Original text by Vapernaut, translated by Roman
Bishop is an atomizer that raises high expectations in the vape world. In my view, mainly for two reasons. If I omit good marketing, it is mainly because it has, considering its high end, a very favorable price tag and is probably the first to dare to „steal“ a construction system on which the legendary Flash-e-Vapor works.
The design is the work of The Vaping Gentlemen Club, the production is taken care of by Ambition Mods and especially the signature trademarks of the gentlemen are quite obvious. It’s a very original design, but the silver version reminds me a bit of Millennium. The emphasis is on „a bit“ because, given the design of the atomizer, it can’t even be exactly the same. The bishop does not need a lower AFC ring for airflow regulation, it is filled from below and the deck is completely separated from the upper part with a chamber, which basically forms the boiler room bell. It is structurally a complete copy of the previously mentioned FeV, but it does not resemble it at all in terms of design. Fortunately ?
Plus it has some interesting improvements, but more on that later. Let’s get straight to the point. I will focus mainly on practical things and taste, I will go through the general information only lightly.
Package
- 1x Bishop MTL RTA atomizer
- 1x Drip Tip
- 1x spare glass
- 1x blind airflow insert
- 2x 0.8mm airflow insert
- 2x 1.0mm airflow insert
- 2x 1.2mm airflow insert
You get everything packed in a small simple paper box. The packaging is modest, as is the custom in highend, but on the other hand, there is everything you need for different air settings and adapting the atomizer to your needs.
Processing quality
Everything fits together nicely, the seals hold well, the threads are okay, but I have one problem.
It’s glass. Actually, glasses, as there are two in the package, and the way they are attached. They both broke in half an hour and I don’t think it was my clumsiness. So far, I have broken only one glass for the time I’m vaping actively, and that was a case of fall on the paving during washing.
Simply when you disassemble and reassemble the top of the atomizer, be careful when tightening. I definitely didn’t catch up, I handled the second glass extremely carefully, but it turned out the same as the first one. Even thorough lubrication of the seals did not help. I think that the way the fixing of the glass is handled is unfortunate. So for using glass from the package (I have no idea what the material is it made from, the material is not specified in the package), it is an unfortunate solution.
For a while, it seemed that my testing ended before it really started, but I tried a few glasses from other atomizers and the glass from Ares 2 22 mm fits perfectly and I actually use only that. It is a pyrex glass and is microscopically thicker and significantly stronger than the glasses that were in the package. I know that it is thicker based on the fact that it is not so easy to put on the seals, but after thorough lubrication of the sealing rubbers, it fits well and I have no problems with it. In addition, the black glass from the Ares 2 limited edition there, in my opinion, fits even better in terms of design than the two that were in the package.
Building
The building of the Bishop is the biggest positive and improvement over FeV. A rail was added in an ingenious way, on which you first beautifully place a coil jig with a spiral and after fixing and heating it (to remove hot spots), you then just insert cotton wool in it. At the end of the rail, cut off the cotton wool and you’re done. As Po, would say: Awesomeness!
In fact, this is the easiest build I’ve come across. The rail solves the height and position of the coil and subsequently also the exact position and length of the cotton wicking. 2 minutes max and you have an atomizer ready for vaping.
Coils of any thickness and diameter can fit here. This is a really foolproof atomizer. The only thing I will point out is that the coil must be wrapped counterclockwise.
In addition, similarly to FeV, it is possible to check the build at any time during use and, of course, to modify and change it. This is a complete paradise for the reviewer, so in about half an hour I was able to try 4 different wires and different heights of the spiral without the need to take care about the liquid in tank.
I raised the position of the spiral about 1 mm higher than the level when it is exactly at the level of the rail (the original position at the level of the rail is still in the photo). Then it is roughly at the level of the airflow inserts and this way the atomizer, in my view, works best.
Draw
As with the Flash-e-Vapor, the draw is a separate league where the other atomizers fall behind. Whether it is noise, resp. in this case, rather by absolute silence, or a feeling of hit, this is an extra class. I definitely recommend trying one of these two atomizers just for the feeling of the draw.
