I was purchasing some atomizers at Heaven Gifts, and I noticed a few deals on mods. I picked up a DSE905 (body only) for $30, a Joye Stick (body only) for $30, and an eGo (battery, cone, and charger) for $30. Since I already have a bunch of batteries and chargers, this worked out to be a pretty good deal for me. I figured that with three mods, there was a good chance I'd find at least one that I liked.
The good (Joye Stick)
I've already owned a few of these. My v2 burned out, and I replaced it with a v3 (silver) that has been my main device for the past couple of months. So I already had a high chance of liking the same device in a different color -- I went with the black rubberized body, as my silver has gotten pretty scratched up from daily use.
Appearance: Looks good, and the rubberized body seems like it would hide scratches very well. As a test, I used a sharp dentist tool to put a few scratches on it, and they were almost impossible to see after I rubbed my finger over the scratched area.
Quality: While it feels flimsy, I do know from experience that my other v3 stands up very well to being dropped fairly frequently, often onto concrete or asphalt. I imagine that the rubberized coating will only assist in protection from dropping. Two negative points did stand out, though. First, the USB recharging port is slightly crooked. This is not the case with my other unit. However, this does not seem to affect the charging function at all. Second, the switch is loose, and rattles when the device is moved. Again, it doesn't seem to affect the functioning of the unit, but it does make the whole thing feel "cheaper."
Performance: As expected, the device performs wonderfully with an 801 atomizer. Lots of flavor and vapor, without too much heat. The battery is the smallest out of the bunch, but the USB charging makes all the difference. While I do carry an extra battery, I've never had to use it, as I just plug the device in when I'm at my desk at work or home, or my car when I'm out and about. The standard USB connection means that you can get charging cables all over the place, including the local dollar store. Solid performance and just enough functionality to fit most people's needs seems to be an excellent combination in my opinion.
The bad (eGo)
As I'm a fan of the Stick, I figured the eGo had a good shot of being a decent device. The relatively mediocre battery size wouldn't be enough to get me through a day, so I'd need to have a backup battery to make this an everyday device. But for testing purposes, I only needed one. I figured that if I liked it, I could pick up an extra battery or two, and/or pick up some extra chargers.
Appearance: The first thing that struck me was how much smaller the device was than I thought it would be. In retrospect, I think it's because most pictures of it show it with the cone attached, which makes it hard to estimate its size in relation to an atomizer. It's a very nice looking unit, although the button does look a bit lower quality than the rest of the device, marring the overall look somewhat. I hadn't realized that the LED was in the button, though, and I'd always thought this was a neat idea, and wondered why no one else had used it before. I'd originally thought that the cone was a superfluous component, and that I was probably just wasting $3 by getting it, but after looking at the device with and without it, it's clear that the cone is an absolute aesthetic necessity. With the cone, it's a sleek looking vaporizer. Without it, it looks like some weird scientific probe.
Quality: Overall, the device feels very solid and well-made. The button does take away from the look, though, and it has sharp, raised edges which make it a bit uncomfortable to depress. The tolerances are a bit off, as the cone is touching my atomizer on one side, while there is a gap on the other.
Performance: Fairly decent with the 501 atomizer. Acceptable amounts of vapor and flavor, though not as good as on the Stick. The moment I used it, though, I realized why the "LED in the button" idea never really caught on -- you can't even see the light when your finger is over it. To check the LED, you need to perform some manual acrobatics, and there doesn't appear to be any way to comfortably use the device and keep the LED visible. There is one other problem with the device, though, and it's more important. Even fully charged, it only registered as 3.9v on my meter. That's pretty close to the point at which I put my batteries back in the charger (around 3.6v, when it becomes very noticeable). This may simply be a problem with the charger, and I'll leave it on for a longer period and see if the voltage ends up being higher.
The ugly (DSE905)
I'd heard about this device being a copy of the ScrewDriver, and the body does seem to be similar. However, this one has a button in the right place, and an LED ring, so I'd been considering it for a while. It does use the 14500 battery instead of the 16340s, which is good for me, as I have plenty of spare 14500s, but only a few 16340s.
Appearance: All in all, a fairly nice-looking device. Fits in the hand pretty well, and it's big enough to hold comfortably, without being too big for your pocket. The body is very shiny and reflective, which actually is a bit of a problem, since it doesn't match up with the finish on a stainless atomizer.
Quality: Very thick walls, and it seem pretty sturdy. However, there are signs of poor build quality throughout. Visible solder clumps, atomizer connection at a slight angle, etc. And...oh, my god!...the acrylic LED ring is installed upside-down! How can you possibly miss that at the quality control point? I have to assume there isn't any quality control on these units. And since HG no longer has these in stock, I can't even pick up another one (it was on clearance, with no warranty, so an exchange isn't likely).
Performance: Terrible. At first I thought it might be that I'm not used to the 901 atomizer, or that I had to break it in. So I put on some adapters and tried with a 501 and an 801 that I knew were good. A bit better, but still pretty poor with the 501, and not great but usable with the 801. I pulled out the battery and measured it...4.0v, so that shouldn't be the problem. I tested voltage at the atomizer connection...3.3v! No wonder the performance is so bad. EDIT: Even with the switch off, there's an open connection between the outside body of the device and the center pin of the atomizer connection, and that's getting the full 4.0v. I took an old LED and touched one lead to the center pin of the atomizer connection, and the other one to the body of the device, and the LED lit right up. It looks like the switch breaks the negative connection to the atomizer, rather than the positive connection. This is very bad, as you can short out the battery accidentally if the device is, say in your pocket and some change makes a connection. Since I'm not a fan of sparks or explosions in my pocket, I definitely won't be carrying this one around.
