K100?

[Ratstar]

Hello, fairly new here. Been using a Volcano Inferno for my month of vaping. Considering upgrading. I am looking at the K100 but honestly, primarily for its looks. So... what are opinions on it? Is it worth the cost? Does it have quality issues or anything about it that might make it more difficult for one still learning to use? Is it actually an upgrade to the Inferno (ego style with passthrough) or just different? Many Thanks!

 

[440BB]

The K100 is a mechanical mod that uses 18350, 18500 or 18650 batteries, so you'll need to add a couple batteries and a charger for them. It is a very good performing mod in my experience with no quality issues. This mod will be giving you the direct voltage from the battery, which will start at about 4.2 volts, then drop slowly to 3.7 volts and somewhat below. I would recommend using AW IMR batteries in the K100 as they are a safer chemistry and hold their voltage for a long time, but protected batteries will fit and work well also.

This is quite a different device from the Inferno, but if you're interesting in a somewhat bigger, mechanical mod it is one of the best values available as well as being a pleasure to hold and look at. Good luck!

 

[kdragn]

at $35 from hoosier, it's worth the cost of entry. k100 is nice for what it is, but it wobbles a bit and it's heavy. but not heavy in a good solid way like a nice brass mod; there's tons of jiggly play between each and every one of its parts. the bottom button is hard to press, which makes it able to stand upright without firing. i have a blue one and use it most of the time in 18350 mode; once you screw everything down and tighten it up, it's a cute little mod.

for a nice solid reasonable mod i'd go with the smoktech natural. i still use it all the time, even though i have a chi-you, paps, dingo, 69, and poldiac. and people seem to be really liking their ggts clones.

you should make sure that you're really interested in mech mods before diving in. if you're not sure about having to build coils and all that to get the most out of a mech, trhewn a vamo or evic should be quite a step up. i went from an inferno to an evic until finally ending up with mostly mech mods. but i learned a lot along the way and had fun doing it.

 

[Ryedan]

Like everyone else has said so far, if you are in the market for an inexpensive mechanical mod you can use with multiple battery sizes, you cant go wrong with the K100. Make sure you understand the issues mechanical mods have and if you are not sure you want one, don't go there. Otherwise, buy and enjoy

 

[ukeman]

@Ratstar you are new to vaping, who has heard some of the hullabaloo about mechanical devices... and some of the spin off...ie: " sig's suck, certain sigs are great, $50 vs $500 for a flipped high end mechanical, impossible to buy retail new high end... " all true...
fyi:
Mechanicals are in demand because since a huge sector of vaping public has gotten turned on to RBA, RDA vaping in the last year, and only a mechanical device without any electrical regulation (which a couple years ago was the latest greatest; pre-Genesis and most other RBA's) ie. VV, VW etc... even the eGo's are regulated... again, only a mechanical device will be able to fire these RBA's at lower resistances (well below your conventional LR 1.5 Ohms)...

Like Kdragn is implying, if you are not into RBA's the drive towards mechanicals is substantially reduced.... in my case, its taken me a hella lot of time to learn the ins and outs of RBA's.... not trying to dissuade you, as its a great way to go, but imo its the next level, the next step from more conventional vaping gear.

and this is just half the full story, if that....

 

[Ratstar]

Thanks yall.
So maybe it's not exactly what I'm looking for right now. Thanks for the recommendations, kdragn
It sure is pretty, though. Maybe my vaping travels will take me back to it someday, but not really interested in the RBA aspect of vaping right now.

 

[440BB]

Mechanical mods have been popular since some of the earliest mods were made, long before anybody began rebuilding attys. They are simple, extremely durable and often elegant in their design. Many of the most expensive mods available are mechanical, and I suspect they will be going strong years from now, thanks to their lack of electronics and wire connections to break down.

I enjoy mine with off the shelf clearomizers. My favorite K100 setup is a Vision Ego clearomizer running at 1.8 ohms using a 18350 battery. The clearo sinks into the well and the whole unit is very streamlined. It's a pocket rocket.

Although they recently became the preferred choice for many RBA enthusiasts, many mechanical mods are first and foremost excellent, well built vapes.

 

[O'Face]

Thanks yall.
So maybe it's not exactly what I'm looking for right now. Thanks for the recommendations, kdragn
It sure is pretty, though. Maybe my vaping travels will take me back to it someday, but not really interested in the RBA aspect of vaping right now.

If you bought an Inferno and are looking to upgrade why not the lava tube V2? That's the direction I went at first, and it served me well. That being said I do own a k100 and love it. Also a sig 8, and a Innokin SVD (which I would highly recommend for your next step in vaping). Good luck!

