We got our hands on the new Hurricane Junior the second we could, the Hurricane (Original) is one of the best MTL (even a restricted lung hit) flavour tanks on the market and we were excited for some design improvements and a smaller form factor. We were expecting it to have more airflow, a new fill method, same great flavour, more affordable price, and a usability we were already used to. Well, we were in for a surprise…
Other than the name and some visual design cues (Tank dots, Logo, Similar look) this atty is nothing like the original. It has a bit of identity crisis, it can handle clouds bro clouds Claptons and has more airflow than you would ever need in a reasonably tiny package but it’s overkill. The airflow to chamber & chimney equation don’t add up, it feels like the design thinking was, everyone wants more air, and to use claptons so lets just open it all up. We don’t understand this latest craze with too much airflow, larger decks, and this weird blending of Cloud and Flavourchasing. For us we want a nice restricted draw (sometimes lung, and sometimes MTL) with a condensed chamber that gets the air to wick & coil equation right.
Clapton coils need too much power to perform (makes sense as there is a ton of wire in them) and to us they end up heating the vape too much to get the flavour a simple single wire can do much more efficiently. The Junior needs crazy builds to perform like its big brother, so you are going to have to deal with a much warmer vape, or an airflow thats too open (which effects the quality of flavour).
It’s this strange balance of heat, airflow, and flavour that is the root of this identity problem. To get an experience close to the original, we never open the AFC more than half, really we run at about 1/3-1/4 open. Mouth to Lungers may want to stay away entirely, the wicking channels are much larger and even with the juice flow control, you will need to do some major playing around to get it not to flood your wicks. MTLing on this atty is like driving a Porche at 20 Mph, it will feel like it’s being bogged down all the time. There is some great thinking on the airflow shape, there is a 45° angle cut on the inner airflow hole that does smooth things out when closing down the airflow, but you are adding a rather large empty airflow chamber when it’s closed down. This effects flavour, it makes it less dense and there is almost a metallic taste (heated metal). Really it’s a rather simple design, not nearly as effective as the original, creating wasted space inside the airflow system never helps performance. There is a major con, the AFC can whistle (starting half closed and worse as you close down further) if you don’t get the build right, and even when you do, it’s loud (not something Hurricane fans will be used to).
Flavour, it varies, it is very dependant on your coil choice. The airflow inlet under the coil is large, so you need to fill this space, don’t try anything below 3mm, it just won’t do it (well). We found Claptons, Fused Claptons or 24awg wire coils are the only choices for optimal flavour. Sure you can put a 1 0hm + build in, but the flavour will be muted compared to these larger builds. Yes, it can have great flavour, but at a cost of increased juice consumption, with more heat than you may like, and a major hit on battery life. Again it feels like a product from a completely different company, it’s too big a step in the other direction, there is 100% more airflow, a middle ground of like 50% more would be more promising.
From the looks of it, the deck and chamber section look like the original (with the addition of a juice flow control ring), but they sort of aren’t, again here everything is bigger, the screws (which are great), the chimney, the airflow inlet, the juice inlets/channels, and the wicking area too. One major loss is the air flow inlet is no longer a raised tube (there is a little step but it’s not the same) which helped with flooding, leaking, and condensation. Now the inlet is almost flush with the bottom of the deck and this leads to the AFC having sweating issues, if you are going to run a big clapton it’s going to cause issues (they produce a ton of vapor that has to go somewhere).
With the extra wicking space and 100% larger juice inlet/channels getting the juice flow right is a major pain in the ass. We can’t help but wonder what the thinking was, the original was so dialled in. Sure, you needed to learn the M or S method for your wicks, but once you did it worked flawlessly. Again this theme of double the size of everything just doesn’t jive with us. The wicking method is the same, but you need to pay much more attention and use the juice flow ring to dial in the proper amount of flow, otherwise you will have flooding issues. To be straight, the tank doesn’t leak- but it will flood the wicks and hinder performance if not set correctly. We haven’t experienced a single dry hit, it wicks well, just too well at times. You will need to use the juice flow ring, maybe not for the first couple tanks, but you will run into issues as the cotton settles in. The good news and bad news is when you have it running right you go through juice like mad so getting into the tank to fine tune the juice flow is pretty easy (you can do it with a full tank too).
Here is the thing, we were expecting some slight improvements to something that wasn’t really broken. Plenty of folks already run lower builds in the original, we were hoping for a bit more flexibility. Instead we got double, double everything. If you want 100% larger airflow, juice channels, deck airflow inlet, chimney diameter, and a completely different AFC system, than the Hurricane Junior is for you. 50% more airflow with increased sizes on the components of the design that need it to accommodate this would be something we are interested in seeing (a new fill method would be nice too). That identity crisis again, comes up for us, it’s like this is the transition atty to convert Cloudchasers into Flavourchasers. If lots of airflow, with hot builds,and crazy juice consumption are your thing, give it go.
Thanks for being honest.
I own 2 Hurricanes 1.2 and just got my hand on the Junior a few days ago.
Sorry to not agree to your standpoint but for me it is a huge improvement from the previous generations.
Easy build, airflow is fantastic, flavor is on point, only downside : no topfill option.
Hey Y.W.
Happy to hear you are enjoying the Junior. The Hurricane 1.3 is still a nicer atty in our opinion.
Really enjoyed this review. Not only for the detailed analysis of the Junior but for the reminders that flavor, battery life, noise, leaking and juice consumption are important considerations.
I own several Hurricane 1.2 and love the easy, simple build, the great flavor and leak-free dependability. However, I have wished for the option to open up the draw “just a little more” sometimes. But it doesn’t sound like the Junior is the answer.
I have the Hurricane 1.3 and i love it. But the problem is… If i put a fuse clapton and 26/36 2.5mm diameter, i have to vape at 30 watt or bellow, if not, my vape is to hot. A normal coil have not a good flavor enough for me in the 1.3 . I put clapton all the time. The Hurricane junior is the solution. My vape’s gonna be ok between 40 to 50 watt with this beauty!
great write-up. another big con, in my opinion, is the PMMA tank. It is PMMA right? like the Hurricane 1.2, 1.3’s. I bought the 1.3, and had it imported from overseas, loved it so much i bought a second one and a couple spare 1.3 PMMA tanks that are supposedly stronger than the 1.2’s, however one of my 1.3 tanks started to develop tiny cracks on the inside from a very sour apple rasperry juice. and the stainless steel tank section for the 1.3 is always sold out. : (
I will never buy the hurricane junior, and like you, will never understand the current craze of too much airflow. cloud chasing and flavor chasing dont mix.
Thanks for the review. Is the tank glass? I had the 1.3 but the part wherein the pmma screws on to the metal parts loosened and I couldn’t tighten it on properly. Was hoping they would upgrade to glass.
Sorry to say the tanks isn’t glass on this one either.
I have this tank quite awhile now but haven’t used it much since my tank started to crack with the first juice I tried in it. So u dumped the juice and threw the tank into the drawer. Als the customer service for them is none existent which is a shame for the price point it’s being sold at. Now after months I try again to day and again it’s pain totally not worth the money get lava hot spit back my whole tongue is burnt now lol. This tank is definitely not worth its price should be sold at 30 or so. Because no CS at all and almost no extras
Very good review about Hurricane Jr.,
but I like it, very very good flavor RTA.