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Augvape Boreas V2 Review by KingPin! (Inc. wicking guide)

KingPin!

In my defence, I was left unsupervised ^^
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Member For 4 Years
VU Challenge Team
Reviewer
Hi Folks,

I received the Boreas V2 directly from Augvape. I will convey my thoughts and do my very best to provide you with enough information so you can reach your own conclusion on the product based on my experience. Please ask questions in the below if I've missed anything you want to know.

Being this RTA bears the legendary Boreas name its only right I draw comparisons to the original from time to time being I have both.

Product Overview
  • 304 stainless Steel
  • Diameter: 24mm
  • Capacity: 5ml and 2.5ml options
  • Height: 41.8mm or 33.1mm (depending on tank option)
  • Two Post velocity style build deck (with side mounted hex screws)
  • Compatible With 510 & 810 Drip Tips (stock is 9mm wide bore Delrin)
  • Glass type: Pyrex
  • Support Dual Coil only
  • Airflow Slots: 2 adjustable (8mm x 2mm)
  • Gold plated 510 positive pin
Available Colours;
Stainless, Black

What's included in the Box?

1 x Boreas V2 fully assembled
1 x Spare 5 ml glass
1x Spare 2.5ml glass
1x Spare bits pack (O-rings, 4 x spare screws, 510 drip tip adaptor)
1 x Allen key

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Presentation wise Augvape have stuck with their trusty tube pot. Dig down and try to pull out the pieces is the name of game here. Thankfully the Boreas V2 wasn’t stuck in there like the merlin RDTA was when I bought that. The scratch and sniff sticker is on that back.

Build Quality, Looks & Initial Impressions

The original Boreas was one of the best affordable RTA’s on the market when it launched and remained there for a long time. It’s safe to say even now there’s a deep fan base for it, which I associate myself with.

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When I heard Augvape were releasing the Boreas V2 it’s fair to say I was a little excited. How were they were going to improve on the original, what were they going to change, will they sort out the Boreas burp, were a few questions that crossed my mind. Unlike some of the Chinese Companies who release a new tank every other week, Augvape tend to take their time to bring out new gear, and when they do its normally pretty damn decent, at least in my experience.

Differences I can see - The original had;
  • Juice flow control
  • Side airflow direct onto coils
  • Big 7ml tank size
  • 510 drip tip only and in my opinion the best drip tip ever released still to this day
  • The famous refilling technique “the Boreas burp”
  • An RDA type wicking approach where you lay the cotton on the deck
  • True Velocity style deck
  • Industrial styling
  • Parts were thicker
  • Matt finish on the black
  • Airflow ring was hole based so you could maintain air over length of the coil
The Boreas V2 tank has none of those features. This isn’t to say it isn’t good in its own right it’s just very different.

The Drip tip is something Goodyear would have been proud of. Anyone who vapes knows you get a crust forming on your drip tip after a while. Whilst disgusting and not often stated in reviews it’s vaping’s “unfortunate truth” and this thing is going to be a magnet for it. Whilst I feel they got the 8mm bore spot on, and it’s even fairly comfortable to use, I would have preferred two things 1) it needed to be slightly taller 2) lose the tyre treads.

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I don’t mind they went with a Delrin 810. It actually suits this tank because of its lower profile and the vapour production its kicks out. However should you prefer to use the trusty old 510, the good news is you can, except hopefully you have your own as they only provide you with an adaptor to use one.

The original Boreas Drip works really well with the tank. It will also accommodates aftermarket drip Goon/Kennedy tips as long as they have a short base. I tried my Half Moon - Goon Tallboy drip tip in here and it didn’t sit flush so watch out for that.

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The top cap has very good knurling. This is something the original suffered with especially when it got hot, in that it would sometimes stick if you overtightened it. At least on here you have a fighting chance to get the bugger undone when that happens.

The threading left a little to be desired. It’s an area I felt they had let slip since the original. The top cap is difficult to engage. Additionally the bottom cap (quick access to the deck) doesn’t have the beefy threading the original had either.

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The Juice fill holes are very large. I was able to fit my big twist nozzle bottle at the top and refill it easily. The payoff with the large size is the refill ring is very thin, it feels almost delicate when you strip the tank down.

The glass is thick enough for the 5 ml, however the 2.5 ml is thinner. I managed to crack my small glass soon after I installed it (user error over tightening) so I never really got to give the V2 a proper test run with it. You do get a spare 5ml glass in the box just no spare extra spare 2ml.

The airflow design on the V2 is the most significant overhaul I can see. You now have dual upward angled slots (8.5mm x 2mm). These airflow inlets are used in conjunction with the Wotofo “Troll” style post system, think of it like a wall on the post block. This creates two chambers within a single chamber, removing central turbulence enhancing the flavour (at least that’s the theory) but coil positioning within those chambers are going to be critical for it to work effectively.

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You have the same quick access to the deck employed by the original. Seating the deck on the notches is a lot more difficult than before. I find I have to fiddle about for ages to engage it properly.

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Finally the Tank breaks down in 9 pieces. The paintwork stood up to an ultrasonic cleaning without issue.

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KingPin!

In my defence, I was left unsupervised ^^
VU Donator
Platinum Contributor
Member For 4 Years
VU Challenge Team
Reviewer
Building and Wicking

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Despite the “wall” look to the posts, this is still very much similar to the velocity post system, so the building approach is exactly the same (one leg top and one leg bottom in the two posts).

The post holes will accommodate large coils legs and I reckon 8mm for the coil width is about as much as it will comfortable seat. You do loose a little bit of building space compared to the original due to the new style of wicking.

