Kick Question

[englishmick]

I'm getting ready to pick up my first mechanical. A Kick seems like a good idea. My question is, how long do they last. Physically they do look a little flimsy. I'm partly doing this in case the FDA shuts our little world down and I wondered how well they stand up over time.

And are the clones as good as the real thing?

Appreciate any insight on this.

 

[alicewonderland]

the kick is really outdated, it was only 5-10watts which is extremely low power, they were used in our first mods that werent really mechanical and no variability at all. Not sure if they released new versions of it though, but barely anyone uses those nowadays since we learned how to build our own coils instead of using those old-old-old 510 prebuilt non kanthal atomizers. The point of a kick was to adjust it to our atomizer, but now since there are many tools to build your own coils easily, and RDA's, there really is no use for a kick.

The point of the kick was to be able to adjust for 1.5-3.0ohm cartomizers/disposable atomizers, instead of using different batteries or battery stacking to get the power we needed back then. There is no need for that nowadays.

 

[doofy666]

I thought the point of a kick was to maintain even watts output. Sure, they're low power but if low power is all one wants...

 

[Thrasher]

No idea what alice is talking about, A kick is a VW chip, I have kick rev2 they do 15 w
There is also the crown which is vv/vw
Plenty still use them
The real kicks sell out a lot and can get hard to find- places like fasttech have several clone versions available

I wouldn't recommend the original I think they only go to 10 watts.

Mine is about 18 months old. Once you set it and put it in the mod there's really no reason to be playing with it so it shouldn't break very easy. Most of them have the adjustment screw on top so all you need to do is remove the topcap of the mod and change the setting with screw driver

Some of the clones act a little differently but most work well

 

[alicewonderland]

I thought the point of a kick was to maintain even watts output. Sure, they're low power but if low power is all one wants...

i guess some of us used em for different reasons we were using them in our silver bullets a couple years back then with cartos and 510 attys when vv/vw didnt exist yet, so we could use the different resistances without having to change to different batteries or mods. You're also gona have to make sure you buy a tube mod that can accomodate the kick, or be able to fit in a 18490/18500 battery in there + a kick.

looks like evolv has a kick2 chip that comes out to 15watts.

 

[englishmick]

Thanks for the input folks. I generally use 8w with Pro Tanks and 12 or 14 with Lemos so a Kick2 sounds like just the job. If I ever feel the urge to walk the wild side and crank it up to 17W I'll still have the Sigelei.

I really just saw the fading power when the battery gets low as a downside of mechs. Never used one yet so I don't know how hard it really is to deal with. I'm planning to pick up a mech this week, I'll report here on my progress.

cheers

 

[93gc40]

I run a Origin clone mod with a kick using 18500 and 18650 batts. I have the 5-12watt version and 5-15 watts kick from Fastech, <$10 each. The only issue I have with it is you are limited to above 1.5ohms. This is OK as I vape mostly at 8-10 ohms on 2ohms, anyway. And compared to the EGO1100 batt it replaced.. Well there is no comparison. When I want clouds, I pop out the Kick and mount my subohm atty. (modified Steam Turbine Geni, drilled with 4 - 2.5mm air holes, built to .4-.7 ohms) Glad I got the kick, totally happy I did it, rather than the eleaf or MVP2 that it was competing with at the time. Granted I might go higher VW on next mod, but I still don't really like the box mods and I have yet to find a VW tube mod, I like. Beside I still vape All Day at less than 15watts.

 

[alicewonderland]

i still dont understand how people vape so low watts still nowadays. It's nothing like smoking was, taking like 8sec+ long drags off of mods is just strange to me. All this time when i switched to vaping I was trying to find something close to smoking a cigarette, and subohm high power delivers that, yet there are still those diehard low wattage 1+ohm vapers that swear by it still. It's absolutely nothing like smoking, i couldnt imagine taking a 8+ second drag off a cigarette. Just my point of view though, different strokes for different folks. I just know if I started with a setup like what I have now, where I can take 2-3 second drags and get the nicotine delivery/vapor I can, I probably would have quit right on the stop instead of having many relapses, the transition from taking short drags off a cigarette, to long pulls off a vaporizer was tough.

 

[Thrasher]

Thanks for the input folks. I generally use 8w with Pro Tanks and 12 or 14 with Lemos so a Kick2 sounds like just the job. If I ever feel the urge to walk the wild side and crank it up to 17W I'll still have the Sigelei.

I really just saw the fading power when the battery gets low as a downside of mechs. Never used one yet so I don't know how hard it really is to deal with. I'm planning to pick up a mech this week, I'll report here on my progress.

cheers

All depends on how well you can tune the build.I run a Kayfun at .9, my drippers .6

In many cases about the time I start to notice the lack of vapor, the batteries are pretty low.

About an hour ago I picked up my Kayfun and though hmm maybe time to clean the coil as that's pretty lacking, pulled the battery anyways, popped it onto a charger - 3.3 volts so probably 2.8-2.9 under load, lower then a regulated mod would have went.
Many people on here have stated when first using a mech they easily went to 3.0 or lower without noticing it was getting weaker

With a average power build using a well balanced coil ( amount of wire, correct gauge etc).voltage drop off isn't as bad as many like to think. Especially when you get comfortable using a mech and don't analyze every puff you barely notice.

 

[93gc40]

i still dont understand how people vape so low watts still nowadays. It's nothing like smoking was, taking like 8sec+ long drags off of mods is just strange to me. All this time when i switched to vaping I was trying to find something close to smoking a cigarette, and subohm high power delivers that, yet there are still those diehard low wattage 1+ohm vapers that swear by it still. It's absolutely nothing like smoking, i couldnt imagine taking a 8+ second drag off a cigarette. Just my point of view though, different strokes for different folks. I just know if I started with a setup like what I have now, where I can take 2-3 second drags and get the nicotine delivery/vapor I can, I probably would have quit right on the stop instead of having many relapses, the transition from taking short drags off a cigarette, to long pulls off a vaporizer was tough.

