The Innokin uCan is a pretty slick stainless steel e-liquid holder. e-Liquid already comes in a handy bottle, usually with some sort of dropper or needle top for easy filling. So why, exactly, would you need to shell out extra money for a device that serves the same purpose? It turns out there actually are a few plusses with the uCan. Whether or not it justifies the price tag is a question I’ll try to help you decipher in this review.
Details
| Product Name | uCan |
| Available From | Vapor Alley |
| Price | $14.99 |
| Capacity | 10ml |
| Construction | Stainless steel |
| Manufacturer | Innokin |
The uCan essentially lives up to its name. It’s a stainless steel can for storing and dispnsing e-liquid.
The design consists of three pieces. There is the uCan body itself, the filler top and the top cap. The three pieces screw together and the overall feel is very sturdy.
Each part has some sort of feature or function that works together with the unit. The main tank part of the uCan can hold about 10ml of e-liquid and features a bottom-mounted push button. There is an excellent fit and finish to the button, so it may not be obvious it is a button at first glance. In the middle, the filler top has a short needle tip, presumably for making filling cartomizers easier.
In practice, it occasionally made filling easier. The tip is too short to fit far enough down some cartomizers making it more like an e-liquid bottle with a fine tip than something with a true needle tip.
Finally, even the top cap has something to do, even if it may be a bit pointless for some user. There’s a mount on the top of the cap for a key chain or lanyard. I’m not a real big lanyard guy, and the uCan is maybe a little big and heave to actually attach it to my keys.
I did find that it was small enough to not feel overly bulky when carrying it a pocket. Pocket carrying is the first use case for the uCan. I tend to carry a lot of stuff in my pocket, even large PVs. Therefore, there has been plenty of times I’ve kept e-liquid bottles in my pocket while out and about.
There’s also been more than one occasion where I’ve had a plastic juice bottle leak or break in my pocket. Not a particularly fun experience. I doubt that would be an issue with the uCan. Since it’s essentially a big hunk of steel, you aren’t likely to crush it, no matter how hard you are on gear.
The Innokin e-liquid carrier also does a good job of keeping e-juice inside where it belongs. I’ve had e-liquid bottles leak just by looking at them funny. Well-fitting gaskets and good engineering tolerances seem to keep this thing water tight.
Obviously, you can’t squeeze a rigid metal can to get e-liquid out. That’s where the button on the bottom of the uCan comes in handy. Essentially, Innokin built a vacuum switch to dispense e-liquid. It works like those coffee dispensers with the lever on top. Press and hold the button and e-liquid streams through the needle tip for a couple of seconds.
I found liquid dispensing to work very well thanks to a steady stream delivered when the button was pressed. It makes filling a bit easier when there’s no variation in the amount of liquid that comes out each time.
The only downside is the slightly bulky size of the tank can make it trickier to get the needle far enough into some cartomizers. You probably won’t find Innokin’s filler very useful for filling old school CE2s, for example. Cartomizers where you just have to avoid hitting the center tube like the CE4 work pretty well with the uCan.
Filling the uCan is much easier than filling cartomizers. Just dump e-liquid straight into it since the opening is very wide. I even fill directly from bulk bottles which don’t have dropper tops.
Of course, there is a downside to having a big metal can to hold your e-liquid. You can’t see through metal. That makes it hard to tell how full the chamber is. After using it a while, I sort of got a sense for when a refill was due, but there were a couple of times I ended up being empty when I though I had liquid left.
Too Long; Didn’t Read
While the relatively high price for the very simple job the Innokin uCan does may put off a few, that doesn’t make it any less of a solid, well-built and designed accessory. People who carry e-liquid around in a pocket, on the other hand, might not know how they got along without something like this. The good looks and smooth e-liquid dispensing don’t hurt either. You can purchase one at Vapor Alley.
Pros:
- Solid engineering and construction
- Durable
- Doesn’t leak
- Beautiful design
- Vacuum liquid dispensing.
Cons:
- Needle tip is a little short
- Would prefer if the key chain mount detached
- Can’t see e-liquid levels
- Somewhat pricey for what it does
Disclosure: Innokin sent this item for review. I feature affiliate links for Vapor Alley.
