So Is This A Vaping Rebel With A Cause? Let’s Find Out
The VaporFi Rebel 3 is the latest sub ohm pen style kit from the company and obviously an upgrade from the previous version.
I haven’t had the pleasure of using any of the other Rebel kits so can’t compare them.
This is marketed as a vaping ‘starter kit’ though I’d add sub ohm to that description given it’s pumping out 70watts when fully charged using the supplied 0.25 ohm coil – more thoughts on that later.
OK this was sent to me by VaporFi for the purpose of this review and as always my thoughts and opinions are my own.
Inside the Box
In this instance I received two boxes – one with the battery and the other with the tank – not sure if that’s the case for all retail kits.
Inside you’ll find:
- 1 Rebel 3 Tank (with pre-installed 0.25ohm Atomizer)
- 1 Rebel 3 Battery
- 1 0.5 ohm Rebel 3 Atomizer
- 1 USB Cable
- 1 User Manual
No USB cable in mine!
VaporFi Rebel 3 Specs
- 5.8ml Tank Capacity
- 3000mAh Power Capacity
- Resistance Range: 0.25ohm – 0.5ohm
- Battery Output: 30-70W
- Adjustable Airflow
VaporFi Rebel 3 Starter Kit Quick Start Guide
- X5 clicks to turn on and off
- LED light blinks slowly when fully charged
- LED light blinks rapidly when needs charging
- Unscrew tank – turn upside down – remove base to fill and re-coil
- Vape using fire button
- Device cuts out after fire button pressed for ten seconds
Key Features
I seem to say simplicity is the key feature a lot these days and once again that’s the case!
This is about as simple as you can get when it comes to sub ohm devices.
Incidentally Vaporfi are marketing this as a ‘starter kit’ but this is definitely a sub ohm starter kit – more on that later.
OK the tank is a bottom fill – which means you’ll need to take it off the battery turn it upside down and fill from the bottom – once you remove the base obviously!
The fact it’s a 5.8ml tank is excellent – and if you’re shipping it into Europe be careful that customs don’t take a peek and either confiscate it or charge you a fortune in customs fees – I was that vaper – or should I say Jonny was lol.
Anyway on with the features.
Powerful Battery And Simple To Use
There are two very generous airflow slots on the base of the tank and the two large glass viewing windows allow you to see your juice levels.
The battery is a respectable 3000mAH pumping out between 30 and 70watts and despite using the supplied 0.25ohm coil I was surprised on the battery longevity getting a very decent 5 to 7 hours.
You can indeed vape on this whilst it’s charging [pass through] which on any internal battery device is a big bonus.
There’s a tiny pin prick sized battery LED light that blinks slowly when you’re fully charged and rapidly when it needs to be charged.
The device is a simple 5 clicks on 5 clicks off and click and hold the fire button to vape – easy!
BTW there’s a nice safety feature built in too – if the fire button is held for 10 seconds the device shuts off.
Design and Build Quality
Another VaporFi product and yet another device that is to say the least solidly built!
I don’t have scales but this is on the heavy side and feels solid and comfortable in the hand.
The designers have moved away from elongated pen style and made this fatter and chunkier – bit like me really lol.
The overall effect is actually very pleasing both to the eye [the kit not me] and handling the kit – like I said this is a chunky piece of kit made from a solid chunk of metal!
Design wise I really like it looking like a cross between a box mod and vape pen style and not at all dissimilar to a mech mod.
So how does the VaporFi Rebel 3 vape?
How Does the VaporFi Rebel 3 Perform?
First up a real word of caution!
You REALLY need to prime the supplied coil and leave it sitting for at least 15 minutes – even longer – trust me!
Given there’s only one coil in the box I received – this is important as it seems to take an absolute age to wick – even 3 tanks later whilst I never once received a dry hit – chain vaping on this feels as though it’s about to if you catch my drift.
Those juice ports are tiny!
If you’re new to sub ohm vaping I suggest buying extra coils with your order just in case you burn yours out before the cotton is soaked!
I’m apparently an ‘experienced vaper’ [lol] and came close to ruining the only coil I had to review this kit so be aware!
For the record I was using a 70-30 VG PG mix and found a 50-50 mix [later on] much much better for wicking purposes.
OK flavour off this is just OK with the first few fills – however after the coil has broken in [for me 3 fills] AND after dropping the PG/VG ratio to 50-50 the flavour went up a couple of notches – especially closing the airflow half way.
BTW wide open and you really do get a very muted flavour – tasty but even fully charged my taste buds were ‘reaching for it’.
Vapour production with the generous airflow fully open was very good and even over half closed I was getting a decent lung full and reasonable clouds.
I wouldn’t call this a cloud chucker by any stretch of the imagination – but it certainly holds its own – though definitely not in the same league as the Smok Stick V8 Kit.
All in all if you’re coming into the sub ohm vaping this isn’t a bad little kit to start you off on your journey.
BTW with the airflow almost closed off I got a more than passable mouth to lung vape.
Incidentally there’s also a 0.5ohm coil that can be purchased separately that by closing down the airflow might give a better MTL vape…
What I Like
I really like the chunky design on the Rebel 3 – drop this and you’ll crack the pavement!
Battery life is very good for a sub ohm device and whilst you have to fiddle about with the right e-liquid ratio and airflow the flavour isn’t that bad – not great but not bad.
One positive thing is if you have a 30mm tank or rebuildable then it will sit on the battery perfectly – it’s a big bugger!
It’s definitely ease of use that gets the biggest thumbs up and the pass through vaping option is excellent.
What I Don’t Like
The coil is a bugger to ‘bed in’ and I recommend dropping to a 50:50 VG PG mix unless you’re patient and can wait for a higher ratio to soak in.
I definitely don’t like seeing only one coil in the kit that’s a little bit stingy to say the least and I do recommend buying a spare pack – just in case!
It’s a proprietary drip tip too – slightly bigger than a 510 and smaller than an 810 – though I did find the ULTEM drip tip from my Kaees Solomon fitted with a little help from an O Ring.
The supplied drip tip is OK but a little restrictive for my sub ohm preference – plus we all like our own drip tips right!
Another niggle is the choice of colours – at the time of writing just black and stainless steel – which is keeping it simple I guess but more choices might make this ping out a bit more.
Final Review Verdict
A couple of weeks in and the Vaporfi Rebel 3 is still on my desk and I do reach for it now and then but it certainly hasn’t dazzled me.
The flavour is reasonable as is the vapour and I do like the way it looks.
Wicking can be an issue with higher VG e-liquids – in my case at least and only supplying one coil is a bit stingy!
We’re spoiled for choice these days and to really stand out from the crowd of sub ohm kits you need to be something very special indeed.
Whilst the Rebel 3 is a good solid sub ohm starter kit that’s perfect for beginners to the style – more experienced DTL vapers might find it a little underwhelming.
BTW the battery and tank can both be purchased separately.
Pros
- Simple to use
- Decent flavour
- Decent clouds
- Good airflow control
- Good kit for new sub ohm vapers
- Well-made and solid
- Good battery life
- Hasn’t leaked!
Cons
- Only one coil supplied
- Coil takes a long time to wick
