Hi All, Anthony Vapes back here with my review of the Aegis Solo mod. Please see bottom for disclaimers and links. Note: This is not marked as a sample.
Introduction:
The Geekvape Aegis Solo is the latest mod from popular vape manufacturer Geekvape. They have been doing a great job with mods lately (outside of the lucid) and the aegis solo is the latest in a long line of rugged mods that includes the original aegis, the aegis mini, and the aegis legend. The solo is the 2nd smallest one (smallest is the internal battery mini) and takes a single 18650 battery which is rare to have these days so happy to see more of them personally, but follows all the designs from the original aegis. It’s available in 6 colors Black, Red, Green, Blue, Orange, and Gunmetal. It comes by itself or in a kit and with the kit there are 2 versions, 1 that includes the cerberus tank and one that includes the tengu RDA. I’ll only be reviewing the mod as the cerberus tank is quite old and the tengu RDA i reviewed already. Looking around online i see the mod alone for 45ish and the kit version for 50-60ish. Elementvape has the kit with the tengu and the kit with the cerebus both under 60 bucks.
Manufacturer's Specs:
album
Initial Impressions and features
When I first got this mod i knew what to expect. I’ve already reviewed the aegis, aegis legend, and aegis mini. The Aegis solo is the 4th in this line and is the 2nd smallest and basically a shrunken down aegis which took a single 26650 battery and instead for the solo it takes a single 18650 which has been rare these days on the market. Other then that it’s exactly what you’d expect designwise and feature wise. Really like the looks and size of this mod.
Watt Mode Performance (chart and spreadsheet in picture album)
Now let’s get into some data. I ran my normal testing. I used Sony VTC5A batteries for the testing. Testing resistances were done at .13, .15, .2, and .63 ohms. wattage points were max (100), 80, 60, 40, and 20. At .13 ohms it maxed out at 93 watts and 27 amps. For the rest of the testing it was 8 watts low at 80, but 60 or less only 1-2 watts low. At .15 it maxed out at 101 watts. The rest of the testing here was great, either on point to 3 watts high. For the .2 test it maxed out at 107 watts. For the rest of the tests again really nice but a little on the high side 2-4 watts. For the .63 testing it maxed out at 107 watts and 8.205 volts. For the rest of the testing it was quite a bit high at 60 or more (7-11) but under 60 only 3-6 watts high. The volts shows there is a boost circuit in this mod like all single battery mods should have
Overall I felt the performance of this mod was excellent. It didn’t really struggle at all and mostly on point to a few watts high so i’d recommend starting off a few watts lower than you’d expect. I was able to get 107 watts max, so it is rated well at 100 watts. The 8.205+ volt limit shows there is a boost circuit as there should be. Their manual list a voltage limit of 12V which is overkill but plausible since I was capped off by the watt limit in my testing and their nova mod also did 12V as well, Volts shouldn’t be any issue for anyone here. They don’t list an amp limit and I wish they would list all 3 personally. On this mod and the most amps i got was 27 with a .13 ohm coil which is average for a single 18650 mod (most are 25-30) and could have been capped off by the watts so could be a little higher as well. The watt curve mode also works excellent. Overall a top notch performer.
Simplified TLDR Power Performance summary
Mod performance is excellent. Good rated for watts (107), Yes boost circuit, average amp limit of 27+. Hits a little high at times. Good watt curve mode.
Temperature Control Performance
Using SS316 wire and SS mode (default non adjustable TCR of 105) and TCR modes, I tested 4 builds. 1 simple round wire single coil build, 1 simple round wire dual coil build, and 2 fancy single coil builds. You get full wattage in TC mode as well. In SS mode i found it worked well but was a bit on the weak side having to bump the temp up to around 500F for a warm vape. I found using TCR mode and a TCR of 110 to be best. At that TCR you get a nice warm vape in the 450F range and you can adjust from there to taste/preference. The output is smooth and consistent, dry hit protection works great, and ramp up is great due to the full wattage being available you can adjust that for your preference as well. All in all easily the best TC i’ve found on a single 18650 mod in a long time.
