Opus X xXx - Power Ranger

Footbag · 03-26-2009, 05:20 PM

It been a long while since I've smoked anything from the Dominican Republic. My preferences have been moving away from Dominican smokes, and I just wanted to give them another shot. I've got a bunch of Opus's that I've been accruing, and decided to roast one up.

Pre-light draw was a bit tight, but I got whacked with spice before it was even lit up.

After lighting, the first few seconds were amazing. Some cigars need to warm up, this needed no time. I immediately got tons of pepper. Wow, I was surprised. After the immediate shock of the pepper, a deep raisin, or even molasses flavor dominated the finish. Rich and full flavored. At this point, I was loving the smoke.

Within an inch of lighting, I noticed a split in the wrapper beginning to develop. Funny, this happened with my last Opus. The burn also began to go a bit crooked. I struggled with it for a few minutes before deciding to go ahead and do some manual repairs. Tried to straiten the burn with a lighter. As I was doing my repairs and smoking the cigar, I noticed it wasn't putting out the volume of smoke that it was earlier. The spice disappeared, the raisin flavors were gone, I was struggling with the burn; not what I was hoping for.

There was a considerable amount of nicotine in the smoke and I did get a bit of a buzz. But without those full rich flavors that the smoke started out with, it was just flat. This is how I remember my last opus X to be, but at least this one had some excitement at the beginning.

The rest of the smoke involved me going through every technique I know to straiten or fix the burn, but I struggled with it right up to the end. It did smoke slowly, but slowly in a bad way. Like it just wasn't lit well enough. And it never regained it's beginning flavors. I smoked it down to about 1.5" only because it was an Opus X, not because I was enjoying it.

Well, I was hoping to be able to eat my words and say this was a great cigar. If it had stayed on it's original track, it would've been a 9.5. But it didn't and I'm not sure I could even fairly rate it considering the great original flavors and terrible construction issues.

My conclusion... I'll have try it all over again.

03-26-2009, 05:29 PM

Hope your next try turns out better! I have yet to pick one of these up, mostly because I've not found one in stock yet!

JJG · 03-26-2009, 05:40 PM

sorry to hear that such a $$$ smoke wasn't up to par. I definitely think that Opus Xs should be held to a higher standard than most other smokes because of their price and (supposed) scarcity. Personally every one I've smoked has been top-notch in flavor and construction.

oh if only AF would quit bullsh*ting around and just make more of these. I'd buy them. I love some good Dominican tobacco. I just refuse to run all over town hunting these down.

themoneycollector · 03-26-2009, 05:45 PM

Sorry to hear you had some burn problems. I've never had any problems with them. I love power rangers.

03-26-2009, 06:05 PM

I feel your pain. I, too have been saving up on my Opus cigars and the Power Ranger is one I had about 4 of and smoked one 2 months ago and another one last month. Both of these cigars did the exact same thing you talked about. I still love Opus but the Power Rangers have a definite issue with them. You aren't the only one to have this quality problem,,,it seems to be a reoccuring issue.

ucla695 · 03-26-2009, 06:24 PM

Wow. Too bad it turned so quickly. I'm surprised to hear about the problems with the Power Rangers because Fuente cigars are usually well constructed. I would definitely be ticked off because of how much they cost. Well, at least you were able to enjoy part of it.

03-27-2009, 02:34 AM

I am thinking about buying some wholesale water pipes from this company in China www.Iamaspamming DB.com
but I am not sure if they are legal to bring in to the states? What are the laws on water pipes, bongs, and pipes?

Hot Stuff x · 03-27-2009, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sqlcdzx

I am thinking about buying some wholesale water pipes from this company in China www.Iamaspamming DB.com

but I am not sure if they are legal to bring in to the states? What are the laws on water pipes, bongs, and pipes?

Holy threadjack batman!!!

This troll has the same post in a different thread, so this is his first and second post. Mods?

