Twilight eShisha Ecig

Twilight eShisha pen 

 Quite good looking 

Manufacturer: Twilight eShisha Ltd
Model: Disposable electronic shisha
Country of origin: China
Company based: London, England
Power: single lithium rechargable cell (unknown capacity)
Coil: Silica style wicking coil
Price: 99p each
Source: Ebay seller

Im going to make this review as brief as I possibly can. This product doesnt really deserve my time in all honesty as its absolutely shite.
Where do I start with this one?
Well, apparently the Twilight eShisha pen is supposed to be a good quality cig-a-like containing no nicotine, no tar, no carcinogens and no odour. Well I can add that it also contains little to no flavour. No the stated flavour on the box that is.
Both of the flavours I tried were way off the mark in terms of what they should have tasted like.

 They dont contain anything...including flavour!

These fancy looking shisha pens are what I imagine were sold in arty farty hippy craft shops. You certainly wouldnt find these in the local corner shop or petrol station thats for sure. They look quite premium I guess?

I tried two different flavours of Twilight shisha pen.
The red coloured 'Strawberry Shajah' and the blue coloured 'Blueberry Breeze'
Both of the shisha pens tasted nothing like their stated flavours instead tasting like the rubber bung which sits in the mouth tip mixed with the taste of silica wicking material......with a slight hint of chemical fruit flavouring. Not very nice at all it has to be said.

Twilight eShite

These pens work by pressing a tiny micro switch located in the middle of the pen. A coloured LED light glows at the end of the ecig and a small amount of vapour is generated when you take an inhale.
Really simple (and old) technology.
Allegedly they are meant to last a full 600 puffs each but im afraid this is a load of crap.
In truth they lasted for about 50-70 puffs before dying a slow death and fading away. It was all over too soon.....

Feeling a little angry/disappointed by this I thought I might take one apart and see exactly what was going on inside.

Unsurprisingly I found a cheap PCB with a microswitch fire button and a small resistor onboard. This was connected at one end to the coil/wick arrangement whilst the other side of the PCB was connected to what looks like a small rechargable lithium cell.  Simple and cheap (of course, what did I expect?)

 

The pic above shows the frankenstein silica wick and coil arrangement.
It uses a very basic single piece of resistance wire passed around a few strands of silica wick. The flavouring impregnated cotton swab is then wrapped around thhe whole thing and then its stuffed down the aluminium tubing - looking something akin to a school project.

This little battery could be recharged.....

I said I would make this brief and I think I have kept to my word.
One last thing though.... The battery... what a waste! A fully rechargable cell made to be disposable and chucked in the bin when it runs out. Not only is that environmentally unfriendly, its just silly.
The company could have added a micro USB port and made the cartomiser section refillable, at least then I could have added my own eliquid and reused the pen as a shealth vape device.
After all,  they dont actually look that bad from the outside!

Rating: ✅😖 1 out of 5
This has to be the worst cig-a-like I have ever had the misfortune to take a toke on.  It tastes of rubber and wick, the battery lasts about ten minutes and at 99p each they are seriously over priced IMO. The company behind these was dissolved back in 2014 and if this is an example of the quality of their products then Im not surprised they did! absolute crap!

IJoy Maxo Zenith 300W Mod

Ijoy Maxo Zenith 300W Mod

Manufacturer: Shenzen IJoy Technology Co.  ltd
Model: Maxo Zenith
Country of Origin: China
Max power: 300W
Batteries: 3x 18650 li-ion cells
Working Voltage: 9.3V - 12.6V
Variable Voltage Selection: 2.7V - 6.2V
Resistance range: ? not documented
Maximum current: 50A
Type: VV Potentiometer based mod
Chipset: Iwepal
Dimensions: 88mm height x 50.5mm x 40.7mm
Price: £30-£50  I paid: £22 + free batteries + free ejuice
Condition: New
Source: Private ebay seller
Shipped from: UK

Zenith with lightning dial

Potentiometer based regulated box mods have made a bit of a come back recently it would appear.
The Hexohm and Tesla Invader III are perhaps the best known VV mods to hit the market in recent times.
It wasnt that long ago when all you could buy were variable voltage devices and then variable wattage devices came in.
Now it seems that VV devices are back in vogue and more specifically ones with potentiometers on them.
The relative success of Tesla invader III mod in the last year or so has given other manufacturers the impetous to release their own including the likes of IJoy.
Here is the IJoy Maxo Zenith. A simple variable voltage device that is capable of some serious high power.
No OLED display, no temperature control, no wattage control, just straight voltage selection via a mechanical potentiometer. Its big, its heavy and it packs a punch!

