Hello and welcome back. I’m pleased to be back with you today to take a look at the new Innokin Ares Finale that was sent to me by Innokin in order to provide you with a fair and honest review. The Finale is a rebuildable tank atomizer that has a 4.5ml liquid capacity and can be used for both MTL and RDL vaping styles. It has a rather ingenious airflow control design which is being described as a dual airflow adjustment which I will cover in more detail later. I have to admit that I personally wasn’t a big fan of the last Ares rta but know that many liked it. I’ll give my thoughts on this latest version toward the end of this review.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
1 x Ares Finale RTA Tank (4.5ml)
1 x Spare Tank Glass Tube
1 x Organic cotton
2 x Pre-built Kanthal Coil 1.0ohm
1 x 1M 26G Kanthal Wire
1 x Phil's Build Tool
1 x Dimi's Build Tool
1 x Dual Use Screwdriver
1 x Withdrawal Tool
1 x Spare O-Rings Set
1 x Spare MTL Mouthpiece
2 x Replacement Screws
1 x Quick Start Guide
SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES:
510 threading connection
Dimension: 24 x 61mm
Inhalation: MTL
Single coil Deck
Top refilling
Capacity: 4.5ml
Adjustable Airflow
510 Drip tip
Dual Airflow Adjustment for a Wide Airflow Range
Vortex Bell for Increased Flavor Concentration
16mm Easy-to-build Minimalist Deck
1/4 Turn Convenient Top Refill
Up to 4.5ml Capacity
Great for MTL to RDL
INITIAL THOUGHTS:
As usual, the packaging for the Ares Finale is nice and has a feeling of quality. There is a nice color picture on the front of the device inside along with the Innokin and Ares Finale names in a white font. It’s a nice touch that the 4.5ml capacity is listed on the front. The back side of the box has the normal contents list along with company information for Innokin. The sides of the box have the Platform Series logo and lets you know that it was designed in cooperation with P. Busardo and Vapingreek. Both have had a long time relationship with Innokin and have helped to design many products.
You might notice the blue tab sticking out the side of the box in the picture above. This isn’t your standard top/bottom box design but instead the contents slide out through the side of the box. Initially when the inner box is slid out, there is a picture of P. Busardo and Vapingreek etched into a blue background. Once that is lifted then the Finale can be seen in a blue insert along with a spare glass section. The Ares Finale name is printed on that insert also. The Finale comes with a lot of accessories as you can see in the second picture below. The contents were listed earlier in this review so don’t see a need to list them again. I will however mention that it is nice that there are two different coiling tools included in the kit. There are also two drip tips included. The MTL tip is long and skinny. It is the one pre-installed on the tank. There is also an RDL tip included in the accessories. To me it is fitting that the MTL tip is pre-installed since in my opinion it is really more of an MTL tank than an RDL tank.
As always, the first thing you really should do is break down the tank for a thorough cleaning. I usually use a glass cup or small bowl and clean the tank with a drop of soap and very hot tap water in order to get rid of any residual machining oil that may have been left behind. You might notice the key in the picture below with the Ares Finale name etched on it. That is included with the tank kit so you can unscrew the chimney to fully disassemble the tank.
I received one each of the Onyx and Silver versions for my review. I am normally a silver tank person but really like the aesthetics of the black version. Both use a 510 drip tip. There are notches cut into the top cap and the outer ring is knurled to assist with getting a proper grip when removing or installing the ¼ turn top cap. I really like on the black version how the black is broken up by the stainless rings. The Ares Finale name is engraved on the chamber barrel. The outside of the deck is also knurled like the top cap which gives it a cohesive appearance as well as assisting in gripping the base for removal.
Once the top cap is removed, there are two fill holes found underneath surrounded by a white gasket. The holes aren’t the largest but I had no issues filling the tank with the bottles that I commonly use. However, with a glass dropper type bottle I could see it being a little messy as there’s always some liquid residue on the outside of the glass dropper.
The bottom of the tank has same branding as we saw on the packaging on the Ares Finale. Honestly, I can see putting the name of the tank on the bottom but the rest is unnecessary. I’m sure by now we’ve seen the other branding enough that we know who designed the tank.