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I’ve tried a few different builds in here now, testing different heights and different distances from the posts. My favourite is using a 3mm inner diameter coil. Once installed, pull the coils so they just clear the insulator looking down on the deck. And the bottom of the coil will be in line with the bottom post hole.

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Depending on the width of the coil you may well have to bend the legs in so the cotton doesn’t lay across them. I do this bending once installed.

I found the post screws to be too soft and will strip fairly easily.

Wicking on the V2 is nothing like the original (where you could lay a bed of cotton like an RDA), in fact it’s a complete pain in comparison. The V2 has a steep learning curve which takes patience to get right. Too little and it will leak, too much and you will get a dry hit, there is no middle ground. For budding builders this is going to be an aspect that may frustrate you, fear not because not all RTA’s are as finicky as the V2. I’ll post my wicking approach after the review.

I think it helps to use a slower wicking cotton in the V2, I typically use Cotton Bacon for my RTA’s but this was wicking really damn fast. I found Muji or Koh Gen Do cotton pads worked better for the V2.

How’s the Vape?

The important bit is the V2 better than the original or is it a fail…..Drum Roll

I do get better flavour than the original and bigger clouds as well. In fact this is the area the Boreas V2 does really well, I cannot deny it that, however there is a BUT….

There’s something about the vape experience I’m not a fan off and I can’t put my finger on what that that is. I think it’s a combination of things, the drip tip, wicking, noisy draw, air locking during vaping. It just didn’t give me the same “oh hell yeah” feeling I got with the original when I tried that for the first time, and despite my many attempts at repositioning and re-wicking I could never properly shake this feeling with the V2.

Maybe I’m just nostalgic, but I did vape both side by side for this review and I can say now I prefer vaping the original in all honesty even though the V2 does have the better flavour and clouds and it doesn’t even suffer with the same silly refill approach ….but somehow I just get a better user feedback from the original and an overall vape experience as a result.

Things I Feel Could Be Improved
  • Lose the tyre treads on the drip tip and make it marginally taller (keep the bore and thickness though)
  • Lack of a 510 drip tip (the original Boreas 510 it my favourite all time drip tip please include this with the next iteration as an option)
  • Threading wasn’t particularly great on the top cap
  • 2.5 ml glass sections walls are too thin
  • Some parts are too thin to save on space.
  • Tank would sometimes get air locked when in use
  • Wicking is tricky to master on the V2. I prefer wicking method on the V1
  • Post screws are too soft (going to easily strip them)
  • Maintain some of the originals styling (even the airflow control ring)
Things I Feel It Does Well
  • Fantastic flavour and cloud production
  • Great price point
  • Easy to build on the deck
  • Very easy refill no more Boreas burping!
  • Decent capacity still to make gains on flavour
  • I do like the styling on the V2 (although ideally would like a cross between the V1 and V2)
  • Quick access to the deck without a strip down
  • Paint on the black held up to ultrasonic cleaning without any problem
Final Conclusion

Ok the V2 is a very good flavour and cloud RTA that’s the bottom line here and it does perform better than the original in these areas. Does it beat the original as an overall package though, perhaps not at least in my opinion.

I normally moan about vape companies due to lack of progression before they roll the next one off the production line, and kudos to Augvape for not resting on their laurels and milking the cow. I do feel the V2 has introduced some really positive changes, but i also feel along the way it lost some of the endearing qualities that made the original a real winner. If Augvape go for a hybrid between the two concepts on the V3 they will make for a banging tank and I personally can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

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Thanks very much for reading my review, I hope I covered everything you wanted to know until next time KingPin!
 
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KingPin!

In my defence, I was left unsupervised ^^
VU Donator
Platinum Contributor
Member For 4 Years
VU Challenge Team
Reviewer
For this wicking guide I will be using Koh Gen Doh Cotton pads (although smaller in size you could apply a similar technique to Muji as well) Also note this is for 3mm ID coils. See my review for the Coil positioning which I used for this guide.

Cut a strip 2.5cm wide

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Remove the top and bottom sheets from the pad

Now thin the pad out like stretching it both horizontally and vertically. When you are done it will have increase in width over two times (my pad is now 6cm in width)

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Now roll it up. As you can see it rolled mine fairly tightly to get a typical “rollie” going on (hence the name the Scottish roll method). As you can see there was a bit left at the top in the below picture, when you think it’s getting a bit fat for the coil stop and tear away the excess

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Twist the end of the cotton and pull it through the first coil. You should feel “some” resistance as you pull it through, but not some much it pulls the coil out of position.

Loop it round and do the same on the other side (if you are using muji you might have to repeat the above steps twice as Koh Gen Doh pads are larger). Once through pull the cotton back and forth a few times in each coil to settle them in.

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Now snip the excess cotton away, making a straight cut. You will have a total length of 2.5cm. This will leave a good 0.5cm cotton hanging off the edge of the deck each side

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Fluff the ends up

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From the back of the wick feed it down into the well. Keep doing this from the back and stop once you start feeling resistance to get more cotton in.

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You may well be left with something that looks like this now. Inspect each well on top of the deck to make sure there are no gaps left, if there is then feed some more down.

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Go around with the scissors and snip all the excess back. Use the edge of the deck as a guide. Notice how much cotton is in my juice well. I haven’t completely plugged it up, the cotton is only just touching the bottom of the well in places, this allows juice to flow in freely.

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Once you are done going around it will look something like this from above.

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Juice it up (warm the coil a little to allow the juice to soak in), reassemble and refill and you should be good to go!

Please note even I do get a little bit of seeping from the AFC at times after refilling, but it feels more like condensation than actual leaking. This method should stop the juice flooding and should stop you from getting dry hits!

I also found after refilling and reattaching the top cap it helped to hold the atty upside down for a few seconds as it would get air locked if I didn’t.

Hope it helps….
 
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