In-depth-ish M401 review

[Dihydrogenmonoxide]

m401 kit review
sections- battery review, atty review, cartridge review, PCC review, misc and conclusion

PREFACE- I have kind words for my vendor, but I'll save most for my AbsolutelyECigs review in the vendor review section.

BATERIES- From the vendor I went through, there's a mini myriad of choices between colors and sizes. I'm not concerned with portability, so I opted for two m401 batteries.
Compated to my first ecig, an 808d, the length when assembled is a bit longer, and the circumference is quite noticably smaller. Bizarrely enough, the weight is a little greater. This makes for a sturdy battery which isn't disproportionately thick or unweildy to use. I'd go so far as to call it elegant in comparison. Little ridges break up the white color, and the gold logo for the black is quite striking. The manual switch is very reliable and the only grief I have for it is that the light may blink off then on again if I'm not sure to hold the button down hard. I doubt it interferes with the vape quality though. The automatic switch, however, is a little less reliable. As with all automatic switches, the complete control of exactly when and for how long the battery fires is gone. A gentle, relaxing vape may be completely ignored by the sensor. Additionally, one must take supreme care when dealing with overfilled cartridges and when topping off attys. I've had a few scares with my automatic not firing after topping off. Still, not having to manage a button while vaping does bring a certain amount of convenience. The LED cap has a very nice ash appearance (a plain, flat cap isn't quite as pleasing as it sounded to me at first), and the light lingers after taking a drag. The threads are made rather well and give a very thin gold band on the PV when assembled. Quite a nice pair of batteries to be sure.
While not quite a battery, I also got a passthrough so I'll mention it here. The flat metal color without any logo doesn't do it justice, and I may have opted for a black one if I were to do it over. Before you ask, you can't use the PCC AC-to-USB to run the passthrough. I've tried. The charge on the batteries is nice enough. I'm spoiled with 650 and 1000 mAh, but 200 is more than enough to sit down and relax with. However, if you're looking for something that will last longer, this may not be your PV.

ATOMISER- Starting off with style, the atty looks a bit like a 306 and has no 'collar' around it like a 510.
They work as advertized and turn the m401 into quite the PV. a vape after topping off and hitting the (quite lengthy) cutoff will give a pleasant cloud of vapor. After steady use it dies down a little, but nothing I'll complain about. It may not wick well enough to compete with dripping, but such is the nature of cartridges. I know that M401s aren't the most popular PV, but I can easily give a thumbs up to their atomizers.

CARTRIDGES- The cartridges work very, very well, can be cleaned and refilled with very little fuss. They fit within the profile of the battery and atomiser (About a year before purchasing, when I first saw them, I thought the cart had a little lip that hung over the atty about 1 mm out. I can happily say that this is not the case). I'm not quite sure what more to say about them. Carts aren't the most amazing thing in the world, but they work well. no complaints.

PCC- One of my favorite parts of the kit that I ordered has to be the PCC. If you intend to pick it up, do yourself a favor and get it. It can hold two batteries, four cartridges, and four atomisers if they're assembled with the carts. The internal battery can recharge 4-7 batteries from dead, and always seems to have enough juice to top off the charge. The clasp and hinge on the top works well and holds it securely closed, and the display is simplistic yet very handy. The entire PCC has a black, rubberized coating with text on all sides, and a red smoore logo in a few places. My biggest praise has to go to the fact that it looks like a box of cigarettes. I have no idea why but I absolutely love this. If I have to gripe at all, It has to be that there is "5 cartridges" printed on the top of one side, while the design only allows for four. It's a nitpick and I can assure you that I have no genuine complaints about this case.

MISC AND CONCLUSION- Be prepared to panic if you order this and find that you've only recieved the PCC and no case for the M401 kit. After you feel you've paniced enough, look inside of the PCC. your batteries and atomisers should be safely tucked away.
The sensor for the automatic battery is sound sensitive, not pressure. Despite this, I have not got it to fire with any amount of flicking or noise in my day-to-day life.
Overall, I definitely have to suggest this to others. Even if you're comfortable with what you have, you may find that the PCC is a handier away to cary your PV or might just be impressed with the M401's preformance.

 

[billybc96]

I'm with you on this. I've tried a few other e-cigarettes in my time, including the KR808D-1s among a others, but no 510s, EGOs or similar models. I've been using the m401 series PVs for about two years now, specifically the medium length battery m402s, which I find don't run as hot as the m401s, and therefore taste a little better - less burnt flavor. I really like the m402, and the PCCs available for m401 series batteries are great - though I have found they don't work well with the manual battery versions, which has been annoying (I need to look into that on the forum here). The automatics work pretty well though, but the manuals are a must for reliable use in a night club or similar loud environment. I originally started with Intellicig's m402s, but found the short cutoff time to be an annoyance. LiteCigUSA used to be a good supplier, still have great customer service and speedy delivery, but their m402 batteries I've received recently have not been reliable - a shame. I'm switching back to Intellicig because they now have a longer cutoff time design (about 10 seconds) and they were otherwise very long lasting and reliable batteries for me when I last used them.

