My iStick arrived today. It came in an Eleaf box with the eGo adapter floating loose and with a separate Joyetech box with the charging cable (no wall wart). I chose 'black' for color and it looks quite nice.
No defects or issues. Came mostly charged.
First issue to discuss - bad hands:
A number of folks for whatever reason have bad hands. OA, old age, whatever - I am in the OA group, and for example cannot depress the fire button on a MVP2.0 more than a couple times without pain.
This is not an issue with the iStick in any way! Using thumb, index finger, side of thumb, side of index finger - all of these methods work well, and pain-free. This is a very easy press button. It does not stick out very far, so pressing my mistake shouldn't be a big worry, but those with bad hands could use this as an all-day device without issues (unless you are much worse than I). It is also small, lightweight, with no sharp edges. Plan on using a finger-nail to make adjustments if you have large fingers like I do.
Next issue - low wattage vaping:
I use a 65PG/35VG 24mg juice. Dark, various shades of vanilla. This juice burns (tastes burnt) rather easy. I use a Nautilus with BVC coils, both 1.6 and 1.8ohm. I also use the 'Silo tank', using the same coils. These three toppers are the only ones I have tried thus far. Coils reported 1.5, 1.7, and 1.8ohms on the iStick (typical variance).
I can vape all three toppers at the lowest available setting with zero negative taste impact. Lowest setting on device reads 3.0v @ 5.2watts @ 1.7ohms. All three toppers can be raised and vaped nicely at 8 watts. With no taste hit, burning, or flavor change.
I am comparing this to my ProVari 2.5 set at 4.0v - which is roughly my daily normal setting - 3.8v to 4.0v on my ProVari. (SideNote: if I set the iTaste to 4.0v all three toppers taste too hot, not quite burnt, but getting close)
The point is, *I* can vape on this device comfortably with my normal toppers, coils, and juice - and as I will be doing so at a fairly low setting on the device, I expect to get very long use-times between charges!
Closing thoughts:
Do not buy this expecting to compare it to a high-end device like a ProVari, etc. Yes, this is a nice device, yes, I would buy it again~! But it (to me) is of the same build quality of an MVP2.0, iTaste VV3.0, etc. In my mind this is a fine replacement for the MVP2.0, moreso as I can use this device whereas I cannot use the MVP2.0 (bad hands). As others have pointed out above me, rather than focusing on whether or not the iStick reads accurately or not, simply learn to set it at a range of settings that taste good to you. The fact that it is not at the same settings as my ProVari has no meaning to me. I will simply charge it, add a topper, coil, and juice of my choice, and start vaping at it's lowest settings and raise the settings if/when I feel the need to do so.
This is a great small device. Whether used for out and about, or as a backup carry device, or as a primary device is up to the user.
