Hi All, Anthony Vapes back here with my review of the Smoant Ranker mod
Product Disclaimer
This product was sent to me from Smoant
Review Disclaimer
I review products for what they are with no account of where it comes from or who makes it. The test results are the results for what is in my hand. Due to possible QC difference your experience may vary. There is no way for myself or anyone to predict if a device will last 6 months, 1 year, 5 years etc. Any manufactured item from cars to phones to computers to mods have a possibility of arriving DOA or having a small percent failure rate. There is no way to predict this or quantify this. That’s why warranties and lemon laws exist. I can only review what I have in my hand for better or for worse. Contrary to popular belief, there is no special review samples of higher quality. Most of the time personally i get retail versions, the few times i’ve gotten early releases they are usually worse than the final retail version.
Reviewer Disclaimer
I decided to add this disclaimer in as i feel it’s important for people to know their source of the review. I’ve been vaping since late 2011. I’ve vaped all the styles from MTL to RLH to DTL. tanks, RTAs, RDAs, you name it. I do prefer the DTL and RLH style over MTL personally. My main focus from an atomizer is flavor. For mods i’ve used mechs and regulated mods. I’m an avid temp control vaper but enjoy power mode as well and the occasion mech useage for nostalgia. I’ve been doing reviews since late 2016. As of Jan 2018 I’ve done over 100 written reviews and done over 150 video reviews on my channel, Although i’ve taken a break from videos in the past few months to focus on written reviews.
I spend a lot of time helping vapers on forums as well and try to answer all the questions and comments on my reviews. I’m not an “out of the box” reviewer. I do my best to be thorough at all times. All mods get tested with an oscilloscope and stress tested. At times if needed i’ll disassemble them as well. Rebuildables get multiple builds in them. Tanks i use all coils until the die or a minimum of 2 weeks if they don’t die sooner. I do this for the community to help people find good products and avoid bad ones. In my opinion a reviewer works for the community and nobody else. It’s our job to inform vapers of issues and not be advertisers as well as provide constructive criticism from a place of knowledge back to companies with these reviews so they can improve and make better products in the future.
Recommendations and Past Review Links
written reviews list here
Youtube Channel here
Spreadhseet of Recommendations here
Best of 2017 list here
Introduction:
The Smoant Ranker is the latest dual 18650 mod from smoant and the follow up to the Smoant Cylon. It features what appears to be the same chip and screen but in a different for factor. They gone away from the symmetrical mod with a centered 510, and used a body similar to a gun handle with a fire bar, instead of the fire button. Essentially it’s like the Smoant Cylon and Smok Mag had a baby.
Manufacturer's Specs:
Chart:
Spreadsheet:
Stock Shot Colors:
Size comparisons
Handchecks:
Initial Impressions and features
When I first got this Mod, in my typical honest fashion, I didn’t care for the design. First off the bat the design is really made left handed, similar to the complaints of the smok mag which led to smok releasing a right handed version. It’s funny because even with most non symmetrical mods, they all feel left handed to me, I used to mention it in early reviews but stopped for some reason as i didn’t think many cared and it wasn’t a big deal on most, but with a shape like this it’s odd for sure unless you want to use it screen in palm. Also OCD and all the screen is mounted on an angle IDK why it bugs me, but it does. The fire bar is really nice and responsive though and it’s built quite well. The leather feels nice just like that of the cylon and much better than what they used on the charon. Overall though, looks and form factor, personally i’m not a fan.
Watt Mode Performance
Let’s get into some data. I ran my normal testing. Testing resistances were done at .12 , .15, .21, and .52 ohms. wattage points were max (218), 200, 150, 100, 75, 50 and 25. At .12 ohms it maxed out at 187 watts and 39 amps. For the rest of the testing it hit a little low with the lower the wattage setting the more accurate it got but with 50 and 25 it hit a little high. Pretty standard for most mods at this resistance. At .15 it maxed out at 215 watts. It was 1 low for the 200 test but a few watts high the rest of the way. For the .21 test it maxed out at 196 watts. For the rest of the testing always within a couple, some high and some low. For the .52 testing it maxed out at 98 watts and 7.153 volts. The rest of the testing it was never off by more than 2 watts. The volts shows there is no boost circuit in this mod.
