The Sub 2.0 Review By Keira Hartley
“The review below is the first review written soley by Keira Hartley. Keira has been a member Spinfuel Staff for more than 6 months and have been an invaluable member of the Spinfuel eLiquid Review Team, among other things. Today marks her first, but certainly not last, hardware review.” – Julia Barnes
One of the coolest mods I’ve ever seen arrived here a few weeks ago from The Vapor Girl. When we opened the packaging it looked as though we were sent an expensive watch. The padded box was square, black faux-leather, with a light cardboard ‘wrap’ around it. When we opened the box we were greeted with 4 shiny pieces packed in plastic bags. Because I l dearly love high technology, and this looked like really sophisticated technology, I was reluctant to tear off the shrink-wrap and use it. I just wanted to admire it for a while. Fellow fans of hi-tech might understand that feeling. So the “Sub 2.0” telescope ecigarette mod sat in the box for a few days. I’m not kidding you. It was an impressive mod.
In our most recent review of some of the lesser known eLiquid flavors offered by The Vapor Girl Julia told you about how Victoria manages to find the most interesting, unique, and just plain cool hardware and accessories to sell along side her unique, premium American made eLiquids. And that is very true. The Sub 2.0 is one of the coolest that she has to offer right now, and at just $69.99 for entire kit it’s also a very affordable mod.
What It Is
The Sub 2.0 is a variable voltage, telescope-type mod. Included with the kit is a V-Core tank system, which by it self is about as unique as it could be for a tank (actually a clearomizer, but I call them tanks). I’ll get the V-Core later on though. Taken apart the Sub 2.0 fits nicely tucked away in its storage box, put together it becomes one mean mod with lost of modern features.
The Sub 2.0, is a variable voltage mod that ranges from 3.0 to 6.0v in .1 increments and features a large OLED display for easy readouts of your settings. It features a 5-click on/off, and will even display the number of puffs you’ve taken that day. (The counter goes to 999 and resets automatically at midnight every night). Naturally, it also displays the time and date by clicking on the plus and minus buttons. I’ll list the full specs at the end of the review, but it’s worth noting now that when you shut the mod down it scrolls across the display “Goodnight my master…” I mean, really? Is that cool or what?
Real World Usage
Okay, so after a couple of days I found the courage to rip off the shrink-wrap, charge the battery (it came with an 18350 battery), and put it together. I loaded the V-Core tank with my favorite eLiquid, gave it a minute of two to fully saturate the wicking, set the voltage to 3.8v and started vaping. It was fantastic!
As far as mods go, the modern mod feature set almost guarantees a decent vaping experience provided you’re using a good eLiquid and a good tank, ViVi, carto, Clearo, or whatever. There aren’t many mods being released today that don’t perform well, at least for a while, so the decision must rely on other factors: features, colors, design, size, weight, threading, and other such things. Luckily, the Sub 2.0 is unique enough that I think it could be a big seller among Vapers looking for something ‘different’. I know it appeals to my sense of the artistic, yet still has board appeal.
The Sub 2.0 is an excellent mod, but not as feature rich as some of the others on the market. While it can display the voltage, date and time, battery level, and puff counter, it cannot read the resistance of the atomizer you’re using. Considering that’s about the only feature missing, and you would pay more for a mod that did feature all these features, the Sub 2.0 is a lot of bang for the buck. Although I do wish it could read the atomizer resistance simply because I want to know how accurate the atomizer I’m using actually is without resorting to testing it with a fluke meter every time. Still, it did not interfere with the fun I had using it.
Your vaping experience then, is going to rest on the eLiquid you use and the device you put the eLiquid in. Because it is a 510-threaded mod it can handle any 510-threaded device, from a simple cartomizer to the DCT’s and Vivi’s, but for me what made the Sub 2.0 even more fun to use was the V-Core that came with it. This thing really rocks!
V-Core 2.0
Although it’s called a “clearomizer” it is, to me, a tank system. And a very different tank then anything I’ve ever used before. First, it has two chambers, not one. It has a replaceable atomizer head that provides the wicks in a separate layer, which is supposed to provide for superior airflow, more vapor production than a Vivi and superb flavor from the eLiquid.
The bottom chamber is the larger of the two, and it is there that you pour the eLiquid into. The idea is that the wicks from the atty head in the upper chamber extend down through the upper chamber and into the bottom chamber. It then soaks up the eLiquid and delivers it to the atomizer. This is supposed to allow a better mixture of oxygen that helps maximize the efficiency, and burn of the atomizer.
