Steve K's Vaping World

In a relatively new and rapidly expanding industry, vaping devices have a propensity to briskly establish trends.  Although often mistaken as fads, new devices, particularly those that involve cutting-edge technology, tend to establish new trends that help shape the future and direction of the vaping industry.  The most prevalent and popular trend currently rests with high wattage devices. However, from where does this trend originate, and why has it so quickly become the most popular craze in such a short period of time?

This guest post comes to us courtesy of Mike Ebrahimi and Vapor Authority.  All opinions and product links are solely the responsibility of the author.

The Origins of Variable Wattage Devices

Those who have recently entered the electronic cigarette industry have enjoyed the fruit of several years of research, development, and collaborative effort. The satisfaction and pleasure enjoyed from a luxurious, consistent, and gratifying vape is something that has only been experienced for a couple of years now.  Although there are several market participants who are responsible for these technological advancements, the vaping industry owes a great deal of gratitude to a particular company accredited for the development of the latest breakthroughs in the world of vaping. This company is called EvolVapor, which is often referred to as Evolv.

Recognized as having created the world’s first variable wattage electronic cigarette, Evolv is a company that manufactures sophisticated electronic cigarette products for the vaping market.  Their products have proven to be the most consistent, intuitive, and advanced released to date.  Evolv’s first noteworthy creation was a power-regulation chip that allowed the user to control power outputs, thereby producing unsurpassed stability and dependability.  This technology, which was revolutionary at the time, was incorporated into Evolv’s first and only device—the Darwin.

At the time, the Darwin was the only highly-advanced device to offer variable wattage capabilities.  It included state-of-the-art technology and featured unprecedented power capacity.  With the simple turn of a wheel, the user enjoyed ultimate control over their electronic cigarette. For the first time, vapers were afforded the ability to customize their vape by adjusting the wattage of their device.  Once the user pressed the fire button, the Darwin would detect the resistance of the atomizer and immediately adjust the voltage concurrent to the selected wattage. In addition, the Evolv Darwin would constantly read the resistance of the atomizer coil being used and automatically adjust the voltage accordingly. This would provide for a consistent vape, even if the resistance of the atomizer altered due to deterioration from use.  Although Evolv ultimately retired the Darwin in October of 2012, its technology lives on and continues to shape the development of advanced personal vaporizers.

The Evolv DNA12 Board: A New Trend is Born

Following the vast commercial success of the Darwin, Evolv decided to offer their patented advanced chips to other electronic cigarette manufacturers who wished to develop innovative variable wattage devices of their own. Evolv first introduced the DNA 12 chip to the market, affording all manufacturers the ability to incorporate Evolv’s power-regulated technology into their products.  Dubbed the “modders board,” The DNA 12 provided all interested companies with the ability to offer their customers the same experience that was once enjoyed exclusively by those using the Darwin. As the only chip that allowed for variable wattage capabilities, the DNA 12 rapidly became widespread throughout the market.

Rebuildable Atomizers and the Demand for Higher Wattage

As the industry progressed, rebuildable atomizers were created giving users the ability to surpass low resistance and reach sub-ohm territory.  Sub-ohm atomizer coils are those that contain resistances lower than 1.0 ohms. Although sub-ohm atomizers are beneficial due to their ability to produce larger vapor clouds and more robust flavor production, they require much higher wattage outputs to function properly.  As sub-ohm vaping quickly grew in popularity, vapers using these atomizers required and demanded increasingly higher wattage devices.

Inasmuch as rebuildable atomizers created the need for higher wattage devices, it was the penetrating demand from users that encouraged companies to actually develop them.  As soon as sub-ohm vaping was discovered and introduced to the market, vapers from around the world embraced it with open arms. As battery stability increased to accommodate the higher wattages and lower resistances, manufacturers met this newfound demand with a host of radically new and terrifically advanced devices.

