The popularity of portable e-nails has been exploding, and the market has been rushing to meet the demand. The quality of these units is highly variable between different models and manufacturers, so it pays to do your homework before buying one. Today we’ll be comparing the Focus V Tourist and the Source Nail. These are two of the best e-nails out there. They’re well made, and both produce excellent vapor. While they may be similar in this regard, they differ greatly in other important ways…
Focus V Tourist vs Source Nail
Vapor Quality
The Focus V Tourist has an immediate leg up on the Source Nail because it can vaporize both dry herb and concentrates, while the Nail only does concentrates. Many 2-in-1 vapes either only do one material well or both materials poorly, but the Tourist does a remarkably good job vaping both.
For dry herbs, you get precise temperature control between 176F and 464F and a ceramic heating chamber. The vapor produced is smooth and flavorful, but you have to be careful because the upper end of the temperature range will combust your herbs quickly. For extra smooth vapor, you can use the water attachment.
The Tourist has completely different ‘heads’ depending on what you want to vape. The one for wax has a titanium nail, and it has to be used with the water attachment. The temperature range for wax mode is 464F to 842F. The vapor produced from this setup is excellent.
You can expect similar performance from the Source Nail when it comes to wax. One advantage the Nail has is atomizer variety. Three are included with it, and there are many more that Source offers.This allows you to adjust the experience slightly to be more oriented towards flavor, vapor density, or a combination of both. The Nail also offers complete temperature control, with a range of 200F to 700F.
Both of these offer excellent vapor from wax with the ability to customize your experience based on the vapor you enjoy most. While the Nail has a little more flexibility for waxes, the Tourist still wins this category because of it’s ability to vape dry herbs.
Manufacturing Quality
Both the Tourist and the Nail are extremely well made. The attention to detail in both is obvious, and there aren’t any glaring negatives worth mentioning for either. There are important differences though.
The obvious one for the Tourist is the swappable heads for the different materials. These ‘heads’ are extremely well designed, leading to a vaporizer that actually vaporizes both materials well. The system for switching is simple, and the connections are well machined and smooth.
The big advantage of the Nail is all the atomizers and nails. For waxes, your only option on the Tourist is the titanium nail. It’s made with real titanium, which is a great material for this job, but a lot of people may appreciate all the additional options that Source offers.
You get three nails in the box (ceramic, titanium, and quartz), plus the ability to use all their Series 3, 4, and XL atomizers. There’s also the glass mouthpiece that allows you to not always use the water attachment.
Expect either of these units to be very well made, but I’m giving this category to the Tourist because of the unique and effective way it handles multiple materials so well.
Ease of Use
One of the things I like the most about the Tourist is how simple it is to use. The two heads screw on easily, then you just flip the switch to either herb or wax. From there you set your temperature and enjoy.
It’s so intuitive that any beginner could figure out how to turn it on and set a temperature without any instructions.
The Nail is also pretty easy to use. It has the classic 5-click turn on and buttons for choosing your temperature or wattage.
I’m going to give this one to the Tourist even though both are equally easy. That may seem strange, but I think it’s justified because the Tourist is providing double the functionality without any increase in difficulty.
Portability
I wouldn’t call either of these units portable when the water attachment is being used, but both of them can be used without it.
The catch is that the Tourist can only be used for dry herbs without the attachment, and the Nail can only be used with wax period.
So this category really comes down to what you would want to be vaping while on the go. If you want a portable dry herb vaporizer that can also do dabs, go with the tourist. If you want the ability to vape wax while out and about, the Nail may better suit you.
Battery Life
The Tourist has a 2500mAh battery while the Nail’s battery is 2100mAh. When you are using these units for wax and at the same temperature, the battery draw is identical.
This means the Tourist will slightly outperform the Nail thanks to the bigger battery, all other things being equal. You won’t get quite as many sessions when using the Tourist for dry herbs, but that is to be expected because of the longer session length.
This was obviously close, but the Tourist narrowly wins.
Discreetness
This category ultimately comes down to what material you are more concerned about using when around other people or in public, just like with portability.
I mean, let’s face it, a battery mod with a water attachment on top is about the least discreet method of consumption that I can think of.
Even without the attachments, neither one of these units are especially discreet. The glass mouthpiece for the Nail is still pretty eye catching because of its curvy shape, and the Tourist is big compared to dedicated herbal vaporizers.
Temperature Flexibility
Both of these units are very flexible when it comes to temperature. The Tourist has two ranges, one for herbs and one for wax. The herbal range is 176F to 464F, while the wax range is 464F to 842F.
The Nail obviously only has one temperature range because it only does wax. The range is 200F to 700F. On the temperature control side of things, it obviously has a smaller range.
But it also offers wattage control instead of temperature, and you could theoretically use this to heat your coils above 700F.
SHOWDOWN
The Nail is an excellent vaporizer in it’s own right, but the Tourist offers double the functionality. It’s simultaneously a dry herb vaporizer and an e-nail. More importantly, it delivers excellent performance and vapor quality for both modes.
All this and the price of these two units is essentially the same.
If you have no interest in vaping dry herbs, then I guess the advantages of the Tourist won’t mean much to you. If that’s the case, you’ll probably be better served by the Nail simply because it is more portable for waxes and offers more nail materials and atomizer styles.
If you are convinced the Focus V Tourist is the right unit for you, be sure to pick one up from our store.
Still think you like the Source Nail is better? Everyone has their own personal preference and if you are looking to grab one grab one directly from our store.
If you’d like to see another comparison, check out our recent showdown between the Dr Dabber Boost and Focus V Tourist and to see how these 2 units stack up against the field, be sure to check out our Wax Vaporizer Ranking Chart.
Alex is a cannabis enthusiast, long time vaporizer lover, writer and filmmaker. He is also a board and video game nerd with a penchant for hosting a weekly board game night. Partygoers have been heard saying things like “is anyone else going to show up?” and “I don’t think I can make it next week”. He strives to make people laugh at every opportunity and sees cannabis as a helpful tool in doing so.
The reviews and ratings are based on personal and decade-plus of industry experience. Such content is based on the opinion of the Editor/Author. They are solely provided as a basis for research and should be used only as guidance. We encourage thorough research by all visitors to attain the most objective viewpoint before purchasing.
