Here we check out the SPRK cartridge by PCKT Vapor and do an in-depth review on it. This cart is well made and did not fail to deliver top-notch hits. In fact, this is one of the best types of cartridges we have ever tried, especially for refilling. See our guide on how to fill a SPRK cartridge if you are trying to figure out how to fill it.
Pros:
High build quality
Excellent quality hits
Very efficient
Superior taste
Made to be refilled
Cons:
Heavy enough to break some batteries when dropped
Too thick for some batteries
Recommendations: A slightly thinner version would be nice to fit other battery types.
Already have a SPRK? Go to this section to leave your own review! Check out our video review below and keep reading on for the more in depth SPRK cartridge review.
The PCKT Vapor SPRK cartridge has excellent build quality all around
The SPRK cartridge uses thick glass and even thicker stainless steal on the mouthpiece. Nothing about the build is cheap on this thing. I dropped this thing a few times and tried it in different batteries. It seems to fit best on PCKT’s own battery, the PCKT One Plus. Another battery I had I dropped pretty hard and guess what? The battery broke but the cartridge was 100% fine.
SPRK cart design allows for optimal airflow
After you run a gram and a half through a cart, it can get cloggy. I even found this the case on CCELL carts. That being said, CCELL does not recommend you refill them. PCKT does recommend you refill and re use the SPRK cartridge, and that has been a great recommendation so far. The SPRK kept going without clogging. Still using it now and on the second gram, fourth syringe.
Great for multiple refills
One thing that really stands out is there’s no degradation in vape quality between the first 500ml I put in there and the fourth 500ml. I have two SPRK carts, but I am still on the original one. Now four 500ml W Vapes syringes have been filled into it as well as some leftover BHO oil from a BaM pod when the G Pen Gio clogged.
The wider airflow path on the SPRK cart prevents clogging. Thus, after you refill, it still hits just as good as it did the on the first fill. I have a feeling there should be will problem running 4ML or more in these things.
Extra room to refill without going all the way down
Current SPRK cartridges are 800ml or about .8 grams worth of oil. If you fill this up with a 500ml (half gram) syringe you still will have a little bit of space on top. For a cart that is capable of being loaded many times this makes reloading even easier. You don’t need to wait until the cart is empty to refill. I like getting a little custom THC oil mix in there as well.
Flavor delivery is on point
Flavor on the SPRK is spot on. This cart delivers the most flavorful vapor of anything I have yet to try. I used the same oils I have used before in other carts, just to make sure it was not a one off great tasting oil overpowering the cart.
Really hoping we start seeing this SPRK as an option on prefills, but they probably will have to get the 500ml version released before that happens.
Low hole placements make this one of the most efficient carts out there
The placements of holes on the SPRK are very low, making it super efficient. This is one of the most efficient carts I’ve tried. I don’t see anything that could be improved on efficiency for this cart. Everyone knows vape tech is constantly based on other things that come out. The SPRK does not re invent the wheel, but it does look like they checked out hole placements on other carts then decided to make them lower to make it more efficient and they did a great job.
Value is good especially considering re-usability
The SPRK comes in at $7.95 and shipping calculated for me at $2.70. Realistically, I would not be buying one cart and paying shipping on one. I would probably buy 2-5 carts at a time, spreading the shipping cost out. When I add 2 carts to the order shipping does not go up in cost.
About $10 for a cart is more than the cheapest CCELLs, but considering you can refill this thing more times than other vape carts without degrading definitely increases the value proposition.
Concluding our SPRK cartridge review
Overall, the SPRK delivers on all points. Cost is higher than a lot of other carts, but quality is also a lot higher and its made for refills. Just picking it up you can feel the quality of the build. SPRK is the most efficient cart out right now with low-placed holes. So far, the SPRK cartridge is one of the best vape products for THC oil to come out in 2019.
Rove vape carts are now subjected to being faked. Fake cartridges have been a problem in the cannabis industry and now Rove is no exception. The good thing about Rove is it’s also one of the easiest to tell if it is real since it is only available in two states: California and Nevada. We will explain how to spot potential fakes and how to make sure you are getting the real thing.
No sticker showing THC content: it’s a fake Rove cartridge
Rove lists the THC percentages on their packaging for their California carts. In Nevada, you always will receive information as well, either in the form of being on the packaging or in the form of a sticker, showing the complete cannabinoid profile of the cartridge.
Basically, if you don’t see a THC percentage with your cart, it’s fake. Take a look below at a legitimate California Rove brand cart.
Now take a look below at the fake cart and notice there is no sticker on it.
It’s not to say they might make fake stickers later as well, but for now, this is the easiest deterrent to determine whether a Rove Brand cartridge is real or not. In Nevada, you will have a sticker attached to the information as well. In general, if you are outside of CA or NV, it is more likely you will see an either real CA Rove cart or a fake than a Nevada version. NV prices are high and there are 10x more people in CA, so it’s less likely someone would be distributing NV versions in illegal states.
Below are some more real Rove carts that came in white boxes.
Now take a look below at a fake Rove cartridge in its box. Notice there is no sticker at all indicated any cannabinoid content.
Notice there is no sticker? That’s an obvious fake.
Many fake Rove Brand carts also have CA! stickers
The sticker is not enough but is one deterrent. Many of the fakes out there now have stickers too, although they contain made-up figures on the oil since the oil is not even in the cartridge yet and no one knows what oil will be put in it. See below a picture of a fake Rove cartridge with CA! stickers.
The only way to really know it’s really is to buy from a legit store, and how to do that is explained below.
How to find real Rove cartridges
The easiest way to find real Rove carts is to use their store locator. If the store you got it from is not in there, it might not be a legitimate store. When you get them on the street in other states, make sure to check out the sticker situation explained above. If there’s no sticker you can be sure it is fake and not legitimate.
UPDATE 8/31/19: Rove is now using QR code stickers on all their products!
It’s an in-house verification system tied in with their phone app Rove Rewards. They explain Rove Rewards on dual posts to their Reddit and Instagram channels. Briefly, it works similar to the CannVerify system we just blogged the other day. You take your Rove product and scan the sticker on the box with the Rove Rewards app. their phone app Rove Rewards.
If the data matches, the server will send back a message that it is a genuine product.
If the same user scans the same QR code again, the server will send back a message that the QR code is genuine, but has already been validated.
If a user scans a genuine QR code that has already been validated by another user the server will send back a message that the QR code has been validated by another user.
If a user scans a QR code that is not in our system the server will send back a message that the QR code is invalid.
So there you go! Our thanks to Rove products for being proactive in protecting the safety of their customers. We’re certain that most cartridge companies are following suit, as we’ve seen here and there.
UPDATE 11/11/19 From CartBusta
We’ve got a few new sightings of latest box designs + counterfeit counterparts for Rove’s “Featured Farms” products.
OOPS: Real Rove cartridges actually do sometimes have a “TM” after the brand name on the box. You can see this in the product box shot on Rove’s own website.
Despite that fault, the rest of the info seems to be a good supplemental guide to determining real from fake. Rove fakes are just blowing up all over the Internet now, so expect to see more variations on the theme adding to the confusion.
Fake cartridge does no always mean bunk oil
Some vendors might just be using the hardware and putting good oil in it. More likely than not, fake carts are going to be junk, but there are some oil makers out there just using the hardware. They would be better off just using CCELL carts than a fake brand, but a fake branded cart does not always mean the oil sucks too. However, on fake carts there is no quality control, so who knows if there is a safe level of pesticides and residual solvents in the carts.
Here we review the Alternate Vape Hemp E-Liquid. The product I tried was Mint, Natural Terpene Flavor, with 250mg CBD in a pre-filled 1ml cartridge.
Alternate Vape is a company out of Jennison, Michigan that stakes their claim in the vape industry by vowing to be hysterical about the quality of their “natural” ingredients. That is a huge selling point for me. The word natural has been so abused and overused in today’s marketing industry. But this company does seem especially dedicated to the origins and environmental integrity of the products they work with. Even if I liked the taste or feel of another company’s product better, the commitment to environmentally, appropriately farmed ingredients would keep me a loyal customer.
Before Alternate Vape’s product I had only tried a few CBD oils orally and had vaped twice with THC products. My view was that I consume CBD products in spite of the flavor because they are good for me and vaping isn’t every effective, as there is not any THC high like smoking flower. So I committed to consume the product but my expectations were low.
Appearance is good, product well constructed
The packaging was nice enough. I liked the soft colors. Upon opening the package I was struck by the cartridge and mouth piece. I expected a cheap plastic presentation for a disposable product. It seemed really well constructed and fits perfectly in the mouth for creating a seal for pulling on the product. I don’t see that they need to improve anything. The cartridge looks and feels like it is well made. I give them a 9 on appearance. It didn’t jump at me but was fine.
Taste is great, it was subtle yet delicious
When it comes to flavor I was so surprised. My first lung full of Alternate Vape’s product was absolutely heavenly. I was hooked on the flavor immediately. I consume mint products daily as well as growing my own mint at times. But this mint is delicious, subtle and seductive. I don’t know what an appropriate dose is but I just kept consuming it because the taste was exquisite! I mean that. The flavor is a definite 10.