Huge top firing power button - with battery indicator LED

The maxo zenith has the physical appearance of a Wismec RX200 with the hard hitting direct voltage to pin power of an Invader III. Its a sort of cross between the two really.
What you get with the Zenith is a comfortable to hold regulated device thats capable of driving even the wackiest of chunky coils. No need for a fancy screen or chip to sap the power. its just straight voltage to the 510. (with a wee touch of regulation)
Its not a mod for the beginner thats for sure. It requires a bit of respect.
So just how well is it made?

Battery orientation scribed on the bottom

Well build-wise, the zenith is as good as you are going to get at this price point. The main material used here is Zinc alloy if Im not mistaken. Its strong, weighty and feels  like you paid a lot more for it. There doesnt seem to be much in the way of cheap plastic anywhere on the mod except for the lightning dial, fire button and the main battery tray.
The overall design of the mod is kinda snazzy. along each side are strips of silver mesh which act as the PCB vents which actually look quite good. The word 'Zenith' is written along the front and the word 'IJoy' is cut into the battery cover to act as battery venting. Overall I really like the design.

A decent battery tray and compartment cover

The battery tray has plenty of space to accommodate the three 18650's which are held firmly in place by large gold plated contacts. The negative contacts are springy enough to be able to insert and remove the batteries with relative easy. There isnt a pull ribbon inside the compartment to aid removal but I dont think one is needed with this mod. Positive and negative polarity symbols are etched into the tray to help with orientating the cells - although if you get them the wrong way round the mod will flash the red LED a few times to let you know.
The battery compartment cover is made from a solid piece of metal and weighs a fair bit. Im not sure if its made from Zinc alloy or not? certainly feels  like it.
The cover fits nice and snug against the mod with little to no movement once its on. Its held firmly in place by four strong magnets. There isnt much chance that the cover will accidentally fall off or anything.

Batteries fit nice and snug in the mod

The Zenith is something of a pseudo-mech mod in the way that it has direct power straight from the batteries but still has some form of regulated protection built in.
As well as having low resistance, high resistance, PCB overheating and reverse polarity protection the zenith also buzzes and vibrates if it detects a short circuit! how cool is that? I certainly havent seen a vibrating/buzzing mod before.
The zenith also flashes a red LED if it detects a problem.

Strange green LED lights on either side

What were IJoy thinking when they came up with the green LED lights on the side thing? They cant be switched off!
So if you are like me and dont go in for all the flashing lights thing you are essentially screwed. This aspect of the mod has to be a negative point in my opinion. Although to be fair its a minor issue and perhaps Im nit picking a bit.
IJoy should have included an on/off light switch though - they missed a trick there.

Now theres nothing at all wrong with the LED power indicator on the top of the device. That LED light is actually useful.
It gives the user a decent indication as to the charge state of the batteries, changing from green to red as the batteries run down. It also acts as a warning indicator should anything go wrong. It works quite well.

With the Steamcrave aromamizer 

Its a good idea to know what your tank wattage limit is before firing the zenith. And as the mod doesnt have any kind of readout it might be a good idea to brush up on your ohms law and work out the right wattage yourself. This mod is clearly not for a beginner or someone who doesnt know how mods work.
That said, its a really easy mod to use once you know what you are doing.

