Khalid Robinson better known by his stage name "Khalid" is an up and coming artist from El Paso, Texas. Originally from Georgia he's the creator of the song "Location" which got 30 million streams as well as frequent radio plays and is reminscent of coffeehouse soul with elements of hip-hop and romance. Here's a fun fact, Khalid's mother sings in the Army Band, due to being an army brat, music and relocation was a constant influence, which enabled him to see different cultures from Germany to New York that have left a presence on his musical style. 

Here's a little snippet from the Rolling Stone:
"After every show I talk to every single fan who stays after. I'm telling them, 'Thank you for coming' – that's the core group. The people who come to your first shows are going to support your forever. I at least want to thank them on a personal level before things get too crazy."

Who doesn't love a guy that appreciates his fans??

Check him out here.

Here's a taste of some of his music. :) 

*** UPDATES ***

5/15/17: PREORDERS are now available! Get it while supplies last. :) Purchase it here.

5/11/17: There is news going around saying that Viva La Cloud is releasing a new version of the El Thunder but the update is simply a revised switch, which will be available to purchase separately. The version that D5 will offer will already include this update so you don't have to worry about getting the latest and greatest. ;)

📷: @elthundermod, @vaporbar.ru

Viva La Cloud: El Thunder Mechanical Mod
Price: TBD

Experience
We brought a little something back from our trip to Russia that might be interesting to the guys on our side of the pond. We made some friends over in Russia from Viva La Cloud and they decided to let us try their El Thunder mod. We were a little skeptical at first... a mechanical mod built in Russia??...but damn does this thing hit like a thunder bolt. Our first impressions holding it in our hands are that it fits great in the hands, it's roughly 26MM all but around 23MM where the notch is; it definitely feels ergonomic in the hands. It has a hybrid 510 connection and is beveled at the edge so any RDA still looks great on top of it. The threading is super smooth and well machined.

But let's talk about the highlight of the mod, which is the switch. It has a unique pronged contact and a huge contact at the button allows it to have a smaller form factor as well as great feedback whenever you press the button. Because of the multiple points of contact from the pronged contact, it definitely hits with minimal voltage drop.

It has little in the way of cons, but if there is one it would be the lack of adjustability in the switch. This isn't really a con though because the switch feels great regardless. The other con would be the lack of availability in the US, but we hope to address that soon for you guys 😉.

Overall, the comrades over in Russia from Viva La Cloud did an incredible job with the El Thunder mod and we hope that we can get a few more stateside to share with you all.

Positives:
+ Hits like a thunder bolt
+ Cerakote Coat Improves Durabiltity for Select Colors
+ Excellently machined
+ Venting is on the bottom of the mod.
+ Great switch, super smooth
+ Notch makes it sit perfectly in your hand. 
+ Easy to use for Intermediate to Expert Vapists. 

Negatives:
- No adjustment in the switch
- Availability is limited

Specs:
Material - Brass, Cerakote, Aluminum (Red, Purple)
Diameter - 26 mm 
Height - 84 mm
Hybrid 510 Connection 
Landing Pad Fits Atomizers 24 mm in Diameter
Single 18650 Li-ion Battery (Not Included)
Proprietary Switch

Cop it or Drop it?
If you can get your hands on one, definitely pick it up. It's a great feeling mod in the hand and with its great switch and thunderous hit. It's one of the rare instances where we don't really have any cons. Great job Viva La Cloud.

Squonk Pins for the CSMNT deck are available now! What this means is for all of you that are running a squonk mod, you will be able to use this accessory to drip juice from the bottom up. Convenience 🔥. Contact your sales rep for purchase options.

Here's the lowdown on Squonk pins, for the uninitiated 😉:

Let's start with the basics, in order to use this accessory you need to have a mod that's capable of housing a juice reservoir internally. (Shown Below)

1. Remove the positive pin on the atomizer and replace it with the pin that has a hollow thread. (The new pin connects to the mod that feeds directly into the juice reservoir.)

2. While the pin is removed, replace the original post with the new one included in your kit. (This post has channels for the juice to flow out from.)

3. Reassemble in reverse order.

4. Squeeze Juice from the reservoir into the atomizer. (Make sure that the build is saturated with enough liquid but be careful not to overfill, unless you enjoy spitback 😂.)

5. Blow some clouds.

The convenience of having a tank with the benefits of dripping directly onto the coil. A win-win situation for vape aficionados.

Over the weekend... we were one of the lucky ones that lost our phone. Unfortunately, we couldn't send you guys snaps of all of our shenanigans but here are some of the highlights we got to experience at Coachella Weekend One. 

1. HP brought out some cool 360 degree visuals over to Coachella with "The Antarctic" as well as a drone lightshow over the parking lot. Read More About "The Antarctic here.

This drone light show was epic #coachella #drones A post shared by Geoff Clark (@geoffreyjamesclark) on Apr 16, 2017 at 1:36pm PDT

We got a chance to grab some intergalactic galaxy donuts at Crumbs Doughnut Shop located in Orange, CA. One bite of these bad boys took us to outer space.😜

Known for their articulate galaxy and marble doughnuts, but we also got a chance to try their popular "crumbnuts". The crumbnuts are basically a deep fried croissant shaped like a doughnut.  They offer a variety of crumbnuts; samoa, apple pie, s'mores, strawberry short cake, and many more. Our favorite crumbnut would have to be the Churro Crumbnut, covered in cinnamon and topped with generous portions of their fresh homemade butter cream. It is also topped with a small churro stuffed with melted caramel. Talking about it... is making us drool for it all over again.

Check them out!

instagram.com/crumbsdoughnuts