Black Oak Clone Comparison Review

The authentic Black Oak mod is a 26650 mechanical box mod made by a Polish Vapers Coalition known as Continental Mods. The Black Oak mod is a beastly creation featuring a heavy stainless steel body with black oak wood accents, three different sized black oak atomizer extensions, a black oak mod stand all packaged into a handsome wood presentation box. The most jaw dropping aspect of the Black Oak mod was its staggering price tag of $350usd.

Now, I have had my eye on the first Black Oak clone made by Seedecig since November of last year however, there were issues with stateside availability that were mostly likely related to the unusually high wholesale cost of $86.50 per piece at that time. The manufacturer, Seedecig also refused to sell me a single sample for the purpose of review citing their fear that I would have their clone cloned (insert heavy eye rolling).

Since then that time the price of the Seedecig Black Oak clone has come down, and there have been a few more Black Oak clones to come along as well. This review will feature a head to head comparison of the Seedecig Black Oak clone vs the ShenRay Black Oak clone. Both versions of the Black Oak clone were provided by Focalecig.com for the purpose of this product review.

The Seedecig Black Oak clone is a 1:1 clone which is presented in a wood presentation box like the authentic Black Oak by Continental Mods, and it currently retails for $80.00usd. The ShenRay Black Oak clone is a near 1:1 replication which does not come with the wood gift box, and retails for $66.32usd.

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Where to buy a Black Oak Clone:

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BLACK OAK CLONE SPECIFICATIONS:

  • Brand: Seedecig (wood box) and ShenRay (no wood box)
  • Type: mechanical mod
  • Material: 304 grade stainless and wood
  • Connection threading: 510 (adjustable)
  • Battery compatibility: 26650 (Seedecig) and 26650/18650 (ShenRay)
  • Diameter: 24mm (atomizer chamber)
  • Height: 90mm
  • Width: 58mm
  • Weight: 300grams

BUILD QUALITY

Seedecig Version — Out of the box I was immediately disappointed by the Seedecig Black Oak clone. The machining of this Black Oak clone is some of the shoddiest machining that I have ever seen on any device, clone or authentic. The brushed stainless steel finish is incredibly uneven throughout the body of the mod, with one very noticeable machining error at the bottom of the mod, left of the continental mods logo.

The cut outs around the atomizer chambers are rough with sharp edges on each ring of the atomizer chamber. The first photo below clearly shows how uneven the brushed finish is. The areas around the battery chamber and top mounted fire button are better, but all in all I was far from impressed by Seedecig’s offering.

I am not sure if the “black oak wood” mod stand and accents are genuine black oak, but these aspects of the kit are at least machined better than the rest of the mod. However, I do suspect that Seedecig has supplied their factory seconds to China based vendors.

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I had not even heard of the ShenRay version of the Black Oak clone until it appeared on Focalecig’s website. Based on their product photos of this Black Oak clone I had expected the ShenRay version to be better than the Seedecig clone, and I was not disappointed, at least in this aspect.

The machining on the ShenRay Black Oak clone is the complete opposite of the Seedecig version. The ShenRay Black Oak clone is well machined with a smooth and even brushed stainless steel finish throughout. Unlike the Seedecig version, ShenRay actually finished their clone and so it does not have the sharp edges of the Seedecig version.

The other difference that I noticed is in the depth of color, tone, and texture of the black oak wood mod stand and accents on the ShenRay version. That being said, I am also not sure that this clone is made with real black oak wood as I get the feeling that some sort of paint, or lacquer was used on the wood accent. In spite of that doubt and uncertainty, the richer tone of the black oak accents are more appealing than those on the Seedecig version.

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In the photo demonstration below you can see the difference in machining, and finish between the two clones. The engraved logos are also slightly different, although the engravings on the Seedecig version appear to be closer to the authentic Black Oak clone. Both clones have engraved serial numbers on the bottom of the mod like the authentic.

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Both the Seedecig and ShenRay Black Oak clones include three wood atomizer extensions in different sizes to accommodate RTAs (small riser), Genesis styles (medium riser), and RDAs (large riser). Both kits also include four copper positive pins, 3 of which correspond to the atomizer extensions, an allen key to dissemble the Black Oak clone, and a threaded 510 adapter if you prefer to not use any of the atomizer extensions.

The ShenRay version further distinguishes itself from the Seedecig version by including two 18650 battery adapters for greater battery compatibility, and by the fact that all three of the ShenRay atomizer extensions actually fit/thread into the mod.

