4_5stars

iJoy Tornado 150 Review

The iJoy Tornado 150 is the latest entry in the Chinese manufacturer’s popular Tornado tank series. Following the success of the Tornado Nano and Tornado RDTA, iJoy is now trying to consolidate its presence on the tank market with a very affordable sub-ohm tank that features a simple top filling system and RTA functionality, thanks to the included RBA section. In this review of the Tornado 150, we’ll try to figure out if iJoy has been able to keep production quality high enough on what is now one of the cheapest sub-ohm tank money can buy.

The iJoy Tornado 150 comes in a nice plastic box with an artistically-designed paper sleeve that features an actual tornado on the front, and all the necessary information and warnings on the back and sides. Inside the box, we have the 25mm Tornado 150 tank with a pre-installed 0.3Ω coil-head, a spare 0.25Ω coil-head, a beefy RBA deck for custom builds, a spare glass tube, a Phillips mini-screwdriver and a bag of goodies that includes spare o-rings, screws, a couple of pre-made Clapton coils, some cotton and a 510 drip tip adapter. It’s a pretty standard tank starter kit, but considering that iJoy recommends a selling price of just $25.99, I’d call it a very good deal.

The iJoy Tornado 150 is 25mm in diameter, so if you don’t have a beefy box mod, like the iJoy/Limitless Lux or the SMOK OSUB Plus, it’s going to overhang a little bit. The tank is also 44mm tall and has an e-liquid capacity of 4.2ml. iJoy doesn’t mention this on their website, but that advertised juice capacity is only relevant when using the provided coil-heads. The RBA section is considerably larger in diameter, so the tank is only going to hold a bit less e-liquid, probably around 3.5ml. That’s still decent for a mid-size sub-ohm tank.

Design-wise, the iJoy Tornado 150 is very similar to the SMOK Brit Beast tank, featuring the same type of wide bore chuff drip tip, the same top filling system with two fill ports large enough to fit any dropper or unicorn bottle, and a very similar base section with two large, adjustable airflow slots. The two are not identical, I just thought I’d mention the Brit Beast as a reference, so you can get an idea of what it looks like.

iJoy does include a standard 510 drip tip in the Tornado 150 kit, but no 510 top cap. If you hate chuff drip tips, you can use a standard one by inserting it directly into the chuff mouthpiece. The tank ends up looking a bit weird with the extended drip tip, but it’s definitely a functional solution. In fact, it’s actually pretty useful when chain vaping at high wattage, because the drip tip, although made of delrin, is so low and close to the coil-head that it gets very hot, very fast and can burn your lips.

To refill the Tornado, simply twist off the delrin top cap and pour the juice into the tank through one of the large filling ports (not the central air shaft). Put the cap back on, let the e-liquid wick for about 15 minutes, and you’re good to go.

The two large slots on the bottom of the tank provide plenty of airflow, maybe a little too much for some people, but you can adjust them to suit your vaping preferences, by rotating the metallic ring around the base. It has stoppers on both sides, but it’s a little too stiff, so sometimes, when trying to adjust the airflow, you accidentally unscrew the whole tank from the mod. It’s not a big deal, and I definitely prefer a stiffer ring to a loose one, but it does require a bit of force to operate. On the bright side, the beefy o-rings on both the bottom and the top of the tank prevent leaking, and I for one have had no such issues in roughly seven days of constant use.

To replace the coils, you first have to remove the base of the tank, and then the top section, as the coils screw into both of them. Unfortunately, since the coil-heads and RBA deck are designed to also serve as chimneys for the tank, you won’t be able to replace them without first vaping all the juice inside, or draining it into a container.

The iJoy Tornado 150 sub-ohm tank comes with two newly-designed coil heads that are currently not compatible with any other iJoy tanks. Both the the 0.3Ω coil-head and the 0.25Ω one share the same design – a vertical dual parallel coil made of stainless steel wire – but the recommended wattage ranges differ considerably. For the 0.3Ω coil, iJoy recommends a power output of 80W – 150W, while for the 0.25Ω, a range of 40W – 80W. That’s kind of strange, to be honest, since lower resistance usually requires higher power, but that’s what the manufacturer recommends, so I for one won’t argue with them.

