Aiden Aitken
Now we’re getting into the serious hardware. SMOK are something of a ‘flagship’ company; renowned worldwide for their powerful, tech-heavy units and bulky, big-cloud tanks. The AL85 is a strong contender for those who don’t quite get the ‘hit’ they’re looking for from traditional mouth-to-lung vaping.
The features SMOK have managed to cram into the AL85 make it a kind of vaporising clown-car. The wattage can be set anywhere between 1-85W and it features Temperature Control technology, meaning you can dictate the limits of heat in your vape experience. It features a puff counter for those who want to watch their intake, a working-temperature readout for those who don’t want to put the unit through too much, and has pre-programmed functions for those who want to utilise coils made of different materials, such as NiChrome and Titanium.
And how could I bring up the AL85 without discussing the tank? The TFV8, or ‘Baby Beast’ as it’s affectionate known, provides the biggest clouds you can get without rolling up your sleeves and building the coils yourself (there’ll be another list about just that later…)! Featuring a top-fill hatch that requires no awkward unscrewing and juggling of parts while you refill, it’s yet another contender for ‘best leak-proof device’ available!
One thing to note about the AL85 is it’s power-source: the unit takes an external 18650 rechargeable battery which slots easily into the top of the device. Once it’s in there, you don’t need to do anything differently; just plug it in via the included micro-USB and it’ll charge away, same as any device. But a removable battery offers a solution to the frustrating situation of running out of power when you’re nowhere near a charging station: just whip out the dead one and stick a charged battery in there and you’re rolling!