Good Points

• Very powerful
• easy to use
• long lasting battery life
• good level of protection - including the buzzer/vibration feature
• cheap to buy
• Coloured LED battery indication

Bad Points

• The green LED side strips? (some people will like it though)
• Cant think of any bad points to be honest

Rating: 4 out of 5
As a first venture into the VV potentiometer scene im actually very impressed by the Zenith.
It has more than enough power for what most vapers would require and the battery life is simply stunning. The silly green LED strip lights down the side are a distraction and wont be to everyones taste and thats why this device doesnt get a full 5 marks. On the whole though the zenith is a very powerful mod at a very reasonable price.

Tesla Nano 100W TC - Steampunk edition

Tesla Nano 100W TC Steampunk edition

Manufacturer: Teslacigs
Model: Nano 100W TC (Steampunk)
Country of Origin: China
Price: £50-£80  I paid: £25 + free next day shipping
Availability: Discontinued - Hard to find
Contruction: Zinc alloy
Power range: 7W-100W
Resistance range/s: 0.15 - 3.5 ohm (normal) / 0.05 -1.0 ohm (temp)
Temperature range: 200-600F / 100-300C
Battery Power: 4500mAh (2x Lip-Po packs) USB charging @ 2A
Features: Temp control Ni+Ti, Wattage and Mechanical mode (Bypass)

Every so often a rarely seen mod surfaces on ebay for a brief moment and then disappears again as quickly as it came. The Tesla Nano 100W is one such mod.
I had my eye on the newer Nano 120W for a while now after trying one but i wasnt prepared to wait three weeks for delivery or pay a higher price from an UK warehouse.
Quite by chance I saw an ebay ad for this Nano 100TC and couldnt believe my eyes. I hadnt seen one of these for sale for ages either brand new or secondhand. it turned out that this was a brand new sealed mod and it was going for a really good pr
The Nano 100W is an elusive dual Li-Po powered hunk of handsome vaperage thought to have been long since abandoned by Teslacigs in favour of the Nano 120W steampunk seen all over the internet.  Whilst it boasts the same silky steampunk style as its bigger brother, the 100W TC is an entirely different beast.

Nice design on a copper type finish

First Impressions
Inside the nicely appointed packing is the mod and not a lot else. A quality control card and a useless manual are all that accompany this device.
The Tesla 100TC is a really well made metal masterpiece. The main body of the device is manufactured from a Zinc alloy which is solid and quite heavy. I presume the brass plating/coating was added after it was molded. The steampunk engravings are well defined and have a consistant pattern that runs around the outside. Darker colours have been added to the edges of the pattern to make the mod look more of an antique copper. This effect works really well.

510 connection and the plus/minus buttons

The Tesla Nano 100 features a fire button and a seperate plus and minus button (the usual type of set up) these are all made from the same antique brass metal and feel solid when using.
The display is a blue OLED type with quite small letters/numbers fonts. The display is easy to read and bright at night.
Display information includes battery level, resistance, voltage and wattage. The wattage display is replaced with either a celsius or farenheit readout when temp control is selected.
The 510 pin is silver plated and is spring loaded.
The dimensions of this device mean that the largest atomiser that can fit comfortably on here is a 22mm without any overhang.

Fast charging at 2A

The Worlds smallest 100W mod

Yes Teslacigs claimed the Nano was the worlds smallest 100w mod when it was launched back in 2016. Without having any evidence to back it up I would say that this was probably true and I dare say is still true today in 2017. 

The Nano 100W is power by two 2250mAh Li-Po blocks wired in parallel. This makes for long lasting performance which should keep the average vaper going for most of the day. Although you cant swap these batteries out like you can with a normal 18650 mod when they run out, it does feature a rapid 2A charge circuit via USB allowing for a full recharge in under 2 hours. Much quicker than if I used my 18650 charger...

Operating the Nano is easy and uncomplicated.
A simple button combination switches the device between temp control and regular mode.
Putting the device into Mechanical mode is simply a case of running the dial to 100w and pressing the + button. Nothing to worry about. really simple.
there really isnt a lot more to it than that. Power on and off with the industry standard 5 clicks etc...

 Compared to a standard dual 18650 mod

It's pretty darn small!

So there it is, a stunning steampunked thing of beauty. capable of throwing some watts and turning a few heads.
Is it as good looking as its big brother the Nano 120W?
Yes, every bit as good.