If They Build It, We Will Come

As the yearning for higher wattages swelled, manufacturers began offering new products, complete with elaborate OLED screens, a host of sumptuous features, and of course, high wattage outputs.  Although the Evolv DNA 12’s wattage capacity of 12W was more than sufficient at the time, the growing trend in sub-ohm vaping left vapers thirsty for even more power. Evolv responded to this need with the release of their updated chip, the DNA 20D, which boasted a maximum output of 20 watts.  As soon as the DNA 20D was made available, manufacturers began flooding the vaping market with advanced devices that incorporated the variable wattage feature. This sudden influx of powerful products from various companies launched a competitive battle that still exists to this day. Not long after the vaping community was given its first 20W variable wattage device, 30W vaporizers were quickly released. Wattage outputs have swiftly and consistently risen since then, leading to the staggering 165W devices available today.

Pioneer4You is one of the primary companies to gain an exceeding amount of popularity based on its tremendous attention to engineering and producing higher wattage devices.  They launched their line of powerful variable wattage vaporizers with the release of the first in their iPV series—the iPV1. This remarkable device was armed with the YiHi SX330 Chip, which was a state-of-the-art processor at the time.  Capable of an output range of 7 watts to an unprecedented 35 watts, the iPV1 was a wildly popular product that was capable of accommodating resistances as low as 0.3 ohms. This greatly appealed to the growing population of vapers who were seeking super sub-ohm setups.  Soon after the iPV1 hit the shelves, Pioneer4You revealed their next generation iPV device—the iPV2. In line with their principal focus, this next generation advanced vaporizer centered on maximum wattage capacity. At an impressive 50W maximum output, the iPV2 was the most powerful device available at the time. It was capable of firing atomizers coils as low as 0.2 ohms, making it exceptionally appealing to sub-ohm vapers.

In the unremitting race to fashion the most powerful and advanced product, other manufacturers began ramping up the wattage outputs of their respective new devices. Companies, such as Sigelei, SMOKtech, Eleaf, and Innokin jumped on board and began releasing high wattage products of their own. Eleaf launched their iStick line, which has 10W, 20W, 30W, and 50W versions available. Around the same time, SMOKtech released their M Series of devices, beginning with the M36, which had a maximum wattage output of 36 watts. They quickly released the M45, which offered 45W, followed by their 65 watt version—the SMOKtech M65. Today, their M80 Plus Box MOD is a popular item capable of output wattage as high as 80W. Another company that truly embraced the recent high wattage craze is Sigelei with their line of powerful devices. They first introduced the Sigelei 50 VR2 Box Mod, which offers a maximum wattage of 50W. Very soon thereafter, they released the 100W version called the 100w Plus Box Mod, which later became one of the most fascinating devices the market had ever seen.

One important fact that the vaping community learned from this recent wattage obsession is that “if they build it, we will come.” That is, regardless of how excessive the power outputs of the newest devices are, so long as it is the latest and greatest, it will be met with a great deal of demand. Regardless of the fact that the industry is truly pushing the limits with respect to power and resistance, the thirst for “more” is seemingly unquenchable at the present time.

The Future of High Wattage Devices

Although the market for high wattage advanced devices continues to flourish, the insatiable appetite for increasingly higher wattages seems to be reaching a plateau.  Even Pioneer4You, who had recently released the iPV3, which offered an astonishing 165W of power, scaled back the output capacity of their latest release—the iPV4. This latest device produces a maximum wattage of 100W. The vaping community has apparently learned that there is a limit to how much power is necessary or even exploitable. Instead, the focus has now shifted towards other technologies that can improve the overall vaping experience. Vapers still want more, but an increasing amount of wattage is now insufficient.

Today’s cutting-edge technology is concentrated on the temperature of the atomizer coil being used. The most advanced devices offer temperature control and limiting capabilities that actually regulate the temperature of the atomizer coil. Coupled with nickel (NI-200) wires, which is the latest in atomizer technology, these new products offer unparalleled vapor quality and tremendous hits. Leading the race of temperature controlled devices is Yihi with their SX350 chip, followed by Evolv with the DNA 40 processor. Both of these extraordinary vaporizers offer temperature control capabilities, and represent the most groundbreaking products currently on the market.  The Vapor Shark rDNA 40 is an example of a popular high end device using the DNA40 chipset.  The all new SX Mini M Class by Yihi uses the advanced SX350J chip which is currently known as one of the best devices on the market.  As has always been the case with new technologies, the vaping industry seems to finally be shifting its focus from “bigger” to “better.” That is, the area of concentration now seems to be on quality of the devices being produced rather than the wattage output they can produce.

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