Effective, found it to immediately subside pain
When the product arrived I was experiencing wrist pain again and having some skin issues from my over-consumption of coffee. As a harpist I pretty much guage my life by my wrist pain. I was shocked to find that my wrist pain subsided almost immediately. It had taken longer with the oral CBD products. I wasn’t even sure that I believed it until I finished the 1ml cartridge and the stiffness and discomfort in my wrist came right back.
Additionally I noticed an improvement in my vision, which has declined again since I ran out of the product. And I can report a noticeable positive shift of my plague psorisis. So, based on my personal experience, I have to give the product a 10 for effectiveness as well.
Value is good, it does what it’s supposed to
I find value to be a difficult category to evaluate. Anything that reduces pain or improves health is of course valuable at any cost. This product was valuable to me because it did what I wanted it to do – reduce my pain, and improve my skin, my vision and my overall health.
Now the question for me is vaping vs oral consumption. I think (don’t know for sure) that I got more value out of the vape then I did orally consumed products because I enjoy vaping now – at least this delicious product. The little 1ml vile lasted way longer than I thought it would and the convenience of vaping over oral consumption creates value for me. If I give this product a perfect ten for flavor, effectiveness and value many won’t believe me but that is my honest assessment. I like this company’s philosophy and I LOVED the product.
It hits good and taste is now much better, but the price is a lot more than other cartridges. The Binske cartridge ended up being over $60 with tax for just a half gram. A high cost compared to most other THC oil vape cartridges, but this one does use live resin. See our in depth review on a Binske cartridge and how it stacks up against other brands.
Pros:
Good quality oil
Tests clean
Uses live resin
Great Taste
Strong
Cons:
Expensive
Plastic cartridge
Recommendations: Lower the price by 25% and put it in a glass CCELL TH2.
Licensing Information: Aether Gardens Certificate Number 57742937900772366722 License 53116055364203491071
Update 11/20/2019: Binske cartridges have improved in strength and taste substantially. They made our list of the best live resin cartridges.
See below for the video review on the Binske cartridge and continue reading to see more in-depth review.
Binske cartridges use good hardware and have gotten stronger, but are also pretty expensive
Live resin is expensive to make and that is why the cost is high. The Remedy cartridge also had a high price and uses live resin, but I snagged that one on sale. The Binske cart says it is live resin infused distillate, so we are not sure if that is the same thing, but seems like it would be.
Binske is really close to a great cartridge. A little more strength and this thing would be fire. It’s still pretty good, just not stellar strength like I have seen from other brands in California and Nevada. This is really a matter of a few tweaks and Binske could be one of the best cartridges in Nevada. Definitely a brand I want to try again later and see if it has improved.
Design and Build quality is great they use the same CCELL that Select Elite carts use
Binske uses a standard M6T cartridge by CCELL. Although we do prefer the ceramic top cartridge that is refillable, this is still a great option and it really hits great, particularly on the Vessel battery. One downside of this type of cartridge hardware is you can’t refill it. It’s very difficult to open if something goes wrong, however, reliability does not really seem to be an issue on CCELL cartridges.
Oil quality is good on Binske cartridges: consistent color and thickness
Binske cartridges use live resin which is not as popular as distillate or CO2 oil in cartridges that still seems to be the norm. I picked this cartridge up at a dispensary in Ely, NV and was told that this is one of the better cartridges they had.
Testing is strict where we got this cartridge so there are no pesticides or anything dirty about it. We also found other information that Binske hasn’t tested dirty in other states.
Binkse has been testing high on THC and is much stronger than before
THC on the Binske was high at 85%. I have had cartridges before that had an even lower percentage but also had a stronger effect. Binske has substantially improved strength over the cartridges we have tried. The average cart cost in Nevada is about $45 and the Binske cartridges were $54. Those prices are without tax. We’ll discuss more on the value comparison below.
The taste on the Binske cartridge also has improved
The taste on the first Binske cart was very similar to Select Elite. The second cart had better flavor. Getting to the third cart, this one tastes phenomenal, almost similar to Remedy. If you’re really looking for something super flavorful but not as natural tasting, check out AiroPro.
Efficiency is good as you can get it
Binske uses CCELL carts which we have covered before. CCELL is the most efficient cartridge on the market right now so there’s nothing Brinske could do to improve the efficiency. We still would prefer a TH2 cartridge but there are many reasons why they may choose this polycarbonate cartridge instead, including not wanting people to refill.
The number of puffs is excellent, this oil vapes very slow which is great
On the Binske cartridge, one thing that really maybe makes up for some of the high cost is the fact that it lasts a long time. I hit this quite a while and the oil really dissipates slowly. Probably one of the slowest dissipating oils in any cart I have tried.
The value was decent, I wish it was a little bit cheaper
The cost of this cartridge is over $60 with tax. The average cost in the state where this cart is purchased, Nevada is about $50-55 with tax. There are some cartridges that were priced in the $52 range such as Airopro and Select Elite, but lately, those prices have come down. Binske used to be $60 plus tax so it is cheaper than it used to be at $54 plus tax
A Roots cartridge is $45 plus tax and is stronger, but it’s not live resin.
Concluding our review of Binske…
Binske continues to make substantial improvements to the cartridges. They have gone from a brand that was decent to something awesome. The cost is high, however it does vape for a really long time- the oil seems to last substantially longer than a lot of other cartridges.
Overall I think Binske is great and will continue to get them. Hopefully, they continue to keep strength high and the awesome flavor they got now.
You can find Binske cartridges near you here. And you can learn more about bens go to Binske’s website.
Cresco cartridges are manufactured by Cresco Labs. Started in 2010, it is a company that is among the fastest growing in the newly formed cannabis industry. Operating in 11 states and with 15 active production facilities, they’re a true powerhouse in the market. They create an array of cannabis products from flower to shatter, manufacturing everything in-house.
All of their products are classified into one of three color coded sections by strain. Rise, which is sativa dominant and color coded red. Refresh, which is a hybrid and color coded green. Rest, which is indica dominant and color coded blue. Their vape cartridges make use of CCELL technology and are available for retail purchase in California and Illinois.
In this review we’ll be checking out their Dream Walker cartridge and see if it can have us walking on the clouds.
Pros:
Strong live resin distillate
Consistent thick hits
Zero off flavors
Long lasting high
Cons:
Flavor nearly nonexistent
Recommendations: A more full bodied flavor profile and better packaging would make this cart able to compete with the best.
Check out our video review of the Cresco Labs cartridge below and keep reading on for the in depth review.
Cresco Labs cartridge hits as clean as its packaging looks
The Cresco cart is filled with a high potency live resin that has a perfectly crystal clean taste. Perhaps a bit too clean in some ways, as its flavor is so light it’s almost not even there. To its benefit the flavor it does have is very clean and natural, a light floral toasty flavor that is never bitter or burnt. There isn’t even a hint of chemical or unnatural tastes either, something one would hope for at their high price point.
CCELL hardware consistent as ever
Cresco Labs makes use of a pretty standard CCELL cart design, the M6T. A simple color band on the housing denotes whether it is a Rise, Refresh or Rest cart. The mouthpiece is a plain clear acrylic plastic tube and the Cresco brand name is printed across the oil chamber. The hits it provides are thick and consistent to the very end. There’s little to complain about but it would be nice for them to provide a more robust flavor profile to take advantage of the CCELL’s thick clouds.
Cresco carts aren’t cheap but they’re not slouches either
While the cartridge is definitely one of the pricier ones out there it is filled with a very high potency live resin, which is more expensive to produce than standard distillate. The high hit heavy with just a couple hits even with my higher tolerances and lasted for a few hours at a time. The high is very chill and relaxing but mentally productive, a bit more physically sedative than some sativas but not in an unpleasant way. The cart itself lasted about five days of heavy use.
Cresco prices a bit high for its compromises
At a price point of $50 for a half gram, that’s not bad, but it’s not fantastic either. Overall I’d say you certainly get what you pay for on the potency and efficiency side of things, with each cart providing plenty of high potency hits. However it fails to deliver anything standout or overly memorable like the Korova Super Silver Haze cart did. They’ve got a bit of a way to go to compete on that level, one can hope that with as large a company as they are they can make the adjustments necessary.
Not providing tests isn’t a good look for Cresco Labs
The packaging for the Cresco cartridge provides only incredibly vague unhelpful information and nothing in the way of any verification for what they have. No testing results is pretty common on carts, however at this price we did expect it.
This definitely negatively impacts the perception of the oil regardless of its otherwise seemingly good quality. When even cheaper carts like NUG freely provide their testing it’s not encouraging for higher end cartridge manufacturers not to. It makes one wonder if they have something to hide even if that isn’t necessarily the case.
