INTRODUCTION
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Hello everyone, and welcome to Pizza Dave’s Vape reviews and today I will be going over the iStick Rim by Eleaf. This is one of the latest kits on the market from Eleaf. It is a compact setup, featuring an 80w device that houses a 3000mah battery, classic Eleaf display, and round ergonomic style. To top this kit off, they include the Mello 5 mesh sub-ohm tank, which shares several features with the Ello Pop tank that came with the iStick Mix. Let’s get right to it, take a look at the device, the tank, and as always, I will have my final thoughts at the bottom.
DISCLAIMER: This device was sent to me by Eleaf for review.
WHAT YOU GET
______________________________________________________________________________
Available in several color combos. The frames vary from black or polished silver, but there are several different side panels including black, blue, macaron, wildness, maze, and e-green.
STOCK SHOT
PACKAGING
OUT OF BOX
______________________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Eleaf stuck to several basics with this device, but also created something kind of cool. The shape is absolutely tiny, and the round edges fit perfectly in the palm of my hand. There is a small strip of rubber on the opposite side of screen which offers added grip, which is effective with a rather slippery finish throughout the rest of the device. This device features a built-in 3000mah battery, 80w of output, and charges via a USB-C WC3.0 charging cable. The device overall is roughly a round 36x30 shape, but with a top that tapers back, it only allows atomizers up to 25 or 26mm in total diameter without overhang.
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OPERATION
If you have read any of my previous reviews on Eleaf products, this section is rather boring. I am not going to get into much with operation, as Eleaf has used this same display for so long that many already know how it works. It is a basic horizontal LED display. It shows power or temp control settings, battery level, resistance, and puffs. Clicking the fire button 5 times turns it on and off and clicking the fire button and up button enters the main menu. There isn’t really a need to get into too much detail other than this is easy to pickup and use, and with little time, navigation becomes second nature. This is an adjustable wattage only mod, so there isn’t a whole lot left to go over, other than the display, which is pretty dated, but still works for a simple device.
One thing I do want to point out here is the battery charging. When connected to a USB 2.0 charger, I found that it took about 1 hour to charge this device from 0 to 100. They advertise lower times than that with a proper power supply, but working with what I had, I still felt 1 hour was damn good!
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HOW IT VAPES
Well, to be honest, it is kind of a fun little mod! I didn’t use the Mello 5 tank a ton, as I just used it enough to get a feel for the flavor and feel of the vape. For the most part, I paired this mod up with single and dual coil RTAs. I wanted to really test the battery, so I often used the Zeus X at 70w on top of this. I found that it provided a solid power output as needed to run the included tank or the RTAs I tried. I found that was able to just BARELY get a full day from the included battery when running it at 70w, but it got me there. There is no temp control on this mod, so wattage is where it’s at. Since we are touch on how it vapes, I suppose we should talk about the Mello 5. Well….here it is, a Mellow review of the Mello 5.
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MELLO 5 TANK REVIEW
At first glance, I thought the tank that came in the box was the Ello Pop which came with the iStick Mix kit but with a new name. I was way wrong, as I found more and more differences between these two as I compared them. The top still pops up the same for refills, but there is a difference in the chimney. When it is popped up, it also closes off the juice flow to the coils. This can aid in leak management during refills, as it helps retain the liquid in the tank until closed. I never had leaking issues on the Ello-Pop, but nice to see some small changes. Beyond this small change is one big one, the air flow inlets. This one has narrower bottom air flow, but this offers a large span of air flow adjustment. It can be opened all the way up for an airier vape but can be closed way down to a loose MTL draw thanks to two small holes on each side for adjustment as well. It is a bit odd to think a tank like this has such a large span, but it is well executed. As for flavor, I like what this can do. I had a mis hap and dropped the “M” coil onto the floor, where it was covered in 10 levels of nasty, so I didn’t get a chance to test it. The “S” coil though, proved to be a solid coil. This has a more open mesh pattern than I am used to seeing and offers good flavor and ok coil life. I was hating on it at first, but after about 3/4 of a tank, it was broken in and really came alive. The flavor from desserty liquids comes through with good balance, and I was able to enjoy it up until about 40ml of liquid before a flavor drop off kicked in. This is a nice tank to be paired on top of the iStick Rim. Flavor is good, matches the device well, and runs at about 80% of max wattage of the device. The only thing I will not understand is the ribbed glass. It’s just silly.
