SMOK Helmet
The SMOK Helmet is a 24.5mm Sub Ohm tank that features fully adjustable airflow and a 2ml capacity. In accordance to the new TPD regulations it also designed to be leak free and it features a child proof top cap locking system.
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by VapeMaster
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SMOK Helmet
The SMOK Helmet is a 24.5mm Sub Ohm tank that features fully adjustable airflow and a 2ml capacity. In accordance to the new TPD regulations it also designed to be leak free and it features a child proof top cap locking system. So let’s dive into the review and see if it’s any good.
SMOK Helmet features
- Stainless Steel and Glass Construction
- 24.5mm Diameter
- Height: 45.5mm
- Weight: 55g
- 2ml Capacity
- 510 Threaded
- Leak Free
- Top Pressure Spinning Child Proof Locking System
- Top Adjustable Airflow
What’s in the box?
- 1 x SMOK Helmet Tank
- 1 x 0.4 ohm Fused Clapton Dual Core (Pre-Installed)
- 1 x Spare 0.6 ohm Fused Clapton Dual Core
- 1 x User Manual
- 1 x Spare Parts
SMOK Helmet styling and build quality
The SMOK Helmet is a decent looking atomizer and it feels quite durable and well machined. At only 45.5mm in height it is relatively compact so it will look good on smaller devices. The drip tip is of a wide bore sloped design but while it does feel comfortable to use it cannot be swapped out for a different one. The 510 pin looks to be silver-plated and is non-adjustable. I had no issues when fitting it to a couple of my mods but the possibility does exist that you may have a slight gap when it is fitted to some devices.
The Helmet features two glass windows, one on each side of the tank which allow you to see the current juice level. Sadly they are less useful than they sound since the maximum juice fill level (marked clearly on the side of the tank) only comes one third of the way up the glass. This means you do have to tilt the tank as it drains to see the current juice level.
I received the black version of the SMOK Helmet for review and to be fair the finish is decent enough but perhaps just a little logo heavy for my taste.
Airflow
The airflow can be adjusted by turning the ring located directly beneath the top cap. Unfortunately there are no markings to indicate how open or closed the airflow is so you really do have to try it and adjust to your preference. At its most open it caters to a slightly restrictive direct lung inhale. Closing the airflow down you can sort of get away with mouth to lung but the experience isn’t exactly desirable and will still be too loose and airy for most mouth to lung vapers.
Ease of use
The top cap of the SMOK Helmet features a child proof looking mechanism that is reminiscent of the one you would find on a prescription bottle and you simply have to press down and twist to open it. The coil is screwed directly to the top cap and while it is easy to replace it will be a messy job since when the tank is sealed it sits directly in the juice.
One thing that really does bother me is that once you have removed the top cap the entirety of the tank is open and you could easily knock it over and spill juice everywhere which is certainly a poor design in my opinion. It is also extremely important to never fill the tank higher than the indicated level because the pressure from the coil and the top cap will displace the liquid. The TPD regulations are very quickly going to change juice bottles to the 10ml PET style ones with small nozzles so quite frankly I have no idea why SMOK felt the need for this bucket sized fill space.
How does it vape?
While I certainly enjoyed the vape this tank offered the flavour while fairly decent could be better. It was decent enough but not outstanding. Vapour production was certainly something this tank does very well and it produces pretty dense clouds but the price you pay for it is the speed at which your juice is devoured.
I mean you only need to take one look at the coils with their large wicking holes and know that they will drain your juice fast. I was vaping at 35 Watts using the pre-installed 0.4ohm fused Clapton coil and I drained the tank in less than thirty minutes. I wasn’t even chain vaping just taking a hit every now and then and before I knew it I was refilling. You could of course argue that since the tank has a top fill system it is less of an issue which is certainly true but it wasn’t the capacity that really bothered me as much as the fast rate that the tank drained at even at a fairly typical Wattage.
Juice draining issues aside the vape on the whole struck me as being quite acceptable for typical users but I kept thinking to myself the whole time that the tank would be much better and more efficient with higher Resistance coils that work at a modest Wattage. In fairness to SMOK I think that they have done the best they could in accordance with the new guidelines set out for them and what they offer here is a typical Sub Ohm tank with large airflow and vapour production that would be even better if their hands weren’t tied by the EU and its ridiculous 2ml capacity restriction.
Conclusion
In some ways I really like the SMOK Helmet tank because the flavour is pretty good and it does produce plenty of vapour! The child lock is also a very worthwhile feature that will give peace of mind to parents.
The problem with the SMOK Helmet is that is compounds its good aspects with some slightly bad ones. Firstly the tank is intended to be non-leaking in line with the TPD regulations but the coil is fitted directly to the top cap so if a person was ever so slightly careless and overfilled a little the liquid could be quickly displaced when the top is fitted and ooze out. Personally I think a better solution would be a bottom fitted coil like the Innokin iSub atomizers. Ideally the Helmet could also use a cap directly beneath the child lock top cap with a slot for filling rather than having the large bucket like tank section which is so readily exposed that it could be accidentally knocked over when refilling.
The way the airflow adjustment is incorporated into the top cap is a decent idea but it really could use some form of markings to indicate to the user how open or how closed down it is. Due to the large drip tip and the relatively open airflow it does create another problem and that is that the 2ml capacity (don’t get me started regarding the TPD) which gets drained ridiculously fast even when vaping at a modest 35W.
I say to SMOK that you should look at this realistically because if you intend on your tank having a 2ml capacity then you don’t bundle it with low Resistance dual core coils and compound that with plenty of airflow because any average vaper on a budget will get through a tank worth of juice in less than thirty minutes. In my opinion the TPD is certainly going to heavily reduce the practical value of cloud chasing tanks with low Resistance coils when they are restricted by a very limited capacity.
Of course to vapers out there that have money to burn on juice and want plenty of clouds the SMOK Helmet will certainly cater to your needs and to be fair the flavour is fairly decent for a tank of this type and at least it does have convenient top filling even though I think it could be improved upon.
At the end of the day the SMOK Helmet is not that a bad tank but it certainly is not a great tank since there is noticeable room for improvement but the choice as always is yours to make.
VapeMaster
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