Smok TCT Review

I have had the Smok TCT for about a week now and have run a few tank fulls through it and thought it was time to let everyone in on my thoughts about this budget friendly tank.
I bought the TCT because I knew I was getting a Snow Wolf Crimson on Black Friday. This was going to be my first Temperature Control Mod. The price was right and I loved the look of it but enough about that this is about the TCT tank.

The tank and coils showed up and as usual I checked the authenticity and started opening everything up. The TCT is a 5.5 ml tank that has adjustable bottom airflow and a top adjustable airflow that Smok calls a heating fan. I like the green o-rings but if they are not your cup of tea don't worry it comes with red and black also. The wick holes on the side of the coil for this tank are massive. There are only 2 of them but they are almost the entire height of the coil. The bottom airflow doesn't lock but is snug as you slide it around for full 0-100% adjust-ability.

Performance

Since this was my first time using Temperature Control I wasn't sure what I would like. I started very small at first after I got the tank primed and filled. I started at 300 F, there was basically nothing coming and a minor hint of flavor. Between each adjustment I let it sit for about a minute and started a new temp going up by 25 degrees. Vapor and flavor was starting to show up at 325 but still not what I wanted. Same thing at 350 and 375 even 400 was nothing to write home about. At 425 it would have been OK for light vapor and the flavor was there but the vape was still extremely cool. Finally at 450 there was the a thicker white cloud and a slight amount of warmth. I would be OK with 450 as an all day setting and most of the time this is actually where I leave it. I decided to chain vape it a few times fairly quickly to see how well it wicked. I was impressed with how well it worked it and every vape had good consistent flavor and vapor production. Now it was time to start going higher. At 475 I really didn't notice much of a difference in flavor but the vape was a little warmer, chaining at this temp was no problem as well. The temp change from F to C at this point is 475 F is around 246 C. A lot of my previous reading lead me to believe 280 C was the sweet spot on this tank. So I kept going up in 25 degree increments until I was at 525 F which is just below 280 C. Once I got there the vape a nice warm temperature, not hot, but I did feel like I was losing some flavor. I tried it a few more times at 525 F and always came to the same conclusion. The entire time in my testing I was leaving the top airflow closed. In the few tanks I have with top airflow I have found that I prefer them closed as it seems to really kill the flavor. The Herakles Plus claims to remedy this but I will get into that when I do a write up on it since I have one of those sitting and waiting for me to fill up as well. I wanted to give the top airflow a chance so I bumped it up to 575 F and opened the top about half way. It kept it cool but I still thought there was significant lack of flavor as compared to the lower temps. At 600 with the top airflow even at half it still kept the vape cool, with the top airflow closed it was too hot for me personally on longer draws.

Other Thoughts

The clear drip tip is a neat idea but when vaping at higher temps I noticed a dark and honestly gross looking condensation in the drip tip. At lower temperatures there was still condensation but it didn't have the gross brown color to it and was actually kind of neat since every time it dried and you'd vape again it was a different pattern. I will probably not keep the clear tip on it and will use something else since I never use the top airflow. I picked up the tank for around $24 and the coils were about $15 for a five pack. All-in-all this is not a bad tank for the price and if you are new TC then I would recommend it. It doesn't guzzle juice like a TFV4 but it also doesn't have the production. If you want huge clouds look elsewhere but if you want good flavor and like to take long draws then TC and this tank may be right for you.

*This post is 100% my personal opinion and all products reviewed were paid for out of my own pocket. Even if the product was given as a sample I am always 100% honest and will never do "paid" reviews that are fluffed up.