I’ve always been excited about the draw of Expromizer V4, but I have to admit that we’re one category ahead here.
There is a sufficient amount of options for loose/restricted airflow, see the number of supplied airflow inserts and their combinations. In addition, Bishop will also function as a DL atomizer completely without inserts.
I like restricted draw, so I started with a 2 x 0.8 mm inserts on both sides, then switched to 2 x 1.0 mm and stayed on that. It seems perfect in terms of taste and feeling, so I no longer needed to test.
Airflow intake on one side seems nonsense to me, as the spiral is right in the middle and air coming from both sides is the best thing you can do for it. I tried about 2 puffs with one hole closed, but I immediately returned to 2 x 1.0 mm.
Inserts can be changed at any time while by simply pushing them out of slots. Great.
Daily use
Absolutely no problems after replacing the glass. 2 days of intensive use and not a drop of liquid in a places where it shouldn’t be. I used liquids with a density of VG/PG 50/50 and 60/40 and no problem with the wicking. At 70/30 I already felt that it could not wick fast enough, but only when I was vaping outdoors where the temperatures were close to zero. No problem in the interior, even with a density of 70/30. In contrast to Flash-e-Vapor, the difference is that the Bishop does not need any additional pins, wicks, or as they are called, in the liquid supply holes, which can be considered an advantage and an improvement, because there are less small parts that can be lost.
The driptip is functional and I have no problem with it, but I just didn’t like it, so I replaced it with a simple mouthpiece from a Taifun GTR.
The filling with juice is extra class. Because there is no chimney in the tank, there is so much space that the Bishop can be filled straight from the bucket.
Taste
So here we are. Information about construction and build is already on the internet, but what about Bishop and taste? For me, a tobacco lover, it’s a big disappointment.
If I wrote about FeV that it masks the taste of cream and all liquids are slightly creamy, which I admit, gives some liquids a very interesting feeling and maybe makes them even better than they really are (and others are non-vapable, because the cream is not suitable for everything), the Bishop on the other hand, adds a weird sweet taste to the mix. The sweet candy taste, which is extremely bothering me with several liquids with which I have tested the atomizer. Let’s call it Bon pari from now on.
But let’s start from the beginning. I focused mainly on the taste test and I immodestly think that this is how taste testing should be done. No impressions, no „feelings“, but a proper test and comparison.
Taste test No.1.
Immediately after unpacking, I put in an ordinary Kanthal 27ga, 2.5 mm diameter coil, because as one wise man said, the atomizer needs to be tested with the worst wire. Let the boy show what he got ?
I’m pouring Grampas Cream into the tank and I’m shocked. And it’s not a positive shock. It’s unvappable. In addition to the excellent cream and fine tobacco, which I am used to with this granpda, some spoiled Bon Paris were added. I´ve never sensed it there before and it completely kills other ingredients.
It is, of course, possible that I have something with my taste buds, and Bon pari is my fault and not Bishop’s. That’s why I put the same Kanthal, this time 2.0 mm diameter, also in the Melampous from Gus Mod and to be 100% sure, also in the Doggy.
No, it’s not mouth´s problem. It’s the atomizer. Melapous produces an excellent, slightly sweet cream that I like so much and adds a good portion of tobacco. Well, Doggystyle 2k16 is enough with an excellent cream and only a small portion of tobacco. It tastes good on both of them and there is no hint of Bon Pari anywhere.
There was, of course, the possibility that the worker in the Chinese factory was a huge Bon Pari lover, and it occurred to him that it would be a good idea to give Bishop a candy bath and then pack it in a box. That’s why I did a complete disassembly and clean everything by hand and in the ultrasonic cleaner.
Then I mount the MTL Clapton Ni80 and try Grampas again. No, it didn’t help, not even a Chinese worker from a factory in Guangdong is to blame.
Taste test No.2.
Ok, this is not the way to go, it’s time to try another liquid. I leave MTL clapton in Bishop and pour in Powerslam by FUU mixed in VG/PG 70/30 concentration. This time I will choose an old Berserker as opponent, in which I’m installing exactly the same wire on the same 2.5 mm coil jig.