 

[kdragn]

i don't want to complicate things further, but... if you really like the looks of a certain mech mod, you could use it easily with tanks, clearos, cartos, etc., especially if you had a kick (and your mod fit the kick). but the kick alone is $45 (possibly dropping to $15-20 when the clones arrive in a few weeks). but changing the settings on a kick isn't nearly as easy as with a purpose-built vv or vw device.

picking up a vamo, evic, or a segelei zmax would probably be a worthwhile investment even if you eventually move on to mech mods. i still use my evic and tesla even though i now primarily use a collection of mech mods with drippers and other rebuildables. they come in handy to measure resistances on a new build or to experiment with different voltage settings.

you can pick up a chrome vamo for $40 at exhale vapors (steel is about $10 more) and from what i hear, they're great. i was actually contemplating getting one of the new colored units at some point.

 

[ukeman]

sig Zmax and smoktek Zmax are another VV VW device that i find are great... I dont even use mine anymore as i am into Genesis and RBA RDA 99.99%...

DNA20 mods are coming out which give you a higher spectrum of watts.... to 20watts (which you probably will never need) but its the latest VW/VV tech and you will be seeing more DNA devices popping up...
Why better than Kick? for me, i can use it on Genesis or RDA type attys at higher watts.... i.e 1.0 Ohms at 13 to 15 watts is great. and you can use them for conventional attys too... 1.5 to 3 Ohms at like 6 to 10w

 

[Thyroid]

Most of my stuff what I have used in past months are hybrids (Zenesis, Diablo, Silver Dog), or 14500 mechanicals (SturmMod, GP Piccolo, Golden Mod) - but I was lacking 18xxx battery mod. So I bought K100 because a.) it was cheap b.) i heard lots of good things about it.

For it's price - the main thing, it fires well. There are no springs between battery contacts to atomizer. And it fires well, even with chrome plated contacts, which you can easily sand. There are many high-end mods, even hybrids, that perform much more poorly than Kamry K100. Without tweaking, I had 0.38v drop to ~1.0 ohm coil with fully chargerd AW IMR. After sanding the contacts, 0.27v drop. Impressive.

Build quality - Solid. Far better than my previous chinese mods.
Threading - Very nice.
Locking ring - Very nice, and it's reversed. It's nice feature, because you don't open your bottom cap accidentally so easily.
510 connection - No problems with my attys. Could be adjustable, though.
Firing button - Feels firm, even a little stiff, little bit long travel but quite ok. I have experienced much worse.
Looks - Well, not the prettiest but quite ok. Empire Mod-clone (not big fan of clones). 16-20mm atomizers fits quite nicely. In 18350-mode this looks best, quite stupid looking imho in other modes. And only color that I like, is brown.

Conclusion - really worth it, buy it

 

[PinoyBoy]

That picture makes me want a K100 in that same exact colour, right now! My new ERA clone RDA would look awesome on that thing, and also your drip tip.

 

[dupaloop3611]

Love my K100 best ecig purchase ive ever made

 

[Ratstar]

If you bought an Inferno and are looking to upgrade why not the lava tube V2? That's the direction I went at first, and it served me well. That being said I do own a k100 and love it. Also a sig 8, and a Innokin SVD (which I would highly recommend for your next step in vaping). Good luck!

Thanks for the recommendations! I didn't rule out the LT, like I said in OP I like the way the K100 looks. Volcano will always get some business from me, I imagine I will always feel a sense of loyalty to them as they were my introduction to vaping and the support on many random questions, both at the B&M I bought my Inferno from (several states away, ironically enough) and their website help forum have been above and beyond anything I could have hoped for (plus I have yet to find a juice I like better than their Pearadise).

That being said; after reading a 24 page thread here I bought a Provari last night, so off the market for a little while at least.
Based on how addicting this seems to be so far, I do (hopefully) see both a K100 and an LT somewhere in my future.

 

[ukeman]

big congrats on the Provari... I've had at least one since the first run summer of '10.... taught me everything i know about vaping...

by the time you have graduated, say in a year, even 6 months from now, there will be so many new designs and devices it'll make your head spin... actually pretty sure its already spinning... have fun

 

[Rapture]

Hello, fairly new here. Been using a Volcano Inferno for my month of vaping. Considering upgrading. I am looking at the K100 but honestly, primarily for its looks. So... what are opinions on it? Is it worth the cost? Does it have quality issues or anything about it that might make it more difficult for one still learning to use? Is it actually an upgrade to the Inferno (ego style with passthrough) or just different? Many Thanks!

I just ordered my first mechanical mod. but in all honesty I would buy a variable voltage mod first. with variable voltage mods you can put anything on it (besides sub ohm) and change the voltage and wattage depending on how you wanna vape and what you wanna vape with. With the k100 mechanical mod you are basically building coils and changing the ohms depending on how you wanna vape. for example you wouldnt wanna get a boge 3.00 carto for the k100 because 3.7 just wont give enough power to enjoy that carto. a boge 2.00 would preform better but....basically the mechanical mods are for building lower resistance coils.

I would get a vamo for around the same price. I went from an ego to a vamo and loved it so much. you can put anythning on it and adjust it accordingly. Now im going to rebuilding and just ordered a segelei all brass mech mod and rda and rbas. but i may still find some low resistance cartos for it too.