Review: Defiant tank by Council of Vapor

After reviewing the Mini Volt from Council of Vapour some 2-3 weeks ago I started looking into their other stuff. They do have a tank that goes with the Mini Volt, often referred to as the Mighty Mini Volt Atomizer, that's sold in a kit with the mod. However, they also have a pretty new tank, that looks almost the same, the Defiant, that comes with a new ceramic coil head. Now, there has been a bit of fuzz about ceramic or coil-less atomizers lately. The Altus tank is one example that is marketed as coil-less tank, and has gotten some mixed reviews, with ramp-up time being an issue for a lot of people. The coil-head made for the Defiant, however, is a completely different system, with ceramic acting as a buffer between the cotton and a what looks to be a pretty normal coil. Actually, I think C.O.V. explains how this coil works best themselves in their video. When I talked to Ramzy from damping.no about his experience with the Defiant he was quite enthusiastic about the flavour, so I had to get one and try this for myself.


In the box

• The Defiant tank
• 2 x 0.5 ohm ceramic atomizer heads (1 in the atomizer)
• User Manual
• Spare pyrex tube and o-rings

Specifications

• Diameter: 22 mm
• Height: 48 mm with driptip (37 mm without)
• Stainless Steel
• Top filling
• 3.1ml juice capacity
• Pyrex glass
• Airflow control
  

Look and feel

I think the Defiant looks pretty damn cool to be honest. Matches my red Efusion pretty well with those double red o-rings on top, and it's a great match for the little Mini Volt mod. It is indeed a small tank as well, making the capacity of 3.1 ml of juice pretty impressive. It's made from stainless steel, making it solid, giving it some weight and making it feel really solid and well built.

In use

The first thing that happened when I filled the tank was a major leaking issue. And by major I do actually mean major. I left it to soak for a bit, not really paying attention to it for like 10 minutes and half the tank was empty and I had juice all over my mod. So I took it apart (which I had not done before I filled it), cleaned up the mess and refilled it. Since then it has behaved very well. I mean I have had some minor leaking issues, but that's just a drop or two coming out of the airflow holes after filling and then putting it in my pocket or whatever without vaping it first. So, apart from the initial leaking I've had no problems with it. Talking to Ramzy about it he had exactly the same problem. My guess is that either it wasn't properly screwed together and tightened when I got it, or it might just be that these ceramic coil do overwick a lot if it hasn't been used before. I do suggest you take the tank apart, clean a bit and put it properly back together before you fill it for the first time though. As I said, the tank has behaved very well since then and as long as you're aware (which you should be by now) it's not a problem at all. If anyone have some insight on this issue, please don't be afraid to leave a comment and enlighten us.

I do like the top filling on this tank. To fill it you unscrew the driptip section and you'll be able to pour juice into the tank from whatever type of bottle you have. I'm sure with a bit of patience you'll be able to pour from a cup. I like that since I don't really have to bother cleaning a needle-tip bottle for my e-liquid to be able to fill the tank. However, you can't use a standard driptip on this tank, there is no adapter for it that I'm aware of. For me, it's not a problem, as I really like the one on there. It's pretty wide, and it does have those honeycomb holes that works like spitback protection that you see in other C.O.V. tanks (Vengance, Phoenix and the Mighty Mini Volt tank as far as I know) as well. It also allows you to add some extra air from the driptip through those tiny holes all around the driptip. To do this you remove the rubber piece that goes around the inside of the driptip. It looks like these solutions are used by C.O.V. on the Mighty Mini Volt, the Vengance and now the Phoenix tank as well, and I guess the reason for this is that it works really well. Personally I keep the rubber ring in place as I like the heat of the vapor as it is. Actually I always close airflow on the driptips on tanks where it is available. With the C.O.V. solution to this you only get to either open or close the airflow on the driptip, which for some people might not be sufficient, but again... it's all a matter of personal preference. I do like the tiny holes around the tip though, but that's just because it makes the tank look cooler, nothing else.