Since i got some feedback some people had issues understanding and reading the numbers since it’s a lot of data and didn’t have bandwidth to look at the sheet pictured above with more details, so i present to you the simplified TL
R
Simplified TLR Performance summary
Mod performance is solid, Rated pretty accurately. What you’d expect from smoant and very similar to the cylon (same chip supposedly). Amps and volts are right around the average for dual mods (39 and 7.153 respectively), watts hit 215 max for my tests.
Temperature Control Performance
Using SS316 wire with the default SS mode and also TCR mode using 00092. I tested 4 builds 1 single round spaced, 1 dual round spaced coil, 1 fancy single coil and 1 Fancy dual coil build. I didn’t notice any difference in TCR mode compared with SS mode so you can use either one. It performs just like the cylon so it still hits a little on the high side but not much. Maybe 20-30f off on the high side. I found most builds to work great in the 400-460F range. I never had to go below 400 or above 460. So a nice range for sure. I like a warm vape so YMMV but i think most will be happy in that range. The mod is very consistent as well. Once your vape is dialed in no need to adjust it at all. Changing the wattage is easy just hold down and fire then you can adjust it. It has full access to all the watts with no limit for TC mode. Adjusting it changes the ramp up time as it should. It has great dry hit protection and throttles back smoothly. Overall a great performer in temp control as we’ve come to expect from smoant.
Other Usage Notes
The 510 pin on the mod gave me no issues, I can see it’s screwed down from the outside but didn’t take it apart. Smoant is known for having good 510 pins though. 25mm will sit flush as the mod has a platform on top for atomizers. Anything over that will overhang the platform. The mod is built very solid and feels durable. I have no button rattle at all. The battery door is easy to open and close and has very little gap when closed. It’s a really well built mod. The fire button is a large fire bar that’s about 75% usable space. Squeezing the mod fires it easily and it’s nice and clicky. The leather is a huge improvement from the charon and and the same from the cylon, very nice. IDK if it’s real leather but it sure seems like it and feels and looks great. The paint job is quite excellent as well and I doubt it’ll wear or chip in the long run. It features the same large color screen as the cylon that’s nice and pretty bright, but direct sunlight can be hard to see it like most mods or phones for that matter. It’s mounted at an angle though.
This mod has quite a few modes as well. Obviously you have power with a preheat option as well (soft, norm, hard, max) TC modes for Ni200, Ti, and SS as well as TCR Mode. Full watt curve and temp curve programmable on chip, and the option to change the background of the screen (i went with the dog because dogs are awesome). The screen layout is nice with plenty of info. They also have a 2nd UI option that looks like a speedometer. There is a firmware update (link above in the manufacturer's specs) for putting custom backgrounds. I didn’t personally install it or try it out.
Usage is pretty easy. 5 click on and off like always with most mods. 3 clicks to enter the menu. Up and down to scroll. Click fire to select and hold fire to exit. Easy and simple. It also has a real time clock as the screen saver you can set the time if that’s your thing. I didn't measure soft cell cut off, but the cylon (same chip) when i measured it about a month ago I got 3.26 and 3.27 for my 2 cells.
Pros:
So with all that said, do I recommend this mod or not. I Don’t like to do hard yes or no but in times like this it’s good to remind oneself, that while there will always be a personal preference for things you can state in a review, it’s also important to be objective. So objectively i will lean towards the yes, it’s essentially a cylon in a different body and I love the cylon. Subjectively though I don’t care for the style of mod and would buy a cylon over it anyday and twice on sunday personally. Since objectivity is important as some may like the design, I’ll be adding it to my sheet as both a TC and power mode mod. I always prioritize performance over personal preferences.
This is Anthony Vapes just keeping it honest, hopefully you all can say the same and i’ll catch you on my next review.
Where to buy
USA for 53.95here black and tarnish in stock at elementvape.com
Product Disclaimer
This product was sent to me from Smoant
Review Disclaimer
I review products for what they are with no account of where it comes from or who makes it. The test results are the results for what is in my hand. Due to possible QC difference your experience may vary. There is no way for myself or anyone to predict if a device will last 6 months, 1 year, 5 years etc. Any manufactured item from cars to phones to computers to mods have a possibility of arriving DOA or having a small percent failure rate. There is no way to predict this or quantify this. That’s why warranties and lemon laws exist. I can only review what I have in my hand for better or for worse. Contrary to popular belief, there is no special review samples of higher quality. Most of the time personally i get retail versions, the few times i’ve gotten early releases they are usually worse than the final retail version.
