Katz's Highly Subjective Auto DAV Review: 4****

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katz-in-boots

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Well, I've had my Auto DAVs for a week now, so it's time to tell you what I think of them.

First up, they are Auto. This is very important to me, I really do not like manual e-cigs. To me, an e-cig needs to replicate as closely as possible the analogue experience to help people make the switch to vaping. I need to be able to take a nice big inhalation to be satisfied. With manuals, I routinely saturate the carto & end up feeling like I'm drinking the juice.

Secondly, battery life. I use 3.5ml tanks with 1.5ohm DC cartos. An Auto XL Titan lasted me about an hour of vaping – or less than a tank. The Auto DAV lasts me around 3-3.5 hours. This is a big improvement for me, I no longer have to take extras with me when I go out. I can still get through 4 in a day & night, and be finishing the night with a Titan.

Thirdly, appearance. I like the black soft touch finish, though I hope they'll come out in other colours too. They are well finished and the 3.5ml tanks sit nicely on them. The tank is slightly wider than the battery. I don't mind because I use a simple o-ring to attach the battery to a lanyard, so the lip of the tank prevents it from slipping off the ring.

The VV is nice. I'm not really into tinkering with the VV, but there are times I have moved the dial, and it can be nice to increase one aspect of my juice as desired. The dial for VV is very easy to use – better than the Ego Twist because the textured edge makes it easy to turn and the red indicator line is easy to see (even without my glasses)

One thing I don't like about the VV dial – the indicator line is cut into the dial. The edges of these are not exactly sharp, but they consistently catch on my clothes, especially nylon shirts that easily get pulled threads. It isn't a huge issue for me, but it is something that could be improved.

Lastly, what's it like to vape? The draw is very good, almost (but not quite) as good as the Auto XL Titan. Certainly close enough to satisfy me. The vapour is great, battery life is great etc.

Out of 5 stars I give it a 4.So what's missing? Cut off times.

As I've posted before in other threads, I am having problems getting more than 5 seconds cut off time out of my Auto DAVS – and I have 4 of them. The problem appears to be more to do with how it handles the cartos than a problem with the battery itself. Switch to another 1.5ohm carto and I might get 7+ seconds before cut off.

These 1.5ohm DC cartos tend to read at 1.6-1.7 when I test them on my Provari. Like the Auto Titans, the Auto DAVs do not seem to handle the 1.5ohm cartos well. Honestly, I think V4L should ask their tank supplier to use 2.0ohm cartos in the tanks so no-one gets hooked on 1.5ohm cartos to begin with, because they are so hit or miss with auto batteries. Just my 2c there.

Overall though, I think the Auto DAVs are great – not perfect but getting closer. Can't wait for more colour & mah options to come out.

Nice work V4L :thumbs:
 

BHam

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Thanks for the feedback Katz! I'm so glad you like them. I know you're an auto die-hard so it means a lot for you to give stamp of approval. I saw your mention of the short cutoff times in another thread and I am going to play around with some ohms and different cartos to see if my cutoff times differ.
 

bobbysox10

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Great review Katz! I would like to add that at least in my experience eGO twists can be realllllllly hard to turn to the voltage desired. To me that is important because I use 1.5 dual coils, 2 ohm single coils as well as many other things just to try to see if they are any good. In fact the first twist I have ever tried was so hard to twist I ended up leaving it around 4 volts because I felt it should not take a body builder to move a little dial to get the appropriate voltage that I enjoyed.
 

katz-in-boots

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I've been using the Auto DAVs for a little over a month now, so decided to update my review.

I continue to use these 1100 mahs almost exclusively - using XL titans sometimes (usually if I'm going to bed within the hour). I am amazed how well these Auto DAVs compare to the Titans. When going out these days, I only need carry the unit I'm vaping + another battery & tank just in case - I haven't needed the spare yet! I continue to get 3-4 hours out of each battery.

My only disappointments are:

Cut-off time: it's around 4-5 seconds on all 4 of my batteries when using 1.5ohm tank cartos. Just that little too short for my liking and way below what it is supposed to be.

Charging time: 5-8 hours accoding to the website. I go to bed with 3-4 of them charging, when I get up only 1 will be charged. I really wish there was a fast charger for these.

So overall I am happy to stick with my rating of 4 stars rather than 5. If you like auto batteries and are ready to try a fat batt, these are definitely worth trying.

:thumbs:
 
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