Cresco Labs cart could use some refinement
While the high it delivers is definitely pleasant and long lasting it falls short on flavor, leaving nothing memorable. Its packaging is also so simplistic that it leaves very little impression and, overall, this makes for a very unmemorable cartridge. Combined with the lack of testing and at the high price point it is that’s something that’s not easy to accept. An organization the size of Cresco should be showing lab results. This definitely puts them on a losing foot against the likes of Kurvana, Jetty and Airo Pro.
In closing on this Cresco Labs cartridge review…
Cresco provides a good quality distillate but it falls short in a couple key areas that prevent it from ranking among the best. One would expect better out of such a well established company. Right now I can’t recommend this cart given how expensive it is and that there are better options for less. If you’re not bothered by the cost or you can get one at a bargain somewhere then it does provide a good high, but its lack of flavor and total lack of testing results makes it not something I could recommend at this point.
The efficiency of the CCELL design leaves practically none of the distillate to waste.You can find Cresco Labs carts near you to try for yourself here. You can read more about Cresco Labs and their products on their website here.
Friendly Farms cartridges are filled with full-spectrumlive resinsauce. All cartridges have no additives. Friendly Farms live resin sauce cartridges are available in California.
Pros:
Tastes like smoking the plant itself
Full spectrum & distillate free
Compatible with any 510 battery
Cons:
Limited availability, depends on location
Sauce may leak in high heat
Recommendations: Make it more widely available and so it does not leak.
Licensing Information: Medical Mfg. CDPH-10003556 Adult-Use Mfg. CDPH-10003556
Unboxing video of Friendly Farms’ Raspberry Sorbet (hybrid) 500 MG full spectrum live resin sauce cart.
Friendly Farms is one of the best companies on the market
Justdab is another company we reviewed producing live resin carts. Friendly Farms claims that their carts are additive free. For the consumer, this is great news.
Friendly Farms donates $1 to homeless children for every cartridge they sell. They also try to make their live resin sauce carts as affordable as possible. They’re not sold at ultra low budget prices, but for the quality, the carts are worth it.
Friendly Farms vape carts use new generation CCELL hardware, currently the best cart hardware
For hardware, Friendly Farms is using one of our favorites: the new generation CCELL cartridge, particularly the TH2 series. This cart is reliable, hits hard, and has an extremely low failure rate. Carts breaking or not working halfway through is a common thing. This happened when Bert reviewed the Brass Knuckles Napalm OG cartridge. There were no issues with efficiency since the new generation CCELL is the most efficient cartridge style currently out.
Vaping Friendly Farms has great taste and hits strong
In general, smoking sauce cartridges are an experience. They pull different and taste different. It’s like dabbing versus traditional vaping.
Friendly Farms cartridges taste like the strains themselves. The effects are bolder on the body and resemble an effect similar to dabbing. Because the carts are full spectrum, it means most of the compound found in the plant’s trichomes are present. Traces of CBD are mentioned in the packaging. CBD is good for the body because it acts as a buffer for theTHC present in the extracts.
Beyond their partnership with Connected Cannabis Co. (a brand known for producing designer weed), the quality of Friendly Farms is premium. Why? Because they chose to produce a meticulous product and eliminate additives found in most high-end vape cartridges.
What’s different about Sauce carts?
Brands like Heavy Hitters, Bloom Farms, and Brass Knucklesall have premium quality marketing behind their names. Friendly Farms live resin sauce carts, however, has the full-spectrum game behind theirs.
Most of these brands use distillates, which, in my opinion, tastes a little tangy. The packaging and experience might be of a higher quality because of how they’re produced but it doesn’t eliminate how processed these vape cartridges are.
Sauce carts, however, try to maintain the integrity of the plant by maintaining the compounds present in most live resin extracts.
Why Friendly Farms is Worth It
Personally, I find most Friendly Farms live resin sauce carts last long. The taste is great. I cannot stress enough that smoking them feels like smoking the plant itself.
The effects are mostly positive with little to no anxiety due to having CBD in most of their extracts. The packaging is great and pulls from their strains’ individual COAs which shows the legitimacy of their products.
I would vape Friendly Farms live resin sauce again
The last strain I tried was their Raspberry Sherbet. Prior to that experience, I’ve had Friendly Farms’ Gelato #33, White Fire OG, and Wedding Cake from their Connected x Friendly Farms collection. All have yielded positive results and this one, with Raspberry Sherbert, was very positive.
It took me a while to make a dent on the cartridge. One hit is strong enough to give me that full body high.
Concluding My Friendly Farms Review
Friendly Farms live resin sauce carts are great. They last a very long time and boast producing distillate free, full spectrum vape cartridges. The quality of their sauce is great and it feels like the user is dabbing.
It takes time to get through an entire cartridge; mostly due to the effects lasting long and the cartridges hitting well. These are definitely worth the buy. You can learn more about Friendly Farms here.
Korova began their career as a humble kitchen business making edibles in California in 2010 and gradually have expanded both in scale and into many other products. Recently they have made their entry into the pre-filled vape cartridge game. Filled with high potency distillate and using the latest in CCELL tech for solid hits. With eye catching packaging marked with their signature three eyed cow, Korova cartridges aim to impress.
Korova cartridges are available in California, Nevada and Arizona. In this Korova cartridge review we’ll be trying out the Super Silver Haze cart and see why they made our best list of THC vape carts for California. They probably will make our Nevada list once we try it out there.
Pros:
Excellent strength distillate
Dense, flavorful hits with thick vapor
Exemplary flavor profile
Eye catching packaging
Clean and accurate test results
Cons:
Particularly harsh hits leave a sore throat after more than a couple hits
Recommendations: While the packaging does look nice much of it isn’t very legible. Including lab tests in the packaging would also make this an easy choice as one of the best.
Licensing Information: C11-0000578-LIC
UPDATE 4/29/2019: Korova has responded and stated they will be making their lab tests more visible on the packaging. They also sent a COA which we have added to this post.
Korova cartridge delivers on flavor and potency like few others
While one gets the expected performance out of the CCELL cart on offer here the distillate that Korova puts in them stands head and shoulders above many. It’s potent and thick and delivers thick clouds of vapor that you’ll feel quick. The flavor of the Super Silver Haze strain was a particularly tasty citrus and very lightly pine accented taste that was deeply enjoyable It’s a bit harsh on the lungs though and prone to leaving you wheezing with particularly deep or multiple hits. This is only a side note thanks to the potency it delivers on.
CCELL never fails to impress, but the Korova vape doesn’t stop there
The Korova cart makes use of the newest CCELL design, delivering reliable excellent performance. But they don’t slack on the appearance just because they got reliable hardware. The ceramic reed-style mouthpiece is a matte black, making for a very professional finish when combined with their three-eyed cow logo cleanly printed on the cartridge in stark black and white. The information band over what would otherwise be the plain metal housing helps to make this cartridge feel distinct as well. Each cart is color coded depending on the strain within. The performance and efficiency of the cart is, as expected from CCELL’s latest offerings, excellent and stands among the best.
Hard hitting and a good value
The distillate Korova makes is incredibly potent and sets in fast. The flavor was excellent and full bodied, not flat or artificial like some distillates and no chemical flavors whatsoever. On most occasions one or two hits was enough for me and it lasted about a week of heavy use.
Because this is a distillate and not CO2 oil its excellent flavor persists all the way down to the very last hit. This allows for an incredibly enjoyable experience and at a decent price point of $35-40 for a half gram. The only major caveat to this distillate is that it tends to be a bit harsh on the throat. This makes it something of a one hitter quitter for most. Even with that in mind though its high THC content makes more than one unnecessary.
The high it delivers is long lasting and euphoric, with plenty of creative energy abound. Keep in mind its potency, as it can quickly get to be a bit much and send you into a napping frenzy instead of a creative one.
Detailed test results show Korova is clean and strong
Korova sent us their test results after we sent them our review. They then replied back with the test results for the strain I tested and here they are. Clean all around and the strength is legit! We will be posting the full test sheet on our oil vape pesticides page.
Plenty of hits, highly efficient, great deal
The Korova cart manages to brings its A-game on number of hits and efficiency, even if helped by CCELL on the latter. There is almost no distillate left in the tube at all by the end, after a full week of use. Its thick concentrate never drains quickly even when taking large hits. This isn’t the cheapest cart you can find but for the number of hits you get at the strength they are it’s an excellent deal by just about anyone’s measure.
Knocked out of park with the Korova THC cart
Korova delivers all the way across the board with only some minor exceptions. Its shortcomings are very few. A problem with label legibility and a lack of access to easily verifiable lab testing for them. With these simple fixes this company could easily beat out some of the best out there. Even as they are they make it into the running and are a brand I would happily consider picking up again and even prefer. They aimed to impress and they hit the bulls eye on it, it’s hard to ask for much better.
Concluding this Korova cartridge review…
Overall I would rate Korova’s cartridges well and truly above average. They come with a hearty recommendation to any who enjoy a delicious flavor as well as intense potency and good value. The lack of easily verified testing results is a problem but it’s a common one and is the only sincere concern with these.