Rating: 4 out of 5 ✅✅✅✅
Stylish, compact, powerful, reliable and heavy.  Just some of the words to describe the 100w steampunker from Teslacigs. Much harder to find now than they were a year ago (due to being discontinued) so they could be considered a rarity nowerdays. definately worth picking one up should the opportunity arise. a stunning little device.

Aspire CF Mod

Bargain Basement Vaping

Aspire CF Mod 

Manufacturer: Aspire
Model: CF Mod (Carbon fiber)
Country of origin: China (USA design)
Price: £9.99
Condition: New
Power: 1x 18650 battery (not included)
Operating resistance: 0.1 - 1.0 Ohm
Voltage: 3.7V - 4.2V
Construction: Stainless Steel and Carbon fiber
Regulated?: Yes

The Carbon fiber wrap looks gorgeous!

First impressions
It was only a matter of time before I felt compelled to get a 'Mech Mod' or whatever they are called. You know, the original vaping tubes often seen being used by the serious bearded and tattooed vapers who hang around the local vape stores.
These 'Mods' were originally made from modified flashlight bodies hence the name but the new commercially made tubes have since been made from Brass, stainless steel and other metals and sold at a premium price - In most cases very expensive for what is effectively a metal tube and a metal battery contact pin.

Apart from the price it was the lack of safety features which stopped me buying one. The percieved risk of shorting an 18650 battery out in there by miscalculating a coil build was too much for me and I shyed away.

Fits all 510 style tanks and drippers - the old E-gos too!

All that off-putting worry was lifted however when I happened across this rather stunning regulated tube mod from Aspire.
The CF or Carbon fiber line promised all the flexibility of a mechanical mod but with battery protection built in.
Needless to say that when I saw this little beauty for a tenner I felt it was rude not to buy it!
Maybe now there was a device on the market that a complete novice could cobble a DIY coil on without the fear of a battery explosion!

Nicely made

Good Points

• Great build quality
• Short circuit protection
• Over-discharge protection
• Protective switch
• Reliable operation
• Stable and consistent
• Decent spring loaded 510 connection
• Fricking georgeous Carbon fiber!

Plenty of battery vent holes on the tail cap

,Bad Points

• I have yet to find a single bad point

I must admit there aren't many reviews where I can't find a single fault with something however minor that may be but in the case of the CF Mod so far this is indeed one of those reviews. I have been using this device for about three weeks now almost on a daily basis and it hasn't let me down once.
It seems to cope with every different type of coil I throw at it. Drippers and tanks of all brands and types seem to fit well and perform brilliantly on the CF Mod as you would expect.
All the flexibility of a mechanical mod but with a tank full of safety thrown in.  It's certainly better value for money than some of those homemade looking brass things you see about.

Looks like a serious bit of kit with the Luggy tank on the top

Overall then it's a reliable and safe vaping device which isn't too big to fit on your pocket or too heavy to cart about all day long.
As for the question of how low can you build, I myself have used a coil build as low as 0.19 ohm without drama or concern and I don't suppose I would ever go lower than that anyway.
In terms of appearance, where can you get something this good looking wrapped in Carbon fiber for a tenner?


Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍  5 out of 5
For anyone looking for a cheap tube mod the Aspire CF range of devices could be right up your street. The quality of build is great. The Carbon fiber touches are fancy and above all else its safe, regulated operation should be appealing to both the sub ohm beginners and veterans alike. I really like it! Great value for money..

KVP Smod 200W box mod

Bargain Basement Vaping 

KVP Smod 200W E-Cigarette Box Mod

Manufacturer: Kang Vape
Model: Smod 200W
Country of origin: China
Price: £10.50 + £3.90 shipping
Condition: New
Power: up to 200W
Max Output: 8V
Batteries: 2x 18650 li-ion
Regulated: Yes
Operating resistance: 0.06 - 3.00 Ohm
Tank capacity: N/A
Construction: Stainless steel
Vendor: private eBay seller
Temperature control?: Yes
TPD Compliant: Yes
Compatible Coil Wire: Kanthal, Ni-200, Titanium

Looks great with the Goblin mini up top

First impressions 
I had shyed away from the larger box type mods during my vaping journey due mainly to a lack of understanding I had of them and the cost.
Many of the known box mods are quite expensive compared to the mainstream vaping pens and require an extra skill set to operate them safety. It was easy to get put off.