I vape the same way I smoked all at less than 15watts. 1-3 second pull follow by a cloud, which is still bigger than the one I got from a cigarette. You don't need big clouds and low ohms to convert nic juice to be absorbable. You only need the POWER for the cloud and extra FLAVOR. Even at less than 15watts ejuice tastes better than a CIGARETTE.

 

[alicewonderland]

I vape the same way I smoked all at less than 15watts. 1-3 second pull follow by a cloud, which is still bigger than the one I got from a cigarette. You don't need big clouds and low ohms to convert nic juice to be absorbable. You only need the POWER for the cloud and extra FLAVOR. Even at less than 15watts ejuice tastes better than a CIGARETTE.

what resistance coils do you use? curious cuz I want to try it now lol, I was never able to get any kind of good vape on my ego batteries i used to use. then again I guess it can also depend on the type of cigarettes you smoked, i used to smoke stuff like newports and camel unfiltered, so I guess i needed that harder hit.

 

[Thrasher]

I vape the same way I smoked all at less than 15watts. 1-3 second pull follow by a cloud, which is still bigger than the one I got from a cigarette. You don't need big clouds and low ohms to convert nic juice to be absorbable. You only need the POWER for the cloud and extra FLAVOR. Even at less than 15watts ejuice tastes better than a CIGARETTE.

+ 1, 2PAD boro reds for 35 years -3-5 second pulls approx 20-25 watts, nice thick clouds, plenty of nic

@Alice sounds like you went from ego right to high power and missed the midrange step. Without really jumping up in power but going to a well setup rebuildable satisfaction increased 10 fold for me

I'm starting to think this is how these high power boxes got popular egos and cigalikes weren't doing it, everyone sees these massive cloud setups. And never realized there is an intermediate stage in the middle that can still get it done. But like you stated, everyone is different.

 

[doofy666]

With a average power build using a well balanced coil ( amount of wire, correct gauge etc).voltage drop off isn't as bad as many like to think. Especially when you get comfortable using a mech and don't analyze every puff you barely notice.

The last few weeks are my first time with a mech. I am surprised that an 18350 lasts for 4ml with a 1.3 ohm coil. So I only change battery when refilling the tank and otherwise don't think about voltage drop.

I've got a nemesis clone and 5-12w kick on order from FT. I like the "cleanness" of the vape I get with the Poldiac, and will only use the kick if I don't notice the rattlesnake effect.

 

[alicewonderland]

+ 1, 2PAD boro reds for 35 years -3-5 second pulls approx 20-25 watts, nice thick clouds, plenty of nic

@Alice sounds like you went from ego right to high power and missed the midrange step. Without really jumping up in power but going to a well setup rebuildable satisfaction increased 10 fold for me

I'm starting to think this is how these high power boxes got popular egos and cigalikes weren't doing it, everyone sees these massive cloud setups. And never realized there is an intermediate stage in the middle that can still get it done. But like you stated, everyone is different.

well I did make a short transition. I went from using my aerotank on egos, to my aerotank on a rDNA40 vaporshark. The vape was fine but the tank wasnt able to keep up with my vaporization of eliquid. I switched directly from the kanger aerotank to RDA's, due to subohm tanks not being out yet. I tried a nautilus mini and it vaped the same way as my aerotank. A month into using RDA's the subohm tanks started coming out. Which is why im looking forward to the subox kit coming out from kanger, a 50w mod with the subtank mini sounds like a good out and about setup for me.

 

[Thrasher]

I have to admit, I feel kind of fortunate skipping right to rebuildables after clearos. Never experienced any of the premade tanks people seem to graduate to. But back then 15 watts was king and it took a lot of experimenting and playing to finally end up with a low power build that could put out the vapor. Like anything else you do it long enough you become good at it and then high power came along and I saw no real advantage to it other then my clouds might get a little bigger

 

[93gc40]

what resistance coils do you use? curious cuz I want to try it now lol, I was never able to get any kind of good vape on my ego batteries i used to use. then again I guess it can also depend on the type of cigarettes you smoked, i used to smoke stuff like newports and camel unfiltered, so I guess i needed that harder hit.

1.8-2.2OHMS @8-10 WATTS

I was a 35 year 1-2 PAD M-Red smoker. Started Vaping June 2014 with Protank mini, 1 coil @ 1.8-2.5ohms on a EGO1100mah battery. First upgrade was to Mini PT3 dual coil, which I was rebuilding as single vertical coil, same Ohms 30-31awg Then Upgraded to Mech +Kick and Kayfun 3.1,from Fastech/focalecig in November. I currently am vaping at 1.8-2.2 ohms and 8-10 watts. Watts is an estimate, as there is no LED on a kick, setting is 50%-75% on the pot. Regardless even with the kick set at lowest setting, the mod still hits harder than the EGO batt at full charge. I am still experimenting with builds though, not as far as power and ohms goes, the Kick is limited to 1.5-3ohms. So I am playing around with different gauges and twisted wire combos, in the 1.8-2.2ohm range with my Kayfun.


FWIW, When I have to replace the kicks, (have 2), I will probably get a Real regulated mod. The most powerful one I can afford. Could probably make sub OHM vaping work for me, with a bit of control over power and such. I do, do some sub vaping, without the kick installed. Thats why I got a Mech in the first place. But i just can't find a build I like, in either the Dripper I have or the Geni tank I have just for sub ohming, they sit on the shelf, most of the time. And will until or if I get a regulated mod of 30watt or more.