With this being the company’s first foray into pre-filled vape carts it bodes well for their future improvements. You can find Korova carts near you here. You can read more about Korova on their website found here.
What do you think about Korova vape cartridges? Comment below or post in our forum!
Atlas Extracts began in 2017 and produces a small range of CO2 oil vape cartridges. Their extracts make use of full plant extraction techniques which provide a full and natural flavor without the need to add back in extracted terpenes. Their extracts are marketed both for recreational and medical use and are available in California. If you are looking for the best THC carts in Cali, see our best list for CA.
Pros:
Good flavor
Thick vapor
Cons:
Low strength
Test results cannot be easily verified
No test results available for pesticides and residual solvents
Recommendations: Both the inclusion of in depth lab results and an improvement in potency would greatly improve this cartridge.
Mixed feelings on the Atlas Extracts cartridge
Atlas Extracts make use of CCELL tech that allows them to deliver thick and consistent hits on their cartridge. The oil itself, however, is lax in its potency and even with thick hits it takes several for them to take effect. The technical performance of the cartridge is definitely what one expects from CCELL. The oil is simply weak, not hitting hard even with thick deep hits. My feelings were also negatively impacted by the very unimpressive packaging. That said, upon research, I found that they did recently change the exterior packaging.
Standard hardware, performs well
The 510 threaded CCELL cartridge has become something of a standard which other carts are judged by and, as expected, here they perform well. The hits provided are thick and consistent, the cartridge efficiently vaporizes the oil and leaves only a tiny drop behind at the end. The mouthpiece is a simple round plastic design which does have a tendency to get very visible dirty over time. There’s little to complain about here but it does also mean that this cartridge fails to stand out in any way on this front.
Atlas Extracts vape cart lacks potency
The oil in the Atlas cart was of questionable quality. While it certainly does deliver in flavor, with a very pleasant tropical fruity and lightly piney taste, the potency was unimpressive. It is easy to puff on all day long without becoming a complete space cadet but it also means that the cart is empty in no time. It lasted me only a few days of moderate use. While the good flavor is more than appreciated it would be better if it were paired with a higher strength oil.
Testing unavailable for Atlas Extracts
While there is some very basic testing information visible on the label there is no source available to verify this testing. There is also no information whatsoever on pesticide or solvent testing. This doesn’t help the perceived quality of the oil, already lax due to the potency. Not only is the strength of the oil in question but it’s also uncertain if there are unwelcome toxins in the juice. More thorough information in the packaging would help greatly.
Great Number of Hits But Low Strength
The number of hits this cartridge delivers is impressive. Its low potency means it still ends up drained faster than others. The oil is incredibly viscous and dark. It doesn’t drain fast even with deep hits, but not so viscous it gets caught up in the canister and needs coaxing with a lighter. Overall it ends up on the upper end for number of hits but its weakness means that’s less of a benefit than it should be.
Atlas carts have great flavor
The taste of the Atlas cart was fantastic, at the very least. It’s easy to point this out as the one place where Atlas has excelled in their cartridge. Its strong tropical and herbal flavor makes for wonderfully enjoyable vaping experience. Low concentration means that it allows sipping on this cart at your own whim without worry that you get lost in the twilight zone. For those looking more for something tasty to sip on and not for a heavy high this is one place where the cartridge may be a good pick.
Good price on flavor, not on potency
At the price point, available around $30-40, I can’t say I would recommend Atlas as a bargain unless the person were only looking for flavor. This is, however, complicated by the lack of testing. While a lack of testing is still very commonplace among cartridges many people are uncomfortable with not knowing what their cart contains. As they should, Atlas would inspire much more confidence in their customers if they were to make their testing readily publicly available at least online.
Many places to improve Atlas Extracts vape cartridges
Atlas Extracts has a long way to go from my point of view. Changing their exterior packaging is a step in the right direction in one way. It still doesn’t handle the lack of comprehensive testing however. Even the newer packaging is also less impressive than some, such as the Cobra Extracts ELEV8 cart. The lacking potency leaves an obvious place for them to improve the actual contents of their cartridge. If they can up the potency while maintaining their current flavor they could definitely become a major contender.
In closing on this Atlas Extracts review…
I wouldn’t recommend the Atlas Extracts carts to anyone unless all they’re looking for is flavor. For those who have a particularly low tolerance this may be a good pick but for most the low strength will mean the oil drains in a flash. The flavor, however, is fantastic. At least until you get to the last quarter or so and it starts tasting burned. Atlas doesn’t do anything special on maintaining its flavor, though it’s never particularly strongly burnt. You can find the Atlas Extracts cartridges at Mountain High Recreation. You can read more about Atlas Extracts on their website here.
[embedit snippet=”amp-rating”]The Flav brand, formerly known as FlavRX, is seen everywhere. Magazines, billboards, even taxi cabs. I found doing this Flav cartridge review it’s overall a decent product with room for improvement. The THC oil seems well made, but the effects are not that strong and do not last that long.
A few tweaks and Flav could be on to delivering something high end. For now it would not be a top choice for someone seeking strong effects and the best vape hardware. The cartridge reviewed was the Strawberry Cough strain that is part of the Flav Black Label series. It was a half gram cartridge. It should also be noted that a FlavRX cartridge was tested in California for pesticides and failed. See our oil pen tests page for more info.
Looking for the best of best carts? Check out our best cartridge lists for California and Nevada.
UPDATE 9/11/2019: DISCLAIMER: In light of more recent news, it has become apparent that black market cartridges, counterfeit cartridges, and fake brands of cartridges have become more widespread than we had ever realized. We urge readers to apply their own discretion, and caution that at no point should readers assume that a review of a cartridge on our site is a guarantee of its safety. We advise readers to always verify their cartridges as coming from a legitimate source.
Licensing Information: 35113918658385474933
The Flav cartridge tastes good, but effects don’t last
It’s not a terrible cartridge, but it could be a lot better with some minor improvements. Here’s a two things Flav needs to improve to get this to be a top quality THC oil vape cart: Better cartridge hardware and add whatever is needed to make the effects last longer. I tried their oil in CCELL Dart hardware, which uses the same pods as the Uno vape, and found it to hit a little harder, but the oil still did not have long lasting effects.
Design requires a higher voltage battery to deliver strong hits
Originally I hit the Flav cartridge on my Vessel battery and was underwhelmed with the hit strength. Tried another small size 510 threaded battery and had the same issue. Put on a 40w box mod and set it to 4.5 volts, just a tad higher than most stick batteries go, and it hit much better. Regular batteries won’t give a milky hit at all, but on a mod battery it hits much better.
So what is the optimal voltage or wattage for Flav cartridges? 4.5 volts or 14.4 watts worked well
I found 4.5 volts worked well. The box mod I used said it was running at 14.4 watts on that voltage setting. I am not a mod battery expert and mostly prefer simple batteries designed for cartridges, but on the Flav vape cart those seemed to be good settings.
This cartridge design seems similar to that used by Cannabioitix, Rove, and Kynd
The design of this cartridge seems similar to Rove and Cannabiotix. Flav says it is a ceramic core cartridge, so it may have different internals. But either way, this is not my preferred cartridge type. I would instead prefer a TH2 cart like that used on Roots, a nice pod system like the ALD vFire that powers the Plug Play, or the CCELL Uno vape pod setup. Any of those systems would make the Flav Black Label cartridge better. Flav’s hardware still had good airflow though.
Build is sturdy on the Flav vape cartridge
There’s no denying the cart is built well despite it’s design flaws. Nice polished metal and thick glass make up the cart.
Initial hits seem strong, but effects don’t last long
After I hit the Flav cartridge it seemed pretty strong. Coming in at 85% THC you would expect it to be. The problem is the effects just don’t last. I feel like it seems to fade away quickly. The same problem tobacco smokers have told me they have with e Liquid vapes, you have to keep on on hitting in short periods of time. It is reminiscent of the early Kurvana carts before the ASCND carts came out. This goes against overall strength rating for the cart. This was not due to just hardware as explained below.
Tried Flav oil on different hardware
Whenever a THC vape cart seems lacking and the hardware is unfamiliar, if I have an empty pod or cart of familiar good hardware I will fill it up just to see if the hardware is the main issue. Here I had a leftover CCELL Dart pod I refilled with some Flav oil to see how it goes. The initial hit was stronger, but the effects still wore off quickly. There’s some non-THC component that may be lacking in this cart. Might be a quick fix.
Taste is great on Flav Black Label, more like candy than fruit
The cartridge I used was Strawberry Cough. It did not really resemble the weed strain’s taste or a natural strawberry taste. It was more like a strawberry lollipop that’s artificially flavored would taste. A couple years ago something like this would usually mean a headache is coming too, but not here. There was no cloudy or headache like effect out of the Flav vape cart. Out of the more artificial tasting THC vape carts, I would take Airo Pro over Flav on flavor and strength.
