RBA Reviews

Taifun GT III RTA

Taifun is German for Typhoon and this is now the third iteration (not including the GS variants) of this RTA designed and manufactured in Germany by Smokerstore. The GT III features completely new aesthetics but still bears some resemblance to its predecessors and is intended for single coil builds.

by VapeMaster
Feb 13, 2017

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Taifun GT III RTA

All of the features you would expect from a modern RTA are included such as fully adjustable airflow, top filling and juice flow control. As someone who enjoyed the older versions of the Taifun I was really looking forward to trying this so let’s take a good look and see what it has to offer!

Taifun GT III RTA features

304 Stainless Steel Construction
56.5mm Height (Not Including Drip Tip)
Borosilicate Glass
23mm Diameter
Designed for Single Coils
Two Post Deck
Fully Adjustable Airflow
Juice Flow Control
Top or Bottom Filling
5ml Capacity
Adjustable 510 Pin

What’s in the box?

1x Taifun GT III
1x Stainless Steel Drip Tip
Spare Set of O-Rings
Authenticity Card
User Manual (In English and German)
Comes in a Stylish Mini Suitcase Style Presentation Box

Even though everything is extremely well presented the Taifun GT III, like a lot of high end atomizers, can certainly be considered to be rather lacking in terms of included spares. I feel that instead of simply selling this RTA with an included set of O-rings they should have also added spare glass, spare screws, a smaller diameter drip tip and the PEEK airflow reducer rather than market them separately because given the high price of this tank it is very unfair to the consumer.

Due to some strange quirk of the TPD regulations German stores will also no longer ship to the UK and that also includes Smokerstore who manufacture this tank so if you need spares then I suggest you try to get them from other European retailers. Spare screws are not a problem since the Taifun uses common M2 Philips screws.

Thankfully the Taifun GT III was completely free of machine oil and the O-rings looked to have been lubricated with some VG. I still gave it a quick wash in some hot water just to be on the safe side.

Taifun GT-III RTA styling and build quality

The GT III is made from 304 Grade Stainless Steel and the machining as you would expect is to a very high standard. All of the pieces fit together well and the threading is suitably deep.

The Borosilicate glass has a lightly frosted finish and is of good thickness so don’t be the slightest bit worried about using any tank cracker juices in this tank. The glass is securely held and protected by a Stainless Steel frame and to actually remove it you will need some needle nose pliers to grip the frame at the top just beneath the cap and turn it to loosen the main barrel of the tank for disassembly (only necessary for deep cleaning or glass replacement).

Unlike the older Taifun’s there is a larger amount of glass exposed so it is much easier to see the current juice level. The overall styling in my opinion is a big improvement on the previous models which despite the quality of vape they offer have always looked very ugly to me. The GT III is 23mm in diameter just like its predecessors and is 56.5mm in height not including the drip tip which makes it slightly shorter than the Kayfun 5.

As you might expect the GT III features the trademark Taifun knurling which really helps make for an excellent grip when making adjustments and this can be noticed in three prominent areas; the top cap, the airflow control ring and just below the tank glass. The airflow control ring is very easy to adjust but does stay in place when set and it features a large amount of airflow options.

Unlike the previous Taifuns the GT III can either be conveniently filled from either the top or bottom. The 510 pin is slightly recessed when fully screwed in but it is fully adjustable. One notable difference to a lot of other RTA’s is the fact that the main chamber and chimney is actually only secured by O-rings but it is designed this way so it can move freely when you adjust the juice flow control.

All of the O-rings seemed to be of a good quality and should any of them ever start to wear you do get a spare set included with the tank. There are only two logos on the tank, one features the name “Taifun GT III” which is tastefully engraved just above the airflow control ring and on the opposite side you will find your tanks serial number which you can check online just to make sure it is actually authentic and not a Taifun GT III style $18 special!

