The Joyetech Riftcore Duo tank is an interesting new release. Although, truth be told, I started out my reviewing career as a bit of a Joyetech hater. My first handful of products from the brand a couple of years back, while I knew that the brand was known for AFFORDABLE gear, unfortunately, looked, felt and vaped like ‘affordable’ gear.
Then one day, the first in a series of absolutely outstanding, classy Joyetech gear started arriving in my vape mail and my customary sigh at finding Joyetech printed on my packages was very soon replaced with genuine intrigue.
Their 10th Anniversary Espion Solo Limited Edition Kit not only features a smooth performing tank in the Procore Air but the ES is undoubtedly one of my personal favourite single cell mods…it is an absolute pleasure.
From the Espion Infinite to the Exceed Edge Pod and now the stunning Espion Silk – for some:) – Joyetech has raised their standard by at least 2 leagues over the past year, in my opinion, and they are fast becoming one of the best brands on the market for sophisticated, mid wattage style-statement vapes.
I’m delighted to bring you this review of the rather interesting and sleekly machined Joyetech Riftcore Duo Sub-ohm tank and while it’s not my favorite…it’s something very different indeed!
What’s in the Box
- Riftcore Duo
- Joyetech RFC Heater
- Cotton Pack
- Cotton cutting template
- Allen Key
- Tweezer
- Warranty Card
- Warning Card
- Spare Glass, screws and O-rings
Features
- Long lasting heating plates for a super-extended lifespan
- ‘Self-cleaning’ elements, o.25Ohm dual and 0.5 Ohm single
- Coilless deck
- Honeycomb drip tip
- Sliding cap with top fill
- Bottom airflow
- SS 510 connection
- 3.5 ml tank
- Available in Blue, Gold and Black
Build Quality & Design
On opening the neat black box packaging and lifting out the Joyetech Riftcore Duo, my first impression was that it feels really solid and well put together, there’s no thin metal.
Adjusting the airflow and breaking down the tank to look inside reveals nothing but the best machining, everything smooth, solid and perfectly fitted.
The design is very elegant…not necessarily my own personal taste, as I prefer big, loud and bulky things or shiny and completely twisted looking things, but it would certainly qualify as a sexy looking tank to some.
The tank is 25mm wide but has a very slight appearance, Joyetech have made an effort to keep the size down in the base and topcap but they have done so without compromising the solid feel and integrity of the piece. There is a stainless steel 510 connection and I’ve not had any trouble fitting the tank to any of my mods.
A short, horizontally knurled base reveals the long, approximately 1mm thick, dual cyclopean airflow slots.
I find the actual core chamber, visible through the tank to be the best aesthetic feature…since it looks really unique and nicely put together with the 12 contrasting metallic stripes running around the core and dual entry points for e-liquid on either side at the bottom of the core.
The top cap is also odd looking and is machined so that its edges are flush with the glasses inner surface instead of the outer one.
The top cap features the same knurling style as the base, interrupted by the Riftcore Duo logo in silver.
The topcap then tapers gently up to the 510 drip tip, which is beautifully set in a steel lined opening. It fits as perfectly as any driptip ever could and is really good quality and pretty, if you enjoy a thinner walled 510. The walls of the tip are thicker at the bottom though, which is perfect for a more restrictive draw.
The cap slides open and while I’ve heard mention that the drip tip needs to be slipped out slightly to open it, this is not the case with the tank I received. It slides open easily, but not too easily and there is a little pointer to lead the way!
The Core/Deck
Breaking down the tank…you discover a core like no other. An SS RBA deck with 4 neat top screws keeps two small, rectangular, perforated plates in place, between which numerous small rectangles of cotton are snuggly squeezed. Once again, the workmanship looks neat and flawless.
The plates seem to be made of a ceramic and metal mix but the basis of it is that thermoconductivity is evenly distributed as molecules are arranged in neat layers and expansion happens in a consistent and integrity retaining fashion throughout.
So…Joyetech says these elements, which you merely have to rinse and pulse at low wattage to clean, are good for 1 million hits. I haven’t listed that amongst the features, since there’s no chance that some poor guinea-vape-pig sat in a room and tested the theory because the Riftcore Duo, and the vaper, have not been in existence for long enough to do so, I’m sure of it. 
