Hello ECF! Tonight I'm going to be reviewing the Aleader BHive 100W Squonk Kit! On the heals of their seemingly successful Funky 160W, Aleader has decided to step into the squonk game with their Resin BHive Kit. Is the hive productive, or should they look for a new queen? Read below for my evaluation.
I have the BHive Kit for about 3 weeks now and feel I can give a fair assessment of it's quality.
This product was sent to me from Vaporl for the purpose of a review.
BHive mod Specs
Contents
Operation
Pics
Instaglam1
Instaglam2
Contents
BHive Kit
Back
510
Buttons/Screen
Bottom
Bottle Bay
Bottle
Screen
Beehive RDA
Drip Tip/Barrel
Build
Post/Airflow
Buld Deck/Squonk Pin
BHive Squonk Kit
I have never owned an Aleader device, but I have seen many good things about their Funky 160W mod. That device came out when the Resin craze was just starting to get into full swing, and came on the heels of the Cartel Revenant and Resin Drag. Aleader seem to be continuing the Resin theme with pretty much most of their mods, and their squonker is no different, this time including a matching RDA and drip tip. I'm not really sure what kind of proprietary chip set they're using, but they seem to be getting some things right with it. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's jump off this review and start at the best place possible: the top.
Final Thoughts
Pros
Most of my cons with this kit stem from the Beehive RDA. I feel like it would do better on a dual-battery sqonker, or as a dual-battery atty, but since it doesn't include a solid positive pin, I was unable to test this. The BHive device itself is actually really nice. I really enjoy the looks of the resin, power mode performed well with the right atty/build, and TC performance was surprisingly good. Personally, I would probably purchase the BHive device itself and leave the RDA alone, but I have only seen it being sold as a kit.
Purchasing
Thank you...
...for your attention ECF. I hope you all have a great rest of your week!
I want to give another shout out to Vaporl for giving me the opportunity to provide this community with this review. If you want to check them out, you can follow them on their Facebook or Instagram pages.
This review was sponsored by:
Also, if you want to keep up with me, you can follow me on Instagram.
I have the BHive Kit for about 3 weeks now and feel I can give a fair assessment of it's quality.
This product was sent to me from Vaporl for the purpose of a review.
BHive mod Specs
- Dimensions: 83mm x 53mm x 25mm
- Material: Resin & Zinc Alloy
- Battery: 1 x 18650
- Voltage Range: 3.0-4.2V
- Wattage Range: 5-100W
- Modes: Power / TC(NI/TI/SS/TCR) / Bypass
- Resistance Range: Power - 0.1-3.0ohm / TC - 0.05-1.0ohm
- Temp Range: 200°F-600°F / 100°C-315°C
- Display: 0.91" OLED
- Squonk Bottle Capacity: 7.0mL
- Diameter: 24mm
- Bottom Airflow
- Dual post build deck
- 6mm deep juice well
- BF pin only (no solid pin)
- Drip tip and barrel resin matches mod
Contents
- BHive 100W Mod
- Beehive RDA
- USB Charger
- User Manual
- Warranty Card
- Accessories Bag
Operation
- 5 clicks fire button on / 5 clicks off
- 3 clicks fire button to choose mode type
- Hold + and - to lock +/- buttons (can still fire)
- Hold fire button and + to flip screen
- In TC Mode: Hold fire button and - to select TCR percentage
Pics
Instaglam1
Instaglam2
Contents
BHive Kit
Back
510
Buttons/Screen
Bottom
Bottle Bay
Bottle
Screen
Beehive RDA
Drip Tip/Barrel
Build
Post/Airflow
Buld Deck/Squonk Pin
BHive Squonk Kit
I have never owned an Aleader device, but I have seen many good things about their Funky 160W mod. That device came out when the Resin craze was just starting to get into full swing, and came on the heels of the Cartel Revenant and Resin Drag. Aleader seem to be continuing the Resin theme with pretty much most of their mods, and their squonker is no different, this time including a matching RDA and drip tip. I'm not really sure what kind of proprietary chip set they're using, but they seem to be getting some things right with it. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's jump off this review and start at the best place possible: the top.
Top: The top of the Aleader BHive mod is pretty plain and simple. It is a standard box top and can house up to 24mm attys without overhang. It houses an SS 510 plate secured on by 2 hex screws. The negative threading on the plate is very smooth and atty's screw on with ease. The BF positive pin in the mod appears to be gold plated and is spring loaded. There also appears to be a rubber gasket around the pin that should prevent juice from leaking back into the mod. I have not had any issues with juice leaking into the device and so I feel like the gasket is doing it's job.
Buttons/Screen: Along the front side of the BHive you'll find the fire button, screen, +/- buttons, and USB charge port. Buttons are circular with circular ridges within them. They're all very clicky and responsive and have a nice amount of stiffness to them. None of the buttons have any rattle.