Bright and clear OLED display screen

Trawling around the eBay auctions on a regular basis you get to see some weird and wonderful box mods come up and all of them sporting a tasty price tag - except for this Smod....
I hadn't seen one before and they don't come up for auction very often.
With a ridiculously low starting bid I thought I might take a chance and see if I could snag this KVP thing?
Thankfully for me I get this brand new Smod 200W for a little of £10 GBP which I thought was staggering.
The Smod arrived brand new and sealed after only a couple of days. The outer box packaging was a little shitty, not really on par with the likes of Kanger products. No fancy plastic sleeve, posh inserts but a box none-the-less.
Inside was the Smod 200 and nothing else except for a poorly translated set of instructions and a QC tag.

Partially covered vent holes (turquoise sticker)

The box itself is made from thin stainless steel and does feel a little cheap. Inside the mod we find all the electronic stuff hidden behind some pretty basic plastic covers. Not top quality but should do the job.
The batteries were easy to fit and the polarity symbols clear - it does have reverse polarity protection so it shouldn't be an issue if the batteries get put in the wrong way round.

Easy in - Easy out battery swapping

Testing
This box mod works really well on the whole.
Smooth and consistent power bursts ensure a great vape whichever tank you stick on it.
The screen is clear, bright and fast responding. The buttons are metallic, solid and don't rattle about.
Everything works as it should considering the price.


What hides behind stickers....
The Smod 200W comes in a few different designs. paintings of American flag with sexy lady, a set of cogs, a turquoise splatter pattern and this one which features a girl, the 'top doll's as it were.
Well, I know now that these pretty graphics are hiding a cost cutting endeavour by our friends at KVP. You see, underneath the pretty girl sticker was the KVP logo and a 150W etched into the stainless steel casings. Odd?
Also the sky blue banding that runs around the edge of the box is also a sticker. I think it's pretty obvious what KVP have done here and I'm not sure if I should be a little mad about it?
I suppose it's cheaper to put the newer upgraded chips in the exiting cases rather than have a load more new ones knocked up.
I guess it keeps the cost down.

Peeling a sticker from a side panel reveals a KVP 150W?

Good Points

• Full 200W of power
• Nice and clear OLED display
• Good 510 connection
• Easy to swap out the batteries
• Good level of safety/protection
• Plenty of battery vent holes
• Quite exclusive - not seen in the usual stores
• Dirt CHEAP!!

Bad Points

• Occasional screen glitches
• Feels at bit flimsy on the inside of the device
• Uninspiring design
• External metalwork could be better
• Cheap skates used a standard Smod 150W case and put a sticker over it

Brand new and sealed for a tenner!

Rating: 👍👍👍👍
Leaving aside the slightly crap build quality, this powerful box mod does everything you might want for a fraction of the cost of a top branded model.
In my case £10.50 + £3.90 shipping...... outrageous!
I love it!

Kangertech Nebox 60W Starter Kit

Kangertech Nebox 60W AIO Starter Kit

Manufacturer: Kanger
Model: Nebox
Status: discontinued
Price: £14 +free shipping       normally £25-£55
Condition: Second hand
Vendor: some dude off ebay
Power: up to 60W
Battery: 1x 18650 lithium cell (high drain) - not included
Regulated?: Yes
Tank: 10ml
Temperature control?: Yes
Construction: Aluminium/Zinc case / Delrin plastic
TPD Compliant?: No
Compatible Coil Wire: Kanthal, Ni-200, Titanium

What's in the Box?
Quite a lot as it happens.....

