Review of the SMOK TFV12 Prince atomizer
In my view, a truly satisfying prebuilt-coil atomizer should deliver good flavor while also offering solid build quality, attractive looks, a moderate size, easy disassembly and coil replacement, and resistance to leaking and spitback. Many people still a
A satisfying sub-ohm tank, in my understanding, should have good flavor, excellent craftsmanship, outstanding aesthetics, moderate size, and be easy to disassemble for coil replacement without leaking or spitting. Many people still associate sub-ohm tanks with the Nautilus-style mouth-to-lung devices, but with the advancement of technology and the popularity of large vapor clouds, sub-ohm tanks have started to produce larger vapor clouds. In the early days of large vapor sub-ohm tanks, there might have been issues with flavor degradation, but nowadays, it is rare to find a sub-ohm tank that delivers particularly poor flavor.
SMOK has excelled in the field of sub-ohm tanks (the sub-ohm tank fanatic SMOK), and their sub-ohm tanks typically come with more than five different atomizers to achieve various vapor flavor effects. They also usually manufacture corresponding RBA kits for players to advance to DIY (the results are usually not as good as the pre-made coils, and the atomizers included in the kit do not come with RBA kits).
The TFV series is the flagship series of atomizers, representing the strongest craftsmanship and technology of SMOK's sub-ohm tanks. Today, we will discuss the TFV12, which can be considered the strongest sub-ohm tank based on its specifications, supporting a maximum power output of 350W, which is quite impressive. Additionally, there are dual-coil and triple-coil RBA kits available for purchase. So, can it truly live up to this title?
—Packaging—
This time, I received the RBA kit for the TFV12 atomizer, which only includes two RBA kits and does not come with the highest 350W pre-made coils, so the packaging does not display any information about the pre-made coils. But how can you showcase the impressive 350W capability without the pre-made coils? I initially wanted to test with two pre-made coils (but received the RBA kit instead) to provide everyone with an actual performance report.
—Appearance—
This atomizer comes in nine colors, and the one in my hand is gold (though it looks more like plated brass). The main body is made of stainless steel, with a base diameter of 25MM, while the middle tank protrudes to 27mm, and the ring-shaped diamond protrusions at the top and bottom of the tank reach 28mm, effectively protecting the tank from breaking upon dropping.
Without the 510 connector, the height of the atomizer is 65mm (including a 13mm high drip tip), and such a height combined with the tank diameter gives this atomizer an impressive 6ml capacity. However, in the face of such a vapor beast, even 6ml is just barely sufficient.
The atomizer's main structure continues the TFV8's design of small ends and a larger middle, ensuring that the base does not protrude excessively from the device, maintaining visual proportion.
—Details—
A detailed disassembly reveals five parts: the drip tip, atomizer top cap and connection piece, glass tank, replaceable kit, and base for kit installation. The craftsmanship is excellent, with no burrs or overly sharp edges found.
The heat-insulating drip tip is an 810 connector, featuring an inverted cone structure for condensation return. However, it is important to note that this atomizer's drip tip connector does not have a rubber ring, so a drip tip without a rubber ring cannot be installed on this atomizer. Those looking to replace the drip tip should keep this in mind.
The oil filling method continues the TFV series' unique rotating top cap design, which has clear advantages:
1. The top cap will not fall off.
2. After filling, closing the top cap does not exert excessive pressure on the tank, preventing leakage caused by pressure issues.
3. Opening and closing is very convenient.
The connection between the chimney and the atomization chamber features a dome design, which compresses the vapor and enhances flavor.
There are two RBA kits available: a dual-coil and a triple-coil kit.
The dual-coil kit features a dual-post, four-hole bottom airflow structure, while the triple-coil kit has a large central airflow and a six-hole structure at the base.
The base has a bowl-shaped structure that can catch some condensation and overflow e-liquid (which flows out when wetting the coil), with an airflow opening size of 15.5*3.5MM, and the airflow adjustment ring does not have a locking structure, allowing for infinite rotation.
—RBA Kit and Pre-Made Coil Features—
The base structure of the triple-coil kit is quite innovative, being a single-piece design. At the bottom electrode plate, three holes are opened to allow the wire to pass through (also serving as insulation and threading holes) to connect the heating wire to the atomizer's positive circuit and secure the connection between the bottom positive and upper negative electrodes.
However, the coil installation method for this kit differs significantly from other atomizers. The threading hole at the positive electrode can go straight through the bottom and be cut off, with three positive locking holes located inside the Y-shaped structure of the positive contact, while the three locking holes and screws for the negative electrode are in the middle of the kit and do not go through the bottom. Therefore, the wire legs need to be pre-cut before installation, and attention should be paid to the wire gauge, as the threading holes are not large enough to accommodate thicker wires.