Still…the point of this setup, is immortality. The elements are supposed to last a lifetime. Perhaps they should have included a lifetime guarantee, hmmmm. I’m having a laugh though, it definitely looks legit.
Accessories
I’m thoroughly pleased with the little accessories box included with the tank, which has all necessary screws, glass, o-rings, cotton and even a little metal template to help you cut your cotton rectangles just right. What’s more, they included a tweezer and…since my Coilmaster kit got stolen by some savage, street-faring non-entity, this saves me having to use my eyebrow tweezer with this build and all my others, lol!
How Does The Joyetech Riftcore Duo Perform?
Flavour
Look, personally…I wouldn’t call this a flavour tank, by any means. I actually find the flavour to be just average. I also experience an odd sensation of the vapour being ‘drier’ than usual, which must have something to do with the material used in the elements, which is completely safe…by the way.
With that said, the feel of the tank, combined with an airflow that is perfectly smooth and consistent throughout the settings and the fact that you can always rely on the element to be in top shape, provided you’ve cleaned it and keep your cotton in good nick, is something of a selling point here.
This is not a tank for enjoying subtle nuances of cherry blossom and orange tweel though….a juice like that would likely just taste vaguely rust coloured.
Vapour
As for vapour production, it is also very consistent…however, 75 watts on this setup feels more like 50W on your popular mainstream sub ohm coils of the same resistance, just with much less flavour.
The only way to make 75W feel like itself is to only have the airflow a couple of mm open…which is a very restricted DL vape, which I really don’t mind but which is obviously not every vaper’s cup of sauce.
Considering the fact that the recommended best wattage for these elements is 40-50W, this is quite unfortunate if, say, you buy this tank for your 50W max output mod and don’t like a restricted hit one bit.
I’m not going to lie to you, vaping this core at 50W gives me the impression that I’m toking on a fairly good pod mod…unless I restrict my airflow to just a smidgen, which fills out the vapour and actually improves the flavour slightly.
Airflow
Okay…so I think the airflow is smooth as hell but not quite right. I’d have liked to see a smaller airflow slot with an 810 drip tip for some extra juiciness. I feel like that would have heated up the vape, which is extremely cool, and been a little more tasty.
Resistance
As far as coil resistance goes. I apologise for not having a resistance meter right now (thug bastards, as mentioned) but readings on all the mods I fitted the tank to were all over the place and in spite of the fact that I have dual plates fitted (you can remove one), I almost never see the reading under 0.32 Ohm…and it should read 0.25.
However, the elements are extremely fast heating and, whatever they are made of, they obviously have a massive Coefficient of Resistance. On 2 of my mods (and I used the tank with 5), the resistance starts out at 3.2 and ends up at 5 to 5.3 Ohm after a 50W hit. This may be diminishing vapour production and flavour also, given the scope of it.
How To Fill
- Slide open the top cap
- Fill through the slot
How To Change the Coil
- Unscrew the glass from the base to reveal the deck
- Remove the cotton
- Unscrew the plates
- Rinse them off well in water, giving them a coil-scrub under the stream
- Dry them
- Refit without the cotton
- Pulse the plates at 30W for a few seconds, until the smoke/steam stops
- Brush them off with a dry coil or tooth brush and blow away any carbon residue
- Install your cotton strips
- Prime and enjoy
Pros
- Solid construction with excellent machining
- High quality drip tip
- Immortal heating elements
- The ability to fit fresh cotton regularly
- Smooth airflow
Cons
- Muted flavour
- Unimpressive vapour production unless airflow is almost fully closed
- Very high resistance increase while vaping
- Resistance readings slightly higher than expected
Final Review Verdict
Now, if you are after low maintenance and cost efficient vaping and you are not concerned about flavour punch and intense vapour production…if you would just like a smooth, reliable tank that’s well put together, well then, the Riftcore Duo from Joyetech is a good option for you.
Not every vaper cares for delicious fog parties, surprisingly, and some folk really just want a reliable tank to deliver their nicotine fix with minimum fuss and fair inconspicuousness… If you are one of those folks, you will absolutely love this!
And..
Would I buy the Joyetech Riftcore Duo if I lost/broke the device? I would have to say no…not unless I was preparing for the coil-less zombie-vapepocalypse, I would not.