Oil quality seems good, but something is missing
There’s something missing on this Strawberry Cough Flav vape cartridge and I cannot pinpoint it. Above is a picture of the test results and maybe someone can point out what it is lacking that makes the effects go away so quickly. Since they are multi state and licensed properly in the state’s they operate it, I am almost sure they comply with the proper safety standards.
The cartridge for Flav is efficient in the sense it does not waste oil
Vape holes on this cart are properly placed. There is no leaking. The general points for efficiency are met on the Flav vape cart, but it does lack in effectiveness of hit. First, it hits awful with a non-mod battery. You need to crank he voltage higher than most non-mod batteries will go. Second, even with a proper battery it does not deliver as good a hit as a CCELL cart would, so some efficiency is wasted in that each hit is not as good.
Number of Puffs: Flav oil does last a lot of hits
The oil did not vape up really quickly and it was thick. Really thin oils can vape up really quickly. The oil on the Flav cart did last quite a bit. No complaints here.
Value is not good due to other options at the same price
On Flav cartridges the prices are the same as the other major brands. $45 was the price at Essence Tropicana West for a half gram. NV prices are higher than CA usually by $10 per cart so keep that in mind. Add some discounts in there and the price was brought down a bit. However, it’s the same price as a Roots cart and Roots is way ahead on strength. Considering they use inferior hardware and the effects don’t last as long, I can’t say Flav THC oil vape carts are a good value at this point.
Brands I would choose over Flav
This section I will be adding to more cart reviews to help people decide on different brands. He purpose is to help you select the best value for your money. I should note that here at DabConnection our main indicator of a good cart is strength. If you are going for a flavorful cart that won’t last too long on effects, Flav carts might be for you.
In Nevada: Roots, Airo Pro, Select Elite, Cannavative, Kabunky
We want our readers to get good value out of their carts. In my opinion, any of the above present a better value dollar for dollar regardless of the minor variation in price points (ie: Select Elite and Airo Pro carts are sometimes $7 more than Flav and I would gladly pay it).
Concluding our Flav cartridge review
Overall, the Flav cart was a bit disappointing. It might be a one off cart, but I think even if it was not the strongest oil, the hardware is still lacking. I hope to be updating this review in the future when Flav changes or upgrades the current hardware they are using. You can learn more about Flav on their website.
What do you think of Flav cartridges? Do you know what their cart might be lacking that caused the effects to not last? Post a comment below or in our forum!
Yep, you heard right! Smoke Unhappy Carts by Lil Pump is a new and upcoming company from Lil Pump himself that features THC oil vape cartridges. In this review, we picked up Maui Wowie, that gave an amazing taste and a lasting high.
Smoke Unhappy Carts by Lil Pump: Overall great THC oil vape cartridges
Unhappy is Lil Pump’s merch company, selling a variety of clothes and accessories. Furthermore, Lil Pump recently came out with his own and separate smoke shop brand, selling products like cartridges, pre-rolled blunts, grinders and more. Because of how new these carts are, there’s little information to be found about them and unfortunately no lab results yet. Hopefully they plan on getting some pesticides test soon.
Website Now Available
Smoke Unhappy recently opened their website to the public! This is a relevant website selling multiple products. From selling merchandise, specifically shirts to selling CBD, Grinders and Vape Pens.
Smoke Unhappy – Maui Wowie gives a great, smooth taste and a euphoric high
The flavor of this cartridge, Maui Wowie, has to be my personal favorite feature about these Unhappy Carts. Maui Wowie gives such a sweet, tropical like taste all through out the cartridge. With no bad aftertaste or any drawbacks, this flavor is so tasteful, it made me keep hitting it consistently.
Along with that comes an uplifting and lasting high with just a few hits. I did enjoy everything about the taste and the high of these Unhappy Carts. The only thing is that the potency of the oil didn’t match the consistency of it. Although the oil felt strong, the oil was pretty thin for me, personally.
Smoke Unhappy Carts oil has a strong gold color, but is fairly thin
With Maui Wowie being a pleasant sativa, this flavor gave me a happy and uplifting high. The only thing about them is how light I personally thought the oil was. This could explain why it tasted so good, but because the oil was thin, it does burn easily. It’s not that the oil isn’t potent, because it did get me baked with a few hits. But I personally would prefer if the oil was thicker, even if it means lessterpenes.
Smoke Unhappy Carts Were Not as efficient due to its consistency
I did tend to go through these Unhappy Carts a lot quicker than I thought. The main reason was because of its levels of oil consistency, As mentioned earlier, the oil was fairly thin and light. Again, this doesn’t mean that the oil was weak, because it was strong, it’s just a little too thin for me, making it easier to go through.
The cartridge itself broke apart halfway through the cart
As I was smoking this cartridge, the more I kept smoking it the more I realized that the cartridge hardware itself isn’t as quality. Halfway done with the cart, it started giving harsh hits. Not because of the oil, rather because I felt as if the cartridge wasn’t burning evenly due to its bad hardware.
Not only this, but the cartridge itself, specifically the atomizer, actually broke while connected to my Vessel battery. This was a bit upsetting because I actually did like the oil and taste of the distillate itself. But all I did was exchange the oil from one cartridge to another one and it was all good again. This did waste a little bit of distillate, but I’d rather have that than waste the whole cartridge all together.
Recently upgraded their cartridge to a CCELL
This really does make a huge difference as to the efficiency and the way these hit. This unique CCELL cartridge is probably one of the first cart to have such a unique cartridge, at least that I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately we haven’t tried these yet, we picked up the first cartridge version before these ones came out. When ever we encounter these, we will update this post and give our opinion on them.
Above all, Smoke Unhappy Carts are amazing and definitely recommended
Overall, I really did enjoy almost everything about these cartridges. From the lasting high, to the amazing taste, I do highly recommend anyone try these if they ever encounter them. The only thing that I don’t like is how there are no lab results out yet. Regardless of how good a cartridge is, without any pesticide test it can be susceptible to have artificial flavors. Again, this company is still relatively new, so we hope they update and get some official results out. Diksha
[sc name=”amp_ratings”]Here we review the CCELL UNO vape pod system for THC and CBD oils. The UNO vape uses a ceramic core heating element similar to that found on CCELL vape cartridges, but in pod format. So far, this is the strongest hitting vape pod system we have tried, crushing Stiiizy and any THC Juul pods, making it one of the best cartridge designs of 2019.
Pros:
Hard hits
Excellent taste delivery
Discreet
Efficient
Pods are interchangeable with CCELL Dart
Cons:
Goes through oil quickly, but not wasteful
Recommendations: It would be great to make these refillable and to see them sold empty.
CCELL UNO vape pods hits THC oil better than any other pod system we have tried
The UNO vape hits hard and does use quite a bit of oil, but you not need to hit it as often. Two hits on the UNO feels like 4-5 hits on a regular cartridge. I tested out the UNO using Vader’s Coconutz distillate, something I have tried out on other vape platforms before. This way I was able to tell clearly how the CCELL UNO compares to cartridges and other pods and not have the review influenced by varying oil types.
CCELL UNO has a similar outside design to Stiiizy, same internal design as the Dart vape
The outside of the CCELL UNO is very basic. There is one basic charging light and it looks very similar to a Stiiizy on the outside. The pod itself without the mouthpiece is the same pod used on the CCELL Dart. The only difference between the UNO and Dart is the form factor. The Dart is wider and shorter, the UNO vape is skinnier and longer.
Ceramic core just like other CCELL cartridges
The UNO vape uses a ceramic core just like other CCELL carts. “Ceramic-Cell” is what CCELL stands for and all their vape products use a ceramic core. So far, they have been leader of the pack when it comes to cartridges, and they are now the leader in pods too.
CCELL UNO has a standard type of pod battery
The UNO vape’s battery is nothing special to look at. It’s a standard pod style battery that looks very similar to a Stiiizy pen battery. The innovation comes in the actual pod and performance itself. It hits very hard. We had no technical issues with the UNO vape at all.
Pods have a unique snap-closing system on the UNO vape, preserving airflow
Instead of all rubber pieces to close up the pod like we have seen on every other vape pod system, the UNO vape pods have a plastic top that snaps the pod closed.
This should prevent any airflow issues like we have seen on some Stiiizy pods, but it also makes the CCELL UNO pods not recommended for refilling. I am not sure if this contributes to the overall hard-hitting effects of the UNO, but the snap on does add another finishing touch that reminds you this is a quality made product and the folks a CCELL put a lot of thought into making things as good as possible.
Hits on the CCELL UNO were incredibly strong
It’s safe to say theCCELL UNO vape is the strongest hitting vape pod system out right now. We have now tried Hempods, Stiiizy, Pax Era, and other pod variations. Nothing comes close to the hit strength of the UNO. Keep in mind the CCELL Dart should hit just as strong since it uses the same pods. You will see on our
UNO vape’s atomizer goes through oil quickly, but you don’t need to take as many hits
If you hit the UNO all day like a regular cartridge you will be super stoned, but you will go through that oil quickly. I noticed the UNO atomizer rips though oil at a faster pace than your standard cartridge or pod system. Not necessarily a bad thing since the hits are much more powerful. Take less hits and you will get the same effect as a cartridge. Keep hitting it like a cartridge and you will go through oil quickly.