The dual-coil kit features a typical bottom airflow dual-post, four-hole structure, with the oil guide groove sized just right. Using a 3.0mm diameter coil, it almost never experiences leakage due to insufficient cotton, and the coil-making process is very simple. However, it does have one issue: the positive electrode post is secured with a ring structure at the bottom (replacing the positive screw), which can easily lead to misalignment of the electrode post (as shown in the first image). Players need to ensure the position of the electrode post is fixed and securely locked.
Now it's time to showcase SMOK's signature "pre-made coils" (originally, I wanted to ask the manufacturer to send a few coils for testing, but what I received was a set of atomizers (；￣д￣)). These three types are V12-Q4 (0.15Ω, 60-190W, recommended 90-160W), V12-X4 (0.15Ω, 60-200W, recommended 90-130W), and V12-T12 (0.12Ω, 60-350W, recommended 130-200W).
This is just a small portion; SMOK has designed a total of six pre-made coils for the TFV12. However, their naming of the pre-made coils seems to play with words, as the T12 is referred to as a twelve-coil, but it actually contains six dual-core Clapton coils, while the Q4 is a single four-parallel coil, and the X4 is a dual-parallel coil. We will explain the vapor and flavor effects in the subsequent testing section.
—Testing—
The original triple-coil RBA kit was tested, and due to its purely central airflow, the airflow could not fully envelop all coils (the coils are too wide to avoid contact), resulting in a significantly enhanced throat hit, with vapor performance being above average but almost no flavor to speak of, only a hint of e-liquid flavor could be tasted, and the original coils had a slow heating speed, requiring a large amount of power to drive, which also became a heat dissipation issue.
After switching to universal data (reducing coil width to extend towards the center of the airflow), I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor, with the data being: Rhino A1 heating wire, 0.6mm wire diameter, 3.0mm coil diameter, 6 coils, triple-coil, resistance 0.15Ω, pushed to 130W, the vapor was slightly warm and smooth, with a large airflow but not airy, the flavor was rich and layered, and the vapor size was quite impressive, pushing to 150W was effortless, but the flavor slightly declined. Additionally, I must mention that the e-liquid consumption is quite significant.
The dual-coil kit performed quite well aside from the electrode post issue, with both flavor and vapor performance being quite pleasing, and the oil guiding ability was also very strong.
However, both RBA kits share a common issue: when needing to remove the kit, it is very difficult, requiring the use of the electrode post to increase torque, and after heating the wire, the heat transferred to the atomizer base is substantial (note: very substantial!), making it impossible to operate directly by hand when trying to unscrew the atomizer and load it onto other devices (prolonged exposure can easily cause low-temperature burns).
The position of the oil guide holes in the pre-made coil kit is lower than that of the tank, almost able to suck dry the last drop of e-liquid in the tank (though some will inevitably remain).
The T12 pre-made coil's operational experience, although it claims to reach 350W (and indeed can push to 350W without burning), the vapor temperature is extremely high, making it almost unbearable, and the flavor of the e-liquid is completely destroyed, while the recommended maximum power of 200W also experiences overheating issues.
After testing, a good flavor and vapor effect can be achieved between 130-140W, with a decent level of layering, reaching a high standard. Increasing the power further will increase the vapor size, but the flavor will noticeably decline. (The image shows the vapor effect at 150W)
The Q4 is a vapor-oriented pre-made coil, recommended to be pushed at 150W, with vapor volume smaller than the T12 but larger than the X4, achieving an average flavor level, with slightly less layering, and a low airflow resistance, so a certain amount of airflow holes need to be closed to achieve a good flavor and vapor effect.
The X4 is a flavor-oriented pre-made coil, using a recommended power of 130W, producing a smaller vapor volume, but with excellent layering and e-liquid restoration, significantly enhancing the throat hit, and the super-large oil guide holes prevent supply issues. When pushed beyond the recommended power of 150W, the richness of the vapor increases significantly, with a slight decrease in layering, performing exceptionally well.
—Summary—
According to information from the Chinese electronic cigarette news, the current price for the TFV12 pre-made coil kit is 428 yuan (the official store discount price is around 390 RMB), and it only offers five types of pre-made coil kits (missing the T6 pre-made coil). Each pre-made coil is priced at 20 RMB (regardless of type). Additionally, the RBA kit is only supplied to offline franchise stores, but there is no need to worry, as the RBA kit will be sold separately online, so just wait for it to go live.
Although this atomizer's pre-made coil kit can support 350W without burning, its practical usability is only within 170W (though that is still quite impressive). Each pre-made coil kit has its advantages, and the minimum recommended power has been raised to over 90W, making it a pioneer in the power usage of pre-made coils, with uniform pricing for pre-made coil kits, eliminating the previous concern of higher prices for higher power usage.