Other Usage Notes
The mod uses a standard 5 click to turn on and off. The menu system is pretty much the same as all their past mods really which is simple and easy to use. 3 clicks goes to menu mode where the mode is highlighted and use up and down to scroll through the modes which are power, TC-Ni, TC-SS, TC-Ti, TC-TCR, VPC (watt curve), and Bypass. To change subsettings of the modes (ex power or TCR value in TCR mode) press fire to accept and it goes down to those options. Use up and down to adjust them and click fire to accept. Hold fire to accept all and back out of changing settings. Up and fire or Down and fire adjusts the screen brightness and up and down locks the adjustment buttons but you can still fire. Really simple and easy and well done.
The Geekvape Aegis Solo adjusts by .1 watt increments and holding it makes it adjust very fast and by full watt increments. I do prefer full watt overall or at least full watt at 20 plus but this is good enough i can't complain. It also round robins. The mod itself is built solid with no rattle at all, and very lightweight and rugged like the aegis line is known for. It’s just surprisingly light for a rugged mod. The Battery door is a screw off cap style like the original aegis. They include a tool to make it easier to open but honestly isn’t needed at all and i never used it. It was plenty easy to unscrew by hand. The paint on the mod is great as well. Like the others it’s mostly black rubber and has a leather back which feels great and a painted accent part of the frame. I got the black one so it doesn't stand out but it looks great like all the aegis mods. My only critique is i wish they would do something to protect the screen from drops better as that’s really the only weak point on the mod and all the aegis mods but it wont’ stop it from being usable if it breaks at least.
The fire button is standard size simple hexagon button. It works well and It never gets stuck or anything though which is as it should be, no complaints there. The 510 pin is great and gave me no issues with any atomizer. I’ve used atomizers up to 26mm and there is room to spare, I can’t imagine going much bigger than that on a single 18650 mod. The screen is black and white, but it’s also a nice size and very bright and the info is all laid out nicely. It’s the same as the aegis mini one or a B&W version of the Nova one. No complaints there. Also for branding the mod itself there is Geekvape on one side and Aegis on the other side engraved into the rubber coating in matching color. Nicely branded overall. They list a charging rate of 1.5A and i don’t recommend charging internally in your mods but since it is single cell and for informational purposes only, I did check it and got a max 1.13A but it mostly hovers around .90-1.03A so 1A would have been a better rating IMO but not a big deal or grossly overrated as it can do over 1A
Pros:
So with all that said, do I recommend this mod or not? I don’t like to do a hard yes or no but this one leans very heavy towards the yes. It’s easily overall the best single 18650 battery mod i’ve come across in over a year and it’s going to be hard for any company to top this one. I could barely find any cons and had to be super nit-picky to even find any. If you are in the market for a single 18650 battery mod, this is easily the one to get. I’ve added this to my sheet of recs linked down below.
This is Anthony Vapes just keeping it honest, hopefully you all can say the same and i’ll catch you on my next review.
Product Disclaimer
This product was sent to me from Geekvape
Review Disclaimer
Due to possible QC difference your experience may vary.
Reviewer Disclaimer
I’ve been doing vape reviews since late 2016 and have done over 300 reviews to date. I enjoy helping vapers on forums as well and helping contribute to the great vape community. I’m not an “out of the box” reviewer. I do my best to be thorough at all times and have enough experience with many products to tell what’s good and what’s not. All mods get tested with an oscilloscope and stress tested and results are posted in my reviews.
Recommendations and Past Review Links
written reviews list here
Youtube Channel here
Spreadsheet of Recommendations here
Best of 2018 list here
Best of 2017 list here
Introduction:
The Geekvape Aegis Solo is the latest mod from popular vape manufacturer Geekvape. They have been doing a great job with mods lately (outside of the lucid) and the aegis solo is the latest in a long line of rugged mods that includes the original aegis, the aegis mini, and the aegis legend. The solo is the 2nd smallest one (smallest is the internal battery mini) and takes a single 18650 battery which is rare to have these days so happy to see more of them personally, but follows all the designs from the original aegis. It’s available in 6 colors Black, Red, Green, Blue, Orange, and Gunmetal. It comes by itself or in a kit and with the kit there are 2 versions, 1 that includes the cerberus tank and one that includes the tengu RDA. I’ll only be reviewing the mod as the cerberus tank is quite old and the tengu RDA i reviewed already. Looking around online i see the mod alone for 45ish and the kit version for 50-60ish. Elementvape has the kit with the tengu and the kit with the cerebus both under 60 bucks.