The Ares Finale has a liquid capacity of 4.5ml. I never really used the previous versions of the Ares except for the version 2 and was one of very few that really didn’t care for it. It is my understanding that the different versions of the Ares are very similar. The Ares 2 had a round dial under the coil but was a little hard to turn. The Finale has improved upon this by adding an underneath the coil airflow adjustment with a lever that sticks out for easier adjustment. The deck on the Finale has been redesigned with side by side posts where you slide the coil legs through holes in the posts and tighten the coil in place using the slotted head screws. The deck on this one is really very easy to build using the included coils. Of course, on this type of deck you want to make sure to trim the coil legs as close as possible to the posts to keep them from touching the chamber once the tank is assembled. Rather than having wick holes, there are just half circle notches cut out where you tuck the wick ends into. It’s still a good idea thin the tails some to keep from choking off the liquid flow once the chamber is screwed over the deck. I made sure to make the wick long enough to reach the bottom of the deck.
The Ares Finale has a really neat airflow control. The airflow can be altered not only at the deck but also on the bottom of the deck. There is a single large hole followed by six honeycomb holes, then five, four, three, two, and then one single hole for a very tight MTL. The combination of the deck airflow control, the multiple options on the airflow ring, and the “Vortex Bell” create a very flavorful vape.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I have to admit that I was fairly cynical about how the flavor production was going to be on the Ares Finale. As I always try to do, I gave it a fair shot and used the included coils as I think that the reason that the manufacturers include coils is to optimize the performance on the user’s initial impression. Both of the included coils read very close to the 1.0 ohm rating on mods that I used for testing the tanks. It was considerate of Innokin to include some extra wire along with the two coiling tools.
Since I was provided with two tanks for testing, I decided to try a different coil placement in each one. In one tank I placed the top of the coil even with the top of the posts. The second tank I lowered the coil about centered it with the posts. I put the same liquid in both for a comparison to start. It was a chocolate donut mix. To me it took a while to break in the coil and wick in both but once they were broken in then the flavor difference was pretty noticeable to me. The tank with the higher coil placement had much better flavor production to me. So much so that I opened the other tank and raised the coil. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a little over two weeks to test the tanks so ran some different mixes in the two tanks. My favorites were a custard cream tobacco in one and a NET tobacco and cookie mix in the second. I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I ended up enjoying these tanks. In my opinion they are really designed for MTL more than RDL. I ended up running both with the single large hole and the deck airflow open along with the long MTL tip for a really nice loose MTL type of vape.
I’d like to thank Innokin and Alisa for sending the Innokin Ares Finale samples for my review. Also a big thanks to the readers for sticking it out to the end of another review. Below is a link to the Innokin website for your viewing pleasure.
Ares Finale - Vape Tank | INNOKIN®
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
1 x Ares Finale RTA Tank (4.5ml)
1 x Spare Tank Glass Tube
1 x Organic cotton
2 x Pre-built Kanthal Coil 1.0ohm
1 x 1M 26G Kanthal Wire
1 x Phil's Build Tool
1 x Dimi's Build Tool
1 x Dual Use Screwdriver
1 x Withdrawal Tool
1 x Spare O-Rings Set
1 x Spare MTL Mouthpiece
2 x Replacement Screws
1 x Quick Start Guide
SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES:
510 threading connection
Dimension: 24 x 61mm
Inhalation: MTL
Single coil Deck
Top refilling
Capacity: 4.5ml
Adjustable Airflow
510 Drip tip
Dual Airflow Adjustment for a Wide Airflow Range
Vortex Bell for Increased Flavor Concentration
16mm Easy-to-build Minimalist Deck
1/4 Turn Convenient Top Refill
Up to 4.5ml Capacity
Great for MTL to RDL
INITIAL THOUGHTS:
As usual, the packaging for the Ares Finale is nice and has a feeling of quality. There is a nice color picture on the front of the device inside along with the Innokin and Ares Finale names in a white font. It’s a nice touch that the 4.5ml capacity is listed on the front. The back side of the box has the normal contents list along with company information for Innokin. The sides of the box have the Platform Series logo and lets you know that it was designed in cooperation with P. Busardo and Vapingreek. Both have had a long time relationship with Innokin and have helped to design many products.
You might notice the blue tab sticking out the side of the box in the picture above. This isn’t your standard top/bottom box design but instead the contents slide out through the side of the box. Initially when the inner box is slid out, there is a picture of P. Busardo and Vapingreek etched into a blue background. Once that is lifted then the Finale can be seen in a blue insert along with a spare glass section. The Ares Finale name is printed on that insert also. The Finale comes with a lot of accessories as you can see in the second picture below. The contents were listed earlier in this review so don’t see a need to list them again. I will however mention that it is nice that there are two different coiling tools included in the kit. There are also two drip tips included. The MTL tip is long and skinny. It is the one pre-installed on the tank. There is also an RDL tip included in the accessories. To me it is fitting that the MTL tip is pre-installed since in my opinion it is really more of an MTL tank than an RDL tank.