The included drip tip is made from Stainless Steel and features two small notches or teeth very much like the one on the Rose3 which is designed to allow you to easily open and close the juice flow control. Now personally I am not a fan of the drip tip because while it fits extremely well, feels comfortable on the lips and functions perfectly for opening and closing the juice flow it just seems a bit too wide bore for this type of tank. To be fair I have never really liked any of the Taifun drip tips so this is nothing new but in terms of the quality of vape you get I felt like the included drip tip was actually washing out the flavour too much. Once I swapped it out for the small diameter Delrin one from the Siren 25 GTA things got so much better!

Now you can actually fit any standard 510 drip tip into the bore of the one included with the Taifun GT III and still make use of the juice flow control but depending on the size of tip you use things can start to look extremely silly and it might start to border on the vaping equivalent of a cigarette holder if you are not careful.

Fortunately there are ways around this and if you prefer to use your own drip tip like I do then you can open and close the juice flow control by holding the knurling above the airflow control and turning the main part of the tank. However considering the very high price of this RTA a small low profile drip tip adapter or even an extra small diameter Delrin drip tip should ideally have been included in my opinion (once more I find myself whining about extras).

Airflow

The airflow that this tank offers has a large amount of flexibility and one side has six holes while the opposite side has five holes. Depending on how you prefer to vape you can set the airflow to cater for a direct to lung inhale which is certainly airier than the Kayfun 5 on its most open setting or close it down for a more restrictive lung inhale.

The sixth air hole is tiny and very reminiscent of the one on the original Taifun GT and is intended to suit a tight mouth to lung vape. Of course it won’t be exactly the same vape as the Taifun GT since the GT III has a much larger air hole in the deck (about 3.5mm in diameter) and anyone who wants an extremely restrictive MTL vape will need to purchase the airflow reducer which takes it down to 2mm diameter.

Ease of use

Fitting a coil in the GT III is very easy and the posts are slightly offset to assist you with wrapping the wire under the large screws. The screws work well and hold to the wire very securely. The space between the posts is quite generous and you can happily fit a Clapton coil in there if you choose.

Wicking is the one area in which it is really easy to mess up with this tank because if you use too much you will stifle the juice flow and end up tasting cotton and if you use too little the GT III will leak heavily.

The juice flow control also has something of a learning curve because while you might think that 80VG liquid would require the juice flow control fully opened up that it is not always the best cause of action. I have actually found that based on the amount of cotton which I use in some cases when using 70VG and 80VG juice it is best to only have the juice flow control half way open.

As a rule of thumb I suggest that while this tank is still new to you that you only open the juice flow control slightly when using 50/50 E-Liquids and about half way open when using juices that a mixed to a ratio of 70VG+. You can of course open it up some more later if you feel you need to do but by doing it this way you will reduce the risk of any flooding. If you do get a leak don’t panic because it tends to hang around the airflow control ring for a while before pouring down the side of your mod so all you have to do is remove the tank from your mod, pull the ring off and give it and the air holes a good wipe with a paper towel (yes I did accidentally flood this tank twice).

Filling is very simple and you only have to unscrew the top cap and squeeze in the juice. There are two large slots with plenty of space for you nozzles or droppers. One word of warning do remember to close the juice flow control first.

How does it vape?

If you have had the chance to try out several different tanks since you started vaping you may have noticed that the type of vape you get with some is rather dry but you will occasionally come across one that gives you a very wet/saturated vape and it is the latter category that the Taifun GT III falls into.

Open your first inhale you get thick almost sticky clouds of flavoursome vapour so the taste of your E-Liquid tends to linger on your lips for a while after each exhale. The first juice I used in my GT III was some Grand Reserve Catch ya Latte which is an awesome hazelnut, vanilla and coffee flavoured E-Liquid. Flavour was superb and I could easily pick out all of the notes in the juice with the coffee being the most prominent ingredient. Since it was such a wet vape it really did almost convince me that I was actually drinking a cup of real coffee!

