Some images used in this review were cropped directly from Innokin.com to save on picture limitations within the forum
Today I want to share with you a kit I recently won as part of a giveaway. The Innokin CoolFire Z80 mod with the Zenith II tank. In the giveaway, I also received an innokin zlide MTL tank, but I will not be including in this review. I'll be honest, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this kit for two reasons; I'm not an MTL (mouth-to-lung) or much of an RDL (restricted-direct-lung) vaper, and these were the first Innokin products I've ever used. In the past, I brushed over many Innokin branded items simply because I consistently saw "MTL", and quickly associated them with MTL vaping - something I was not very interested in. This might however be a game changer for some of you.
I want to throw a quick shout out to @Innokin_timmy, @low_tar_neil, @Dimitris, Mr. Busardo and the Innokin Team for putting on and hosting this giveaway. It pleases me greatly to see a company like this reaching out to their customers and allowing for a one on one interaction.
This review will be conducted in fairness using my current but limited experience with the kit, and prior experience with several other kits as a comparison, although I should again remind you that the vast majority of the my vape gear is for DL, and in a few cases, RDL vaping. With that being said, flavor and overall tank and mod performance will be held to the same standard across the board.
My brain is exhausted; I can go into this if people are really interested in it. I apologize for coming up short here. If you are interested, leave a comment below or PM/DM/IM/OHM me.
Now, let's get into the dirty.
Pretty Pictures:
-Innokin CoolFire Z80 Mod-
4 Different Color Combos:
- Ash Grey (which is what I received)
- Cloudy Grey
- Leather Black
- Leather White
Fourier Tech's 4th Gen AC "Frequency Mode" - F(O):
- Allows for the adjustment of frequency from 20-100 hertz (more on this later).
- Lower hertz have a longer wave pattern meaning less cycles per given time period.
- Higher hertz have a more compressed wave pattern meaning more cycles per given time period.
- My assumption to why higher frequencies are slated for MTL users, and lower frequencies for RDL is the draw length of time. My general draw time for a DL (without the airflow being completely open) is 3-4 seconds. For an RDL, probably slightly shorter than that. And for a tight MTL, probably 2-3 seconds if vaped like I'm smoking a cig (ew). So, being that you're firing the trigger for a shorter amount of time using MTL, you'd want more frequency cycles in a shorter amount of time - higher frequency. For more of an RDL with a longer draw, you'd need less frequency peaks over a longer period of time. Lower hertz have longer waves which means less frequency cycles for a given time period. I was taught to vape MTL kind of like you'd puff on a cigar. Is there a method that's considered "the norm"? Let me know in the comments how you vape MTL. For science!
- From my experience, the 20 hertz setting has been giving me better flavor in both MTL and RDL settings at 20w. This is what makes me question if I'm vaping MTL correctly, lol.
- Fires the coil at 40% of set wattage for wicking, flavor, and coil preservation purposes.
- You know when a mod has been sitting idle for a bit, and when you fire it, there seems to be a sloppy first vape. I believe this feature will come in handy for addressing that.
- I do wish however, that the refresh feature was more readily available. As it currently is, to access Refresh, you need to hold down both up and down buttons simultaneously for 2ish seconds. This brings you into the menu where you have to scroll down twice, and then from there, select if you'd like to do an auto refresh (fires for about 4 seconds), or you can do it manually for however long you wish. It would be nice if the on/off feature took 5 fire button clicks (instead of 3), and then to access the refresh feature, clicking 3 times. As it stands, I've not used the feature outside of testing it, but it does seem to work in revitalizing flavor.
- I'm a fan of VooPoo mods (considering mods in the same price range) simply because they fire extremely quick and consistent. This mod does just that, but better being that it has buck boost.
- I just threw on a Doom X RTA (0.16 ohm single coil), jumped it up to 80w and it fires just as I would expect any good mod to. Mind you, the battery is sitting at about 10-15% right now, and it isn't skipping a beat - again, thanks to buck boost. With a Thunderhead Creations Tauren Max RDTA (0.2 ohm dual coil) - 65w, no problem.
- I will note however, running a setup that's going to strain the battery is likely to heat your battery and mod up quite a bit. If you're looking to chain vape a dual coil RTA/RDTA, I wouldn't recommend that for this mod. Remember to be mindful of how warm your mod is getting, as this is what is going to be the most detrimental to your battery and chip/mod in terms of life span and longevity. If you treat listed specs as the red line, you should be fine.
- A pain for those just getting into vaping, a Godsend for those that already have them.
- The battery cap is one of the better ones I've run into so far. The Forz 80, Aegis Max, & OBS Engine all have stiff positive connector springs in combination with an extremely fine threading on the cap which makes getting it back on when replacing the battery quite a PITA. For the Forz and Aegis, I understand because they're IP68 rated and need that extra security, but alas. The battery cap on the CoolFire Z80 has two entry points for threading meaning you only have to twist it at most, 1/2 way to catch the threads, and the threading is just aggressive enough get it snug in about 3 turns. The spring is also gentle, but solid enough so that you can quite literally press your thumb down onto the cap while spinning, and it will more or less secure itself. Touche Innokin, touche.