As always, the first thing you really should do is break down the tank for a thorough cleaning. I usually use a glass cup or small bowl and clean the tank with a drop of soap and very hot tap water in order to get rid of any residual machining oil that may have been left behind. You might notice the key in the picture below with the Ares Finale name etched on it. That is included with the tank kit so you can unscrew the chimney to fully disassemble the tank.
I received one each of the Onyx and Silver versions for my review. I am normally a silver tank person but really like the aesthetics of the black version. Both use a 510 drip tip. There are notches cut into the top cap and the outer ring is knurled to assist with getting a proper grip when removing or installing the ¼ turn top cap. I really like on the black version how the black is broken up by the stainless rings. The Ares Finale name is engraved on the chamber barrel. The outside of the deck is also knurled like the top cap which gives it a cohesive appearance as well as assisting in gripping the base for removal.
Once the top cap is removed, there are two fill holes found underneath surrounded by a white gasket. The holes aren’t the largest but I had no issues filling the tank with the bottles that I commonly use. However, with a glass dropper type bottle I could see it being a little messy as there’s always some liquid residue on the outside of the glass dropper.
The bottom of the tank has same branding as we saw on the packaging on the Ares Finale. Honestly, I can see putting the name of the tank on the bottom but the rest is unnecessary. I’m sure by now we’ve seen the other branding enough that we know who designed the tank.
The Ares Finale has a liquid capacity of 4.5ml. I never really used the previous versions of the Ares except for the version 2 and was one of very few that really didn’t care for it. It is my understanding that the different versions of the Ares are very similar. The Ares 2 had a round dial under the coil but was a little hard to turn. The Finale has improved upon this by adding an underneath the coil airflow adjustment with a lever that sticks out for easier adjustment. The deck on the Finale has been redesigned with side by side posts where you slide the coil legs through holes in the posts and tighten the coil in place using the slotted head screws. The deck on this one is really very easy to build using the included coils. Of course, on this type of deck you want to make sure to trim the coil legs as close as possible to the posts to keep them from touching the chamber once the tank is assembled. Rather than having wick holes, there are just half circle notches cut out where you tuck the wick ends into. It’s still a good idea thin the tails some to keep from choking off the liquid flow once the chamber is screwed over the deck. I made sure to make the wick long enough to reach the bottom of the deck.
The Ares Finale has a really neat airflow control. The airflow can be altered not only at the deck but also on the bottom of the deck. There is a single large hole followed by six honeycomb holes, then five, four, three, two, and then one single hole for a very tight MTL. The combination of the deck airflow control, the multiple options on the airflow ring, and the “Vortex Bell” create a very flavorful vape.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I have to admit that I was fairly cynical about how the flavor production was going to be on the Ares Finale. As I always try to do, I gave it a fair shot and used the included coils as I think that the reason that the manufacturers include coils is to optimize the performance on the user’s initial impression. Both of the included coils read very close to the 1.0 ohm rating on mods that I used for testing the tanks. It was considerate of Innokin to include some extra wire along with the two coiling tools.
Since I was provided with two tanks for testing, I decided to try a different coil placement in each one. In one tank I placed the top of the coil even with the top of the posts. The second tank I lowered the coil about centered it with the posts. I put the same liquid in both for a comparison to start. It was a chocolate donut mix. To me it took a while to break in the coil and wick in both but once they were broken in then the flavor difference was pretty noticeable to me. The tank with the higher coil placement had much better flavor production to me. So much so that I opened the other tank and raised the coil. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a little over two weeks to test the tanks so ran some different mixes in the two tanks. My favorites were a custard cream tobacco in one and a NET tobacco and cookie mix in the second. I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I ended up enjoying these tanks. In my opinion they are really designed for MTL more than RDL. I ended up running both with the single large hole and the deck airflow open along with the long MTL tip for a really nice loose MTL type of vape.
I’d like to thank Innokin and Alisa for sending the Innokin Ares Finale samples for my review. Also a big thanks to the readers for sticking it out to the end of another review. Below is a link to the Innokin website for your viewing pleasure.
Ares Finale - Vape Tank | INNOKIN®
