Katady Epower 3 - Greyfox's Review and Thoughts
Okay, I've had the mod for a solid day and so far it seems to be quite the little workhorse for a device that is smaller than a lot of phones people use these days. Before I get started, mad props to Got Vapes for stellar shipping; the mod got here in 2 days, which is absolutely fantastic service in my opinion. They even included a pre-wrapped candy to suck on while you vape, a nice touch.
So, to the device. It comes in a nice sturdy box with a plinth, a charger and two protective films which I haven't used but the measurements look to be spot on. The included manual is a bit sparse on information although it is sufficient to get on with. A few of the words are off (bad translation?) as I have come to expect from these mods out of China. No amp limit was listed for the internal battery, but I'll get to that later.
I chose the white version to cut down on fingerprints and I must say, when I first took it out of the box it thoroughly impressed me with its quality and looks. The fit and finish is wonderful and it's very hard to find something physically off to complain about. In fact, I would say it's damn near perfect except for a tiny screw on the bottom of the mod that feels a bit rough to the touch, but that's REALLY nitpicking and shouldn't matter a bit to most people.
One thing of note, the mod did not come pre-charged and it takes a good long while to charge a 3400 mAh battery. For testing purposes I took it off charge when the battery indicator was full but the fire button still showed red. It didn't go to blue until I charged it overnight. So far battery life has been excellent and I am an extremely heavy vaper, but I have yet to put it through it's full paces over an extended period of time. I'll post a follow up when I know a bit more.
Right, on to operations. It's a one button device, three clicks to turn it on. The Katady logo hangs on the screen for a few seconds and you're good to go, although I will say that the menu is a bit touchy to navigate. You click the button three more times (it is a VERY clicky button by the way) and it brings up the system settings menu where you can select wattage up, wattage down, working mode, smoking mode, puffs clear, usb output, standby time and power off to switch off the device. This is the only way to switch off, which is a little inconvenient but it's not terrible.
The mod goes from 3 to 6 volts in .1 increments or 3 to 15 watts in .5 increments, the modes are changed in the working mode section of the settings screen and the up / down selections change to reflect the working mode. All good so far. The smoking mode is an interesting feature, and allows you to set the device from manual to automatic so that you don't have to press and hold the fire button. You can set it from 2 seconds to 10 seconds (The cutoff limit of the mod) in .5 second increments and with a single click the mod fires for the preset time. It works great but I prefer the manual setting myself.
You can set the usb output to different amps to meet the needs of various device should you need to use the mod as a portable power pack. It allows for 1a, 1.5a and 2a output so you can charge just about ant tablet, phone or other vaping device as needed. The standby time adjustment is really nice (this bit should make Phil Busardo happy if he decides to review the mod) and allows you to choose how long the screen stays lit after you press the fire button, from 5 seconds up to 5 minutes!
When plugging the mod into a usb port on a computer, it does register as a flash drive with an advertised 4 gig capacity in case you want to carry data, audio, pics, whatever. When I plugged it in it had a Chinese notepad file on the drive, I assume for testing purposes, which had 1-9 in sequence. My laptop reads it as having 3.78 gigs available, not 4 as advertised, but since I doubt I'll ever use this function it doesn't really matter to me.
How does it vape? It does a decent job but I have concerns about the power output in relation to the ohms on the coil you attach to the mod. I can't be entirely sure since the amp limit is not disclosed, but the mod seems just a bit underpowered for me although it is a joy to use. I have to keep it at 15 watts to get a satisfactory vape off my Kanger Aerotank Mini and it still doesn't perform to the level of a Mig Cigs SR72 1300 mAh battery set to around 4 volts. I get about a 1/4 less vapor from the Epower, using a 1.8 ohm coil, which makes me think the amp limit is kicking when I really wish it wouldn't. It seems like it's firing at around 3.7 volts maximum on a 1.8 ohm coil, but I don't have the testing equipment Busardo has so I can't verify that for you and it's only my best guess. coils over 2 ohms don't seem to have this problem though, and no rattlesnake noise, so if it is pulse width modulated it's at a nice high frequency.