So, in review:
Joye Stick: Cheap but quality, great for everyday use.
Joye eGo: Small and sleek, but with some limitations.
DSE905: Good potential, ruined by quality issues.
The good (Joye Stick)
I've already owned a few of these. My v2 burned out, and I replaced it with a v3 (silver) that has been my main device for the past couple of months. So I already had a high chance of liking the same device in a different color -- I went with the black rubberized body, as my silver has gotten pretty scratched up from daily use.
Appearance: Looks good, and the rubberized body seems like it would hide scratches very well. As a test, I used a sharp dentist tool to put a few scratches on it, and they were almost impossible to see after I rubbed my finger over the scratched area.
Quality: While it feels flimsy, I do know from experience that my other v3 stands up very well to being dropped fairly frequently, often onto concrete or asphalt. I imagine that the rubberized coating will only assist in protection from dropping. Two negative points did stand out, though. First, the USB recharging port is slightly crooked. This is not the case with my other unit. However, this does not seem to affect the charging function at all. Second, the switch is loose, and rattles when the device is moved. Again, it doesn't seem to affect the functioning of the unit, but it does make the whole thing feel "cheaper."
Performance: As expected, the device performs wonderfully with an 801 atomizer. Lots of flavor and vapor, without too much heat. The battery is the smallest out of the bunch, but the USB charging makes all the difference. While I do carry an extra battery, I've never had to use it, as I just plug the device in when I'm at my desk at work or home, or my car when I'm out and about. The standard USB connection means that you can get charging cables all over the place, including the local dollar store. Solid performance and just enough functionality to fit most people's needs seems to be an excellent combination in my opinion.
The bad (eGo)
As I'm a fan of the Stick, I figured the eGo had a good shot of being a decent device. The relatively mediocre battery size wouldn't be enough to get me through a day, so I'd need to have a backup battery to make this an everyday device. But for testing purposes, I only needed one. I figured that if I liked it, I could pick up an extra battery or two, and/or pick up some extra chargers.
Appearance: The first thing that struck me was how much smaller the device was than I thought it would be. In retrospect, I think it's because most pictures of it show it with the cone attached, which makes it hard to estimate its size in relation to an atomizer. It's a very nice looking unit, although the button does look a bit lower quality than the rest of the device, marring the overall look somewhat. I hadn't realized that the LED was in the button, though, and I'd always thought this was a neat idea, and wondered why no one else had used it before. I'd originally thought that the cone was a superfluous component, and that I was probably just wasting $3 by getting it, but after looking at the device with and without it, it's clear that the cone is an absolute aesthetic necessity. With the cone, it's a sleek looking vaporizer. Without it, it looks like some weird scientific probe.
Quality: Overall, the device feels very solid and well-made. The button does take away from the look, though, and it has sharp, raised edges which make it a bit uncomfortable to depress. The tolerances are a bit off, as the cone is touching my atomizer on one side, while there is a gap on the other.
Performance: Fairly decent with the 501 atomizer. Acceptable amounts of vapor and flavor, though not as good as on the Stick. The moment I used it, though, I realized why the "LED in the button" idea never really caught on -- you can't even see the light when your finger is over it. To check the LED, you need to perform some manual acrobatics, and there doesn't appear to be any way to comfortably use the device and keep the LED visible. There is one other problem with the device, though, and it's more important. Even fully charged, it only registered as 3.9v on my meter. That's pretty close to the point at which I put my batteries back in the charger (around 3.6v, when it becomes very noticeable). This may simply be a problem with the charger, and I'll leave it on for a longer period and see if the voltage ends up being higher.
The ugly (DSE905)
I'd heard about this device being a copy of the ScrewDriver, and the body does seem to be similar. However, this one has a button in the right place, and an LED ring, so I'd been considering it for a while. It does use the 14500 battery instead of the 16340s, which is good for me, as I have plenty of spare 14500s, but only a few 16340s.
Appearance: All in all, a fairly nice-looking device. Fits in the hand pretty well, and it's big enough to hold comfortably, without being too big for your pocket. The body is very shiny and reflective, which actually is a bit of a problem, since it doesn't match up with the finish on a stainless atomizer.
Quality: Very thick walls, and it seem pretty sturdy. However, there are signs of poor build quality throughout. Visible solder clumps, atomizer connection at a slight angle, etc. And...oh, my god!...the acrylic LED ring is installed upside-down! How can you possibly miss that at the quality control point? I have to assume there isn't any quality control on these units. And since HG no longer has these in stock, I can't even pick up another one (it was on clearance, with no warranty, so an exchange isn't likely).
Performance: Terrible. At first I thought it might be that I'm not used to the 901 atomizer, or that I had to break it in. So I put on some adapters and tried with a 501 and an 801 that I knew were good. A bit better, but still pretty poor with the 501, and not great but usable with the 801. I pulled out the battery and measured it...4.0v, so that shouldn't be the problem. I tested voltage at the atomizer connection...3.3v! No wonder the performance is so bad. EDIT: Even with the switch off, there's an open connection between the outside body of the device and the center pin of the atomizer connection, and that's getting the full 4.0v. I took an old LED and touched one lead to the center pin of the atomizer connection, and the other one to the body of the device, and the LED lit right up. It looks like the switch breaks the negative connection to the atomizer, rather than the positive connection. This is very bad, as you can short out the battery accidentally if the device is, say in your pocket and some change makes a connection. Since I'm not a fan of sparks or explosions in my pocket, I definitely won't be carrying this one around.
So, in review:
Joye Stick: Cheap but quality, great for everyday use.
Joye eGo: Small and sleek, but with some limitations.
DSE905: Good potential, ruined by quality issues.
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