Manufacturer's Specs:
- AS-100 Chipset
- Dimensions - 86.4mm by 41.2mm by 31.5mm
- Single High-Amp 18650 Battery - Not Included
- Wattage Output Range: 5-100W
- Resistance Range: 0.05-3.0ohm
- Temperature Range: 100°-315°C / 200°-600°F
- Power Mode
- VPC Mode
- TC Mode
- TCR Mode
- Bypass Mode
- Zinc-Aluminium Alloy Chassis Construction
- 10s Cut-Off Protection
- Short-Circuit Protection
- Over-Charging & Discharging Protection
- Over-Heat Protection
- Over-Current Protection
- Anti-Dry Protection
- 510 Connection
- MicroUSB Port
- Available in Black, Gunmetal, Red, Orange, Blue, Green
- 1 AEGIS SOLO 100W Box Mod
- 1 Battery Door Assist Tool
- 1 MicroUSB Cable
- 1 User Manual
album
Initial Impressions and features
When I first got this mod i knew what to expect. I’ve already reviewed the aegis, aegis legend, and aegis mini. The Aegis solo is the 4th in this line and is the 2nd smallest and basically a shrunken down aegis which took a single 26650 battery and instead for the solo it takes a single 18650 which has been rare these days on the market. Other then that it’s exactly what you’d expect designwise and feature wise. Really like the looks and size of this mod.
Watt Mode Performance (chart and spreadsheet in picture album)
Now let’s get into some data. I ran my normal testing. I used Sony VTC5A batteries for the testing. Testing resistances were done at .13, .15, .2, and .63 ohms. wattage points were max (100), 80, 60, 40, and 20. At .13 ohms it maxed out at 93 watts and 27 amps. For the rest of the testing it was 8 watts low at 80, but 60 or less only 1-2 watts low. At .15 it maxed out at 101 watts. The rest of the testing here was great, either on point to 3 watts high. For the .2 test it maxed out at 107 watts. For the rest of the tests again really nice but a little on the high side 2-4 watts. For the .63 testing it maxed out at 107 watts and 8.205 volts. For the rest of the testing it was quite a bit high at 60 or more (7-11) but under 60 only 3-6 watts high. The volts shows there is a boost circuit in this mod like all single battery mods should have
Overall I felt the performance of this mod was excellent. It didn’t really struggle at all and mostly on point to a few watts high so i’d recommend starting off a few watts lower than you’d expect. I was able to get 107 watts max, so it is rated well at 100 watts. The 8.205+ volt limit shows there is a boost circuit as there should be. Their manual list a voltage limit of 12V which is overkill but plausible since I was capped off by the watt limit in my testing and their nova mod also did 12V as well, Volts shouldn’t be any issue for anyone here. They don’t list an amp limit and I wish they would list all 3 personally. On this mod and the most amps i got was 27 with a .13 ohm coil which is average for a single 18650 mod (most are 25-30) and could have been capped off by the watts so could be a little higher as well. The watt curve mode also works excellent. Overall a top notch performer.
Simplified TLDR Power Performance summary
Mod performance is excellent. Good rated for watts (107), Yes boost circuit, average amp limit of 27+. Hits a little high at times. Good watt curve mode.
Temperature Control Performance
Using SS316 wire and SS mode (default non adjustable TCR of 105) and TCR modes, I tested 4 builds. 1 simple round wire single coil build, 1 simple round wire dual coil build, and 2 fancy single coil builds. You get full wattage in TC mode as well. In SS mode i found it worked well but was a bit on the weak side having to bump the temp up to around 500F for a warm vape. I found using TCR mode and a TCR of 110 to be best. At that TCR you get a nice warm vape in the 450F range and you can adjust from there to taste/preference. The output is smooth and consistent, dry hit protection works great, and ramp up is great due to the full wattage being available you can adjust that for your preference as well. All in all easily the best TC i’ve found on a single 18650 mod in a long time.