- The puff counter resets when disconnecting or taking the battery out. I was slightly disappointed about that, as I'm not sure how many puffs I got to before I had to replace the battery. Something to keep track of before I disconnect the battery again.
- And as always, please know your batteries. If you plan on using all 80w from the mod, please use an OEM verified 30A Continuous Discharge Rated (CDR) battery. If you're using 75w or below, a 25A CDR battery would work. Mooch is the man to find that information out - use the ECF search function to find out what's reliable and what isn't. Also check to make sure the information you find is up to date. Battery companies love to fluff their stats, and pulse ratings are fake.
- The 1.7A USB-C plug works just fine, but as most vendors would suggest, an external battery charger is highly recommended. It's also generally easier on the mod both internally and externally, as I've had several kits fall to the floor after accidentally hitting the charging cable. I'm also quite clumsy, so take from that what you will.
- Also, at 20 or so watts, it allows room for a higher capacity battery with a lower Continuous Discharge Rating. A 10A, 3500 mAh would be fine up to 30w. Regardless, this 25A, 2800 mAh Molicel still lasted forever.
- Notice the 1-7.5V listed for "Voltage range". A fully charged battery puts out 4.2V and slowly decreases as it drains. As a single battery mod, this is how we know it's buck boosted.
*** For a better 3-D look at the kit, there's a 3-D viewer that you can spin to see what the mod looks like from all sides. Scroll to the bottom of this link: CoolFire Z80 Zenith II - Vape Kit | INNOKIN® ***
-Zenith II Tank-
It's Back? Where Did It Go?:
- The next step up from the Zenith Pro, although I'm sure some veteran Zenith Pro lovers might argue this.
- For a DL vaper like myself, their adjustments for RDL vaping are quite suitable.
- The Glazed Donut juice I'm using in all of my tanks, has a very specific flavor from the Zenith II that I thoroughly enjoy. I'm getting a little bit better of a sugary aftertaste. As others have pointed out before however, some coils/tanks vape custard/pastry/milk differently than say menthol, or fruit flavors. This is what I love about testing kits!
What has changed from previous Zenith models?
- I'm new to the Innokin experience, so to me running into a tank that doesn't have replaceable glass is uhhh...
. However, I'm glad they addressed that in the Zenith II, lol. - Also, they took out the ability to seal off the juice ports when replacing the coil which I think is quite a cool concept, but as it was explained to me by Dimitris, the cost just wasn't there to include it into the new tank. Flipping the tank upside down to simulate like I would take the coil out, the juice tank can be about 3/4 full, maybe more, before you're going to run into spill over issues into the chimney. I think this is a fair trade off versus having to empty the entire tank if a coil goes bad after a refill.
- I don't suspect the glass being broken very often if at all since it's guarded quite a bit by metal as opposed to your basic tank. I suppose if it falls just right onto metal or from a really high height. Regardless, it's nice to be able to replace the glass.
Newly Designed Top Cap:
- The juice filling port is plugged with a split membrane. The rubber itself recedes below the spinning cap so that nothing catches.
- You will likely find it difficult to get a gorilla nozzle fully inside the membrane without taking the drip tip out. At the perfect angle, you can get it just inside enough to fill, but you're likely going to get bubbling at the membrane. This hasn't caused me an issue yet, but I can see where it could.
- I have tanks that catch my facial hair and it isn't pleasant, lol. Thankfully they addressed this in the new design.
- MTL: Fully closed off (all the way clockwise) has quite a rich flavor. I would say it's more concentrated, but not quite as dense or full as the RDL. On the left in the picture above, it's hard to tell, but there are 3 small holes to the left of the vent. They decrease in size as you get closer to the vent on the right. The left hole is just big enough where you can partially close that off even, if you are very particular about the airflow.
- RDL: Fully open (all the way counter-clockwise) exposes the vent you see on the right in the picture above. For anyone that likes a slightly tighter DL vape, this is quite a treat.
Z-Coils:
- It's not often you run into kit/tank that houses coils all the way from 0.3 ohms to 1.6 ohms.
- The Zenith II
- Based on my experience so far, and from the reviews and people I've talked to about these coils, they're highly regarded in quality for both flavor and longevity. I have heard of people having issues with the 1.2 ohm coil, but I do not have experience with that so I cannot confirm or deny. Just something to keep in mind.
Exploded View:
- Exploded views are great, except when it's your battery. Don't do that.
Tank Specs:
- 3 different tank colors as opposed to the 4 different CoolFire Z80 mod colors. Stainless Steel, Gunmetal, and Black.
- 26 mm (some vendors claim 25.5 mm) diameter
- The 0.3 and 0.8 ohm coils listed here are what come in the kit. All Innokin Z Coils (not to be confused with GeekVape Z-series coils) are compatible with this tank.
-So, What Do I Thonk?-
Real Selfie
Real Selfie
First Impressions/Observations:
First things first, I want to thank Innokin for using recycled material. I realize this doesn't produce the most glamorous looking packaging, but the effort to reuse recyclables is noticed by some of us.