The airflow control on the bottom is pretty good. You can't twist it all the way around, which there is no need for actually. Twist it clockwise all the way to have it fully open, and all the way counter-clockwise to close it all off. It's loose enough to be twisted easily, and tight enough so it doesn't go adjusting itself by accident.

This tank comes with a 0.45 to 0.5 ohm ceramic coil-head (well two of them actaully). As far as I know this is the only option designed specifically for this tank. It is, however, interchangeable with the coil-heads from the Mighty Mini Volt tank and the Vengance, so you do have the option of using normal 0.2 or 0.8 ohm heads. Which is a good thing if you plan to use this tank with the Mini Volt. Then you will need the 0.8 ohm heads as 40 W is, in my opinion, not enough power for the 0.5 ohm head that comes with this tank, and it would probably drain that battery in no time. So not too many coil options on this tank. I think C.O.V. should consider giving us some more options, mainly with higher resistances for lower wattages. I'd wish for a 0.8 and maybe even a higher ohm ceramic head (1.2 maybe). More on that below.

Performance

Now, for the most interesting part I guess. As I said, Ramzy was pretty enthusiastic about the flavour from this tank. I'm just going to jump straight to the point here: The flavour is amazing. It really is. I mean, for me it's competing with some of my rebuildable tanks, maybe not all the way up there with the Steamcrave Aromamizer (my current favourite I guess) and the Goblin mini, but certainly not far behind. I get a feeling that the ceramic coil system gives you cleaner flavour, and a lot of it. Before I tried this one, my favourite tank among the sub-ohms with pre-built heads was the Zephyrus, or maybe the Aromamizer with the pre-built heads. The Defiant, with the 0.5 ohm ceramic head, beats them both.

C.O.V. says the ceramic coils will vape best at 40 to 75W of power. I'd say it needs at least 50W, with 60W being the sweet spot with the juice I'm currently using which is a 60/40 VG/PG juice. At 70W it starts to taste a bit funny, although its not the usual burnt cotton dry hit you've probably tasted before. I guess you can run it on higher wattages with other, thinner juices. 40W however, does not give me the vapor production I'm after at all. This is why I'm calling for more coil options as well. I think the ceramic system plays a big role in creating the fantastic flavour, and I want to be able to use that with my Mini Volt, but currently I can't.

According to C.O.V. the ceramic coils will also enable you to change flavours quite easily, and the coils will last a lot longer than normal coils without the ceramic layer. Just fill the tank with your new flavour and you might have some overlap but it won't take long before you only taste your new flavour. Now actually you can do this on normal coils as well, but what I think they're trying to say here is that the overlap time will be shorter and there should be less gunk building up on your coil. I've tried to change flavour in the tank and it does actually work pretty well. Now I didn't have a really strong menthol in the tank from before though. I usually change the coil head whenever I change flavours in these sub-ohm tanks, but with these coils I don't really see the need to do this... most of the time. Well, to be honest, and I haven't really tried this, but I do think this depends a lot on the flavours you're vaping. Some flavours will stick with you for a long time (like strong menthols) if you don't change the coil.

Taking this tank apart and cleaning it is no problem at all. No sharp edges you could cut yourself on, and none of those inaccessible spots where water tends to get stuck. In other words, easy to keep clean.

It would also be kind of interesting to try out these ceramic heads in the Vengance or the Mighty Mini Volt as well. I haven't had the pleasure to try out any of them yet though, and then C.O.V. have also released another tank, the Phoenix, that looks really interesting, so I'm not sure if I ever get the time to try them. C.O.V. is really putting some nice stuff on the market these days I'd say.

Pros and cons 

+ Flavour
+ Size and capacity
+ Top filling
+ Solid
+ Long lasting coils
+ Price
- Not many coil options

Conclusion

This is the second item I've tried from Council of Vapor, and now I want to try everything they've got. Seriously, the flavour from this tank is fantastic and you should try it. What makes it even more of a no-brainer is the price. Hell, you should just go buy two of them at once.


Thanks a lot to Ramzy at damping.no for making this review possible.

Disclosure:

• All my reviews are my honest opinion even if I am affiliated with the company manufacturing or selling the product. 
• This review does not contain affiliate links.