Reviewer Disclaimer
I decided to add this disclaimer in as i feel it’s important for people to know their source of the review. I’ve been vaping since late 2011. I’ve vaped all the styles from MTL to RLH to DTL. tanks, RTAs, RDAs, you name it. I do prefer the DTL and RLH style over MTL personally. My main focus from an atomizer is flavor. For mods i’ve used mechs and regulated mods. I’m an avid temp control vaper but enjoy power mode as well and the occasion mech useage for nostalgia. I’ve been doing reviews since late 2016. As of Jan 2018 I’ve done over 100 written reviews and done over 150 video reviews on my channel, Although i’ve taken a break from videos in the past few months to focus on written reviews.
I spend a lot of time helping vapers on forums as well and try to answer all the questions and comments on my reviews. I’m not an “out of the box” reviewer. I do my best to be thorough at all times. All mods get tested with an oscilloscope and stress tested. At times if needed i’ll disassemble them as well. Rebuildables get multiple builds in them. Tanks i use all coils until the die or a minimum of 2 weeks if they don’t die sooner. I do this for the community to help people find good products and avoid bad ones. In my opinion a reviewer works for the community and nobody else. It’s our job to inform vapers of issues and not be advertisers as well as provide constructive criticism from a place of knowledge back to companies with these reviews so they can improve and make better products in the future.
Recommendations and Past Review Links
written reviews list here
Youtube Channel here
Spreadhseet of Recommendations here
Best of 2017 list here
Introduction:
The Smoant Ranker is the latest dual 18650 mod from smoant and the follow up to the Smoant Cylon. It features what appears to be the same chip and screen but in a different for factor. They gone away from the symmetrical mod with a centered 510, and used a body similar to a gun handle with a fire bar, instead of the fire button. Essentially it’s like the Smoant Cylon and Smok Mag had a baby.
Manufacturer's Specs:
- Size: 60mmX31.5mmX92mm
- Takes 2X 18650 battery
- Display: 1.35 inch TFT color screen
- Big & Responsive fire button
- Output range: 1 – 218 W
- Output modes: VW / VW Curves / Temp (Ni, Ti, SS) / TCR / TC Curves
- Resistance range: 0.05 – 2.0 Ohm for Temp / TCR mode / TC Curves 0.1-5.0 Ohm for VW / VW Curves
- Temperature control: 100 – 315°C / 200 – 600°F
- Two different UI available to choose
- Firmware upgradeable - download the software [here](smoant.com/cylon-update.rar)
- Reverse protection/ Over-heating protection/ Low voltage protection/ Overload/Short-circuit protection/ Over-time protection
- Color: Black, Tarnish and camo
- 1 Smoant Ranker Mod
- 1 USB Cable
- Instructional Manual + Warranty Card
Chart:
Spreadsheet:
Stock Shot Colors:
Size comparisons
Handchecks:
Initial Impressions and features
When I first got this Mod, in my typical honest fashion, I didn’t care for the design. First off the bat the design is really made left handed, similar to the complaints of the smok mag which led to smok releasing a right handed version. It’s funny because even with most non symmetrical mods, they all feel left handed to me, I used to mention it in early reviews but stopped for some reason as i didn’t think many cared and it wasn’t a big deal on most, but with a shape like this it’s odd for sure unless you want to use it screen in palm. Also OCD and all the screen is mounted on an angle IDK why it bugs me, but it does. The fire bar is really nice and responsive though and it’s built quite well. The leather feels nice just like that of the cylon and much better than what they used on the charon. Overall though, looks and form factor, personally i’m not a fan.
Watt Mode Performance
Let’s get into some data. I ran my normal testing. Testing resistances were done at .12 , .15, .21, and .52 ohms. wattage points were max (218), 200, 150, 100, 75, 50 and 25. At .12 ohms it maxed out at 187 watts and 39 amps. For the rest of the testing it hit a little low with the lower the wattage setting the more accurate it got but with 50 and 25 it hit a little high. Pretty standard for most mods at this resistance. At .15 it maxed out at 215 watts. It was 1 low for the 200 test but a few watts high the rest of the way. For the .21 test it maxed out at 196 watts. For the rest of the testing always within a couple, some high and some low. For the .52 testing it maxed out at 98 watts and 7.153 volts. The rest of the testing it was never off by more than 2 watts. The volts shows there is no boost circuit in this mod.
