East Mall "EM4" Starter Kit
I had been needing a device to do juice reviews with, as well as just wanting to try the M401 model for some time. I'm a big fan of manual PVs and when East Mall came out with the "EM4" -- which is basically a manual M410 -- I couldn't resist the urge to try it.
On with the review:
No matter how small the device may look in photographs... It's smaller than that. I would say its approximately the size of a "100" standard cigarette (analog).
Appearance:
The matte black finish is very nice, although for my part I could have lived without the brassy-gold smoke design on the battery which breaks up the otherwise sleek appearance. An "East Mall" logo between the button and the atomizer might have been better. The gold band atomizer definately seems to add to the appearance of the device and the black cartridge also compliments the device.
Battery:
Compared to other larger devices, battery life is abysmal... which is to be expected in a device this small. I can get about an hour of hard vaping out of it, or 2 hours or more normal vaping from a single charge. Extra batteries are a must, and I'm glad I thought of that. Charging takes between 2 and 4 hours depending on how depleted the battery is, and as with all Lithium-ion batteries, its better to charge when you detect vapor reduction rather than waiting for the cutoff..as vapor production falls to very low levels prior to the actual cutoff. Battery life is actually longer than I expected for such a small device, as it is not only smaller, but slimmer and the internal battery has to be small indeed to fit in the tube.
Cartridge life/function:
Filled cartridge life is also abysmal compared to my device of choice (KR808D-1) but compared to it's size its surprisingly good. There is no way to be prepared for the actual cartridge's size, which is contained within the mouthpiece and not much bigger than the button on a push-button ball point pen. It's shockingly small and holds roughly 9 drops from a 20ml Dekang bottle. Having said that, it seems to be surprisingly efficient and tends to work "to the last drop" unlike 901/801/510 cartridges. Very little waste or residual juice is left in a cartridge when it's time to refill. Juice leakage, mess and backflow (juice in mouth) are reduced to a minimum with this design, and in fact I had no issues with this whatsoever having used the device for several days now. For a 3 piece design, it's surprisingly good in this regard. Most experienced users do not even bother with cart refilling, and use the "dipping" method with this device, but the cartridges do work well within their size limitations.
Atomizer:
A couple of things really makes this device shine, and one of those things is the M410 atomizer. The exposed wick makes "dipping" very easy, as well as "dripping"..although dipping is the preferred method with this design. I have not experienced any "burnt" taste and one can actually vape it dry and swap flavors with minimal residual flavor overlap. This makes the device great for someone who likes to swap flavors frequently. As a reviewer, this functionality is great for juice reviews. One down side common to all "M40x" models is the air flow design, which directs airflow through the battery. Air is drawn through a hole beside the threads, circulates through the battery, and then through the center hole of the threads to the atty. This leaves the battery wide open to juice leakage in the event of flooding, even with a manual battery. I have yet to have any issues with this, but even the manual version is this way, whereas most manual devices have a sealed battery, it is impossible with the "M40x" thread design as sealing the center post would stop airflow.
Charger:
The included charger worked as expected and has been problem free. This model included a US mains to USB converter and a separate USB charger which allows the charging of a single battery only. If the supplied charger had the threads in it, rather than being an adaptor, it would allow for charging of two batteries...but most E-cigs come with this cumbersome design as a matter of cost reduction presumably. The USB charger has a single multi-color light which indicates Charging (red) Almost done (red then green alternating) followed by Charged (green) and is easy to use. Unlike many e-cigs, the USB charger is threaded instead of a "push in" connection, and is superior in that regard.
Overall:
Overall the EM4 is a very good e-cig, and while I still advocate the KR808D-1 for beginners, this is the most trouble free and user friendly 3 piece model I have used to date. I highly recommend it.
Video review of this device comming soon on youtube (user: ecigreview) so keep watching!
I had been needing a device to do juice reviews with, as well as just wanting to try the M401 model for some time. I'm a big fan of manual PVs and when East Mall came out with the "EM4" -- which is basically a manual M410 -- I couldn't resist the urge to try it.
On with the review:
No matter how small the device may look in photographs... It's smaller than that. I would say its approximately the size of a "100" standard cigarette (analog).
Appearance:
The matte black finish is very nice, although for my part I could have lived without the brassy-gold smoke design on the battery which breaks up the otherwise sleek appearance. An "East Mall" logo between the button and the atomizer might have been better. The gold band atomizer definately seems to add to the appearance of the device and the black cartridge also compliments the device.
Battery:
Compared to other larger devices, battery life is abysmal... which is to be expected in a device this small. I can get about an hour of hard vaping out of it, or 2 hours or more normal vaping from a single charge. Extra batteries are a must, and I'm glad I thought of that. Charging takes between 2 and 4 hours depending on how depleted the battery is, and as with all Lithium-ion batteries, its better to charge when you detect vapor reduction rather than waiting for the cutoff..as vapor production falls to very low levels prior to the actual cutoff. Battery life is actually longer than I expected for such a small device, as it is not only smaller, but slimmer and the internal battery has to be small indeed to fit in the tube.
Cartridge life/function:
Filled cartridge life is also abysmal compared to my device of choice (KR808D-1) but compared to it's size its surprisingly good. There is no way to be prepared for the actual cartridge's size, which is contained within the mouthpiece and not much bigger than the button on a push-button ball point pen. It's shockingly small and holds roughly 9 drops from a 20ml Dekang bottle. Having said that, it seems to be surprisingly efficient and tends to work "to the last drop" unlike 901/801/510 cartridges. Very little waste or residual juice is left in a cartridge when it's time to refill. Juice leakage, mess and backflow (juice in mouth) are reduced to a minimum with this design, and in fact I had no issues with this whatsoever having used the device for several days now. For a 3 piece design, it's surprisingly good in this regard. Most experienced users do not even bother with cart refilling, and use the "dipping" method with this device, but the cartridges do work well within their size limitations.
Atomizer:
A couple of things really makes this device shine, and one of those things is the M410 atomizer. The exposed wick makes "dipping" very easy, as well as "dripping"..although dipping is the preferred method with this design. I have not experienced any "burnt" taste and one can actually vape it dry and swap flavors with minimal residual flavor overlap. This makes the device great for someone who likes to swap flavors frequently. As a reviewer, this functionality is great for juice reviews. One down side common to all "M40x" models is the air flow design, which directs airflow through the battery. Air is drawn through a hole beside the threads, circulates through the battery, and then through the center hole of the threads to the atty. This leaves the battery wide open to juice leakage in the event of flooding, even with a manual battery. I have yet to have any issues with this, but even the manual version is this way, whereas most manual devices have a sealed battery, it is impossible with the "M40x" thread design as sealing the center post would stop airflow.
Charger:
The included charger worked as expected and has been problem free. This model included a US mains to USB converter and a separate USB charger which allows the charging of a single battery only. If the supplied charger had the threads in it, rather than being an adaptor, it would allow for charging of two batteries...but most E-cigs come with this cumbersome design as a matter of cost reduction presumably. The USB charger has a single multi-color light which indicates Charging (red) Almost done (red then green alternating) followed by Charged (green) and is easy to use. Unlike many e-cigs, the USB charger is threaded instead of a "push in" connection, and is superior in that regard.
Overall:
Overall the EM4 is a very good e-cig, and while I still advocate the KR808D-1 for beginners, this is the most trouble free and user friendly 3 piece model I have used to date. I highly recommend it.
Video review of this device comming soon on youtube (user: ecigreview) so keep watching!
Atomizers have a surprisingly long life. Mine are 7 weeks old and still like new. 