Take less hits, get the same efficiency
On average a regular half gram cart lasts me 3-4 days. The UNO was almost empty at the beginning of the third day of use after loading it up. I was hitting it hard though and thoroughly enjoyed the effects. I used the same oil I have used in many other carts just to make sure I was properly attributing strength to the hardware differences and not the oil. Below is a picture of the syringe I used.
Vader’s Coconutz distillate is one of my favorites and something I have gotten more than one time. You can also use the methods we show you in how to make your own oil pen to make THC oil for filling the UNO pod. I just buy syringes because it is easier than they are readily available. Below is a picture of the syringe I used to test out the CCELL UNO.
The UNO does not require multiple hits to get an effect. The key to using the UNO effectively is to not take as many hits, since the hits it does produce are much stronger.
Taste is right on with the UNO vape
You taste the true THC oil’s taste on UNO carts just like you would on a good vape cartridge. Some pod systems sacrifice taste with wicked atomizers, but the UNO’s core is a quality ceramic.
CCELL UNO vs Stiiizy: UNO hits substantially stronger than Stiiizy
A lot of the features on the UNO vape are comparable to the Stiiizy. Shape, styling, and the way it feels in your hand are almost identical. The only benefit the Stiiizy has over the CCELL UNO is that you can more easily see how much oil is left. Other than that, the UNO is far ahead.
Hardware vs Hardware, CCELL UNO beats Stiiizy handily. Stiiizy is a great hardware system made by ALD and it’s still decent, but it really it’s hits are weaker than a regular new generation CCELL cartridge. The UNO is stronger than Stiiizy and standard cartridges.
Stiiizy pods only come prefilled with weak oil
Refilling Stiiiizy pods is our recommended method for the brand in general. They severely weakened their oil in 2018, compared to the very strong light colored oil they were using at the end of 2017. I rather get an empty pod like the UNO and fill it with good distillate as opposed to having to refill something that had low quality oil in it before. On that point, UNO also has Stiiizy beat.
ALD’s vFire is a better option than the Stiiizy and uses the same heating core. However, that core is still not going to be providing as strong a hit as the CCELL UNO. For that reason, the UNO vape beats both ALD pod systems substantially on strength.
CCELL UNO vs THC Juul Pods: A better core means better hits
We have tried a couple different THC Juul pods on this site and found most of them to be underwhelming. The most recent was reviewed by Javier and those were the Bare GoPods. I have previously reviewed Hempods and found them to be underwhelming.
There are two types of Juul pods for THC and CBD oil: Wicked and ceramic core. The wicked ones lack taste and often only hit hard because the wick is burning. The ceramic core pods have too much ceramic mass to be heated by a standard battery, leaving an underwhelming hit. At some point we will break down a CCELL UNO/Dart pod to see exactly what is inside, but we predict it will be similar to the core we found when we broke down a TH001, as shown below.
See how small the above piece of ceramic is. The GoPod’s ceramic core is probably 4-5x the size of the one CCELL uses. Since we are not using mod batteries, too large of ceramic cores just do not get hot enough to deliver a quality hit. Using small ceramic internals is what makes CCELL products shine.
Pax Era vs CCELL UNO: Superior core on UNO delivers superior results
The Pax Era is not that bad, it just is not that great even when compared to Stiiizy. I personally have not been a fan of it and am not a fan of wick based carts or pods. Wicks are old tech.
Often though wicks hit harder too. The UNO hits harder than the Era and it tastes better too. The Era does have a bit nicer feel to the battery, but when it comes to the most important part: actually delivering you the oil as a vapor, the Pax Era is nowhere close to the UNO.
CCELL UNO vs 510 cartridges: Stronger but uses more oil
I vaped through my Coconutz oil pretty quickly on the UNO pod. Not to say it was not worth it. I just realized I should hit it less times than a standard cartridge. Still standard carts are great and of the ones out there, CCELLs newest generation 510 cartridges are the best. The UNO does hit noticeably harder than any cart I have tried.
Still, I’ll be hitting regular carts quite a bit, but I could see the CCELL UNO/Dart combos becoming more popular than their already well known 510 carts. I can also see some thinking they are too strong, but that’s probably not our readers.
Dart vs UNO: Just different mouthpieces and batteries, same functionality
The CCELL Dart uses the same atomizer as the UNO. The styles of the battery are different as well. Other than that they are identical in function. You could take off the mouthpiece and even use the pod interchangeably between the Dart and UNO batteries.
Expected price is $34-39.99 when it is available
It looks like it will be $39.99 at VapePartsMart once it is in stock. Code VPM15 probably will work for an additional 15% off. We expect that to include the full kit with an empty pod. It’s hard to judge value all the way until we see refillable pod costs, but I doubt it will be overly expensive for replacements like we saw on the Bud Tank V16. Considering it is the best vape pod system, $34-39.99 is a great value.
Really impressed with the UNO vape. It hits really hard without burning. It also goes through oil pretty quickly and you do not need to hit it as hard or as much as a cartridge. I can see this becoming the most popular vape pod system because it definitely is the best I have tried so far. There could be some aesthetic improvements and a slight change to the angle of oil flow in the atomizer would be a nice addition, but as is it delivers on it’s main purpose: hard, good tasting hits. We will still be hitting regular cartridges also, but the Uno is a nice addition.
What are your thoughts on the CCELL UNO? Comment below or post in our forum!
[sc name=”amp ratings”]Brite Labs manufactures a variety of cannabis products including CO2 oil cartridges, made using ceramic CCELL technology and filled with whole plant extracted oil distillates. Brite Labs was started in 2014 in Oakland, California. They currently work with Northern California growers to develop their CO2 oil strains. Brite Labs vape cartridges are only available legally in California. In this Brite Labs vape cartridge Review we’ll be checking out the Durban Poison cart.
Pros:
Good oil quality
Strong hits and thick smoke
Takes on burnt flavor only at last few hits
Cons:
Oil slightly thin
Test results cannot be easily verified
No test results available for pesticides and residual solvents
Recommendations: Including lab results in the packaging would go a long way to improve confidence in the product.
Licensing Information: CA LIC# CDPH-00000435
The Brite Labs Cartridge Performs Well
Using well established CCELL hardware the carts Brite Labs make put out solid, thick clouds but thin oil means that they do drain your oil quick when you hit them hard. One thing that this cart certainly delivers on is its full flavor. There are no metallic notes from the cartridge and the natural plant flavors come through in full.
No Surprises Here
The Brite Labs cart uses an effective standard CCELL 510 threaded design which utilizes a reliable ceramic heating element along with a comfortable ceramic reed-style mouthpiece. Not unlike the Jetty Extracts in their design, it’s pleasant to use and doesn’t clog often if at all. It’s a very standardized looking cartridge with white mouthpiece and plain metal housing that doesn’t stand out but doesn’t need to and performs its job well.
Oil quality from Brite Labs is solid, but no test access
The oil in the vape cartridge is good, slightly on the thin side. It’s easy to get thick heavy hits but they drain the oil fast. Even without devouring your cart in mighty tokes it does still manage to hit heavy and deliver pretty thick clouds, but its THC content does make it short lived.
The high is a very upbeat and creative one I’ve enjoyed and the cartridge has lasted me for several days of moderate use. The flavor of the oil is also genuinely very natural, with pine and citrus notes that would be enjoyed by anyone just looking for a good flavor reminiscent of freshly vaping a bowl of good flower.
No accessible test results
Despite information being provided for pesticide testing of the oil I was completely unable to get my hands on the lab results for this particular batch. I went to the CW Analytics verification page and entered the batch number but it says the record does not exist or I cannot access it. This adds a layer of uncertainty that, along with the oil being thin, does make it more difficult to trust.
Until Brite Labs makes this information more available to consumers we can’t place much worth in any claims made by the product about its purity or strength. No one likes the risk of toxins in their vapor.
Decent number of hits, obey speed limit
The thinner oil does mean that this cartridge drains relatively fast but it also hits incredibly hard and can leave you reeling after just a few. I would advise not to get too hot and heavy with it as it can easily get to be a little much. It was enough to last me close to a week with pretty consistent moderate usage.
Good flavor throughout
Up front the flavor of the cartridge is very strong and floral in character. It doesn’t mute very dramatically until over halfway into the cartridge. Even as it does mute it doesn’t do so dramatically and is still quite tasty and enjoyable and always manages to taste like unprocessed bud. The end of any CO2 cart universally develops a burnt taste, however the Brite Labs carts do manage to maintain their taste right up until the last few hits. Those few do still get you, but you have to suffer through fewer of those more acrid clouds. This allows you to fully enjoy more of the cart and leaves you with just a bit less of that burnt distillate taste on the tongue.