Since i got some feedback some people had issues understanding and reading the numbers since it’s a lot of data and didn’t have bandwidth to look at the sheet pictured above with more details, so i present to you the simplified TL
RSimplified TL
R Performance summaryMod performance is solid, Rated pretty accurately. What you’d expect from smoant and very similar to the cylon (same chip supposedly). Amps and volts are right around the average for dual mods (39 and 7.153 respectively), watts hit 215 max for my tests.
Temperature Control Performance
Using SS316 wire with the default SS mode and also TCR mode using 00092. I tested 4 builds 1 single round spaced, 1 dual round spaced coil, 1 fancy single coil and 1 Fancy dual coil build. I didn’t notice any difference in TCR mode compared with SS mode so you can use either one. It performs just like the cylon so it still hits a little on the high side but not much. Maybe 20-30f off on the high side. I found most builds to work great in the 400-460F range. I never had to go below 400 or above 460. So a nice range for sure. I like a warm vape so YMMV but i think most will be happy in that range. The mod is very consistent as well. Once your vape is dialed in no need to adjust it at all. Changing the wattage is easy just hold down and fire then you can adjust it. It has full access to all the watts with no limit for TC mode. Adjusting it changes the ramp up time as it should. It has great dry hit protection and throttles back smoothly. Overall a great performer in temp control as we’ve come to expect from smoant.
Other Usage Notes
The 510 pin on the mod gave me no issues, I can see it’s screwed down from the outside but didn’t take it apart. Smoant is known for having good 510 pins though. 25mm will sit flush as the mod has a platform on top for atomizers. Anything over that will overhang the platform. The mod is built very solid and feels durable. I have no button rattle at all. The battery door is easy to open and close and has very little gap when closed. It’s a really well built mod. The fire button is a large fire bar that’s about 75% usable space. Squeezing the mod fires it easily and it’s nice and clicky. The leather is a huge improvement from the charon and and the same from the cylon, very nice. IDK if it’s real leather but it sure seems like it and feels and looks great. The paint job is quite excellent as well and I doubt it’ll wear or chip in the long run. It features the same large color screen as the cylon that’s nice and pretty bright, but direct sunlight can be hard to see it like most mods or phones for that matter. It’s mounted at an angle though.
This mod has quite a few modes as well. Obviously you have power with a preheat option as well (soft, norm, hard, max) TC modes for Ni200, Ti, and SS as well as TCR Mode. Full watt curve and temp curve programmable on chip, and the option to change the background of the screen (i went with the dog because dogs are awesome). The screen layout is nice with plenty of info. They also have a 2nd UI option that looks like a speedometer. There is a firmware update (link above in the manufacturer's specs) for putting custom backgrounds. I didn’t personally install it or try it out.
Usage is pretty easy. 5 click on and off like always with most mods. 3 clicks to enter the menu. Up and down to scroll. Click fire to select and hold fire to exit. Easy and simple. It also has a real time clock as the screen saver you can set the time if that’s your thing. I didn't measure soft cell cut off, but the cylon (same chip) when i measured it about a month ago I got 3.26 and 3.27 for my 2 cells.
Pros:
- Power performance
- temp control performance
- Easy to use menu system
- accurately rated
- Build Quality
- good 510 pin
- Bright large color screen
- comfortable to hold
- affordable price tag
- Nice leather
- Screen is mounted on an angle
- feels left handed
- Not a fan of the looks personally
So with all that said, do I recommend this mod or not. I Don’t like to do hard yes or no but in times like this it’s good to remind oneself, that while there will always be a personal preference for things you can state in a review, it’s also important to be objective. So objectively i will lean towards the yes, it’s essentially a cylon in a different body and I love the cylon. Subjectively though I don’t care for the style of mod and would buy a cylon over it anyday and twice on sunday personally. Since objectivity is important as some may like the design, I’ll be adding it to my sheet as both a TC and power mode mod. I always prioritize performance over personal preferences.
This is Anthony Vapes just keeping it honest, hopefully you all can say the same and i’ll catch you on my next review.
Where to buy
USA for 53.95here black and tarnish in stock at elementvape.com