The screen on the device appears to be an older style screen, very reminiscent of the Drag. The Menu system of the BHive is very symplistic, and there really isn't much to it. You are able to enter a mode to select Power/TC/Bypass, flip the screen, lock the +/- buttons, and select TCR percentage. That's it. There is no screen brightness adjustment, no time, no puff counter; no bells and whistles at all. It's really just quite plain and again reminds me of the main Drag screen. I know screens have come a long way in the last few years, but there is something pleasant and nostalgic about the simple layout and menu system. It let's you do what is required and nothing more. This could be a con for some, but I found it a nice break from all the large screens and flashy UIs.
Battery Tray: As is typical with many single battery squonkers, there is a panel that can be removed to reveal the battery tray and squonk bottle compartment. Along the bottom of the device is a ridge and tab that you can sneak your nail under to remove the panel. The panel is held in place by two large magnets; one at the top and one at the bottom. The compartment is nothing special, and is pretty typical of single battery sqonkers. You have your battery connections, battery ribbon, and your squonk bottle/pin. Battery orientation is clearly marked and has a spring-loaded connection on the bottom.
Squonking: I haven't used many squonkers, but I have definitely kept up with certain design aspects of them. The squonk bottle included with the BHive is a very standard, silicon bottle. It is nice and and squishy and can be pressed easily. The squonk system again is quite typical and standard, using a plastic tube that runs into the bottle, out the top, and makes connection to the pin. The top of the bottle is metal and unscrews to allow you to refill it. One thing to note here, the tube runs pretty bar down into the bottle and if you push the bottle too far up, squonking doesn't happen properly. When seating the bottle, make sure you connect the tube to the pin, then pull down a bit on the bottle, just to make sure there is enough room for juice to flow through the tube freely.
Beehive RDA: The Beehive RDA is a 24mm, two-post, bottom-airflow atty. Each post has two post holes configured horizontally and utilizes hex grub screws to secure the leads. Building on the atty is mostly easy, however, the horizontal holes might not be the easiest to deal with for all. The negative post is not milled into the deck and can be removed via a screw on the bottom of the RDA. The positive post can be removed by unscrewing the squonk pin. The pin does not protrude from the deck and will cause most juice to be sucked back into the squonk bottle. The pin really should protrude from the deck a few mms to ensure some juice remains in the well for full saturation, especially since there is a decently large juice well.
Airflow feels fairly smooth, but is a bit loud. The entire top cap of the RDA is used for adjusting the bottom airflow. There is a bit of gnurling at the top to grab onto for adjusting the airflow. The inside of the top cap has a conical shape and helps direct airflow towards the drip tip. The drip tip is 810, but not Goon styled. It utilizes dual orings on the drip tip, so Goon 810s will not fit this RDA. One more con I have to give the RDA is that there is no solid positive pin, so it must be used as an RSA.
Kit Styling: The resin panels, top cap, and drip tip all look very nice. The resin is quite shiny and, keeping in line with the BHive theme, has a honeycomb pattern throughout. The resin matches quite nicely on all pieces. Other styling is mostly absent and the remainder of the device is painted black. I really like the styling of the device, especially the dual resin panels on the device itself.
Performance: Now for what really matters. Performance of the kit as a whole is pretty good. Power mode seems to hit fairly well, but I feel like the RDA should have been smaller; at least 22mm. The issue I ran into, even with higher, simple wire builds, was the single battery just wasn't enought to power it well, especially if you wanted any sort of battery life and decent flavor. I feel like the Beehive RDA would really shine with some larger, complex builds, but since there is no solid pin included, and I don't have a dual battery sqonker, I was unable to test this. However, with a single coil atty like the Recurve, Power mode felt really good.
I was really impressed with TC on the device. TC seemed to hit very well, especially after adjusting the TCR up + .03%. That was one strange thing, though. There may be other devices that allow you to adjust TCR in a percentage increment, but this was my first. It's a bit odd, but it works. Another thing with TC is you are unable to adjust wattage. I suppose the chip utilizes the resistance and chooses it's own wattage based on that. This didn't seem like much of an issue though, and as long as I adjusted my TCR percentage, I was able to get a very satisfying vape.
Buttons/Screen: Along the front side of the BHive you'll find the fire button, screen, +/- buttons, and USB charge port. Buttons are circular with circular ridges within them. They're all very clicky and responsive and have a nice amount of stiffness to them. None of the buttons have any rattle.
The screen on the device appears to be an older style screen, very reminiscent of the Drag. The Menu system of the BHive is very symplistic, and there really isn't much to it. You are able to enter a mode to select Power/TC/Bypass, flip the screen, lock the +/- buttons, and select TCR percentage. That's it. There is no screen brightness adjustment, no time, no puff counter; no bells and whistles at all. It's really just quite plain and again reminds me of the main Drag screen. I know screens have come a long way in the last few years, but there is something pleasant and nostalgic about the simple layout and menu system. It let's you do what is required and nothing more. This could be a con for some, but I found it a nice break from all the large screens and flashy UIs.
