Protege review

[420GypsyGirl]

My Protege' was a hit and miss for the first two weeks. Seriously, I was about to just give up on it and toss it in the trash. I decided to not do that and rebuilt it. LOL! I have very capable machining knowledge - since my ex bf use to have his own shop and two of my brothers are both machinist- it rubs off on you if you hang around them enough. Anyway, so I rebuilt the switch and made a new end cap for the battery housing(screws on much easier now).

The switch that comes with the Protege' is really hard to depress and then it seems to not make good contact. I fixed all that. Took some serious rework but my switch works 100% of the time and doesn't stick and doesn't take tons of pressure to depress.

Replaced those lame contact pins with higher quality material and made it totally different. So my button now looks nothing like the original on the inside.

Also...I dunno who turned the end piece on my Protege where the atty attaches to the body of the mod, but it "was" crooked! LOL! Seriously, it was catawampas. So I made a new one. Now it is no longer crooked.

No I will not rebuild or help others rebuild theirs. It is time consuming and requires good mechanical skills, a mill and a lathe.

I love my Protege' as it is now, but I seriously do not recommend them to other people looking for a PV mod unless they fix the switch problems.

I really shouldn't have had to do so much rework to something I spent good money on and once I found out how this thing was made I learned I could have just made my own.

Never again. I know how they are made now and I'll never by another mod again.

 

[anim8r]

My proteges worked perfectly from the get go (with the tact switches). I haven't had one fail yet.

The mechanical switch I got simply never worked correctly, so I totally understand the frustration. I finally gave up using it after having to tinker with it non-stop to keep it working.

I'm back to tact switches and for me they are worth the hassle if I ever have to replace one (I have 2 spares.... just in case).

For most people though, I absolutely agree, stuff should work damned near perfectly, right out of the box.

This is NOT user error. Plenty of people have vented their frustration on the PS forum. But, it needs to be said, a working protege is an amazing little device. I lucked out and have two that work just fine.

 

[DelMartian]

I bought one and liked it - raved about how great it was, as a matter of fact. Bought another one for the car, so I could vape while driving. The second one has been nothing but trouble since day one. Heard about the mechanical switches and bought two since the tactile switches seem to be almost a fire hazard. Now, both of them are almost a constant problem.

If I get a weak vape, here is what I can do: loosen the adapter, tighten the adapter, press the switch a different way, refill the cart, change the battery, check the atty, clean the threads, etc., etc. It is ridiculous.

Anyone who is considering their products, look at their forum. Some people have good luck with their products, but it seems like most of the advice there is how to simply make the thing work. They are nice people and fairly responsive, but I would not buy another mod from them.

 

[nick0404]

Can you use rcr123a batteries in the protege? I thought I was ordering the V2 my mistake.

 

[doots]

Can you use rcr123a batteries in the protege? I thought I was ordering the V2 my mistake.

wont fit...

 

[defunkt]

I ordered the Protege a few months ago and I thought it was brilliant. Now it's on it's last legs and I suppose that is due to a malfunction with the switch. My friend has a Protege with the new switch (in black) and it is just awful, an utter nightmare. It hurts your finger when you press it for very long and he absolutely hates it, as do I. This has been quite a disappointment for me and I hope they give me a refund.

Conversely, I have owned the USB Pass Through for five months and I have never had a problem with it. It is a great product and worth every penny.

 

[ChefChris]

Amazing... I wasn't the only one, like I was lead to believe.
I won't retell my story to it's full extent, I already filled PS's forum with anger and I'm certain that I've turned away many a' potential customer. I sent in my mom's prodigy 3 times and was told it was user error and that no repairs were made nor did any need to be made. I then ordered some tact switches, ripped out the resistor, threw in a switch and noaloxed the threads and never had a problem again until the P.O.S. tact switch they used to carry crapped out after a good month or so.

They sent us 2 atomizers and told us to buy more and that we must've been using dead or faulty ones... when we had just bought 25 brand spankin new 901 atties from them a week or two previous.
That in and of itself was enough to set me off on a tangent. I know how to tell if an atty is dead or not, and not only that but there were 3 other PS devices in the house to test any suspected "dead" atty if need be, which we did. They gave us ZERO credit for our ability to use the device, even with a 600 dollar spending history with the company.

'There's nothing more we can do for you, it must be user error... if you buy more of our stuff maybe that'll make it work... if not maybe you could try this 30 dollar switch that most people have even more problems with, or try buying more atomizers... Oh I know you already have 2 dozen, but more couldn't hurt, right? Also, don't screw the adapter or atomizer down too tight, that could short the device and make the reasonably dangerous lithium ion batteries blow up in your hand!... Oh and, one more thing, thanks for the car payment!'

/end rage

 

[zoomie61]

I don't shop there anymore for that exact reason. That's not the only trouble I've seen there. Don't mean to bash anyone as they obviously work hard at what they do, but my money's too valuable to purchase crap. I can appreciate good customer service, but I appreciate it more if I don't have to use it in the first place.

 

[GregH]

Every mod that ps puts out has switch problems...i'm beginning to think that maybe they make more money selling switches than they do from the mods.

Fair enough that you and others in this thread have had problems. But let's spare the hyperbole, shall we?

I, and many others, are using the PS mods with no problems. So it's not fair to say that every mod they put out has switch problems. I have 3 that do not. I am a very happy customer.

 

[blurising]

Fair enough that you and others in this thread have had problems. But let's spare the hyperbole, shall we?

