smok Trinity Alpha pod review.
I decided to write a review of the trinity alpha kit, as everything I have seen up to this point has been regurgitated marketing hype, or conjecture.
Please bear with me, as I am not a pro at this, and newish to vaping, but after trying the Alpha for about a week now, and having soe experience with other devices, i feel i know enough to give ore info than others i've read.
for the most part, i will be discussing how the alpha compares to the Nord AIO 19 and 22, as these are what I am most familiar with currently, and will allow me to compare how the coils work across the line, minus the nord itself.
To start with, lets talk about the packaging.
in the box, we get the battery which feels sturdy. not as much as the AIO, but they're heavier too. It feels like an odd shaped, but well made 9v alkaline battery. one pod, two different coils(0.6ohm DTL, and 0.8ohm MTL,)charging cable, a lanyard, which, despite me scrutinizing the device, could not figure out how to attach it, and a rubber ring that looks like it should atatta to the lanyard, but the only way i could get it to even remotely look like it belongs, was around both the fill port and mouth piece.
Now on to the experience of using the Alpha.
After the basics are dispensed with(charging, filling with juice,) the standard experience of a basic vape continues with five clicks to turn on and off, and a single click to fire. the only distinction from the other nord products in this regard is the variable voltage of the only other button. press it once, and it will show you the mode its in, and successive clicks changes between soft, normal, and hard.)
Hard seems to be the the same as the AIO kits at similar charge states. where soft with the DTL coil seems a little weaker than the 0.8ohm DTL, and normal is right about on par, or a little stronger. I'm sure a math guru could crunch the numbers to be sure.
As for battery life, I've been able to consisconsis drain the pod twice on a full charge, which seems pretty good to me for only a 1000maH. The AIO19, with its 1300maH, gets me about 3.5 tanks at 2ml each.
Now that the basics of functionality are covered, let me get on with my observations about my likes, dislikes, and other concerns.
The aforementioned Lanyard and o-ring. I am not sure what the deal is, as stated, around the fill port and mouth pieces is the only place the o-ring even remotely looks to belong, but it covers the top air channel in the process. it would have been nice for it to work here though, as the fill port i received is a little on the loose side, and the ungrounded metal ring the drip tip seats into has a tendency to ground on the lip, not terrible, but more than a small oversight.
Checking the battery status can only be done by holding the firing button, AFAIK. pressing to button twice, as is the case for the nord AIO, does nothing, including NOT firing the atomizer if held on the second click. I could see this being a good thing, as in the case of pocketing a powered up device. it would be slightly harder to activate while jostled about.
As someone newish to vaping, I really dig the power control on a lower end device. as I crave analogs less and less, dropping my nic levels, i can use a higher mg juice on a lower setting, and jump it up for a puff or two if i do get a craving. the only other benefit i get is slightly prolonging bettery life, and using a lower resistance coil to get DTL, but with out the bigger dose of nic. I don't see this being something a seasoned vaper would fiddle with, except to try out.
The placement of the coil to one side rather than centralized, as is the case in the Nord, and the Nord AIO, allows for better vaping while reclining. a nice feature for late night or early morning.
The bore of the drip is slightly smaller than the AIO, so flavor is a touch better, but only just.
Final thoughts: The Trinity alpha, like most of the myriad of Smok products, fills a niche. is it necessary to have 17 different v8 tanks, 23 varieties of v12 tanks, 39 coil choices for each, and your choice of 169 mods in production to choose from to top with said tanks? probably not, but each one is slightly different, and someone with a SMOK Ph.D could set you up with just what would be right for your needs, most of the time, with one or two other devices for when you want, say, something to put in your fifth jean pocket as a just in case my main mod has a critical failure, or swapping between flavors in the blink of an eye seems reasonable.
