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Elendil's early Stick review and comparison to SD
First, I would like to set the parameters for these initial thoughts. When comparing the performance of the stick to my existing PV's I want to point out that I only own 901 compatible devices. This is my first experience with an 801 PV. I have a 510 en route (should be here Tuesday)for my wife and I will post my comparison with that a few days after I get it.
Size & Appearance- I was surprised by the size of the Stick once I saw it in person. It is smaller than I was expecting, even after seeing a number of video reviews and pictures. This is not a negative, and in fact the size is perfect for fitting in the palm of my hand. The Stick is very lightweight and I do have a concern about what would happen if it was dropped on a hard surface from more than a very short distance. Let's hope I never find out. That being said, I am happy with the fit and finish. There have been some comments made about an indentation in the body of the stick as well as the LED being visible when you look through the atomizer opening. There are no such issues with my stick. I am very pleased with the fit and finish and it seems well put together with all joints and seams fitting flush and tight. I would like to apologize for the criticism I leveled at the reviewers. If their units were the same as mine, I would not have found any defects to point out either.
Atomizer fit- I am in possession of 3 different 801 atomizers for this unit. The KBC that was shipped with the Stick, 5 BE112's, and 2 from the guys at MVS. I have tried all 8 atomizers and the all filt perfectly with nor wiggle, or "cracking plastic" that have been alluded to by others. I find that if I turn the atomizer to the right while inserting it, the it slide smoothly into the unit with no problem at all.
Performance- The Stick provides an amazingly light and easy draw. Initially I though I may be doing something wrong because the draw was so much lighter and easier than I have been accustomed to. That being said, the Stick produces and extraordinary amount of vapor. It far surpasses the DSE 901. While I have been accused of being a Screwdriver fanboy (and I guess I am) however, the vapor production of the stick surpasses even the SD with a freshly charged battery. As already discussed the manual Stick has an 11 second cutoff. At best I was able to draw for about 6-7 seconds and it provided a prodigious amount of vapor. The vapor also seems thick and heavy. More so than I have experienced with either the DSE 901 or the SD. On a few occasions when I did draw for the full 11 seconds the lung hit was stupendous and actually caused me to cough on several occasions. I experience the same draw and vapor with all 3 models of atomizer that I tried.
I am primarily a dripper. The manual stick is a dripping machine. While I enjoy my SD, the biggest drawback when dripping was the small capacity of the 901 atomizer. If I put more than a drop or 2 on the atomizer it tends to flood easier and the liquid leaked out of the bottom of the atomizer and into the contact point where the atomizer screws to the battery. This necessitated that I unscrew the atomizer and clean the contact point on a regular basis. With the sealed chamber and larger atomizer capacity of the Stick this is not an issue. I have regularly been using 3-4 drops on the atomizer and get a very satisfying experience with all the benefits previously mentioned. I am able to take 6-8 long draws with 3-4 drops on the atomizer.
I vape primarily DIY 18-24mg juice with either butterscotch or caramel Lorann's. I did experience less flavor with the Stick than I was getting with the SD(901), especially in the butterscotch which I usually make stronger than the caramel. I will increase the flavor concentration to see it this improves the flavor sensation. The thrat hit is present in every draw and a lung hit easily achievable if you draw for a long enough time period.
The button action it remarkably firm, while remaining easy to depress. The belt holder supplied with the unit is great with side pocket that will hold 2 additional batteries and attaches firmly to a belt. However, if you wish to carry the Stick in your pocket I would have no worry at all about the button being inadvertently depressed while in your pocket. I am unable to comment on the cart usage as I left the carts that were shipped with the unit in my office and won't get them back until Monday. I will complete an addendum later to give my impressions of the cart usage. As I primarily drip, this was not an immediate priority
Batteries- While I am unsure of the charge level of the batteries when I received the unit, the first battery took 70 minutes to charge in the unit and the second took about 90 minutes. I was vaping with the stick the entire time the batteries were charging.
Once fully charged, I have been utilizing the Stick for about 6 hours without the USB cable and the battery feels just as strong as when fully charged. EDIT: I got a total of 6hours and 20 minutes from the battery before it went dead.
Overall I see very little to complain about thus far. I want to experiment with the flavor strength of my DIY juice to see if I can get more tast from my juice, other than that I would have to say I am very please with the unit so far. It was worth the wait. Keep in mind I have had the Stick for a short time. As always there is an "excitement factor" with any new PV acquisition and any new unit is bound to perform pretty well. I would say the performance is better than the SD (vapor-both amount and density, Throat hit--more intense) at this point with the possible exception of being able to taste my flavors more with the SD. Long term performance will tell the story. The SD is a workhorse and has been a consistent performer everyday for a long period of time. Again, I will work on my flavors and report back.
My plan is to provide an update to this review at 7 days and 30 days so I can give a better impression of performance over the longer term............
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