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TANK PROS
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TANK CONS
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PHOTO GALLERY
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FINAL THOUGHTS
So, what do I think about the iStick Rim? I have mixed feelings to be honest. I struggle to enjoy mods with built in batteries. Sure, this thing charges fast, but I like to be able to grab a mod, toss fresh batteries in, and go. With the built-in battery of this device, once has to always be mindful of the levels before heading out. One con I found is charging this as well. The charge port is on the bottom, so it has to be laid on its side. I removed the tank during every charge to ensure it wouldn’t leak, but this seems like a silly design flaw. Speaking of removing the tank, once a tank goes on, the mod automatically goes to 30w. Kind of odd and makes no sense. However, even with a few cons, there is a lot of good that this has going for it that make it a solid choice, especially for someone’s first mod. The mod is super small and comfortable, it also has enough power to get through a full day, so that was a pro for me. The entire feel of the mod is solid, and the tank that they included works damn good. Many of the cons I found with this are super subjective and for what it is, they did it well!
OVEN TEST
If this were accidentally fall into the pizza oven, would I go get another? That’s a no from me. I like it, but not enough to totally need one in my life.
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PROS
---------------------------------
CONS
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Thank you all for reading and thank you to Eleaf for sending this my way for review. This can be found online for roughly $50-60.
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Pizza Dave – delivering real reviews with no extra toppings
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
REVIEW CRITERIA: I use each item extensively for about two weeks to ensure I have collected enough data to adequately write a review. I use the same e liquid in tanks or rdas throughout all my reviews to ensure that I am comparing apples to apples between all modern equipment. I do not post reviews until I feel confident that I have used all products enough to give an educated review. The reason I started doing reviews was due to poor purchasing decisions in my vaping infancy about two years ago. Back then, I purchased several different pieces of hardware without really enjoying them and I hope my reviews can guide people into spending their hard-earned money more wisely than I did! ****Keep in mind that some items I receive may be pre-release and not in retail packaging. Quality may be less than the finished product and what is in the package may differ from the retail package as well.
______________________________________________________________________________
Hello everyone, and welcome to Pizza Dave’s Vape reviews and today I will be going over the iStick Rim by Eleaf. This is one of the latest kits on the market from Eleaf. It is a compact setup, featuring an 80w device that houses a 3000mah battery, classic Eleaf display, and round ergonomic style. To top this kit off, they include the Mello 5 mesh sub-ohm tank, which shares several features with the Ello Pop tank that came with the iStick Mix. Let’s get right to it, take a look at the device, the tank, and as always, I will have my final thoughts at the bottom.
DISCLAIMER: This device was sent to me by Eleaf for review.
WHAT YOU GET
- 1 iStick Rim 3000mah mod
- 1 Mello 5 4ml Atomizer
- 1 Spare 4ml bubble glass (without ribs)
- 1 EC-S .6-ohm coil
- 1 EC-M .15-ohm coil
- 1 QC 3.0 USB cable
- Spare parts
- Paperwork
______________________________________________________________________________
Available in several color combos. The frames vary from black or polished silver, but there are several different side panels including black, blue, macaron, wildness, maze, and e-green.
STOCK SHOT
PACKAGING
OUT OF BOX
______________________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Eleaf stuck to several basics with this device, but also created something kind of cool. The shape is absolutely tiny, and the round edges fit perfectly in the palm of my hand. There is a small strip of rubber on the opposite side of screen which offers added grip, which is effective with a rather slippery finish throughout the rest of the device. This device features a built-in 3000mah battery, 80w of output, and charges via a USB-C WC3.0 charging cable. The device overall is roughly a round 36x30 shape, but with a top that tapers back, it only allows atomizers up to 25 or 26mm in total diameter without overhang.
______________________________________________________________________________
OPERATION
If you have read any of my previous reviews on Eleaf products, this section is rather boring. I am not going to get into much with operation, as Eleaf has used this same display for so long that many already know how it works. It is a basic horizontal LED display. It shows power or temp control settings, battery level, resistance, and puffs. Clicking the fire button 5 times turns it on and off and clicking the fire button and up button enters the main menu. There isn’t really a need to get into too much detail other than this is easy to pickup and use, and with little time, navigation becomes second nature. This is an adjustable wattage only mod, so there isn’t a whole lot left to go over, other than the display, which is pretty dated, but still works for a simple device.
One thing I do want to point out here is the battery charging. When connected to a USB 2.0 charger, I found that it took about 1 hour to charge this device from 0 to 100. They advertise lower times than that with a proper power supply, but working with what I had, I still felt 1 hour was damn good!