In summary, the TFV12 Baby PRINCE excels in both aesthetics and flavor performance, although there are various minor operational issues, it undoubtedly represents a new direction. SMOK continues to develop in the realm of compatible sub-ohm tanks and RBAs, as pre-made coils are easy to use and provide good flavor and vapor performance, but the lack of significant changes and high costs remain challenging issues.
SMOK has excelled in the field of sub-ohm tanks (the sub-ohm tank fanatic SMOK), and their sub-ohm tanks typically come with more than five different atomizers to achieve various vapor flavor effects. They also usually manufacture corresponding RBA kits for players to advance to DIY (the results are usually not as good as the pre-made coils, and the atomizers included in the kit do not come with RBA kits).
The TFV series is the flagship series of atomizers, representing the strongest craftsmanship and technology of SMOK's sub-ohm tanks. Today, we will discuss the TFV12, which can be considered the strongest sub-ohm tank based on its specifications, supporting a maximum power output of 350W, which is quite impressive. Additionally, there are dual-coil and triple-coil RBA kits available for purchase. So, can it truly live up to this title?
—Packaging—This time, I received the RBA kit for the TFV12 atomizer, which only includes two RBA kits and does not come with the highest 350W pre-made coils, so the packaging does not display any information about the pre-made coils. But how can you showcase the impressive 350W capability without the pre-made coils? I initially wanted to test with two pre-made coils (but received the RBA kit instead) to provide everyone with an actual performance report.
—Appearance—
This atomizer comes in nine colors, and the one in my hand is gold (though it looks more like plated brass). The main body is made of stainless steel, with a base diameter of 25MM, while the middle tank protrudes to 27mm, and the ring-shaped diamond protrusions at the top and bottom of the tank reach 28mm, effectively protecting the tank from breaking upon dropping.Without the 510 connector, the height of the atomizer is 65mm (including a 13mm high drip tip), and such a height combined with the tank diameter gives this atomizer an impressive 6ml capacity. However, in the face of such a vapor beast, even 6ml is just barely sufficient.
The atomizer's main structure continues the TFV8's design of small ends and a larger middle, ensuring that the base does not protrude excessively from the device, maintaining visual proportion.
—Details—
A detailed disassembly reveals five parts: the drip tip, atomizer top cap and connection piece, glass tank, replaceable kit, and base for kit installation. The craftsmanship is excellent, with no burrs or overly sharp edges found.
The heat-insulating drip tip is an 810 connector, featuring an inverted cone structure for condensation return. However, it is important to note that this atomizer's drip tip connector does not have a rubber ring, so a drip tip without a rubber ring cannot be installed on this atomizer. Those looking to replace the drip tip should keep this in mind.
The oil filling method continues the TFV series' unique rotating top cap design, which has clear advantages:
1. The top cap will not fall off.
2. After filling, closing the top cap does not exert excessive pressure on the tank, preventing leakage caused by pressure issues.
3. Opening and closing is very convenient.
The connection between the chimney and the atomization chamber features a dome design, which compresses the vapor and enhances flavor.
There are two RBA kits available: a dual-coil and a triple-coil kit.
The dual-coil kit features a dual-post, four-hole bottom airflow structure, while the triple-coil kit has a large central airflow and a six-hole structure at the base.
The base has a bowl-shaped structure that can catch some condensation and overflow e-liquid (which flows out when wetting the coil), with an airflow opening size of 15.5*3.5MM, and the airflow adjustment ring does not have a locking structure, allowing for infinite rotation.
—RBA Kit and Pre-Made Coil Features—
The base structure of the triple-coil kit is quite innovative, being a single-piece design. At the bottom electrode plate, three holes are opened to allow the wire to pass through (also serving as insulation and threading holes) to connect the heating wire to the atomizer's positive circuit and secure the connection between the bottom positive and upper negative electrodes.
However, the coil installation method for this kit differs significantly from other atomizers. The threading hole at the positive electrode can go straight through the bottom and be cut off, with three positive locking holes located inside the Y-shaped structure of the positive contact, while the three locking holes and screws for the negative electrode are in the middle of the kit and do not go through the bottom. Therefore, the wire legs need to be pre-cut before installation, and attention should be paid to the wire gauge, as the threading holes are not large enough to accommodate thicker wires.
The dual-coil kit features a typical bottom airflow dual-post, four-hole structure, with the oil guide groove sized just right. Using a 3.0mm diameter coil, it almost never experiences leakage due to insufficient cotton, and the coil-making process is very simple. However, it does have one issue: the positive electrode post is secured with a ring structure at the bottom (replacing the positive screw), which can easily lead to misalignment of the electrode post (as shown in the first image). Players need to ensure the position of the electrode post is fixed and securely locked.
