KangerTech K1 DNA 75

[medic181075]

View media item 430383These mods seem to be elusive. I managed to pick up one that is not a stab wood for $39.99. At that price, any DNA 75 device is a great deal. I have a few complaints about it, so I figured I would come here and post a review. Obviously, this will be limited to the Kanger portion, as a DNA 75 shouldn't need a review at this point.

1. Weight. This thing is heavy. I am not sure if this weight carries over to the stab wood models. I am not sure of the actual weight, but very heavy is not an exaggeration. I think I am grabbing a solid piece of billet aluminum when I pick this thing up.

2. Battery door / cover. It seemed like a great design until I put a battery in it. All of my batteries will not allow the battery adjustment screw to screw in flush with the bottom of the mod. Because of this, the mod will not stand flat. It might wobble a bit. It isn't so bad that it falls over, just that it doesn't sit flat. The edges on the battery door seem to be a bit uncomfortable too. When vaping, that door seems to be what contacts your palm or pinky finger. It isn't sharp, but you know it is there. I have gotten used to it, but it was very obvious for the first few days.

3. The spring loaded 510 on my wasn't very springy. I noticed some resistance when screwing on my device. It seemed to push in and just stay there. Some of my tanks with shorter 510s will not contact the pin now. I thought the elevated 510 was a bit ugly, but once there is a 22 mm tank on it, they blend together well and you don't notice it so much.

4. Appearance. This is subjective. I got the one with the white body. Many people have commented on it. One co-worker referred to it as the Corvette of e-cigarettes.

5. Durability. I'm not sure what it is made of, but it is VERY DURABLE. I have been carrying this mod around in my pocket for over a week and I dare anyone to find a single microscopic scratch on it. I hold this mod up so the light is reflecting and it looks as good as the day it cam out of the box. I'm not sure what the material is, it has to be the most durable finish available on any mod.

6. Buttons. The buttons are a bit small and rattle around a bit. The rattle is a tinny sound which makes it feel cheap. This is really too bad because the mod looks and feels so rich and solid.

7. The DNA board is 100% stock. I don't think Kanger did anything to this board in terms of programming. This is somewhat expected considering that this is their first try at a DNA device.

To wrap it all up, this mod had so much potential. It looks great. I expected a bit more from Kanger on this. For $39.99, it is a great deal. Would I buy it again? Not for more than $39.99. Would I buy a second one? Nope. Would I pay $100 for the stab wood version? NO WAY! I would take a second look if they fixed the battery door, the 510 pin, and made it a bit lighter? Yes, in a heartbeat.

 

[benley73]

Is there any pics you can upload , cheers

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

 

[short714]

Thanks for your review Medic, I got the stab wood K1 and must agree with a few of your points.

1. Weight - The stab wood version is not heavy at all. It feels normal for a mod this size. The regular version you have must be solid metal where all the stab wood is giving it that heavy feeling.

2. Battery Door - Mine fits flush and the mod sit flat on a table. I use Samsung 25Rs and when I put one in I can screw it all the way down before using the adjustment screw to tighten it up so as not to get any battery rattle. I agree that it is noticeable when using the mod but it is not sharp enough to cut into my pinky or anything and I got used to it eventually.

3. The 510 - I totally agree that the spring is WEAK! I too have had it go down and not want to come back up to make contact with some of my atomizers. I have had to take some tweezers and pull it back up which seems to work but it should not be that way. I have decided to just use my Kayfun V5 on it and not switch up to keep from having to deal with it anymore, but they should have use a firmer spring.

4. Appearance - While this is always subjective and some of the reviewers thought it looked a little cheap, I think it looks great. Mine being the stabilized wood version makes it look like a premium product to me. The stab wood is done really nice with good color and finish. The C-frame is a nice compliment to the wood and the raised 510 looks good with a 22 mm atty. The finish is holding up great and still looks new even though I have had it a few months.

5. Durability - Tough as nails. The stabalized wood is still polished and the frame is finished in a frosted finish that has not scratched up yet. Mine still looks new.

6. Buttons - They look good to me and the size is fine but I have had the fire button stick a couple of times if I push it in at an angle, but I quickly freed it up with another push. Mine don't have much rattle unless I shake it like a maraca which I never do so that doesn't bother me.

7. DNA 75 board - Yes it was not set up at all it seems but I quickly dove into escribe and set it up like I wanted and it is an awsome board if you don't run too low of a build. My build in the Kayfun is a SS Clapton 2.5 mm that hits .47 Ohms so it runes fine on the DNA 75 with good battery life and great temp control.

