Here you go, hon... It's crazy long... but it will give you every single first impression I had on the Tox today. I absolutely adore it... can't believe it was a $79 kit... but I may have to go ahead and get a LT (in addition to... no way am I giving the Tox back, at least based on todays practically religious experience... AND I got the screwed up first run, so will have to wait for it to be replaced. They're that fun! But no way can i wait for the new controllers without getting something, you know? So will have LT and tox.) So hope some little detail helps makes your mind up. BTW... MY absolute DREAM set up for mods is such.... A Provari V2 kit w extender cap (main)... A tox backup (both of those provari and tox switch batt size.. perfect), and a baby pink Bombshell, which is a fixed v device, but GORGEOUS, and really really sexy looking pv. Its like the 'betty boop' of pvs. lol For a fixed 18650 mod, its about $80, so you know its super pretty. And a kick inside that, so it could be vv. If I ever hit the lotto, those 3 will be my ideals.
First Impressions of my TOX... (i'm b'zausted, so will do some actual testing w/meter tomorrow)... and this is totally long and rambl-y and stream of consciousness-y as things occur to me. I'll put the actual DATA in a super easy chart or something.
Got Tox today.... omgeee.... the manual is a HOOT! Totally unintelligible. Talk about a 'lost in translation' moment. But I have a great set of quick click instructions someone shared with me, so I'll leave that here as well tomorrow.
First... took me about 1 hour to know for absolute sure, but I definitely have one of the super glitchy ones. Not firing occasionally, cutting in and out mid fire a bunch, weird voltage things, plus my left (down voltage) button only works about 1/2 the time... exactly as been mentioned elsewhere. BUT we already know some were messed up at the factory, the vendors (i don't know about safer cigs in UK, but GotVapes and LiteCigUSA both) are already waiting for the updated/corrected controllers... so I know I'll end up with a good one eventually.
If I ignore the major voltage fluctuation probs and firing issues (which I have been assured by good vendors will be addressed in the newly fabricated heads and just will not be an issue with the ones purchased once those heads are in), this thing is flipping AMAZING for a $79 product (whole kit!). I saw Bizzb0t's quick review, with the weird gaps between two body sections (mine are perfectly fit together...flawless) and the super funky threading on bottom screw cap... I don't have any issues like that at all. This one i have in my hand is pretty darned solid. Buttons are decent. Might be nice if there was a thin piece of rubber under the button mechanism that just concealed the tiny gap around the button. Of course that gap has to be there, or button won't press properly (its a really satisfying clicky button, but just hard plastic. Nice rubber coating on top would be nicer) or would get stuck under lip of body... but the ideal from a totally .... detail oriented person would be great to use a thin gauge rubber sheet, or a tiny lip at bottom of button and just conceal it. BUT BUT BUT.... the fire button is in the exact perfect place on the mod. Back of mod, so if you're looking at the screen, perfectly oriented for your index finger to press it... right about maybe 1/2 inch from the top of the PV. If you're just holding to vape... perfect place for ball of your thumb to press it. And of course I'd prefer the whole unit in Stainless....The only thing... ONLY thing that would be cool aside from all the pieces being metal (which we already knew the head and screw on cap are plastic... but definitely durable plastic), is that...as Bizzb0t mentioned... the twist on threading that connects the top controller and the bottom body tubes is a sort of fit together and twist plastic threading. You do really have to be careful with that... fit it on properly and turn it in the right direction. I can't imagine why they used plastic, since all the other bits like that are metal, and the 'blades' that twist together seem like they might wear over time. Keep in mind that they are set inside the tubing itself, so nothing that regular wear and tear with vaping is going to affect. But after a few hundred twists for battery change/size change, might be an issue.
Ok, so that's it for the glitch which is in the process of being fixed/replaced and nit picky stuff (which quite frankly, I'm still super impressed with it for an $79 whole kit price, even with those tiny details. If this kit were a) all metal and available in different colors (will be colored options, but I mean right now all metal and colors avail) and b) concealed tiny gap around button, and solid metal 'fan blades' to lock the two boxy parts together... It would be comparable to other $99-120 mods. Not for the whole kit... just for the mod. There is no way to adequately describe how much nicer the oled screen with the perfectly crisp white numbers on black screen is to the slightly fuzzy reddish hued led screen of the lava tube. I can read a lava screen... no sweat. But you always have to strain eyes a tiny bit, because the letters seem to have a little light bleed around edges. On the Tox, the oled screen is super itty bitty, but still, totally pristine. Smart/iphone phone, clear, if that gives you an idea. The screen itself makes the mod look much higher end, to me.
Ok, as for the other parts of the kit... Yup, it is a rather odd little charger. Mine wasn't totally falling apart, but some of the connections were all bent funny... but its just rather cheap and tichy. Get a $15 tenergy that charges 2, multi sized, and keep weird one for random backup. The thing is... you'll want a 2 batt charger anyway, because kit comes with two, and where I picked mine up... litecigsusa... a spare 18500 batt was a whopping $3.95. Too cheap to pass up. So I just bought my kit, and already have 3 batts. You need at least a double, and that's assuming this is your only device you need to keep charged. The vendors would add a TON of value to their kits if they gave buyers a choice of an inexpensive clamshell case, box of boge cartos, 3.0ohm atty, or the cheapo charger... cause all of those items are worth about $6 - $8, max.