Powerslam, as I wrote recently, is a very distinctive honey tobacco with nuts. In Bers, however, it is still mainly tobacco, which I like to pour into the tank once in a while, although not very often. And I like it. Not in the Bishop. If I had only vaped it from the Bishop, I would never have bought it again. I feel Bon pari again.
However, I must admit that in combination with honey and nuts, of which there are more than enough in this liquid, I do not mind such sweet Bon Pari as extremely as in the first test. However, it is not a positive change either.
Taste test No.3.
It seems that in the first two tests, inappropriate liquids and probably too heavy opponents were used for Bishop, so one more attempt.
I leave the wire the same and I pour quite a nice cream into the tank, specifically the vanilla custard by Don Cristo. I still have Ares 2, Penodat, 415 and Dvarw (yes, I know, I have too much atomizers and I should get rid of some) and I can’t decide which opponent to choose. In the end, with the same build and liquid, the old Dvarw MTL RTA will stand up to him as an opponent.
Here it is quite a balanced duel. This liquid is quite sweet in itself, to be honest, it is already attacking the limit of sweetness that I am willing to accept, and this liquid fits Bishop quite well. Again, a little extra Bon Pari, but in this combination it’s quite nice.
I did not notice any significant difference in taste between Dvarw and Bishop in this test. Dvarw leads slightly, but vanilla pudding tastes good on both.
Taste test No.4.
I can’t help myself and don´t want to give up, so I try one more attempt. After further thorough cleaning and replacement of o-rings, I install a spaced spiral made of ordinary Kanthal 27ga, which can dampen the sweetness a bit. I pour organic liquid Oriental by La Tabaccheria in the tank.
I like Oriental, about which I have already written elsewhere, because despite its delicate sweetness, it is a rough organic tobacco. Something like a doberman among on tobaccos. But from the Bishop I get a harmless poodle in a candy sweater on a walk around the mall. I don’t even make a comparison with another atomizer. Pointless.
Conclusion
Everything is listed above. Apart from the taste, it is a great atomizer for a very good price.
I’ve tried a few more liquids, and if you like fruit, cakes, coolers, menthol or disgustingly sweet and non-tobacco Marshall-type tobaccos, try Bishop. It could be very nice with these and in some cases the taste could improve. And if you love to vape candies, this is an atomizer just for you.
On the contrary, if you are looking for a true taste and you like unsweetened liquids in general, not just tobacco, you will be disappointed in my opinion.
Personally, I am very sorry for the taste, because it is otherwise a superb atomizer, great in design, small, light, with an excellent draw, the black variant fits perfectly with, for example, Tesla or Puma Baby, with which it would create the lightest and most practical setup ever. But the taste it serves is an insurmountable obstacle for me.
And maybe a little would be enough to change for the better. Since the taste, according to everything I’ve observed so far with atomizers, is affected by only 3 things. By used coil (material and thickness), by the way the air flows, and in the end only by the shape and size of the chimney, respectively bell. It would be maybe enough to create a tobacco chimney in the chamber between the base and the tank, or in other words tobacco bell. You don’t even need a brand new atomizer, just such an alternative „tobacco chamber“. I would very much like to try what it would do to the taste.
And if you got this far, again one bonus.
I like to use my better half for an independent test of my impressions and I did it again here.
Here’s how it goes: I’ll bring her an atomizer ready with juice, tell her nothing about what’s in the tank, and let her vape to tell me what she’s thinking about what she’s vaping. Thus she participated in taste test No. 2. with Powerslam flavor. She received two setups, unaware that she was vaping the same liquid. The result:
Powerslam in Berserker V1: „Very good, yummy. I smell nuts, sweet honey, some apricot compote or whatever it is and a lot of tobacco“
Powerslam in Bishop: „um, that’s very bland and sweet, I don’t like this“
with greetings „Vape what you want, from what you want and especially enjoy the moment before you stop with it as you did with smoking“
ᐯᗩᑭEᖇᑎᗩᑌT
P.S. You can like me on Instagram and Facebook.
Translation of this review by Roman Chlebec, thanks to him!