I then moved on to vaping some Pacha Mama which is a delicious combination of peach, papaya, coconut and cream. The vape was fantastic with all of the flavours being very noticeable and highly enjoyable! Next up was some VGOD Bak-Lava which is a Turkish recipe that contains honey, filo dough, nuts and cinnamon and it made for an incredible vape. The delicious sweetness of the honey was beautifully balanced with the other notes with just a hint of cinnamon and sticky honey lingering on the lips after each inhale.

Much like the GT II tobacco E-Liquids are amazing in this tank and you really do get the full range of distinctive flavour notes. Purity Tribeca, Purity Black Calico, El Toro Guevara and Cigarillo Brasiliero were all absolutely outstanding and made for truly superb vapes!

Vapour production, while not approaching a dedicated cloud chasing atomizer, is still very respectable and the clouds that the GT III puts out are rather dense. Personally I think it will more than satisfy most typical users. For anyone wondering about how quickly the 5ml capacity drains I would say it is fairly reasonable when using a coil with a Resistance between 0.8-1.2ohm at a modest Wattage. As you would expect when vaping at 30-40W with a low Resistance coil the tank will drain much quicker.

Conclusion

While it is noticeably different the GT III is still a Taifun in all the areas that matter and offers exactly the kind of vape that Taifun fans would expect. In my opinion the GT III is a massive improvement on the GT II since it now includes modern features such as juice flow control, top filling and a wide range of airflow options. The older Taifun’s have always been somewhat ugly tanks to me but I have always appreciated the vape they offered over their looks but I personally think that the GT III is far more aesthetically pleasing.

As you might expect from any high end atomizer the Taifun GT III offers an excellent and very saturated vape combined with quite reasonable and fairly dense vapour production. It is very quickly becoming one of my favourite RTA’s and in terms of its ease of use I personally find it incredibly straightforward to coil and wick. In a lot of ways the Taifun GT III’s approachability reminds me of the SQuape R[S] but unlike the SQuape the GT III is far faster to fill. The juice flow control certainly does have a small learning curve but then so does just about every other atomizer that has that feature.

Flavour is highly subjective and is dependent on your juice, your coil and the wattage but I do feel that the Taifun GT III has excellent flavour. It is certainly a very different vape to the Kayfun 5 and a much wetter one. When it comes to any complex E-Liquid or tobacco the Taifun GT III really excels and I personally find it pretty much on a par with the Rose3.

Of course we all know that juice varies heavily between tanks and what I like and what you like are two different things and even I can safely say that there are some flavours I still prefer in the Rose3 and the Kayfun 5 or even in the GP Heron. So far the only flavours that seem a bit lacking to me in the GT III tends to be lemon based juices which sometimes come across as slightly flat but as I said if you use a complex juice in this tank it really does shine so perhaps the GT III is just a bit particular about the flavours of E-Liquid that you use.

I think that the juice flow control system works extremely well - even if the idea has been borrowed from the Rose3. Airflow flexibility is certainly much better with this tank out of the box than the Kayfun 5 and the Taifun GT III offers a far airier vape fully opened up and an even tighter mouth to lung vape on its smallest airflow setting which is ideal for me but I do tend to prefer an ever so loose mouth to lung vape. Of course if you need an even tighter draw you will have to get the 2mm airflow reducer and I personally think that it is a bit of an insult much like the Kayfun 5 to have to pay extra for something that should be in the box just to get the kind of vape that you ideally want!

Overall the Taifun GT III is a superb tank but one that certainly doesn’t come cheap which means it will only appeal to vapers who like to purchase high end gear. Sadly due to strange TPD regulations in Germany it is now much harder for UK customers to get hold of which sadly also includes potentially needed spare parts.

I haven’t actually seen any UK vendors stock the Taifun GT III so I got mine from Le Petit Vapoteur in France who will happily ship to the UK. Service was excellent and I received the tank within a few days, so if you want to buy one you can get it directly from them.