At first glance I was awed by the uniqueness of the V-Core but had no idea if it would actually work or not, so when I read the instructions on how to use it I began to doubt the science behind it. I mean, really, if it made that much difference other tank systems would use this method by now. And the fact is, after the wick is fully saturated with the eLiquid from the bottom chamber you’ll need to ‘top off’ the chamber in order to get a real nice supply of eJuice, and who would want to bother with that? I thought that the whole thing smelled like a gimmick. Until I tried it.
Let me tell you, the V-Core delivers on its promise and blows you away with vapor and flavor! I’ve had issues with some of the Kanger’s and Vivi’s with their metallic tastes and dry burns (not a lot, but enough), but the entire time I vaped the V-Core I experienced none of those issues. The eJuice tasted great and not even a hint of metallic, and the thing never once gave me a dry drag. Well, that’s not entirely true. I did have to prime it with a few puffs after saturating the wick, but after that it was truly splendid vape. It just may be the only tank/Clearo I will ever use from this point on!
The V-Core 2 has 4 parts, the drip tip, the top chamber, bottom chamber, and atomizer. It very easy to clean, and changing the atty head is simple and quick. Since you don’t put eLiquid in the same chamber where the atomizer sits you can change out the atty head without losing eJuice. A much cleaner way of doing things, the V-Core is a system seems to be ahead of its time.
Although the Sub 2.0 comes with the V-Core in the same box, and they are made to function together, you can use any other tank, Clearo, etc., that you would use on any other 510-mod, and you can use the V-Core on any other 510 compatible mod. Together though, they rock!
In The Box
- One SUB Variable Voltage Unit: the main body and telescoping base.
- One Drip Tip:
- Antique Bronze to match the Antique Bronze,
- Chrome to match the Chrome,
- Gun Metal to match the Gun Metal
- One ViVi Style V-CORE 2.0 Dual Layer in 2.4 ohms
- One lithium ion 18350 battery
- One (very nice, well made) case
- One variable length charger that plugs directly into an outlet.
- One English User’s Manual
Buying Advice
Here’s all you really need to know; look at the photographs accompanying this review. Do you like what you see? Would you love to own something this cool looking? Does the V-Core, with its separate chambers, seem like something you’d like to use? Does the idea of separating the eLiquid from the atty/wicks make you think “gimmick” or “Yea, maybe so”….
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions then think about the price and what you get for it. $69.99 gets you the entire kit, which includes the V-Core 2. Additional V-Core 2’s are just $9.99, a few bucks cheaper than the Vivi Nova’s. The last thing to consider is this; I, Keira Hartley, used the Sub 2.0 for 2 weeks and I experienced nothing but great vaping experiences. The battery was long lasting, the flavors of the eLiquids were amazing, never metallic, and the vapor production was among the top 5 I’ve used in the past year, especially using a 50/50 eJuice. The Sub 2.0 is now my primary mod, and I use it about 90% of the time, the other 10% is using mods that I have to use for review purposes.
But Wait…
I’m not saying that the Sub 2.0 is the best mod there is, and I’m not saying that you need to pop over to The Vapor Girl and buy one RIGHT NOW! What I am saying is that for me, this is an amazing mod and fits me to a TEE. I love the design, the workmanship feels great, and the performance was terrific. For $69.99 for the kit it is a great buy.
Would I recommend it? That depends. Most modern eCigarette mods deliver a good vaping experience, and the Kanger’s and Vivi’s are all fine devices to use on hundreds of mods. But if you love the way the Sub 2 looks, if you feel good things about the things I’ve said about the Sub 2.0 and V-Core 2, then by all means I recommend you buy one the next time you’re in the mood to buy a new mod. But you won’t condemn yourself to the 9th ring of hell if you don’t buy one, but if you do, you’re going to love the way it performs.
Keira Hartley
Features & Specs
Model: GS-SUB 2.0 Telescope
- Battery Tube compatible with different lengths of batteries.
- Variable Voltage: 3.0V-6.0V
- Newest V-core 2.0 Detachable Clearomizer
- Anti-Short-Circuit Capability Design.
- High Temperature Resistance.
- Quality Low Maintenance.
- Body: L81* D23.2mm
- Weight of Body: 35.25g
- Body: L52.7mm* D22mm Weight: 23.75g
- Battery Tube: L57.7mm* D26.5mm Weight: 34.9 g
- One Piece: weight: 58.75g L:100mm
- Color: Bronze, Silver, Black, Dark Gray, White)
- Battery: 18350(900mAh) [Also compatible with 18500(1600mAh) 18650(2200mAh)]
