had worried about repeated screwing and unscrewing of the drilled hole and screw but after a year I can tell you that none of them ever stripped. The rubber grommets still seal both ends just as well as they did when they were new.
The polypropylene tank holds 3ML of e-juice, and the 510 Boge Cartomizer holds about .7ML, which for most people is enough to almost day. For me it’s about 8AM to 4PM, and then I have to refill it. You can be sure the cartomizer doesn’t suck up eLiquid as fast as a clearomizer with a long wick.
The Texas Tuff Tank includes a swirl plastic drip tip (which is what I opted for) but you can upgrade to a stainless steel drip tip for just a $1 more. Personally, I don’t like metal to touch my teeth (shudder) so the swirled plastic is fine for me.
The Real World Test
Halo Cigs makes high quality e-juice, particularly their Tiki juice. The Tiki has a nice tingle of cinnamon and a touch of menthol, and if there were ever a chance for a bit of residue to be left behind in the tank it would be with this kind of e-juice.
After filling and refilling one of my Texas Tuff Tanks a few times I decided it was time to switch flavors. I chose a nice and smooth Peaches and Cream from Ginger’s e-Juice. I washed out the Tank and tossed out the cartomizer. The next morning I filled the Tuff Tank with Ginger’s Peaches n Cream and there was absolutely no Tiki taste residue left on the plastic. The polypropylene just doesn’t absorb the juice so you can rest assured of a clean, fresh vape every time.
Price
The price of the Texas Tuff Tank Pro3 is $7.99, which is excellent in and of itself.
Vape Dudes used to offer a 6ML Texas Tuff Tank (the Pro6) and I picked up a couple of them several months ago. I haven’t seen it on their site for some time now; they might not carry them any longer.
Vape Dudes
Vape Dudes is one of the first companies Spinfuel began working with when we launched early in 2012. We haven’t had much contact with them lately and I miss that, but they have grown so fast and so huge that I do understand they don’t have time to deal with us when we don’t order as much as we used to. Sometimes it can take a while to get your order with Vape Dudes but they have made a lot of improvements and shipping times have gotten much shorter. I’m planning on placing another order for more Cartomizers this evening, and some of their amazing eLiquids.
Final Word
The Texas Tuff Tank really is an amazing carto-tank. The easiest to fill of all tanks, and they seem as though they will last forever. They are easy to clean, the e-juices leave no residue behind, and the price is right. I definitely recommend the Texas Tuff Tank. It’s become a classic, and despite all the new fangled gear that has come out in the past year, in my opinion it still offers the best vape experience.
Tom McBride
