TKO Products makes TKO vapes and they are based out of California. Fake TKO carts are now everywhere, most likely outselling the real thing. Here we will go through the basics of identifying fake TKO cartridges and where to get the real thing.
Update January 5th, 2021: Spammers have descended on this post repeatedly posting the domain tkoextracts.org, which is a fake scam site that takes money and ships nothing. The real, and only remaining, TKO site is tkoproducts.com, which only makes edibles. Going forward, all TKO cartridge products are fake. Don’t fall for online scammers; our readers report getting scammed out of thousands of dollars!
Update June 20, 2019: The fake TKO company on Instagram, under the username _tkoextracts, recently posted results from Bella Costa Labs that were falsified.
Update July 27, 2019: Some have claimed that TKO is an East Coast brand in our comments section and this might be true. We are unable to confirm it because upon asking them via their Instagram account if they were fake or real, we were blocked. There exist more fake hardware TKO carts than anything else, so even if there is an East Coast brand, odds are whatever you are getting is fake and has no consistency with TKO products in other areas.
Not a disposable? It’s a Fake TKO cartridge
I just heard back from TKO products by email and they only make disposables now. This might be in response to the number of fakes out there. Basically, any cartridge out there that is a stand-alone cart that needs a battery attached to it is a fake TKO cart. Fake cartridges have been a constant issue in the cannabis industry.
Here’s what real TKO carts look like
All real TKO cartridges use the same disposable style pen. We emailed TKO Products, makers of TKO Extracts to confirm, and they said they no longer make any non-disposable vape carts.
Here are some examples of fake TKO cartridges
You will notice basically all the ones you see on the black market are fake. We personally have not yet seen the disposables even being sold outside of dispensaries, even though it may be happening somewhere.
So what are fake TKO cartridges? Anything TKO-labeled vape cartridge that is not disposable is a fake.
The packaging below is 100% fake. It does not even use the same logo as the original TKO extracts.
The fake TKO carts use what appears to be a CCELL clone.
The fakers even offer 20 different flavors. Too bad TKO only offers four as of now.
Old TKO carts lurking
There might be some old stand-alone TKO cartridges lurking around, but there are few. Almost all that have been produced were fakes. All that continues to be produced now are fakes. The only real TKO cartridges are going to be in disposable form. TKO Products is based in California, so if you get them anywhere besides a legit CA dispensary, they might be fake too.
At this point, it is safe to say there are little to no of these old TKO cartridges in circulation.
Fake does not always mean bad
If you’ve seen our oil pen tests page, then you know many legit brands even come up for dirty oil. All carts you get on the street are not necessarily dirty or of low quality either. If your plug is using good oil and fake TKO vape hardware, it still might be a good overall vape cart. Fakes can also be awful, mixed with MCT oil or other not-so-great products.
Just keep in mind when you see the TKO brand in a stand-alone cartridge there is no “brand” and no consistency with that brand, unless it’s the same plug you got oil carts from before.
Frequently asked questions regarding TKO cartridges
Here we go through the most common TKO questions. Please post any additional questions below in our comments that are not covered here.
What are TKO carts?
A TKO cart is a standalone piece of hardware made in China. It could be filled with any THC oil and there is no consistency in the final products produced for market. Currently, the company behind real TKO cartridges no longer makes standalone carts, only disposable vape pens. Therefore, all TKO carts are fake.
What are Fake TKO carts?
Any standalone THC cartridge that requires a battery and has TKO markings on it is a fake TKO cart.
Who owns TKO Extracts?
TKO Extracts is a brand of TKO Products LLC, a California-based Limited Liability Company owned by Avinx California LLC. According to the California Secretary of State’s website, TKO Products LLC is a subsidiary of Avinx California LLC. The Managing Member of TKO Products LLC and Avinx California LLC is Joseph P. Genova. Therefore, Joseph P. Genova is indirectly the owner of TKO Extracts.
How can you tell a fake TKO cart?
If it’s a standalone cartridge that requires a battery, it is a fake TKO cart.
Is TKO safe?
Authentic TKO Extracts products meet safety guidelines for the State of California. Fake TKO carts are not guaranteed to meet any quality standard.
Concluding our Fake TKO guide…
TKO looks like a legit supplier of cannabis products that unfortunately got ripped off. They even provide a Certificate of Analysis to prove their products are clean. I’d definitely take a real TKO disposable vape over any fake TKO carts. We’ll be doing a review on the real thing soon! For now, check out our current lists of best THC vape cartridges for California and Nevada.
What’s your experience with fake TKO carts? Are these floating around your area? Comment in our forum!
NOTE: Fake TKO vendors have taken to spamming our site so badly that we had no choice but to close the comments on this post.