I was very excited to get my 50W Heatvape Defender in the mail today. Kudos to 3AVapes for the fast delivery time. They're in China, so I expected up to a month, but it has only been 11 days.
I've been vaping on it for most of the day and like it a lot. It's just a little bit bigger than an iStick 30W and fits well in my hand. It has rounded edges, so is very comfortable to hold. The electronics are similar to other mods, so I didn't even need to refer to the manual to get it up and vaping. The fit and finish is very nice and it feels real solid. With the battery in it, it's noticeably heavier than the iStick 30w, but not sure how it compares to the 50w, as I don't have one (thankfully!).
One thing that I noticed right away and really love is that the screen is big and bright. The numbers are very easy to read. Most of my other mods require me to squint to read the numbers. The ohms read in hundredths rather than tenths, like most mods I've seen.
But there are also a couple of little things I'm not so fond of. Nothing big, but I thought I'd mention them in case they are a big deal to someone else thinking of buying one. First, my GS Air tanks don't quite fit flush. There's a gap about a fingernails width. I bought the blue one, and it's really a lovely shade. But it's a bit slippery compared to my other mods. I'll need to really pay attention to that, as I can be a bit clumsy with mods at times. I've also had a few phantom fires. But that could be user error, as the fire button needs a firm press. I'm used to phantom fires from my iStick and it's not really a big deal, just something to be aware of. The plus and minus buttons rattle, but not the fire button. As I said, these are little things and really not a big concern to me.
However one thing that is concerning is the battery access. It's a round flush mounted panel at the bottom that requires a coin (or large screwdriver) to open. Which means I'll need to get used to carrying some change in my pocket when I use it. What concerns me about it, though, is the safety aspect. Just a few months ago, a longtime member of this forum reported a malfunctioning mod and she had to quickly get the battery out of a super hot mod before disaster happened. She managed to do that, but her mod was pretty toasted. Which is why I'm concerned about any mod that makes it difficult to get to the battery.
That's pretty much true of any mod with an internal battery, such as the iStick 50W with all the problems it has had. How much safer that mod might be with removable batteries people could take out if it started autofiring. That's one reason I'm lately more attracted to mods with external batteries. But having access that requires a tool to get to the battery defeats that. I much prefer the magnetic panel my Sigelei mini has.
But all in all, I'm pretty happy with my purchase. This seems to be a nice, high quality mod at a pretty decent price (I paid $49 for mine).