View attachment 951653
The Zlide tank on the left, big box of coils, and the kit and box on the right are strictly for aethetics - I don't have fancy backdrops or scenery to add to my pictures.
The Zlide tank on the left, big box of coils, and the kit and box on the right are strictly for aethetics - I don't have fancy backdrops or scenery to add to my pictures.
View attachment 951651
The Innokin Family is growing. Ash Grey Kit on the left w/ the delrin drip tip, Leather White Kit on the right w/ the RDL drip tip.
The Innokin Family is growing. Ash Grey Kit on the left w/ the delrin drip tip, Leather White Kit on the right w/ the RDL drip tip.
What comes in the box:
- Coolfire Z80 Mod
- Zenith II Tank
- 0.8ohm Z Coil (MTL)
- 0.3ohm Z Coil (RDL)
- 5.5ml Glass Tube
- Zenith II RDL Drip Tip
- Spare O-Rings Set
- Type-C Charging Cable
- Quick Start Guide
-CoolFire Z80 Mod Overview-
The mod itself is extremely easy to operate. 3 fire clicks to turn it on and off. The menu can be reach by holding both the bottom up and down buttons together for about 2 seconds.
The middle picture is the "F(O)" features that allows you to adjust the hertz, or amount of times electricity is being sent back and forth through the coil for a given amount of time. Recommendations for MTL and RDL (DTL) settings are listed. To the right, you see the max voltage set in Voltage Mode under "POWER" in the menu.
The other setting under "POWER" is Wattage Mode, which is your basic variable wattage mode used in most mods. It should be noted however, that if you select Wattage Mode in the "POWER" menu, it will deactivate the "F(0)" Mode. On the left, Wattage Mode was selected and you can see that a Volt reading will become visible. When selecting a hertz frequency setting in the "F(0)" menu, you will see that frequency value in place of the Volts. Indications on the top left also help to distinguish which mode you're using.
The simple to screw in vented battery cap and underside of the mod.
Final Rating on the CoolFire Z80 Mod:
The only suggestions I have for the mod would be a 217 battery compatibility option (simply because I'm hooked on 217s), for the puff counter not to reset when taking the battery out, and for it to make me breakfast. Love the buck boost. Love it. Love. It.
Love it.
-Zenith II Tank Overview-
The machining of the tank is top notch. The design flows well with the mod and gives off a tough, but yet again, a classy look. As mentioned before, the flavor I get with the Zenith II in RDL is something else. It's different, and it's great. If you are cloud chaser however, this is not the kit for you. I've been able to more or less chain vape at 20w with zero hitches what-so-ever, and I believe the battery I just replaced lasted me about 1 and 1/2 tanks - so 8ish mL. A very happy medium as a DL/RDL vaper. I've been using the 0.8 ohm coil which the highest ohm drop in coil I've ever used. Very pleased with the result. I can only assume the 0.3 will produce something closer to what I'm familiar with, so likely as good or possibly better for a RDL vape. There are some things to note, which I will mention below.
The Gunmetal is a fingerprint magnet. Easy to wipe off, but quite noticeable under a light. Maybe if you fingerprint the whole thing, it won't be noticeable? I'm unsure how effected the black is though.
As I mentioned above, you really gotta cram the gorilla bottle into the membrane at just the right angle or juice will plug up the membrane, and then you are no longer filling the tank - you'll be filling your table top or lap. As you can see in the right picture, I actually punctured the membrane from cramming it in there, but as Dimitris mentioned in response to someone else's question about the membrane, it shouldn't effect the performance of the tank even if it were to come completely out since the refill slot will be covered when you spin the top back closed. I haven't noticed any adverse effects either.
This is to show why they opted to take out the auto juice port cutoff mechanism found in the Zenith Pro. In the left picture I canted the tank just a bit so you can see how full it is. The juice was so full that it went above the visible glass portion of the tank. On the right, I flipped it over as if to replace the coil, and lo and behold - the juice comes just below the juice ports which is where your juice would leak out normally during a coil replacement. I wouldn't however suggest replacing a coil with this much juice in it, but it can be done if you're very careful about balancing the tank completely vertical on the drip tip and not tipping it over.
Final Rating on the Zenith II Tank: (I know you guys are thinking 'OMG, when does this end!')
There really isn't much to be said in terms of negativity. It looks great. There have been no leaks so far, the tank cleans up nicely, and the performance is great. If I had to rate the tank by itself, against every other tank I've vaped from - I'd give it a 8.5 or 9. I don't blow through my juice to get the same amount of joy as I would in some of the other tanks that also produce good flavor. Sure, they might produce more clouds, but I'm not a cloud chaser, so that isn't a huge negative for me.
OVERALL KIT SCORE: 9.2849128492
And yes, I will be buying more of these kits and/or mods
And yes, I will be buying more of these kits and/or mods
*** I'm sure I've missed some things, as my brain is numb right now and I apologize. If you're wondering about anything, or noticed I missed something huge, like how this mod has buck boost, lemme know please. I might try rereading this tomorrow to facepalm myself. ***
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