Defender II 50 watt — First impressions.
Size and weight compared to iStick 30w: (measuring devices are naked eye and left hand). Thickness nearly identical, width-Defender ~5% wider and 5% taller. Weight- nearly the same.
Fit and Finish: Very nice.
Ergonomics: Excellent. With the thirty istick, I tended to put the thumb of my average size hand on top of the mod. With the Def., it sits above the fire button, on the stainless/chromed top piece.
Mfr. quality: No button rattle. (Why do none of my mods come with button rattle? I feel cheated.)
Another reviewer I respect noted that the GS Air sits a large hair's width above the mod. It do! As it must. The iStick has depressed channels going under the tank base. The Def. has a nippled depression either side of the tank. Air flow is through the depressed tray and also from the sides. Not a brilliant design decision, but functional.
On a scale of one to a hundred, this is about a 0.23 issue.
Controls: Intuitive (like the istick, and marginally better than most Innokin mods, IMNSHO).
Display: When you turn it on, you see "DEFENDER" in big, white letters, just to remind you that you have not electrocuted a BLT. When you turn it off, it displays, "Goodbye"
in a typeface reminiscent of a 1950s Good Humor popsicle wrapper. Main display items are easy to read, and larger than their iStick 30 equivalents.
Sundry scandalous items: user manual is about the size of an obese dollar bill. Has everything you need to know, in arcane English. Packaging is a clear plastic box, unlike the usual white coated paper cardboard we have grown (groan?) to expect from Chinese e-gear vendors.
Curious Quirk — Just changed from a GS Air to an M, while charging with the mini USB cable.
This disturbance to the cosmic force field caused the display to change from watts to volts.
My cat stretched and yawned. Pressed the big button three times to change it back. Remind me to send Thomas Edison a note about this.
Edited to add--- Tactile. Nice, smooth finish, but not slippery like the iStick, so I don't think it will need a sillycone cover. A positive.
Personal prejudices and opinions: It just works! Good size and feel for my hand. Appears well made. Hasn't autofired, burped, or been flatulent. Guess it likes me, but people say I'm 'good with animals'. Why, you ask, did I get a 50w battery when I rarely cruise above 10w? Longevity, my Dears!
Also: Replaceable battery is, for me, a GOOD THING. My iStick will probably die, (pass away, cross over, meet their Maker, start a worm farm, et c., if you prefer euphemisms.) in another eight to ten months, and contribute to our collective landfill issues. When the battery on the Def. bites the dust, croaks, breathes its last, I'll take a shiny copper penny from your my pocket, open the battery compartment, and replace the dearly departed.
Thanks for reading. All opinions expressed here are unprotected by copyright law, and do not necessarily represent the theological leanings of this forum. Your kilometraje pueda resultar bien distinta.
