Thunder X (Slim White Dry) - Review (Discontinued). 9 December 2016.

NOTE:  This product has been discontinued and is no longer for sale.

When I started using snus back in 2009 - there weren't a lot of strong snus products. There was General Extra Strong (14mg/g nicotine), Nick and Johnny Strong (14mg/g), Thunder Frosted (16mg/g) - but that was about it.  Somewhere towards the end of 2009 began companies focusing on making stronger and stronger snus.  But the competition has been fierce between two companies in particular:  V2 Tobacco of Denmark and GN Tobacco of Sweden.  For a long time, Thunder Extra Strong (16mg/g) was king of the mountain.  Then GN Tobacco released Oden's Extreme (22mg/g) in early 2011. V2 countered with Thunder Ultra Strong (22mg/g) in late 2011. GN Tobacco decided to go much higher and released Siberia (43mg/g) in 2015. V2 countered in 2016 and released Offroad Arctic (45mg/g) in November 2016 and now Thunder X (45mg/g) in December 2016.  The competition has been fierce!  As a snus reviewer who doesn't use a lot of strong snus, I'm hoping it doesn't go much farther than this.  This stuff is becoming much too strong for me, and it's hard to review!  Usually when I do a review I like to use an entire can of the stuff before I write my review, but with stuff this strong I'm lucky to get through a half a can.

Now, let's talk more about the nicotine.  I made this chart that compares the "on paper" aspects of the "world's strongest snus" products.  I wanted to compare them in two ways - total nicotine and nicotine per portion.  If you rank by total nicotine, on paper the new Thunder X products are the strongest in the world.  If you rank by nicotine per portion, Siberia Brown still has the crown and Thunder X falls in behind it.  As I've mentioned before, "on paper" nicotine levels aren't the only things to consider.  You have to look at types of tobacco used, free nicotine levels (the amount of nicotine actually usable) and pH, which affects the nicotine absorption, as well.  So one snus may be stronger than another on paper, but the weaker snus may "feel" stronger due to various factors.  That's where things get interesting.  With this one, it's ranked #4 on the nicotine per portion strength level, at 31.5mg per portion.  But, to me it feels much stronger.  

This snus reminds me a lot of Thunder Cool Mint Ultra Strong (White Dry). The aroma is a sweet, mellow and smooth smell of peppermint. The portion are slim and very comfortable in the lip. Even though they are of the white dry format, the dryness of the portion doesn't take away from the comfort. When you put a portion in, you encounter an immediate cooling and burning sensation. Much like Thunder X Original Portion, the burn and cooling sensation comes on almost immediately and is quite strong!  The flavor, however, is more mild.  It is a smooth and mellow taste of peppermint, a little tobacco in the background, a light hint of chocolate and a little salt.  I don't notice as much peppery taste with this one as I noticed with the original portion.  With this one, I noticed I felt the nicotine a little later than the original portion, at around the 4 minute, 11 second mark.  However, that is still incredibly fast for a white dry portion.  I initially kept these portions in for up to 10 minutes, 5 seconds.  The longer I used it, the longer I kept them in; up to almost 15 minutes.  But, I really couldn't go over that.  This stuff is incredibly strong.

If you're looking for a slim portion mint snus with an insane amount of nicotine, I'd suggest giving this one a try.  It is incredibly strong!  It's not something I would ever use again, but for the nicotine junkies of the world - this may be right up your alley!

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