difference premium Mods / regular-cheap mods worth it?

[drugarth]

Hi,

I am currently on an Istick 20w/nautilus mini combo and I like it alot.
Now looking to buy a second device for when mine is in the charger.

I am currently looking at the Istick 40W TC or the upcoming P4Y IPV D2 as I want the option to go sub-ohm or TC in the future. (I am not interested in building so RBA options are not needed).
But I must say I am also taking a sneak peek at more high-end devices like the hcigar VT40 and YiHI SX mini M.

But apart for perhaps build quality I can't see much difference in the most important features, they all have the options to sub-ohm and TC.
And that really makes me wonder at the price difference.

I can get an Istick 40W TC for 45 euro's (and the IPV 2D will probably go for aroud 70 euro's) while the SX m runs up to 220 (including batteries). That is almost 5 (or 3 in case of the D2) times the price with basically the same feature set.(all right the VT40 or SX have some extra features, but those are in my opinion just nice to have, nothing big).

Is this price difference justifiable just for the the build quality? Or do they really add more to the package than the cheaper models?

I am concerned about safety in regard to overheating/exploding devices. Seeing the Istick 50W debacle this has me worried, so perhaps I should go to a higher quality device, are they safer in this regard?

 

[petra_]

A really good chip such as dna or a couple of Yihi's can certainly be accurate and more safe with the proper batteries when subohming and for TC purposes.
If you just want to vape with nautilus and similar atties, stick on isticks

 

[drugarth]

My go to tank wil indeed remain the Nautilus, and for sub-ohmen I am planning to get me an Atlantis tank. In my country we are not allowed to buy tanks greater than 2 ml, although I could import those of course. But I am very satisfied with he Aspire tanks, so not likely to switch.

 

[Caterpiller]

I love the iStick 20w and Nautilus Mini, this was my first setup, and I still use it when travelling on vacation or for business.

But I have too say that some of the rebuildable tanks offer much more in terms of vape quality, flavour and smoothness.

I love my Kayfun V4, and miss it when I travel. I'd strongly advise getting into rebuilding, it's a fun hobby and very rewarding. The flavour improvement alone makes it worth while.

It also saves on paying for and ordering replacement coils.

As for the quality of the higher end Mods? Once you get up to the iStick 30w and above, the rest of your money is probably just going on design and looks. TC is the only real exception IMO.

That said I bought a Vapor Flask for my KFv4 and I miss it if it's not in my hand.

 

[suprtrkr]

I personally think they are worth the money. With TC-- and everything else on the planet nowadays-- what you're really paying for at the moment is software. TC is still in it infancy; they're still working out the bugs. Another 2 or 3 generations of firmware will remove a lot of the difference in performance, but just now there is a real difference in how well some TC chipsets work in comparison with others. Even once this occurs, I will still think it worth the money just for build quality. A .2 subohm coil at 100 watts draws 22 amperes at 4.4 volts. How long can you hold a running 100w incandescent light bulb in your hand? A hundred watts is a fair bit of power, is what I am saying. I, for one, want a top quality build in my hand when this happens. In addition to this comes the aesthetic factors-- appearance, brand name, and so forth. This may be worthless to you, and if so, then you're not in the target market for such devices. But others are, and this holds resale value up as well. The bottom line is personal choice. Buy what you like, and get what you pay for.

 

[suprtrkr]

I love the iStick 20w and Nautilus Mini, this was my first setup, and I still use it when travelling on vacation or for business.

But I have too say that some of the rebuildable tanks offer much more in terms of vape quality, flavour and smoothness.

I love my Kayfun V4, and miss it when I travel. I'd strongly advise getting into rebuilding, it's a fun hobby and very rewarding. The flavour improvement alone makes it worth while.

It also saves on paying for and ordering replacement coils.

As for the quality of the higher end Mods? Once you get up to the iStick 30w and above, the rest of your money is probably just going on design and looks. TC is the only real exception IMO.

That said I bought a Vapor Flask for my KFv4 and I miss it if it's not in my hand.