Now here's first impressions of the actual vape of this thing. I've never actually vaped with Lava, just researched em till cows come home, so I really can't compare actual vaping experiences between those two specific units. I have, however, been using a 3-6/7v VV box, without the 2.5 amp restriction that Lava and Tox have, for upwards of 6 mos for my main vape. So I was really expecting a much less 'oomph' filled vape comparing the Tox (with restriction) to my vv box (limited safety restrictions). But the first thought through my head on good first hit, at only 4v.... Man, this really IS a STONKIN amount of vapor! I kept hearing the guy from safer cigs say that in the review, and honestly... it was almost startling how thick the vapor feels in your mouth... at only 4v, maybe a 6 second hit with a 1.7ohm Resurrector single coil, and some awesome $10 an ounce, 100% VG 'The Vapor Room dot net' juice. I would seriously recommend this Tox device (once first run issues are resolved) to anyone who can't vape PG, or chooses not to. The throat hit is way higher than I've been experiencing with VV Box, and keep in mind... I'm on all VG, so throat hit is really somewhat lacking, normally. And the vapor, even at 4-4.5v... honestly, best Ive ever had. Holy Schmoley. Seriously. 4.5v at this baby just flat KICKS THE TAR out of 4.5v on my vv box mod. Haven't played with higher ohm stuff yet, but again... hope to do all that tomorrow w some sort of chart.
Last two things... I was expecting the stupid lanyard they stick in the kit to be tossed. Its actually a very nice quality lanyard. I'm not really a lover of lanyards, but I may well end up beading this one, or dolling it up somehow, because it is just too nice to toss. There is a tiny little set of lanyard holes right above the firing button on the back. Also, something I didn't realize from reviews or first look video... above and below the firing button (on the back of PV) are two little soft rubber things. I don't think they're buttons... I think they're either for feel, to make firing easier, or perhaps to control the roll. Some mods in tube form can very easily just roll right off a table. These teensy tiny (about the size of up and down voltage buttons on the front) rubber pads seem like they'd stop the Tox in a roll, even with a tiny bit of a push. I don't know what they're designed for, but that function alone makes them handy. Above that, tiny little holes so super easy to affix a lanyard... either the one they give you, or a really gorgeous specialty one from The Squirrel Lady, or whatever. Also, if you're a cutesy rhinestones and stickers vaper, you could easily affix a cell phone dangle charm to that, instead. That's what they are... just like tiny cell phone holes.
And last. The two Vision brand clearo tank thingies that come with the kit. I hate hate HATE clearomizers. No flavor, just bleh, for me. I vape a good carto in a tank, usually, so I was intrigued to try these, since they're sort of clearo tanks, and a free tank is a free tank, right? My two are a largish one (guessing about 5ml) that's blue, and a clear one that looks about 2.5ish. I figured I'd try one puff, and be mad I wasted the juice in em, honestly. Tried the smaller one. SUPER easy to fill... use the cool lil needle nose bottle that comes w Tox kit, or save the hassle and just use a syringe. So none of the traditional clearomizer nonsense in filling. First hit tasted a little odd, actually. Second hit... incredibly dense, flavorful, and honestly one of the best hits ever, in anything. I was totally stunned. So these little free tanks might end up being something you really enjoy. Only complaint with it so far.. and this is probably my lack of clearo experience... I started at about 4.2v and it was utterly perfect. Decided to get clever, and see what happened at 5.5v. I'm SUCH an idiot. Got immediate burned icky flavor (I think these are supposed to be 3ohm tanks... someone measured em), and the problem is, now every hit I take on it tastes burned. So... amazing weird tank thingie, amazing juice... one burned hit... is it ruined? Anyone have any ideas if that's fixable, I'm all ears, and would be grateful.
So ok... I went nuts and told you guys every single impression, thought, conceivable improvement etc that occurred to me within the first 3 hours or so vaping with this thing. Overall? Man... I hope they get the fixed heads in soon, so the tiny bugs are a thing of the past... because when that happens, this thing is a total no brainer. I'd go so far as to say I'm gonna recommend this to total beginners (starting a sort of casual smoking cessation thing for a slew of my fathers co workers), as an alternative to the Ego/epower type kit I usually recommend. Once you lock the voltage at a nice 3.9v or so, it really is utterly simple and just saves the step of upgrading almost everyone goes through. Of course, that's after I verify that the new controllers work as advertised. I may still end up having to buy a lava tube in the interim, because it really is too glitchy to be my main vape for the month or whatever that the replacement switcheroo is going to take. But at least then I'll be able to say definitively which device I actually prefer, and have a solid backup.
Hope some of those tiny details give some of you an idea what we're dealing with. Gonna do testing tomorrow, plus try to get some really good photos of this thing... because even the reg 18500 size is MUCH smaller than I thought. Crossing fingers that by the time Litecigsusa is ready to send me my updated replaced controller head with brand new correct programming (that's the problem, I think. All the weird glitches the ones reporting problems seem as if they have a minor programming error), maybe I'll get lucky and the new color options are available.