______________________________________________________________________________
HOW IT VAPES
Well, to be honest, it is kind of a fun little mod! I didn’t use the Mello 5 tank a ton, as I just used it enough to get a feel for the flavor and feel of the vape. For the most part, I paired this mod up with single and dual coil RTAs. I wanted to really test the battery, so I often used the Zeus X at 70w on top of this. I found that it provided a solid power output as needed to run the included tank or the RTAs I tried. I found that was able to just BARELY get a full day from the included battery when running it at 70w, but it got me there. There is no temp control on this mod, so wattage is where it’s at. Since we are touch on how it vapes, I suppose we should talk about the Mello 5. Well….here it is, a Mellow review of the Mello 5.
______________________________________________________________________________
MELLO 5 TANK REVIEW
At first glance, I thought the tank that came in the box was the Ello Pop which came with the iStick Mix kit but with a new name. I was way wrong, as I found more and more differences between these two as I compared them. The top still pops up the same for refills, but there is a difference in the chimney. When it is popped up, it also closes off the juice flow to the coils. This can aid in leak management during refills, as it helps retain the liquid in the tank until closed. I never had leaking issues on the Ello-Pop, but nice to see some small changes. Beyond this small change is one big one, the air flow inlets. This one has narrower bottom air flow, but this offers a large span of air flow adjustment. It can be opened all the way up for an airier vape but can be closed way down to a loose MTL draw thanks to two small holes on each side for adjustment as well. It is a bit odd to think a tank like this has such a large span, but it is well executed. As for flavor, I like what this can do. I had a mis hap and dropped the “M” coil onto the floor, where it was covered in 10 levels of nasty, so I didn’t get a chance to test it. The “S” coil though, proved to be a solid coil. This has a more open mesh pattern than I am used to seeing and offers good flavor and ok coil life. I was hating on it at first, but after about 3/4 of a tank, it was broken in and really came alive. The flavor from desserty liquids comes through with good balance, and I was able to enjoy it up until about 40ml of liquid before a flavor drop off kicked in. This is a nice tank to be paired on top of the iStick Rim. Flavor is good, matches the device well, and runs at about 80% of max wattage of the device. The only thing I will not understand is the ribbed glass. It’s just silly.
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TANK PROS
- Good Flavor
- Nice refill design
- Tons of air flow adjustment
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TANK CONS
- Coil life wasn’t as good as some more recent mesh coils
- Ribbed glass looks silly
- Pop up top feels flimsy
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PHOTO GALLERY
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FINAL THOUGHTS
So, what do I think about the iStick Rim? I have mixed feelings to be honest. I struggle to enjoy mods with built in batteries. Sure, this thing charges fast, but I like to be able to grab a mod, toss fresh batteries in, and go. With the built-in battery of this device, once has to always be mindful of the levels before heading out. One con I found is charging this as well. The charge port is on the bottom, so it has to be laid on its side. I removed the tank during every charge to ensure it wouldn’t leak, but this seems like a silly design flaw. Speaking of removing the tank, once a tank goes on, the mod automatically goes to 30w. Kind of odd and makes no sense. However, even with a few cons, there is a lot of good that this has going for it that make it a solid choice, especially for someone’s first mod. The mod is super small and comfortable, it also has enough power to get through a full day, so that was a pro for me. The entire feel of the mod is solid, and the tank that they included works damn good. Many of the cons I found with this are super subjective and for what it is, they did it well!
OVEN TEST
If this were accidentally fall into the pizza oven, would I go get another? That’s a no from me. I like it, but not enough to totally need one in my life.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROS
- Compact setup
- Good combo with the tank
- Fast charging via USB-C
- Simply to use
---------------------------------
CONS
- Dated display
- Fingerprint magnet finishes
- USB port is on the bottom of the mod
- Wattage automatically goes to 30w after each atomizer change
- Internal battery is a con for me, may be for some others
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Thank you all for reading and thank you to Eleaf for sending this my way for review. This can be found online for roughly $50-60.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Pizza Dave – delivering real reviews with no extra toppings
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
REVIEW CRITERIA: I use each item extensively for about two weeks to ensure I have collected enough data to adequately write a review. I use the same e liquid in tanks or rdas throughout all my reviews to ensure that I am comparing apples to apples between all modern equipment. I do not post reviews until I feel confident that I have used all products enough to give an educated review. The reason I started doing reviews was due to poor purchasing decisions in my vaping infancy about two years ago. Back then, I purchased several different pieces of hardware without really enjoying them and I hope my reviews can guide people into spending their hard-earned money more wisely than I did! ****Keep in mind that some items I receive may be pre-release and not in retail packaging. Quality may be less than the finished product and what is in the package may differ from the retail package as well.