Battery Tray: As is typical with many single battery squonkers, there is a panel that can be removed to reveal the battery tray and squonk bottle compartment. Along the bottom of the device is a ridge and tab that you can sneak your nail under to remove the panel. The panel is held in place by two large magnets; one at the top and one at the bottom. The compartment is nothing special, and is pretty typical of single battery sqonkers. You have your battery connections, battery ribbon, and your squonk bottle/pin. Battery orientation is clearly marked and has a spring-loaded connection on the bottom.
Squonking: I haven't used many squonkers, but I have definitely kept up with certain design aspects of them. The squonk bottle included with the BHive is a very standard, silicon bottle. It is nice and and squishy and can be pressed easily. The squonk system again is quite typical and standard, using a plastic tube that runs into the bottle, out the top, and makes connection to the pin. The top of the bottle is metal and unscrews to allow you to refill it. One thing to note here, the tube runs pretty bar down into the bottle and if you push the bottle too far up, squonking doesn't happen properly. When seating the bottle, make sure you connect the tube to the pin, then pull down a bit on the bottle, just to make sure there is enough room for juice to flow through the tube freely.
Beehive RDA: The Beehive RDA is a 24mm, two-post, bottom-airflow atty. Each post has two post holes configured horizontally and utilizes hex grub screws to secure the leads. Building on the atty is mostly easy, however, the horizontal holes might not be the easiest to deal with for all. The negative post is not milled into the deck and can be removed via a screw on the bottom of the RDA. The positive post can be removed by unscrewing the squonk pin. The pin does not protrude from the deck and will cause most juice to be sucked back into the squonk bottle. The pin really should protrude from the deck a few mms to ensure some juice remains in the well for full saturation, especially since there is a decently large juice well.
Airflow feels fairly smooth, but is a bit loud. The entire top cap of the RDA is used for adjusting the bottom airflow. There is a bit of gnurling at the top to grab onto for adjusting the airflow. The inside of the top cap has a conical shape and helps direct airflow towards the drip tip. The drip tip is 810, but not Goon styled. It utilizes dual orings on the drip tip, so Goon 810s will not fit this RDA. One more con I have to give the RDA is that there is no solid positive pin, so it must be used as an RSA.
Kit Styling: The resin panels, top cap, and drip tip all look very nice. The resin is quite shiny and, keeping in line with the BHive theme, has a honeycomb pattern throughout. The resin matches quite nicely on all pieces. Other styling is mostly absent and the remainder of the device is painted black. I really like the styling of the device, especially the dual resin panels on the device itself.
Performance: Now for what really matters. Performance of the kit as a whole is pretty good. Power mode seems to hit fairly well, but I feel like the RDA should have been smaller; at least 22mm. The issue I ran into, even with higher, simple wire builds, was the single battery just wasn't enought to power it well, especially if you wanted any sort of battery life and decent flavor. I feel like the Beehive RDA would really shine with some larger, complex builds, but since there is no solid pin included, and I don't have a dual battery sqonker, I was unable to test this. However, with a single coil atty like the Recurve, Power mode felt really good.
I was really impressed with TC on the device. TC seemed to hit very well, especially after adjusting the TCR up + .03%. That was one strange thing, though. There may be other devices that allow you to adjust TCR in a percentage increment, but this was my first. It's a bit odd, but it works. Another thing with TC is you are unable to adjust wattage. I suppose the chip utilizes the resistance and chooses it's own wattage based on that. This didn't seem like much of an issue though, and as long as I adjusted my TCR percentage, I was able to get a very satisfying vape.
Final Thoughts
Pros
- Smooth threading
- Spring-loaded 510
- No leaking issues
- Nice, clicky buttons
- No rattle
- Simplistic menu/UI
- Battery panel ridge for removal
- Spring-loaded battery connection
- Squishy, silicon squonk bottle
- Large juice well
- Smooth airflow
- Conical top cap
- Nice matching resin styling
- Power mode with single-coil atty
- TC mode performance
- Simplistic menu might not be ideal for all
- Squonking can be stiffled if bottle isn't seated properly
- Not particularly a fan of horizontal post holes
- Negative post not milled into the deck
- Squonk pin does not protrude from the deck
- No solid positive pin for RDA
Most of my cons with this kit stem from the Beehive RDA. I feel like it would do better on a dual-battery sqonker, or as a dual-battery atty, but since it doesn't include a solid positive pin, I was unable to test this. The BHive device itself is actually really nice. I really enjoy the looks of the resin, power mode performed well with the right atty/build, and TC performance was surprisingly good. Personally, I would probably purchase the BHive device itself and leave the RDA alone, but I have only seen it being sold as a kit.
Purchasing
Thank you...
...for your attention ECF. I hope you all have a great rest of your week!
I want to give another shout out to Vaporl for giving me the opportunity to provide this community with this review. If you want to check them out, you can follow them on their Facebook or Instagram pages.
This review was sponsored by:
Also, if you want to keep up with me, you can follow me on Instagram.
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