I was beyond disappointed to find that only ONE (RTA riser) of the Seedecig atomizer extensions actually thread into the mod. The Genesis and RDA atomizer extensions do not thread fully into the base of the mod, nor does any atomizer thread into the extensions 510 threads. The atomizer extensions are a significant aspect of the Black Oak’s appeal, so to have 2 of the 3 atty extensions not work on the Seedecig version is unacceptable. And from what I hear this is not a one-off situation either.

The large hole on the interior of the atomizer chamber is for battery venting.

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Both versions of the Black Oak clone are comparable in terms of the construction of the fire button which is spring loaded, and are interchangeable with one another. However, the screwdriver slot on the Seedecig version is so shallow that I was not able to adjust or dissemble the switch. Although the ShenRay Black Oak clone is machined better than the Seedecig version, the Seedecig Black Oak clone does have the smoother fire button. Both versions feature copper positive and negative contacts.

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The Black Oak clone has two allen head screws that secure the base to the main body of the mod, and can be removed with the included allen wrench. With the base of both clones removed you can see yet again that the ShenRay Black Oak clone is machined and assembled better than the Seedecig version.

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With the base removed, this is where you would begin to set up the Black Oak clone for use with the atomizer extension of your choice. As previously stated, 3 of the 4 copper contact pins correspond to the atomizer extensions. Once you screw the contact pin of your choice into the base you can then reassemble with the base and main body.

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Your battery is installed into the Black Oak clone with the positive side of the battery facing down. The battery fitment on both mods is good, no issues there. The ShenRay does come with two plastic 18650 battery adapters however, there is some battery rattle when using the 18650 adapter. During use/handling I can feel the adapter and battery moving around inside, so I didn’t like that very much.

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PERFORMANCE

Setting up both of the Black Oak clones can be a total pain in the ass. Having to work with the positive pins, atomizer extension, and an actual atomizer can lead to a lot of screwing and unscrewing to get this mod set up to fire. As I stated earlier, only one of the atty extensions work on the Seedecig Black Oak clone. But I did find that I got the Seedecig Black Oak set up a bit faster than the ShenRay version, but I think that comes down to the atomizer used.

While the ShenRay Black Oak is machined and finished better than the Seedecig version, I didn’t find either of them to be particularly comfortable to handle. It is a large and heavy mod, so there wasn’t a lot of joy for me during actual use. Someone with larger hands may find the Black Oak clone more enjoyable to handle, but between the large size and the top mounted fire button, I just wasn’t feeling it.

As far as how the mod hits? Eh, it’s alright. I may have been a little spoiled by regulated mods and other mechanical mods with lower voltage drop. Due to the style and construction of the mod with the atomizer chamber and extensions it was very difficult to do any sort of voltage drop test with an inline voltage meter, so unfortunately I do not have any exact numbers. But I expect the voltage drop to be in the neighborhood of .40v based on feel.

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OVERALL

Going back to what I said earlier about Seedecig and their refusal to sell me a sample so that I could do this review, you would think that they were machining gold in that factory, when in reality the Seedecig Black Oak clone is a relative piece of shit, an opinion which is heightened by its price point. The Seedecig Black Oak clone is by far one of the most poorly machined mechanical mods that I have ever held in my hands, and I have handled more clones than I can count or remember. To say that the Seedecig clone is not worth $80.00 is an understatement, in fact it pisses me off every time that I look at it.

The ShenRay Black Oak clone on the other hand is much, much nicer, and more in line with what I had expected when the Black Oak clone first hit the market. Even as the ShenRay Black Oak clone is far and away better than the Seedecig version, due to its size, uncomfortable hand feel, and involved set up process, I didn’t really enjoy it as much as I had expected to.

Like the tiny, yet heavy Phantus Mini clones that I recently reviewed, the Black Oak clone also falls firmly into the “collectors” category in my opinion. There is a new aluminum version of the Black Oak clone that recently came out, so anyone who is considering this style of mod for everyday use should look in the direction of the aluminum version, which is not only lighter in weight, but should also have lower voltage drop due to the aluminum body.

Black oak final photo

PROS

  • ​Attractive aesthetic
  • check
    ​Good build quality (ShenRay clone)
  • check
    3 different sized atomizer extensions
  • check
    Long battery life (26650)

CONS

  • ​Horrible machining/build quality (Seedecig clone)
  • ​Very heavy
  • Exclamation Triangle
    Involved set up process

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Where to buy a Black Oak Clone

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3 thoughts on “Black Oak Clone Comparison Review”

    1. Hi Sage, I hope you are doing well my friend. Thank you so much for your comments, you are the best!

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