Unfortunately Intellicig's LEDs for the polished stainless steel batteries I prefer are red, rather than my preferred blue (looking less like a real cigarette when vaping in public has its advantages), but functional reliability is more important than looks. I prefer the stainless steel finish models because it is easier to tell when they are getting to the end of their rechargeable lifespan that way by just looking at the finish wear on the battery. I use "gold" atomizers for the same reason, and the look of a silver battery with a gold atomizer and black cartridge is aesthetically pleasing to me. I use PTB modded XL m401 cartidges that I got many months ago from a Canadian supplier that no longer has those available. I've never seen factory pre-PTB modded cartidges anywhere else before or since, but regular XL cartidges are available, and I highly recommend them over the standard length m401 cartridges. I tried the only m401 cartomizers that I know of and I ended up being disappointed for the most part. They were a real pain to fill, clean and otherwise maintain, but a full one would last all day, except flavor delivery just wasn't as good as compared with using a regular atomizer and cartridge combination. I don't switch cartridges often, usually just refilling or topping off the same one all day long. You don't really need to drip on the atomizer and risk flooding the open battery that way. Unfortunately the atomatic m401 (m402, etc.) batteries are open as well, so they are also still at risk of being flooded if you are not careful.

I've considered trying out the ECHO, which is essentially an automatic (apparently very reliable, not sound sensitive) version of the EGO model PVs, but the fatter size and shaped mouthpiece have prevented me from going that route for now. There are a surprising number of e-cigarette makes and models out there, with varying availability throughout the world, but only a relative few (with endless modifications) are considered top picks for beginners and more experienced users alike. The m401 series is among those, though it tends to get frown upon by some veterans as more of a beginners model, though even many of those vapers still tend to use the m401 when out in puplic because of its classic size and commendable performance. Vaper production is not the best, nor battery charge, nor flavor, but the m401 series performs very well in all the categories, and actual excels over many other contenders in battery charge and flavor delivery in particular. I've yet to experience any other e-cigarette model that delivers as well on flavor. The biggest negative for the m401 series is the relatively small e-liquid capacity of its cartridges, even the XLs - which are only a few millimeters larger than standard cartridges at best (worth a few extra drops of capacity). I've gotten so used to drip refilling my cartridges regularly that doesn't bother me much. I just wish the current mill of m401 PCCs reliably charged manual batteries - which still seems to be an ongoing issue, though I don't know why.

 

[billybc96]

I got my Intellicig USA m402 batteries quite awhile back now, but I thought I would comment on my experience with the latest version of these, since it has been a long time since last I've tried them. The auto cut-off feature on these definitely allows you a longer drag. No problem there, but I find the drag on these is just too heavy, much heavier than that with the m402s I get from LiteCigUSA, and enough so that I've actually gone back and ordered a few more m402s from LiteCigUSA. I'm giving those another try, hoping the few bad ones I had awhile back were just a fluke, which seems likely. That sort of thing just seems to happen once and awhile, unfortunately. The Intellicig USA m402s also do not reliably charge in my non-Intellicig PCC box, which is pretty annoying. They charge okay in a regular non-Intellicig USB charger, though the light on the charger and the LED on the batteries will give you no reliable indication of charge status, at least until they are fully charged, but they will charge. I didn't like that very much either, as I wasn't planning on spending $35 for an Intellicig PCC box, since I already have two perfectly fine running ones from LiteCigUSA. Those are still going strong, though I've had them both for over a year now, one for nearly two years.

I'm still primarily using three much older, but still going strong LiteCigUSA m402 batteries, including one manual, all the others having eventually died on me. I've considered trying out the auto Echo e-cigarette, but just keep not bothering as I am generally very satisfied with the m401 series e-cigarette models, especially the m402 sized units. I eventually ran into some allergic skin reaction type issues after using pure and nearly pure PG e-juice blends for well over a year, so have switched to using all or nearly all VG e-liquid blends. I mainly use Intellicig's Rich e-liquid in 20ml strength, typically mixed with a bit of Dekang's excellent Turkish Blend for a bit more flavor impact, though I can't take using that all PG e-liquid without blending. This has been working out well. No more allergic skin reaction issues, which was in itself starting to become annoying and something of a real concern. No other changes are likely in my PV equipment, so I still don't think I'll be trying an Echo anytime soon, but I still always like to keep an eye out for other possible e-cigarette types & liquids to try out.