My Prodigy First Impressions

[sparkomatic]

Hey all,

Just got my Prodigy in the mail today! I'd like to write a proper review once I use if for a while but after a couple of hours I thought I'd share my initial thoughts...

I started my e-cig adventure with one of those horrible little Smoking Everywhere kits, and quickly upgraded to a 901. The 901 has been a champ, but I've been through battery after battery, many atomizers that have crapped out, three USB PT's, and for the last few weeks have been limping along on a PT that I modified with a manual button since the draw switch had stopped working. I was hoping that the Prodigy would be everything I hoped for - and it is.

Vapor - Fabulous. Loads of vapor from my homemade pomegranate e-liquid and also from some menthol cartridges I had sitting around. In fact, it may be time to kick the nic level down a bit on my mixes as just a few hits made me feel a bit light headed. I also get that crackly hiss sound from the atomizer that I remember from a brand new 901 batt and atomizer. I haven't heard that sound in quite a while from my equipment but it's back now with the Prodigy.

Throat hit - Since I've been using a PT and a Kensington power pack exclusively for the last few weeks, I wasn't sure if I would have the same shock and awe that some new Prodigy owners have after switching from 901 batteries. The hit from my Frankenstein PT and Kensington is a bit harsh, a bit dry, and gave me an unpleasant throat tickle from time to time. The Prodigy is extra smooth, but gives that satisfying hit as well. Perfect balance.

Build/feel - I already love the feel of this thing. Has some weight to it, but not heavy, nice comfortable form, and the tactile response from the button is perfect. I'm not the kind of person that like to draw attention to myself so the jury is out on how I will like this thing in public. I'm usually fairly covert with my 901 out at the bar so we'll see. I'll just make sure I'm hanging with my friend flitzanu - he has a Prodigy too and loves to give the e-cig speech. I also fly quite a bit and am interested stories from those that have run this thing through airport security. I did have some trouble with the end cap. Nothing new here, I saw the posts from Steve about giving it some time to loosen up. Someone mentioned in another thread about knurling the sides of the end cap. Not a bad idea, although I was thinking of a groove at the bottom of the cap so you could use the edge of a quarter to tighten it up. If you work with photo/video equipment you know what I'm talking about - like a quick shoe adapter for a tripod. Anyway, once it breaks in like Steve says, should be a non-issue. I discovered a little trick for tightening it up - just screw it on as much as you can and then push the cap against the palm of your hand while turning the Prodigy. It tightens up really nice without much effort.

Overall - Steve and Company have hit a home run here. Switching from the standard e-cig to the Prodigy reminds me a little of when I switched from PC to Mac years ago. I was like, "Holy crap! This is how it SHOULD work!" I'm going to re-visit some flavorings that I previously set aside because they just didn't have much of a taste or hit. I bet they will sing with the Prodigy.

 

[CaSHMeRe]

Appreciate the review Sparko and would love to hear a followup down the line!!!! Best of Luck!!!

 

[Curtis]

In a word,... Amazing. I think the new Prodigy is the bee's knees. Yesterday when I got it, I popped in a set of batteries and it fired right up. As I write this 24 hours later, It's still hitting like a champ on the Same Batteries, and these were straight out of the plastic. That in of itself is impressive.

So, where do I begin...

She looks even better in person. Way to go, Puresmoker. The black powdercoat is tough yet classy looking. The "Prodigy" in the retro type screams Classic American Quality. I cant wait to fill in the etching with some chrome enamel. (wish I could airbrush). It's got a sturdy feel to it and the size and tactile switch placement suit my hand perfectly. All the pieces came together beautifully, I had no trouble getting the endcap on.

The first hit was exactly like I thought it would be, super potent. As I said in an earlier post, I'm falling in love with Riskee all over again. The flavor was super intense, the vapor was warm and there was tons of it. The entire house smells of Riskee Yuice! I am using alot more juice than usual, but I feel I'm getting the most out of it. Still trying to get used to using a manual switch, but so far I'm loving it.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate the Prodigy a solid 10 after 24 hours of use.

Good Job Puresmoker

 

[Ladycats]

In a word,... Amazing. I think the new Prodigy is the bee's knees. Yesterday when I got it, I popped in a set of batteries and it fired right up. As I write this 24 hours later, It's still hitting like a champ on the Same Batteries, and these were straight out of the plastic. That in of itself is impressive.

So, where do I begin...

She looks even better in person. Way to go, Puresmoker. The black powdercoat is tough yet classy looking. The "Prodigy" in the retro type screams Classic American Quality. I cant wait to fill in the etching with some chrome enamel. (wish I could airbrush). It's got a sturdy feel to it and the size and tactile switch placement suit my hand perfectly. All the pieces came together beautifully, I had no trouble getting the endcap on.

The first hit was exactly like I thought it would be, super potent. As I said in an earlier post, I'm falling in love with Riskee all over again. The flavor was super intense, the vapor was warm and there was tons of it. The entire house smells of Riskee Yuice! I am using alot more juice than usual, but I feel I'm getting the most out of it. Still trying to get used to using a manual switch, but so far I'm loving it.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate the Prodigy a solid 10 after 24 hours of use.

Good Job Puresmoker

LOL second post I've just read of Curtis in Heaven ... glad you're lovin' it, told ya it was amazing ..

 

[Stover]

I also have had my Prodigy a little more than 1 day. It is great! The vapor is fantastic! I can blow massive smoke rings with this baby. I did have a burnt taste going on for the first few hours but that is now gone and the juices I have tried taste great.

I did run into one problem that I will share that has nothing to do with the Prodigy but more of a rookie mistake. The Prodigy is my first e-cig so I am definately a e-smoking rookie. After starting off vaping some Pure Menthol last night I decided to change atomizers (801) and try a different flavored juice. When I was screwing on the second atomizer I used a little too much force and really torqued in on the base. While doing so I noticed I could spin the silver barrel on the atomizer but it was already all the way on. Essentially, I stripped the connection on the atomizer between the tube and the brass base.

When I did this the atomizer still worked so I thought there was no problem. This morning I went to take off that atomizer and go back to the one I was vaping menthol on. When I went to unscrew it, the silver tube came off but the brass part that contacts the Prodigy base stayed on. I was able to push the tube back on and unscrew the whole atomizer. When I carefully screwed back on the whole atomizer again and try it, I pushed the button and the whole base of the Prodigy (black section) got very warm very fast and no vapor at all. I tried a second time and the same thing. It appeared like the batteries were shorting to the Prodigy base. I put the batteries back in the charger and they took a good 1 1/2 hours to charge back up. They were fully charged when I started this morning so they must have really discharged quickly when they got shorted to the Prodigy base.

What I learned from this, (and many experienced e-smokers probably know this, but for the rookies out there), when screwing on an atomizer, just snug it up, don't try to torque it on there or you will strip that connection between the tube and the brass base of the atomizer. It appears the brass base is lightly pressed onto the atomizer tube and maybe there is a little adhesive on the connection also but it won't hold up to much torque without separating. I assume this goes for all atomizers and all e-cigs. I will post pictures as soon as I figure out how to do it from my PC. So I killed one 801 atomizer within about 12 hours of use.8-o I still have not smoked an analog since I unboxed my Prodigy!

 

[sparkomatic]

Quick note - seemed like my batteries went down fast yesterday after what I thought was a full charge. After swapping them out with the batts on the charger, I noticed that the battery was very loose and not making good contact on one side of the charger. I unplugged it and gently pried the bottom metal contacts up just a bit, and the batteries fit very snug now and so far the charge has lasted all day. Thinking that one battery got charged and the other did not on the first round. Easy fix!