Well, that's about everything. It's a good little device coming in at around $70 dollars from Got Vapes and it does a fair job at vaping although it might be a bit underpowered for some people and it certainly won't meet the needs of anyone who sub ohms so be forewarned on that score. Hope this has been helpful and I'll update you if any issues pop up with the mod but for now, that's What the Fox Says
Okay, I've had the mod for a solid day and so far it seems to be quite the little workhorse for a device that is smaller than a lot of phones people use these days. Before I get started, mad props to Got Vapes for stellar shipping; the mod got here in 2 days, which is absolutely fantastic service in my opinion. They even included a pre-wrapped candy to suck on while you vape, a nice touch.
So, to the device. It comes in a nice sturdy box with a plinth, a charger and two protective films which I haven't used but the measurements look to be spot on. The included manual is a bit sparse on information although it is sufficient to get on with. A few of the words are off (bad translation?) as I have come to expect from these mods out of China. No amp limit was listed for the internal battery, but I'll get to that later.
I chose the white version to cut down on fingerprints and I must say, when I first took it out of the box it thoroughly impressed me with its quality and looks. The fit and finish is wonderful and it's very hard to find something physically off to complain about. In fact, I would say it's damn near perfect except for a tiny screw on the bottom of the mod that feels a bit rough to the touch, but that's REALLY nitpicking and shouldn't matter a bit to most people.
One thing of note, the mod did not come pre-charged and it takes a good long while to charge a 3400 mAh battery. For testing purposes I took it off charge when the battery indicator was full but the fire button still showed red. It didn't go to blue until I charged it overnight. So far battery life has been excellent and I am an extremely heavy vaper, but I have yet to put it through it's full paces over an extended period of time. I'll post a follow up when I know a bit more.
Right, on to operations. It's a one button device, three clicks to turn it on. The Katady logo hangs on the screen for a few seconds and you're good to go, although I will say that the menu is a bit touchy to navigate. You click the button three more times (it is a VERY clicky button by the way) and it brings up the system settings menu where you can select wattage up, wattage down, working mode, smoking mode, puffs clear, usb output, standby time and power off to switch off the device. This is the only way to switch off, which is a little inconvenient but it's not terrible.
The mod goes from 3 to 6 volts in .1 increments or 3 to 15 watts in .5 increments, the modes are changed in the working mode section of the settings screen and the up / down selections change to reflect the working mode. All good so far. The smoking mode is an interesting feature, and allows you to set the device from manual to automatic so that you don't have to press and hold the fire button. You can set it from 2 seconds to 10 seconds (The cutoff limit of the mod) in .5 second increments and with a single click the mod fires for the preset time. It works great but I prefer the manual setting myself.
You can set the usb output to different amps to meet the needs of various device should you need to use the mod as a portable power pack. It allows for 1a, 1.5a and 2a output so you can charge just about ant tablet, phone or other vaping device as needed. The standby time adjustment is really nice (this bit should make Phil Busardo happy if he decides to review the mod) and allows you to choose how long the screen stays lit after you press the fire button, from 5 seconds up to 5 minutes!
When plugging the mod into a usb port on a computer, it does register as a flash drive with an advertised 4 gig capacity in case you want to carry data, audio, pics, whatever. When I plugged it in it had a Chinese notepad file on the drive, I assume for testing purposes, which had 1-9 in sequence. My laptop reads it as having 3.78 gigs available, not 4 as advertised, but since I doubt I'll ever use this function it doesn't really matter to me.
How does it vape? It does a decent job but I have concerns about the power output in relation to the ohms on the coil you attach to the mod. I can't be entirely sure since the amp limit is not disclosed, but the mod seems just a bit underpowered for me although it is a joy to use. I have to keep it at 15 watts to get a satisfactory vape off my Kanger Aerotank Mini and it still doesn't perform to the level of a Mig Cigs SR72 1300 mAh battery set to around 4 volts. I get about a 1/4 less vapor from the Epower, using a 1.8 ohm coil, which makes me think the amp limit is kicking when I really wish it wouldn't. It seems like it's firing at around 3.7 volts maximum on a 1.8 ohm coil, but I don't have the testing equipment Busardo has so I can't verify that for you and it's only my best guess. coils over 2 ohms don't seem to have this problem though, and no rattlesnake noise, so if it is pulse width modulated it's at a nice high frequency.
Well, that's about everything. It's a good little device coming in at around $70 dollars from Got Vapes and it does a fair job at vaping although it might be a bit underpowered for some people and it certainly won't meet the needs of anyone who sub ohms so be forewarned on that score. Hope this has been helpful and I'll update you if any issues pop up with the mod but for now, that's What the Fox Says