Now it's time to showcase SMOK's signature "pre-made coils" (originally, I wanted to ask the manufacturer to send a few coils for testing, but what I received was a set of atomizers (；￣д￣)). These three types are V12-Q4 (0.15Ω, 60-190W, recommended 90-160W), V12-X4 (0.15Ω, 60-200W, recommended 90-130W), and V12-T12 (0.12Ω, 60-350W, recommended 130-200W).
This is just a small portion; SMOK has designed a total of six pre-made coils for the TFV12. However, their naming of the pre-made coils seems to play with words, as the T12 is referred to as a twelve-coil, but it actually contains six dual-core Clapton coils, while the Q4 is a single four-parallel coil, and the X4 is a dual-parallel coil. We will explain the vapor and flavor effects in the subsequent testing section.—Testing—
The original triple-coil RBA kit was tested, and due to its purely central airflow, the airflow could not fully envelop all coils (the coils are too wide to avoid contact), resulting in a significantly enhanced throat hit, with vapor performance being above average but almost no flavor to speak of, only a hint of e-liquid flavor could be tasted, and the original coils had a slow heating speed, requiring a large amount of power to drive, which also became a heat dissipation issue.
After switching to universal data (reducing coil width to extend towards the center of the airflow), I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor, with the data being: Rhino A1 heating wire, 0.6mm wire diameter, 3.0mm coil diameter, 6 coils, triple-coil, resistance 0.15Ω, pushed to 130W, the vapor was slightly warm and smooth, with a large airflow but not airy, the flavor was rich and layered, and the vapor size was quite impressive, pushing to 150W was effortless, but the flavor slightly declined. Additionally, I must mention that the e-liquid consumption is quite significant.
The dual-coil kit performed quite well aside from the electrode post issue, with both flavor and vapor performance being quite pleasing, and the oil guiding ability was also very strong.
However, both RBA kits share a common issue: when needing to remove the kit, it is very difficult, requiring the use of the electrode post to increase torque, and after heating the wire, the heat transferred to the atomizer base is substantial (note: very substantial!), making it impossible to operate directly by hand when trying to unscrew the atomizer and load it onto other devices (prolonged exposure can easily cause low-temperature burns).
The position of the oil guide holes in the pre-made coil kit is lower than that of the tank, almost able to suck dry the last drop of e-liquid in the tank (though some will inevitably remain).
The T12 pre-made coil's operational experience, although it claims to reach 350W (and indeed can push to 350W without burning), the vapor temperature is extremely high, making it almost unbearable, and the flavor of the e-liquid is completely destroyed, while the recommended maximum power of 200W also experiences overheating issues.
After testing, a good flavor and vapor effect can be achieved between 130-140W, with a decent level of layering, reaching a high standard. Increasing the power further will increase the vapor size, but the flavor will noticeably decline. (The image shows the vapor effect at 150W)
The Q4 is a vapor-oriented pre-made coil, recommended to be pushed at 150W, with vapor volume smaller than the T12 but larger than the X4, achieving an average flavor level, with slightly less layering, and a low airflow resistance, so a certain amount of airflow holes need to be closed to achieve a good flavor and vapor effect.
The X4 is a flavor-oriented pre-made coil, using a recommended power of 130W, producing a smaller vapor volume, but with excellent layering and e-liquid restoration, significantly enhancing the throat hit, and the super-large oil guide holes prevent supply issues. When pushed beyond the recommended power of 150W, the richness of the vapor increases significantly, with a slight decrease in layering, performing exceptionally well.
—Summary—According to information from the Chinese electronic cigarette news, the current price for the TFV12 pre-made coil kit is 428 yuan (the official store discount price is around 390 RMB), and it only offers five types of pre-made coil kits (missing the T6 pre-made coil). Each pre-made coil is priced at 20 RMB (regardless of type). Additionally, the RBA kit is only supplied to offline franchise stores, but there is no need to worry, as the RBA kit will be sold separately online, so just wait for it to go live.
Although this atomizer's pre-made coil kit can support 350W without burning, its practical usability is only within 170W (though that is still quite impressive). Each pre-made coil kit has its advantages, and the minimum recommended power has been raised to over 90W, making it a pioneer in the power usage of pre-made coils, with uniform pricing for pre-made coil kits, eliminating the previous concern of higher prices for higher power usage.
In summary, the TFV12 Baby PRINCE excels in both aesthetics and flavor performance, although there are various minor operational issues, it undoubtedly represents a new direction. SMOK continues to develop in the realm of compatible sub-ohm tanks and RBAs, as pre-made coils are easy to use and provide good flavor and vapor performance, but the lack of significant changes and high costs remain challenging issues.