+1 on rebuilding

 

[Vapenstein]

like anything else in life, the more money you throw at the problem, up to a point the quality improves proportionately. In terms of regulated mods, it would cost you almost $200 to build yourself a 3d printed regulated box. With that in mind, $200-300 mods don't seem like such a bad value. By the same token, sometimes mods that sell for under $100 are an exceptionally good value. Innokin comes to mind. You'd commission someone to build you a custom hammond box for approx $250. You could build yourself that same box for just under $100, which is the best value in vaping if you have the skill to do it.

At the end of the day it boils down to what you're willing to pay for something you want. I love Victor Olc's StratumAL mod, but I am not willing to pay $330 for one. Not for a single 18650 device. I was willing to pay $270 for a BMI, because to me it represented a good value. I love my BMI. I also think highly of my wife's Innokin Coolfire IV, which is a very nice little $40 mod.

 

[djsvapour]

I have all sorts of mods. I mostly buy cheap items (disposable) or the occasion 'special' expensive one.
My concern about buying expensive e-cigs is that so many companies seem too busy selling thousands of mods and the demand is so high, they leave the warranties entirely up to the vendors. If the vendor won't help, there seem to be almost no 'brands' that want to back-up their devices. I knew someone who spent $270 on a mod that broke in 2 months. The vendor wasn't interested, so he sent it back to "SM." He never saw it again. They presumably didn't feel they wanted to help him either.
I had the same with a $150 Joyetech mod. No vendor help, Joyetech dismissed the claim. End of story.

 

[gandymarsh]

I find that I get spoiled very easily. If I buy something that I like better than what I had before, the old thing doesn't get used anymore. So I've been resisting buy the "new and improved" stuff until my old stuff gets near the end of it's life.

Someone once told me that the vape from a DNA 40 is so much better than an iStick that it's like comparing a BMW to a Camry. I would be thrilled with a Camry as it would be much better than what I drive now and it's a good car.

I guess, for me anyway, good enough is good enough.

 

[GeorgeS]

I could argue ether way on this. While many of the low end mods are a 'dime a dozen' and there really is not much difference between a clone of a clone some of the higher end mods may not offer anything that is all that special over one that costs a mere faction of the cost.

Then again somehow I ended up as a mostly satisfied SX-Mini-M ($200USD) user AND also owning a SMY50-TC($35USD). Like you say, both are built like a tank, will do subohming, TC, use a single 18650 and have a USB charge port.

They say "the devil is in the details".

While there are design attributes that I like and dislike about both of them, the SX-Mini provides a much better experience. The SMY may take up to 3-5 seconds on a freshly charged LG to get up to temperature while the SX will hit the set point almost instantly (once setup I rarely check the temperature on the display). The SMY is large, "clunky" and uncomfortable fit in the hand (and pocket) while the SX fits/feels good in both. Lastly, (don't quote me on this) but I rather doubt that the inexpensive models offer free firmware updates/upgrades like the SX does.

In the end is +$165USD for something you enjoy using every day a needless expense or is the $35USD device that sits unused collecting dust?

You make the call.

 

[HighPlainsPuffer]

With the rate of technology advances, I won't spend the money on the top notch mods, but as pointed out above you definitely get more with higher priced mods.

There are mid priced mods with tc, like the sigelei and the snow wolf.

Personally I hate being a guinea pig, so I'll never buy stuff brand new on the market!

 

[sofarsogood]

I got a Kangxin mini 5 days ago and it's hooked me on TC. It is beautifully made, has worked flawlessly so far as I can tell and cost me 50 bucks. I don't notice any 'bugs'. It's practical for beginners to start with temp control because it can be had for about the same price as the iStick 20 and N mini of a year ago and watts control is still there if you must. It appears to me that temp control is about to be the new normal.

Photo of Kangzin with a Derringer rda, sort of sacriledge but it works very well.
Photo by c cparc - Google Photos

 

[vapo jam]

Like anything else in vaping, it depends...

For me, yes, it is worth the extra money. I'm a simple vaper - I like to use what works, and I use it for a looong time (eg, my last mech was my daily driver for two years). It's a no-brainer for me to spend a little more to have a nice mod.

If, on the other hand, I were the type to always want the latest thing, I'd probably veer more toward the middle of the road. No sense in spending a few hundred now knowing I'm going to spend a few hundred in two weeks when the next big thing comes out (unfortunately, no, I wouldn't be able to afford it ).

