VooPoo X217 - Hot Shots (of juice)

1. GENERAL IMPRESSION.

First impression: HUUUUGE and SHINY :-)

High gloss coating + carbon + resin + LED strip around... a bit too much for me. But if you like such a "decoration" you can even say that it is elegant, it's just matter of taste.

Another thing you pay attention to is WEIGHT: 315 g with 21700 batteries. That's a lot but keeping in mind that the batteries themselves weigh 140 g it is quite ... GOOD result. Which doesn't change the fact that x217 is definitely not a mod to put in your pocket. So the general ergonomy is not bad, let's say: ordinary and quite SOLID.

Fire button has quite soft click but works 100/100, similar up/down buttons, maybe a little worse, because they work in some "plastic" way. Top and bottom:

Top easily fits the 30 mm atomizer, the bottom hatch works well as long as we use standard batteries. When I tried to use a little oversized black Shockli 4550 I couldn't close it.

Finally a screen that is just RAZOR SHARP:

1.3 inches in TFT technology makes an impression, the character definition is PERFECT, without aliasing. The main setting is large, clear, while the other four indications are traditionally TOO LITTLE, especially since there is a lot of free space on the screen. Wasted place.

2. FEATURES.

* power: 217W (80 W in TC modes),
* resistance range: 0.1 - 3 ohm
* modes: VW, Temp, TCR, BYPASS, V, CURVE
* battery: 2 x 21700/20700/18650 (18650 with included adapters),
* weight (with battery): 315 g,
* dimensions: 92 x 50 x 33 mm.


3. VW mode.

Let's start from performance:

PERFECT accuracy up to 140 W, then restrictions start to work.

Voltage shape at 30 W:

What a peak at the beginning? Hmm, let's check other power setting:

Same... Maybe other coil? Let's get the 0.3 ohm braid:

Again: EACH puff starts with ~7 V voltage peak. It is especially severe at lower power - as you can see above power of this peak is 8 TIMES higher than set! So the x217 shoots of the liquid. Deeper investigation of this "phenomenon" is in this film:

X217 has two "pulse" modes:

I don't know FOR WHAT such strange combs?

Fortunately, there is the CURVE mode (actually five of them), which are set in most clear way I've ever seen:

And the result:

Perfectly BUT also with the peak at the beginning.


4. TC mode (SS316).

Dry wick:

Shoot first, than quick voltage drop to 0.3 V. So the wick stays white.

Slightly moist wick (third puff after soaking):

One second and voltage drop to 0.3 V again. Too quick, the wick was still quite wet. The best way for using temperature control is TCR mode.


5. CONCLUSION.

It COULD BE quite good mod, with huge energy capacity and quite solid build. But because of voltage peaks at the beginning it is USELESS to me (especially at lower powers)!

What I LIKE?
* doesn't matter because:

What I DISLIKE?
* voltage peaks at the beginning disqualify it.

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EHPRO Cold Steel 100

1. GENERAL IMPRESSION.

First impression: Hmm, weird...
Second impression: SOOOOLID

Yes, this strange "hump" with electronics placed on a tube is not very ergonomic so I strongly recommend to take the Ehpro in your hand before buying. All the rest is FINE: rock solid finish and heavy weight (240 g with 21700 battery), it's one of the heaviest one-batt mods. Fire button is not so big but works 100/100, up/down buttons too. Top and bottom:

Nice and solid. Battery bay and cap allow to use even a little oversized battery (e.g. black Shockli 4550).

Display is VERY small, but sharp and quite readable:

Menu system is very quick and responsive.


2. FEATURES.

* power: 120W,
* resistance range: 0.05 - 3 ohm
* modes: VW, Temp, BYPASS, V, CURVE
* battery: 1 x 21700/20700/18650 (18650 with included adapter),
* weight (with battery): 240 g,
* dimensions: 92 x 39 x 28 mm.


3. VW mode.

Voltage shape at 30 W:

PERFECT.
Preheats:

are very small, only a few percent. Fortunately, there is the CURVE mode:

Which is quite original. The intervals are very short and last only 0.125 s, fortunately there are 20 of them, so the total time in which we can control the power is 2.5 seconds. BRILLIANT is that we do not set the power in an absolute way (in Watts) but relatively as a multiplier of the current power setting. So all you need to change the whole power curve is to change main power setting. Nice! Only this voltage peak at the beginning is worrying - it gives much larger power than set which can result in "shooting coil".

Performance:

Perfectly up to 100 W, then restrictions start to work. Anyway, VERY GOOD as for one-batt mod.

Ehpro also has an old-school mode "V" in which we can set VOLTAGE on the coil - it works very precisely:

4. TC mode (SS316).

Dry wick:

The chip quickly realizes that something is wrong and drops voltage below 0.5 s. So the wick gets bronze only a little:

Slightly moist wick (third puff after soaking):

The regulation is quite smooth, with no modulation (as for dry wick).


5. CONCLUSION.

A bit weird in using but very solid mod.

What I LIKE?
* responsive menu system,
* solid build.

What I DISLIKE?
* ergonomy is ... weird.

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What 26650 batteries for electronic mod?

TEST METHOD

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What 21700 / 20700 batts for electronic mod?

TEST METHOD

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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Aegis SOLO - Geek Vape in GOOD SHAPE!

1. GENERAL IMPRESSION.

First impression: Ooh YEAH!!!

Is almost PERFECT. Almost because the silver frame sounds a little "plastic" and is not so solid like in Aegis100. All the rest is quite similar to older brother: silky in touch silicone, leather patch, solid buttons with quite hard click. The same is also screen and menu system:

Even overall size is quite similar:

However Solo is the smallest in the family:

And it is very good because its general ergonomy is GREAT - it's one of those mods that you want to pick up again and again.

Top and bottom:

Nice and solid. Battery cap requires some strength to screw because of sealing gasket.

Moreover Aegis Solo is IP67 water- and dustproof and shock resistant.


2. FEATURES.

* power: 100W,
* resistance range: 0.05 - 3 ohm
* modes: VW, TC, TCR, BYPASS
* battery: 1 x 18650,
* weight (with battery): 160 g,
* dimensions: 87 x 42 x 32 mm.


3. VW mode.

Voltage shape at 30 W:

Nice, STRAIGHT.

Solo has no preheats but it doesn't need them because it has VPC mode in which one can set the shape of power curve during four seconds of puff:

Regulation is VERY SMOOTH with no voltage jumps (without square steps) as usual in Geek Vape mods.

Performance:

Perfectly up to 70 W, then restrictions start to work.


4. TC mode (SS316).

Dry wick:

As in Geek Vape mods: the chip quickly realizes that something is wrong and goes down quickly with voltage. So the wick gets bronze only a little:

Slightly moist wick (third puff after soaking):

Nice and smooth, in Geek Vape way.


5. CONCLUSION.

Just VERY NICE MOD - it goes to my current Top Five.

What I LIKE?
* general ergonomy,
* durable build

What I DISLIKE?
* plastic frame,
* bottom cap handling.

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I'm back in the house!

After 3 years of break I resume the blog!

During these three years the blog was suspended but I've been still active on the Polish scene, so I have a HUGE amount of materials to publish. If you want to see something in the first, please ask in the comments below.

I am planning a few minor changes on the site but the overall layout will remain unchanged. Anyway, forgive the temporary problems coused by the reconstruction.

Stay focussed :-)

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