Get what you pay for with Brite Labs carts
For the price, Brite Labs carts are readily available around $30-35, and it isn’t a bad value. Even though it is hindered by its lack of proper documentation and a relatively thin oil. Its thick clouds and often chest-wracking hits do make up for some of its shortcomings but can’t dismiss the nagging question of what exactly is in it. It’s not hard for data requests to slip through the cracks but it doesn’t inspire confidence in a consumer to make it difficult to see what exactly they’re using.
Could be Improved, but not lacking
With proper documentation and some thicker, higher percentage oil on their sativa strain Brite Labs could very well dominate the cheaper cartridge market. The degree to which it manages to sustain taste to the last hit is honestly remarkable. They’ll need to step it up in their oil thickness for Brite Labs cartridges to compete with higher end carts, however. I would say that if one got rid of the negatives this cartridge has it could easily go from average to incredible.
Concluding this Brite Labs cartridge review…
Overall I wouldn’t put Brite Labs particularly high on my list of THC oil carts. As it currently stands without proper documentation on its lab testing I wouldn’t pick it out of a line-up but it’s also not a terrible deal if you don’t mind a bit of mystery. The hits are good, the flavor’s great and it goes a little fast but the high is heavy enough that you don’t need much. I’d happily buy it again if they start including those test results.
You can find Brite Labs near you here and read more about them at their website.
Selling fake cartridges has become popular and more have been making counterfeit vape carts that look a lot like authentic ones. We try our best to keep you guys informed on the fake vape carts through our posts, so you can avoid them and be safe from the negative effects the fake products might bring.
UPDATE 4/23/2019: We have found what appears to be the “legitimate” Pure Nectar creator, but it appears to be an unlicensed operation. The cartridges are called Pure Nectar Premium. That still means most of the Pure Nectar carts are fake and are just packaging.
Pure Nectar Cartridges are faked all over, the real brand does not appear to be registered, and packaging sold on eBay
Recently we found what appears to be the official Pure Nectar brand. See their Instagram page. We also noticed that they use a wood mouthpiece while the other Pure Nectar branded carts have all been the standard clear mouthpiece. So if we can consider Pure Nectar Premium a real brand, it probably is fake without a wood mouthpiece.
Whether or not Pure Nectar Premium is really a brand may be up for question as well. It’s a situation similar to Dank Vapes. Not registered legally and faked everywhere, but there’s an Instagram account that appears to be the original source.
Truth cartridges appear to be a packaging-only brand
These Truth carts are not fake cartridges imitating another oil company, but a fake company altogether. Truth does not appear to make any oil or be registered anywhere.
These are not counterfeit products technically because the brands shown in these empty carts aren’t real in the first place.
Some examples of packaging from Truth and Pure Nectar carts
Below is an example of the first fake brand we will show you, Truth. These Truth cartridges claim to be “Premium THC” but really anyone can fill them up. That’s why fake brands are often no good.
Pure Nectar is another brand, but as mentioned above it might be real. Like, Truth, these are said to be THC distillates. The packaging of Pure Nectar is similar to Truth.
Truth cart packaging claims solvent free, but who knows if it is solvent free when it has not even been filled with oil yet? That’s the danger of fake cartridge brands.
So far, we have only seen eBay selling refillable cartridges. You can also buy Pure Nectar with only the packaging. Companies can buy cartridges from another seller.
We did find Pure Nectar sold in a marijuana shop called MMJ Dispensary. This shop sells pre-filled oil Pure Nectar cartridges. It appears to be an illegal operation selling carts online. Here are some pictures from their site:
There could be more made-up brands and fake vape carts keep popping up
We will be posting more of these if we find out about them. For now, we want you guys to be cautious about the cartridges you’re buying. They may either be counterfeit products or hardware that make it seem they are marijuana brands. Any company can just fill this hardware with dirty oil. If you search the internet for Pure Nectar or Truth, you will realize that at best Pure Nectar is an unregistered brand and Truth carts are a fake brand altogether.
Have you seen these cartridges yet? Comments or questions? Post a comment below or in our forum!
[sc name=”AMP_Rating”]Toko Gold vape cartridges are made by Toko, a cannabis brand that specializes in oils. We found the THC oil quality to be great, but the hardware dated, resulting in a mediocre overall cartridge. Simply updating the hardware on the Toko Gold cartridge would make it an excellent choice. I even dumped the oil in a new generation CCELL cart just to test theory, and the quality of hit was much better.
Pros:
Great quality oil
High strength
Pesticide free
Cons:
Dated hardware restricts performance
Recommendation: Update the cartridge hardware and this thing is good to go.
Licensing Information: Sweet Cannabis 1036396576-002 PRO 5942534293689617985
Check out our video review here or keep reading on for the more in depth review.
Toko Gold comes very close to being a great THC cartridge
Toko has great oil. The specific cartridge we used for this review was the Durban Poison strain. All they need to change on this cart is the hardware and it’s good. It looks like on their website they even have “coming soon” a new cartridge style. The new style seems to resemble the old CCELL. In short, get this cartridge when they update the hardware. We hope that is soon and we also will update this review.
Toko’s hardware is the old style CCELL or clone
Toko Gold carts use the old style CCELL cartridge. This is similar to the Brass Knuckles vape cart and is not a preferred hardware type. There is a metallic taste coming off the vape similar to the BK carts as well. They update this and this cart is upgraded huge.
Oil quality is excellent for Toko Gold
Toko’s vape cartridge really shines on oil quality. It’s a consistent gold color and there were no variations in color throughout the cartridge’s use. We were using the Nevada version where regulations are strict and pesticides are typically nowhere to be found. The oil was thick and not runny
Toko Gold is still pretty strong even with old style hardware, but new style would make it stronger
Toko Gold’s oil was much stronger when transferred to a new generation CCELL TH205 cartridge. The old style CCELL they currently use is dated technology. It comes from a period when most joints were still stronger than most carts. The Toko Gold cartridge would be scoring high on strength with the same oil in another cart.
As it is, Toko Gold cartridges are still pretty strong. They are stronger than other carts I have seen in this same hardware, like the one from W Vapes.
Taste also hindered by hardware, but still decent
The taste seemed like a mix of CO2 and distillate taste. It was not sweet, but the cartridge they used left a bit of a metallic taste. The metallic taste reminded me of Brass Knuckles. Overall, taste was still decent though.
Number of Puffs was high, oil is thick
The oil in Toko Gold cartridges is thick. It’s not hitting slow at all. The hardware limits your ability to get fat rips, which probably adds to the total number of puffs but not in a good way. Still when the remaining oil was transferred to a new CCELL it lasted a long time too.
Improve hardware and improve value
I just cannot recommend this Toko Gold cart as a good value until they change the hardware. To get the full effects from the oil you have to swap it to a new cart. At $45 for a half gram, cartridges from Toko Gold are the same price as Roots. Roots is a much better value as it has the new generation CCELL and the oil is better than Toko’s. Roots also made the top of our picks for the best cartridges in Nevada.
With improvements to hardware and slightly stronger oil, Toko Gold has the potential to be one of the stronger carts out there.
Simply put, this cartridge is due for an upgrade. Once that is done, we see Toko being one of the better cartridges available. For now it is still decent, but with other brands giving better results at the same price point, we would have to go with the other brands.
Toko also makes a CBD vape cart and Pax Era pods. Their products are available in Oregon and Nevada an are distributed by Sweet Cannabis Brands. We will have to give the Era pods a try as well soon. Once Toko updates current hardware and we get another cartridge, we will update this review.
In this post about revealing fake cartridges, we are going to be talking about Cookies cartridges and vape pods. Founded by Berner (Gilbert Milam), Cookies produces different types of Cannabis products such as flowers, extracts, concentrates, edibles, tinctures, topicals, and more.
Cookies has both standard cartridges and a G Pen Gio pod, a collaboration Berner made with Grenco Science. See our review on G Pen Gio as to why we don’t recommend it. The cartridges oil is made by a company called High Flyers in collaboration with Berner and use real CCELL hardware. Below, you will see a photo of what a counterfeit Cookies cartridges and pods look like.
Update 12/27/2019: Information regarding pods added. Cookies pods use Grenco Science hardware while Cookies cartridges use CCELL. There is no information indicating that there are fake pods for cookies out there yet.
Fake Cookies cartridges sold online come in various packaging: One gram carts are all fake
There have also been manufacturers in China who are also making counterfeit Cookies Cartridges. Most of them can be found in online websites like Alibaba. In fact, there are even different versions of packaging being sold there. Keep in mind that the real Cookies brand only sells half gram carts, so if you see a full gram cart it is fake.
Some come in boxes where in the cart is displayed in the center:
There are also ones where the cartridge is placed at the side of the box, like in the photo below:
As you can see, there is also one in a plastic shell packaging.
Fake Cookies pods don’t seem to exist, yet
We could not yet located any fake G Pen Gio pods that use Cookies branding. It’s possible that since G Pen is technically not a cannabis company they are able to enforce authenticity via trademark, indirectly making it not possible for fake Cookies pods to gain any traction. It’s also possible no one has tried because of that.