03-27-2009, 05:56 AM

Hope your next one is a lot better, thanks for the review

03-27-2009, 07:38 AM

That sucks! Powere Ranger are just that...powerful!!! One of the strongest Opus out there. I'd expect to get a nicotine buzz even from an aged one.

As for your burn issues, Opus do better at lower RHs. The wrapper is rather thick, so at those lower RH (62-65%), they will burn much cleaner and straighter. Hopefully the next one(s) you smoke will have better results.

Footbag · 03-27-2009, 08:29 AM

I do keep all of my smokes at 65%. I'm going away for the weekend, but am going to give it another shot next week. Probably post a review of that one.

And most fortunately, thanks to a great BOTL, I got these at or below MSRP in a WTS on our former board. So I'm not really sweating the price.

icantbejon · 03-27-2009, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJG

oh if only AF would quit bullsh*ting around and just make more of these. I'd buy them. I love some good Dominican tobacco. I just refuse to run all over town hunting these down.

I totally agree. I've smoked a few now and loved their flavor. However, the only place I seem capable of finding them is here on CA from the WTS thread. I found some once in a B&M.

03-27-2009, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sqlcdzx

I am thinking about buying some wholesale water pipes from this company in China www.Iamaspamming DB.com

but I am not sure if they are legal to bring in to the states? What are the laws on water pipes, bongs, and pipes?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hot Stuff x

Holy threadjack batman!!!

Hahahahaha, awesome.

You know, Adam, I thought I had one of these on Saturday. It was my first Opus but it turns out it was a Perfecxion No.4 (5 3/16" x 43) and I really enjoyed it. I've got a Power Ranger resting so I look forward to seeing if I experience the same issues you did but hope not to. The burn on the No. 4 was razor-sharp all the way to the end. The best I've ever had, as far as burn goes. Maybe I'm just getting better with my mad lighting skillz. Flavor was good & consistent, not so much spicy but definitely good.

Thanks for your review! Hope the next one is better!

Footbag · 03-27-2009, 09:19 AM

I do have to say that based on the initial flavors, I'm looking forward to the next one.

Of course if my bong shows up from China, I'll be smoking something else.

03-26-2009, 05:20 PM	#1
Footbag I Need My Space Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Adam Location: NEPA Posts: 1,216 Trading: (7)	Opus X xXx - Power Ranger It been a long while since I've smoked anything from the Dominican Republic. My preferences have been moving away from Dominican smokes, and I just wanted to give them another shot. I've got a bunch of Opus's that I've been accruing, and decided to roast one up. Pre-light draw was a bit tight, but I got whacked with spice before it was even lit up. After lighting, the first few seconds were amazing. Some cigars need to warm up, this needed no time. I immediately got tons of pepper. Wow, I was surprised. After the immediate shock of the pepper, a deep raisin, or even molasses flavor dominated the finish. Rich and full flavored. At this point, I was loving the smoke. Within an inch of lighting, I noticed a split in the wrapper beginning to develop. Funny, this happened with my last Opus. The burn also began to go a bit crooked. I struggled with it for a few minutes before deciding to go ahead and do some manual repairs. Tried to straiten the burn with a lighter. As I was doing my repairs and smoking the cigar, I noticed it wasn't putting out the volume of smoke that it was earlier. The spice disappeared, the raisin flavors were gone, I was struggling with the burn; not what I was hoping for. There was a considerable amount of nicotine in the smoke and I did get a bit of a buzz. But without those full rich flavors that the smoke started out with, it was just flat. This is how I remember my last opus X to be, but at least this one had some excitement at the beginning. The rest of the smoke involved me going through every technique I know to straiten or fix the burn, but I struggled with it right up to the end. It did smoke slowly, but slowly in a bad way. Like it just wasn't lit well enough. And it never regained it's beginning flavors. I smoked it down to about 1.5" only because it was an Opus X, not because I was enjoying it. Well, I was hoping to be able to eat my words and say this was a great cigar. If it had stayed on it's original track, it would've been a 9.5. But it didn't and I'm not sure I could even fairly rate it considering the great original flavors and terrible construction issues. My conclusion... I'll have try it all over again. Last edited by Footbag; 03-26-2009 at 05:32 PM.