 

[Darth Omerta]

I like my clones. The only authentic stuff I own is batteries, my charger, and my Aspire stuff. The rest is clone clone clone. They're inexpensive enough that I can get lots of stuff and mix and match. They're quality enough that they dont break on me. Plus...they allow me to dub my collection "The Attack of the Clones" I figure that name should go to at least ONE thing that was awesome!

 

[suprtrkr]

I got a Kangxin mini 5 days ago and it's hooked me on TC. It is beautifully made, has worked flawlessly so far as I can tell and cost me 50 bucks. I don't notice any 'bugs'. It's practical for beginners to start with temp control because it can be had for about the same price as the iStick 20 and N mini of a year ago and watts control is still there if you must. It appears to me that temp control is about to be the new normal.

Photo of Kangzin with a Derringer rda, sort of sacriledge but it works very well.
Photo by c cparc - Google Photos

I think you're right about TC. I got a Snow Wolf, and it's right next door to amazing how well it works.

 

[BrotherBob]

Have the istick 30 for 3 months and no problems. Reading firing IS 50 problems and factory or vendor warranty issues regarding returns makes me worry. I always thought the IS was fully warrantied (from what I have just read on other web sites, this is not the case). Suggest you look into an alternate manufactured mod with an as close to an iron clad "stand behind their product" warranty track record. I'm willing to pay a little bit more for a good warranty, all things being equal.
Now I feel bad recommending the IS 30 mod to other ECF members.

 

[Alien Traveler]

I use Kayfun and my most expensive mod worth $36. Not a single of my mods failed in one year. If temperature control and high watts is of no concern, I cannot recommend expensive mods. Who needs warranty on $25 mod? (iStick 30)

 

[Angus T Rat]

I just got the istick tc40w on Friday to replace my 20w. I also have an sx mini m class that I've had for a few months. The two mods are night and day when it comes to temp control. For example running my subtank nano with a nickel occ head I get a nice warm vape with good vapor production in the 375-400F range at 18j. On the tc40w at the same temp it's just a wisp and cold vape. I have to turn it up to the max 600f to get a comparable vape to the sxm. You can't control the wattage only the temp and the device decides what the wattage should be. If you're looking to add another vw device and just experiment with tc you can't beat the price but if you want to jump into tc with both feet get something else.

 

[edyle]

Hi,

I am currently on an Istick 20w/nautilus mini combo and I like it alot.
Now looking to buy a second device for when mine is in the charger.

I am currently looking at the Istick 40W TC or the upcoming P4Y IPV D2 as I want the option to go sub-ohm or TC in the future. (I am not interested in building so RBA options are not needed).
But I must say I am also taking a sneak peek at more high-end devices like the Hcigar VT40 and YiHI SX mini M.

But apart for perhaps build quality I can't see much difference in the most important features, they all have the options to sub-ohm and TC.
And that really makes me wonder at the price difference.

I can get an Istick 40W TC for 45 euro's (and the IPV 2D will probably go for aroud 70 euro's) while the SX m runs up to 220 (including batteries). That is almost 5 (or 3 in case of the D2) times the price with basically the same feature set.(all right the VT40 or SX have some extra features, but those are in my opinion just nice to have, nothing big).

Is this price difference justifiable just for the the build quality? Or do they really add more to the package than the cheaper models?

I am concerned about safety in regard to overheating/exploding devices. Seeing the Istick 50W debacle this has me worried, so perhaps I should go to a higher quality device, are they safer in this regard?

You have to distinguish between
- fixed battery mods (basically its a battery of some shape, with electronics soldered onto it)
and
- 18650 replaceable battery mods (a box with electronics, into which you can put standard 18650 batteries).

batteries aren't going to last forever, so from the start, they don't build that thing expecting it to last longer than the battery will last.

 

[Osiris22]

I started out with a Green Smoke e-cig (disposable cartomizer cig-alike). Then an mvp 11w with nautilus mini, then an ipv mini and sx mini, picking up various tanks and rda's along the way.

As others have said, you don't necessarily NEED the higher end mods and devices to kick a cigarette habit, but it enhances the overall experience in your vape.

YMMV.

Happy vaping!