Other Usage Notes
The mod uses a standard 5 click to turn on and off. The menu system is pretty much the same as all their past mods really which is simple and easy to use. 3 clicks goes to menu mode where the mode is highlighted and use up and down to scroll through the modes which are power, TC-Ni, TC-SS, TC-Ti, TC-TCR, VPC (watt curve), and Bypass. To change subsettings of the modes (ex power or TCR value in TCR mode) press fire to accept and it goes down to those options. Use up and down to adjust them and click fire to accept. Hold fire to accept all and back out of changing settings. Up and fire or Down and fire adjusts the screen brightness and up and down locks the adjustment buttons but you can still fire. Really simple and easy and well done.
The Geekvape Aegis Solo adjusts by .1 watt increments and holding it makes it adjust very fast and by full watt increments. I do prefer full watt overall or at least full watt at 20 plus but this is good enough i can't complain. It also round robins. The mod itself is built solid with no rattle at all, and very lightweight and rugged like the aegis line is known for. It’s just surprisingly light for a rugged mod. The Battery door is a screw off cap style like the original aegis. They include a tool to make it easier to open but honestly isn’t needed at all and i never used it. It was plenty easy to unscrew by hand. The paint on the mod is great as well. Like the others it’s mostly black rubber and has a leather back which feels great and a painted accent part of the frame. I got the black one so it doesn't stand out but it looks great like all the aegis mods. My only critique is i wish they would do something to protect the screen from drops better as that’s really the only weak point on the mod and all the aegis mods but it wont’ stop it from being usable if it breaks at least.
The fire button is standard size simple hexagon button. It works well and It never gets stuck or anything though which is as it should be, no complaints there. The 510 pin is great and gave me no issues with any atomizer. I’ve used atomizers up to 26mm and there is room to spare, I can’t imagine going much bigger than that on a single 18650 mod. The screen is black and white, but it’s also a nice size and very bright and the info is all laid out nicely. It’s the same as the aegis mini one or a B&W version of the Nova one. No complaints there. Also for branding the mod itself there is Geekvape on one side and Aegis on the other side engraved into the rubber coating in matching color. Nicely branded overall. They list a charging rate of 1.5A and i don’t recommend charging internally in your mods but since it is single cell and for informational purposes only, I did check it and got a max 1.13A but it mostly hovers around .90-1.03A so 1A would have been a better rating IMO but not a big deal or grossly overrated as it can do over 1A
Pros:
- Power performance is Great
- TC performance is Great
- batteries are easy to get in and out without damaging wraps
- color options (6)
- Really nice 510 pin
- handles 26mm attys with room to spare
- power adjustments are fast and easy
- accurate rating for watts
- Volt limit is more than good enough and over 8V
- good amp limit
- nice bright and good size screen
- easy to use menu
- watt curve mode
- feels very well built
- nice leather
- rugged and durable design
- small and light for portability
- TC works best with a slight adjust of TCR, would have been nice to not have to do that
- screen cracking is a weak point for drops, should be recessed
- 1A charging would be more accurate then 1.5A listed
So with all that said, do I recommend this mod or not? I don’t like to do a hard yes or no but this one leans very heavy towards the yes. It’s easily overall the best single 18650 battery mod i’ve come across in over a year and it’s going to be hard for any company to top this one. I could barely find any cons and had to be super nit-picky to even find any. If you are in the market for a single 18650 battery mod, this is easily the one to get. I’ve added this to my sheet of recs linked down below.
This is Anthony Vapes just keeping it honest, hopefully you all can say the same and i’ll catch you on my next review.
Product Disclaimer
This product was sent to me from Geekvape
Review Disclaimer
Due to possible QC difference your experience may vary.
Reviewer Disclaimer
I’ve been doing vape reviews since late 2016 and have done over 300 reviews to date. I enjoy helping vapers on forums as well and helping contribute to the great vape community. I’m not an “out of the box” reviewer. I do my best to be thorough at all times and have enough experience with many products to tell what’s good and what’s not. All mods get tested with an oscilloscope and stress tested and results are posted in my reviews.
Recommendations and Past Review Links
written reviews list here
Youtube Channel here
Spreadsheet of Recommendations here
Best of 2018 list here
Best of 2017 list here