The difference between the fake and real Cookies cartridge
Now that we saw some samples of fake Cookies cartridges, it’s time to learn how do these compare to the real Cookies cartridges? Let’s take a look.
For starters, the packaging looks different than the packaging of the fake ones. The authentic one comes in a box, without the cartridge showing. The fake ones in the boxes if you noticed from the previous photos have an open side where you can see the cartridge inside the box. Below is a picture of what real Cookies cartridges look like.
They also have this packaging in line with the Cookies Gio Pen Vape.
Might be easy to tell fake from real but we should still be careful…
From the photos we showed above, it might be easier to spot which carts are fake from the original one judging by the packaging. But since the market just continues to sell fake carts, who knows- soon enough they might be selling something with a more similar packaging to the authentic Cookie cartridges. If you are hesitant, you can even ask the company itself. Most of them are happy to reply to inquiries on counterfeit products since they don’t want customers to be tricked into buying a fakes.
Here’s another fake cartridge sold on the market: Dr. Zodiak’s Moonrock Clear Cartridge. As you may know, Dr. Zodiak’s Moonrock clear cartridge claims to have oil that tests at 90% THC. The fake ones, however, may come off with weaker THC and lower vape quality.
Fake Dr. Zodiak’s Moonrock clear cartridges are spreading
To give you a background on this product, this was developed by Dr. Zodiak and his partner, rapper Kurupt. Both of them envisioned a line of cannabis products that are best of the best. After launching in 2013, the brand has gotten popular among hard-hitters. Big names like Snoop Dogg, Kodak Black, Cardi B, and Travis Scott have expressed that they are fans of Dr. Zodiak’s Moonrocks. Along with their Moonrock Ice, Moonrock Ice Blunts and Edibles, they have also introduced the Moonrock Clear Cartridge to add to their growing brand. It has a variety of flavors like the Hardcore OG, Razzle Dazzle, Banana, Strawberry, Original, Gelato, and Cotton Candy. The Moonrock Clear Cartridge is an efficient way to take a hit while on the go.
To truly experience the hype given on this product, it is important to make sure that when you purchase a Dr. Zodiak’s Moonrock clear cartridge, you are getting an authentic one. With the large amount of counterfeit products being sold, It’s very likely that you would encounter these when trying to purchase Moonrock clear cartridges. The cartridges are currently sold only in Arizona and California which leads people to go and buy them online which is not always the safest way to validate the authenticity of what you’re buying. The good news is that they are currently expanding to where they are selling their products. If you are buying outside of CA or AZ, the odds of it being a fake are higher.
The original moonrock clear cartridge uses CCELL cartridges to absorb and distribute heat from the embedded coil evenly and regularly. Fake ones don’t use CCELL most of the time which is why some users shared that they were experiencing burnt flavor from their fake carts. See our post on fake CCELL cartridges for more info.
Based on its physical appearance, one easy way to spot the fakes from the real ones is to check the cartridge. The fake one has those lines at the top part of the cartridge. The real one doesn’t. Also, the official Moonrock cartridge has the words Jupiter CCell on the bottom. Below, you can see that the photo on the left is the fake one and the right is the original Moonrock clear cart.
There are a lot of businesses out there who distribute the fake Dr. Zodiak’s Moontrock cartridges, so just keep a cautious eye in case the one you’re buying from carries the fake ones. It’s better if you buy from licensed stores to ensure what you’re purchasing is the real one.
The packaging also looks like the original one. It’s hard to tell which one is fake from the real one. If the packaging is confusing for you, just check the cartridge to confirm if it’s authentic.
In conclusion…
There are a lot of fake cartridges circulating the market. If you want to get the best experience on Dr. Z’s moonrocks, purchase from a legitimate dispensary. It appears the product now is only available in Arizona legally. Anything outside of AZ and it could be a fake. We have posts on other fake cartridges as well. See our fake cartridge posts on Dank Vapes, Exotic Carts, Eureka Vapor, Stiiizy, Space Vape and King Pen.
Eureka Vapor is a California based extract producer founded in 2011. They gained their popularity by producing highly potent, pure and natural oils. On top of that, they also have a wide selection of THC oil vape cartridges.
The brand currently carries almost 20 popular indica, sativa and hybrid strains like Girl Scout Cookies, Super Silver Haze, and White Window which is fit for any type of mood. Eureka Vapor announced in April 2017 that they have won “Best Concentrate of the Year” from CannaNews, a marijuana industry magazine. However, fake THC cartridges are everywhere, and Eureka Vapor is no exception to being counterfeited.
Update:
October 27, 2019 – If you have a Eureka Vapor product and you think it might be fake, make sure to check their store locator here. If it was not purchased from a legit dispensary, way more likely than not, it is fake.
September 21, 2020 – A recent lab test done on a Eureka cart bought off a street plug shows the cartridge contained less than 3% THC!
Eureka Vapor fakes are common
Due to the brand’s popularity, it is not surprising that a lot of counterfeit products of Eureka vape would be out in the market. For some, it could be really hard to tell the fakes from the real ones since they have nearly the same packaging, but having the current version is key. You would really need to examine the packaging thoroughly to spot the difference. Dupe vapes may come in cheaper, but the danger it brings to your health is not worth the risk.
If you check online shopping sites for Eureka Vapor, you would encounter that a lot of these are fakes. A lot of suppliers based in China would manufacture these Eureka vape empty cartridge with packaging. Scammers would fill them up with impure and hazardous oils.
So how can you tell the authentic Eureka Vapor from the counterfeits? One major red flag is luckily easy to spot…
If you’re buying ones with old packing, it’s very likely that they’re fake
Eureka Vapor’s has stopped distributing products in their clamshell packing over a year ago, but today you can still find some sellers who sell the old packaging and claim that they’re old stocks. If it’s in the clamshell packaging, it is a fake Eureka Vapor cart.
Below are images of what some online websites are selling. They sell empty fake cartridges, which can easily be filled with fake oil and sold in the market. It looks similar to the old teardrop-shaped clamshell packaging Eureka Vapor used to sell.
Authentic Eureka Vapor packaging comes in boxes
The current Eureka vapes are all sold in childproof boxes and bags. You can buy them from licensed shops in California and Colorado. If you want to be extra sure, check out the available packaging on their website.
The images below are the authentic ones, exclusively distributed by Eureka Vapor.
A lot of users out there still get confused if the vape they are purchasing is authentic or not. This article was made to make you aware that there are fake ones of the Eureka Vapor brand are out there. The simple tip mentioned here to spot the fake ones can be a big help especially for those who aren’t fully aware of what the typical characteristics of the counterfeit Eureka Vapor cartridges are.
Other fake vape cartridges
Fakes are not only for Eureka carts. Fake cartridges are plaguing the cannabis industry. See our pages on fakes for the following cartridges:
A general way to check for fakes on a lot of cartridges is to look and see if they are using an authentic CCELL. If the brand uses CCELL hardware on their originals, check to see if your cart is a fake CCELL cartridge. Eureka Vapor does not use CCELL carts. Fake hardware is a whole other topic, but another issue currently in the industry. On the flower side of things, there are even fake Pax 3s!
Seen any other fakes? Have any suggestions for spotting fake Eureka carts? Comment below or post in our forum!
Airo Brands Inc. is the US company that brought us the popular AiroPro. They are led by their founder and CEO Richard Yost and started operations back in December 2016. Their products are currently available in California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.
Airo Brands’ AiroPro line uses it’s own proprietary hardware
AiroPro, formerly Indigo Pro, Airo Vapor’s premier product uses hardware manufactured by CCELL but instead of a screw on 510 adapter like standard CCELL cartridges, it uses a magnetic base and a vibrating battery. Their hardware produces great hits and the oil is known for exceptional flavor. They made our best cartridges California and best cartridges Nevada lists.
Some of the best tasting THC cartridges, anywhere
AiroPro is known for creating awesome flavors across its line. The flavor on AiroPro cartridges is much more intense than any other brand, yet they still maintain a high THC percentage. Carts high in flavor used to be low in THC. AiroPro carts have great flavor yet still test in the mid 80s for THC percentage and up.
Some examples are Mountain Mist and Oz’s Orchard. Mountain Mist has a distinct minty menthol taste, while Oz’s Orchard has a berry like flavor to it.
Partnership with Namaste Technologies
Determined to reach the cannabis market worldwide, they partnered with Namaste Technologies Inc. in September last year to yer to get Airo brands to reach cannabis consumers in Canada. We could not find anyone selling the cartridges online yet in Canada, but they should be out soon.
Airo Brands’ trademarks
It is also good to know that there are also several trademarks under Airo Brands. Some of these are AiroClick, Airo X, and Joystix. For a complete list of trademarks, you can check them out here.
We hope to see Airo Brands Inc. in more places as legalization grows
Airo Brands Inc. is picking up popularity by way of AiroPro throughout the country. When we stopped into Essence Tropicana West, the budtender there said AiroPro was her favorite and here at DabConnection it’s one of ours as well.