Top 5 e-Cigarette Cartomizer Trends

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011 at 11:30 am

Cartomizers have evolved considerably in the past year. There are more cartomizer variations than anyone can keep track of. I’ve been reporting on e-cigarette news, writing various articles about the subject and of course, doing a lot of e-cigarette reviews since I launched this site back in June of this year. As I watch the market, I’ve been starting to pick up on certain trends and patterns.

I thought it might be interesting to stop every once in a while and point out some of the things I’ve been noticing. Perhaps one of the areas of the e-cigarette industry thats had a lot of activity in recent months has been the cartomizer. It wasn’t too long ago that there weren’t many cartomizer choices at all, now it seems like there’s an absolutely confusing array of different ideas out there.

Let’s try and cut through the confusion and dissect the top 5 e-cigarette cartomizer trends in the market. At least how I see them. And if I’ve missed your favorite cartomizer technology, by all means, feel free to let me know in the comments.

5. Variations of the Clear Cartomizer
The CE2 clearomizer itself is a fairly new entrant in the e-cigarette industry. These cartomizers featured a clear tube and an innovative design that placed the coil near the mouthpiece fed by silicone wick. Initially, the only variation on this design was a longer version that held more e-liquid.

Assorted CE2 Style Cartomizers

In just the last couple months, there are countless approaches to the concept ranging from other manufacturers releasing the same basic design like the Bauway clearomizers to more radical cartos that use the same basic engine, but in a different configuration like the eGo-W, Sapphire, and Vision cartomizers.

Many of the new riffs on the CE2 focus on higher capacity, but usually also bring a little more to the table such as tips that prevent e-liquid from flowing out through the drip tip. Other clear cartomizers get away from the CE2 engine completely.

Even traditional cartomizers with filler material have gotten in on the action, from dual coil cartomizers, to the SmokTech Resurrector cartomizers. Personally, putting a clear tube on a cartomizer that uses filler seems sort of silly, but who am I to judge? Of course there are some radical new clearomizer designs that have hit the market…

Or… Shop for Clearomizers

4. Horizontal Coil Cartomizers
Perhaps one of the newest trends in cartomizers, horizontal, bottom coil cartomizers also generally use a clear (or smoked transparent tube). These designs depart quite radically from the CE2 style cartomizers that dominated the genre. In fact, one of the most talked about example of this style is the heir apparent to the CE2, the CE3 Smokymizer.

CE3 Smokymizer

These types of cartomizers use a coil situated at the bottom of the tube with the coil encased in some type of housing that allows liquid to reach the coils via a wick protruding through the housing. The first of these on the market was the G4 followed shortly by the Vortex from GotVapes.

Initial reviews of these devices were mixed along with consumer reception of the devices. Much like the original CE2, improvements over time will likely settle out this style of cartomizer. There are currently some second and third generation products on the market with updates such as the latest G4 variant, the updated Vortex and the new 808 ClearoCarto.

Beyond clear cartomizer designs, there are also traditional style cartomizers that are moving to the bottom coil. A new entrant into the market is the horizontal coil cartomizer made by Kanger. This is the cartomizer that is in the current generation of V2 Cigs e-cigarette lineup.

Shop for CE3 Smokymizers

3. Large Cartomizers

Got Vapes Vision (ver 1)

Somebody in the e-cigarette manufacturing industry just took the old adage “bigger is better” and ran with it. Original cartomizers came out with around a .5-1.0ml capacity. XL cartos housing around 1.5ml came out and the market stayed there for a while.

Now it seems like every day I see a vendor announcing even bigger cartomizers. First came the 2-2.5ml capacity in the CE2 Giantomizer. Next was 3ml quickly followed by 5ml. The trend seems to be across the board as well. There are giant versions of CE2s (the eGo W and Vision), large and gigantic dual coil cartomizers and just about every thing else you can think of.

Shop for eGo Cartomizers

2. Cartomizer Tanks

Big Daddy Tank

Sort of a variation on the bigger is better theme, the cartomizer tank gives users the ability to tote around large amounts of liquid without stopping for refills. The tank started out life in the modders community with modifications like the 3ml syringe mod.

The 3ml (and 5ml) mods were based on the CE2 engine, as were some of the original tanks sold at retail, like the Storm Tank. More variations of the CE2 tank hit the market ranging in capacity from identical to an XL CE2 to the massive 9ml Juice Jar.

At some point, someone figured out that by cutting slots or poking holes into a traditional cartomizer, it could absorb e-liquid while submerged in a tank. This led to a new line of tanks based around fillered cartomizers like the Big Daddy tank. Now, even the manufacturers are getting in on the action, Vapor Alley carries an inexpensive tank made by SmokTech.

1. Dual Coil Cartomizers
Most of the cartomizer tanks use dual coil cartomizers due to the technology’s popularity. Dual coil cartomizers was one of those innovations that seemed on the surface to be a fad that would quickly die out. However, dual coils cartomizers are one of the most popular e-cigarette technologies on the market.

SmokeZilla Cartos

The cartomizers, which feature two heating coils run in parallel to provide a larger heating surface, can be found at a wide variety of vendors. Fans of the devices rave about their ability to produce large amounts of warm vapor. The cartomizers are also available in just about every form factor imaginable.

Despite having higher amperage demands, there are even dual coil cartomizers specifically designed for lower voltage devices like the eGo and Epower. There have been other variations on the theme as well, such as the triple coil cartomizer, however that device hasn’t had the same warm reception.

Shop dual coil cartomizers

Conclusion
The cartomizer market has been an interesting thing to watch these past few months. We’ll likely see improvement in some of the designs, and others may fall to the wayside over the coming months. Of course we’ll probably see some totally off the wall concepts come out as well.

But now it’s your turn. What do you think the most interesting cartomizer trend is?

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Filed under: articles • cartomizer • hardware