Final thoughts - I love my Kanger K1 Stab wood mod. I think it looks classy and upscale, has a great board, does TC great, has an easy to use battery door and good battery life. Was it worth the price I paid? To me it was, as a stab wood mod can run in the $250 and up range with a DNA board and usually you have to be on some convoluted list and wait forever. I got mine for a little over a c-note and received it 3 days after ordering it from VaporDNA. Would I buy another? Maybe if they fixed a few of the issues we talked about, but do I regret buying the one I have, not at all. I think for Kangertechs first foray into upscale mods they did a good thing by getting an affordable stab wood mod to market at a descent price that is widely available for anyone to get.

 

[Eskie]

Rumor mill is Chinese manufacturers are going to be getting into stab wood more which obviously drives the price down They're already offering resins such as on the Pico and today I saw a resin Wismec RX mini at (?) VaporDNA. So more upscale case materials will be hitting the market. The quality will likely not be that of a handcrafted box, but the prices will make them quite attractive.

 

[short714]

Rumor mill is Chinese manufacturers are going to be getting into stab wood more which obviously drives the price down They're already offering resins such as on the Pico and today I saw a resin Wismec RX mini at (?) VaporDNA. So more upscale case materials will be hitting the market. The quality will likely not be that of a handcrafted box, but the prices will make them quite attractive.

Yes I saw that also. I already have a Pico Resin mod and it is very nice. Here is hoping more of these type mods hit the market soon.

 

[medic181075]

One more issue that I experienced over the weekend: The K1 was in my pocket with a few other things. Apparently every time I moved, the fire button was being pressed. These presses weren't long enough in duration to get the mod to shut down (I believe 10 seconds shuts it down), but long enough and frequent enough to cause my tank to get EXTREMELY hot and force all of the hot e-liquid through the air channel and out the of the tank. I ended up with a first degree burn on my leg from the hot e-liquid / tank and a small 2nd degree burn on my finger from trying to unscrew the tank from the mod while it was hot. The fire button sticks out so far that it isn't even close to flush when firing. Lesson learned: lock the device before putting it in your pocket. I don't know if this was a fluke or not, but I have been vaping for a few years and never had this happen with any other device.

 

[short714]

One more issue that I experienced over the weekend: The K1 was in my pocket with a few other things. Apparently every time I moved, the fire button was being pressed. These presses weren't long enough in duration to get the mod to shut down (I believe 10 seconds shuts it down), but long enough and frequent enough to cause my tank to get EXTREMELY hot and force all of the hot e-liquid through the air channel and out the of the tank. I ended up with a first degree burn on my leg from the hot e-liquid / tank and a small 2nd degree burn on my finger from trying to unscrew the tank from the mod while it was hot. The fire button sticks out so far that it isn't even close to flush when firing. Lesson learned: lock the device before putting it in your pocket. I don't know if this was a fluke or not, but I have been vaping for a few years and never had this happen with any other device.

Ouch, sorry to hear about that.

One thing I do not like about the DNA board is that it can not be shut down completely, unless you take the battery out. You can lock it, which I do anytime I carry it, but that can be unlocked too easily if the button is repeatedly being pressed in a pocket, backpack or purse for example. For this reason my DNA mods are left at home and smaller mods like the Pico are my daily carry mods as I can turn these completely off for carry in a pocket. Since the button sticks out on the K1 it is too easy to be pressed in a pocket or pack even when locked so be careful when carrying this mod. You can change the number of presses in escribe that are required to lock the device to something like 10, but that would be a pain in the ace to use on a daily basis.

 

[medic181075]

Ouch, sorry to hear about that.

One thing I do not like about the DNA board is that it can not be shut down completely, unless you take the battery out. You can lock it, which I do anytime I carry it, but that can be unlocked too easily if the button is repeatedly being pressed in a pocket, backpack or purse for example. For this reason my DNA mods are left at home and smaller mods like the Pico are my daily carry mods as I can turn these completely off for carry in a pocket. Since the button sticks out on the K1 it is too easy to be pressed in a pocket or pack even when locked so be careful when carrying this mod. You can change the number of presses in escribe that are required to lock the device to something like 10, but that would be a pain in the ace to use on a daily basis.

While this may be a function of the DNA board, I blame the design of the mod. I have carried multiple DNA 40 mods in my pocket without needing to lock them. I have a LAVABOX M that I carry in my pocket regularly. I have never had this happen before with any mod. To be fair, I have also carried the K1 for about a week without locking it and without issue. This may have been a fluke, but I can't help but think the protruding fire button played a part in this poor experience. While I understand that it would be possible for it to become unlocked in my pocket, I think it would be unlikely due to the fact that I have never pulled it out and found it to have become locked while in my pocket.