03-26-2009, 05:29 PM	#2
nozero Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Opus X xXx - Power Ranger Hope your next try turns out better! I have yet to pick one of these up, mostly because I've not found one in stock yet!

03-26-2009, 05:40 PM	#3
JJG Have My Own Room Join Date: Jan 2009 First Name: Jeff Location: Houston Posts: 1,260 Trading: (4)	Re: Opus X xXx - Power Ranger sorry to hear that such a $$$ smoke wasn't up to par. I definitely think that Opus Xs should be held to a higher standard than most other smokes because of their price and (supposed) scarcity. Personally every one I've smoked has been top-notch in flavor and construction. oh if only AF would quit bullsh*ting around and just make more of these. I'd buy them. I love some good Dominican tobacco. I just refuse to run all over town hunting these down.

03-26-2009, 05:45 PM	#4
themoneycollector Nicotiana Tabacum Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Hill AFB, UT Posts: 1,258 Trading: (108)	Re: Opus X xXx - Power Ranger Sorry to hear you had some burn problems. I've never had any problems with them. I love power rangers.

03-26-2009, 06:05 PM	#5
Cigary Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Opus X xXx - Power Ranger I feel your pain. I, too have been saving up on my Opus cigars and the Power Ranger is one I had about 4 of and smoked one 2 months ago and another one last month. Both of these cigars did the exact same thing you talked about. I still love Opus but the Power Rangers have a definite issue with them. You aren't the only one to have this quality problem,,,it seems to be a reoccuring issue.

03-26-2009, 06:24 PM	#6
ucla695 Neither here, nor there Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: The Pool Posts: 3,696 Trading: (5)	Re: Opus X xXx - Power Ranger Wow. Too bad it turned so quickly. I'm surprised to hear about the problems with the Power Rangers because Fuente cigars are usually well constructed. I would definitely be ticked off because of how much they cost. Well, at least you were able to enjoy part of it.

03-27-2009, 02:34 AM	#7
sqlcdzx Guest Posts: n/a	Water pipes I am thinking about buying some wholesale water pipes from this company in China www.Iamaspamming DB.com but I am not sure if they are legal to bring in to the states? What are the laws on water pipes, bongs, and pipes? Last edited by icehog3; 03-30-2009 at 02:34 PM. Reason: Spam

03-27-2009, 05:56 AM	#9
Punchlover Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Opus X xXx - Power Ranger Hope your next one is a lot better, thanks for the review

03-27-2009, 07:38 AM	#10
Wanger Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Opus X xXx - Power Ranger That sucks! Powere Ranger are just that...powerful!!! One of the strongest Opus out there. I'd expect to get a nicotine buzz even from an aged one. As for your burn issues, Opus do better at lower RHs. The wrapper is rather thick, so at those lower RH (62-65%), they will burn much cleaner and straighter. Hopefully the next one(s) you smoke will have better results.

03-27-2009, 08:29 AM	#11
Footbag I Need My Space Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Adam Location: NEPA Posts: 1,216 Trading: (7)	Re: Opus X xXx - Power Ranger I do keep all of my smokes at 65%. I'm going away for the weekend, but am going to give it another shot next week. Probably post a review of that one. And most fortunately, thanks to a great BOTL, I got these at or below MSRP in a WTS on our former board. So I'm not really sweating the price. Last edited by Footbag; 03-27-2009 at 08:41 AM.

03-27-2009, 09:19 AM	#14
Footbag I Need My Space Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Adam Location: NEPA Posts: 1,216 Trading: (7)	Re: Opus X xXx - Power Ranger I do have to say that based on the initial flavors, I'm looking forward to the next one. Of course if my bong shows up from China, I'll be smoking something else.