1x Nebox mod
1x charging cable
1x Ni-200 nickel coil (temperature control)
1x Kanthal coil (wattage control)
1x RBA mini rebuildable coil deck
1x pack of Muji cotton pads
1x RBA pack - screwdriver + 2x Kanthal coils
Various instructions, authentication cards etc

Nice little OLED screen

First Impressions
Very early on in my mission to stop smoking I realised that the pen style ecigarettes often seen in high street stores were not going to be good enough for me to kick it.
It was obvious that I would need something with a little more power and a greater capacity.

I stumbled across this gorgeous looking Kanger Nebox and fell in love with it straight away.
It promised more power, more vapour, higher battery capacity and more coil options to Taylor my experience.

Shitty paint​ job on the bottom

This red Nebox starter kit was second hand and almost new which explains why I got it for a fraction of the retail price (£14 as opposed to £30+)
The seller explained that he had a problem with the tank leaking ejuice all over the place and decided to sell after a few tries.
I decided to take a chance and buy the kit with the idea that I would fix the leak if it happened to me.

The kit arrived after a couple of days and the first thing I noticed was that the kit had hardly seen the light of day.
Indeed the seller appeared to have tired the device with one of the coils and then put it all away again, presumably after a juice flood.
The complete kit was in excellent condition - the photo above showing the chipped paint along the bottom is all down to me. The bottom of the device was perfect when it arrived but it didn't take long for the paint to start coming off. - and I wasn't being rough with it!

Ni-200, Kanthal and RBA deck. - also takes the square coils

Inside the box was a fair amount of coils and accessories. Everything you might need to get you started except for the juice.  

The Mod itself is made from a tough Aluminium/Zinc outer casing topped with a plastic piano black plate. The juice tank is massive! A full 10ml bottle can be emptied into it with ease meaning I won't have to carry a bottle around with me during the day. The tank is made from Acrylic by the looks of things and seems to be about 2mm thick. Not much chance of breaking it I wouldn't have thought.

The drip tip which attaches to the top is made from delrin plastic and doesn't get hot when vaping. It has a good bore diameter. Not to wide and not too small.
Overall it does feel quite solid and well made. It's not likely to break if it's dropped on the floor.

Changing coils or adding juice is simple and quick and doesn't require a great deal of effort.  

A full 10ml bottles worth in the tank! Woo!

Vaping on this thing is great! Plenty of vapour and more importantly plenty of flavour. 

Using the Ni-200 coils on temperature control adds even more flavour over the standard Kanthal wire.

The vapour never really gets too hot thanks to the coil being at the bottom of the unit and the long chimney allowing the vapour to cool on its way up. 

The LCD menu screen along the side is bright and easy to navigate. There is the option to preprogram your favourite settings in memory and recall them at will. 

The Good Points

• Small and discreet
• Temperature control
• Up to 60w power
• DIY rebuildable coil head included
• Huge 10ml capacity juice tank
• Preset function
• Good value for money

Handsome ain't she?

The Bad Points

• New vertical coils are crap
• Tends to leak depending on coil used
• Air flow not adjustable
• Hard to clean the tank out
• Poor paint job on the base

Leaking

Many people have reported the Nebox leaking from the bottom of the device and I must admit I did happen to me a few times. It was a bit of a mystery at first until I realised the leaking only happened when I fitted the new style coils which come in the box. Trying an older square shaped coil stopped the problem straight away as was using the rebuildable RBA deck. It seems that the new coils may be slightly shorter than the older ones causing a gap between the coil top and the chimmey and letting the juice through.

I never bothered with the cylinder shaped coils again and never had a leak since. 

All in all (and to keep this review as short as possible) this device is a good all day vape device. It's easy to slip in your pocket and there isn't the bulky liquid tank on top as is so often seen on the more powerful ecig devices. 

Rating: 👍👍👍👍 4 out of 5

I owe a lot to this little device - after all this is the thing that got me off the fags permanently. It's a fantastic compact little unit which packs a punch. It's easy to use and the learning curve isnt so great. It has a few flaws and it isn't perfect. Choosing the right coil will stop any unnecessary liquid leakage which tends to be everyone's major gripe with this vape. The 10ml tank and RBA option make this a standout device.

My favourite all day vaping unit!