The coils are pretty interesting in the fact that they also act as disposable chimneys for the tank, which guarantees a hotter vape, because the distance from the coil to your mouth is greatly reduced, and also eliminates the need to thoroughly clean the narrow chimney for juice deposits every time you clean the tank. They screw on directly to the base of the tank and to the fill port section underneath the delrin top cap.

The coil-heads seem to perform very well as well, both in terms of vapor production and flavor intensity. I’ve mainly been using the 0.3Ω one at around 95 watts, and it’s chugging the vapor. I think it can actually produce a bit more if you bump the wattage, but anything over 100W is just too hot for me, especially with the coil itself being so close to my mouth. The flavor is not the best I’ve ever had, but it’s definitely above average for a tank. It feels a bit muted compared to what I get from my favorite RDAs, but that’s to be expected. If you’re satisfied with the flavor you get from other tanks, you’ll love the Tornado 150.

I do have a small con to report on the coils, though. From time to time, especially after not vaping on the tank for a few hours, I do get a little bit of spit-back, but only during the first couple of draws, after which everything returns to normal. It’s not a big deal, especially since you don’t get huge droplets of hot juice into your mouth, but rather a fine spray. It’s noticeable, but it seems to be a temporary issue that goes away after a few puffs.

But what really makes the iJoy Tornado 150 shine is the included RBA best. It’s without a doubt one of the best ones I’ve ever used. It’s large enough to accommodate decent size coils, the post holes are huge, as are bottom airflow holes and the wicking slots. Most decks I’ve used have narrower cotton slots near the top that expand at the bottom. The problem with that is that if the wick is to thick, the juice doesn’t reach the heating elements, and you get dry hits. The wicking slots of the Tornado 150 RBA base are the same size all the way , so you shouldn’t have any dry hit issues. The cotton has plenty of space to expand, allowing the juice to travel all the way to the heating elements.

The RBA base has a similar design to the popular Velocity build deck, but only has two large post holes instead of four smaller ones. This should be a big plus for experienced builders, as the two holes can fit virtually any wire type and gauge, but aligning the coils and getting them fixed in place simultaneously may be a bit problematic for beginners.

Another thing you should be aware of is that the Tornado 150 RBA doesn’t come with one of those plastic or ceramic adapters for single coil vaping. You can use a single coil, but the air is going to come through both airflow holes and the vape will fill airier than it should.

But if you build and wick it properly, the RBA base is by far the best option for this tank. The vapor production is great, but the flavor is particularly impressive, especially compared to what you get from the coils. Yes, setting up the RBA requires a bit more work, but it’s totally worth it.

The only con I can think of when using the RBA section is the vapor consumption. I don’t even know if you can call that a con, but when using a fancy low resistance build, this thing just burns through juice. And the fact that the juice capacity of the Tornado 150 goes down when switching from the coil-heads to the RBA doesn’t help much either. Why not as thirsty as, say the SMOK TFV8 Cloud Beast with the octuple coil head, I still have to refill the tank every two hours, sometimes even less than that. With the coil-heads, juice consumption is much better, even at 90W-100W, so if you’re on a budget, stick to the coil-heads.

Lastly, I’m happy to report that I have not had a single leaking issue with this tank, which is awesome. Even the best tanks used to leak just a little bit from time to time, but the latest ones, like this and the SMOK Brit Beast and Baby Beast have been flawless in that regard.

Overall, I think iJoy did an awesome job with the Tornado 150. It’s not the most innovative sub-ohm tank I’ve ever used, it doesn’t come with fancy features like juice flow control, but for a simple, affordable tank, it’s pretty impressive. The build quality is great, vapor production is insane and the flavor is not too shabby either. There’s no leaking whatsoever, refilling is a breeze, and pretty much the only real con I can think of is that occasional spit-back issue that goes away after a couple of puffs. And let’s not forget the awesome RBA section, one of the best I’ve ever used.