I, and many others, are using the PS mods with no problems. So it's not fair to say that every mod they put out has switch problems. I have 3 that do not. I am a very happy customer.

I don't believe a single word you say!!!

 

[GregH]

I don't believe a single word you say!!!

LOL. That's fair, too. After all, we're all just digital bits floating through the ether.

 

[JKBonin]

If he got a lemon then so did I and so did my sister. My Prodigy V1 worked for about 8 weeks and then the switch went on it. Had to mail the whole unit in for repair. Got it back and it worked for a whole hour. Sent it back again. Got it back and it worked for 1 day and almost caught fire, burned my hand and my batteries. I emailed PS and told them I was NOT mailing it back again and just going to call it a total loss. A few days later I got another switch in the mail which does work but I rarely use it. I just save it for back up. I also bought a 510 adapter that did not work. They sent me another one and guess what? It doesn't work either. 8-o So, $140 for original kit, $12.95 for 510 adapter and money to mail it in twice and months of total frustration.

My sister paid $114 for one of the second batch Proteges (I had a first batch one and sold it to a friend) used it a few times before the switch stuck and burned her hand and her desk. She was afraid to use it after that and was going to throw it away but I told her I would send it to PS get a new switch and sell it for her. Got it back with the new switch and a note saying my sister was tightening the atty too much. Like an idiot I put it up for sale without trying out the new switch. Well by now you can probably guess what happened. The person who bought it from me got it and the switch didn't work!

Well....that was MY .02 cents......

Seriously? wtf??? Can someone PLEASE explain to me how this ISN'T a design issue??

I could screw an atty onto my Silver Bullet until the damn threads snapped off and it wouldn't affect the operation of the pv! If screwing an atty down too far causes any issue what-so-ever, especially a possible fire issue (8-o), THEN THE COMPANY NEEDS TO RE-DESIGN IT!!!

How is this not obvious to the owners of this company? I'd call a design flaw that dangerous a major lawsuit just begging to happen. Add all the switch issues and the poorly engineered threads... wow. Sounds like one mighty fine looking POS.

I'll be truly surprised if this company isn't out of biz within the year should they choose to ignore such obvious defects in their product.

 

[smokum]

I truly hope PS gets these issues squared away as I have enjoyed dealing with them in the past and love my Protege.

I own a Protege with the early button, and guess I'm just also one of the "lucky" ones to experience no issues with daily use for about three months now.

Its surely a shame to see such a nice design go through so many dissatisfied customers over an inexpensive switch issue.

VapeOn,
Greg

 

[GregH]

Its surely a shame to see such a nice design go through so many dissatisfied customers over an inexpensive switch issue.

eh, I'm not convinced that there are so many dissatisfied customers so much as there are a few very loud ones.

and no. I'm not arguing that their complaints aren't valid. I just simply don't know; I've been very happy as are many others on the PureSmoker subforum.

 

[mwahle1]

eh, I'm not convinced that there are so many dissatisfied customers so much as there are a few very loud ones.

and no. I'm not arguing that their complaints aren't valid. I just simply don't know; I've been very happy as are many others on the PureSmoker subforum.

I really feel bad for the owners of PS. They seem like nice, respectable people, but there are clearly problems with some of their products. Just analyzing the statistics, there have been more complaints (warranted or not) about these products in comparison to all the other mods combined. There clearly are problems that need to be addressed.

 

[boochips]

Seriously? wtf??? Can someone PLEASE explain to me how this ISN'T a design issue??

I could screw an atty onto my Silver Bullet until the damn threads snapped off and it wouldn't affect the operation of the pv! If screwing an atty down too far causes any issue what-so-ever, especially a possible fire issue (8-o), THEN THE COMPANY NEEDS TO RE-DESIGN IT!!!

How is this not obvious to the owners of this company? I'd call a design flaw that dangerous a major lawsuit just begging to happen. Add all the switch issues and the poorly engineered threads... wow. Sounds like one mighty fine looking POS.

I'll be truly surprised if this company isn't out of biz within the year should they choose to ignore such obvious defects in their product.

Thank You!

 

[Screamer]

It's very funny that after all this time people are finally seeing what I was saying at the begining about the Protege.
If you want a mod that works all the time and customer support that acually cares just check out www.powervape.com. A very basic unit that will not fail you.

 

[Oddgirl]

I have several Puresmoker products:

- A Protege (switch went bad within one month, got a replacement, it is hit & miss - it is now strictly a backup);

- A Prodigy V1 (worked great for about 6 months, switch went bad, got mechanical switches, neither worked, sent them back, got 2 more. Since then, I've used this device strictly as a backup because I just can't deal with it anymore.);

- A USB Passthrough - It worked great for about 6 months, then died. Paid for Tier One service, they fixed it and sent it back. It's not as consistant as it used to be - have to loosen/tighten the adapter to get it to hit.

Fanboys on the forum will tell you "all you have to do is solder this or grind that". Well, I didn't pay that much money to have to solder and grind anything. I'm not a mechanical person, I'm just a vaper who needs her nic.

In the midst of all this mess, I got a Chuck, a Super-T Super6, a Silver Bullet (SB) and a Black Bullet (BB). Not ONE problem with any of these. They all worked great straight out of the box, and still work great. My Chuck hasn't been further than arm's reach since I got it. The Super6 is a real precision instrument, not much bigger than the Protege, and can vape at 6V or 3.7V.

I won't be buying any new devices from PS, at least until they've had a particular device out for a year or more and worked out the bugs. Vaping is supposed to be relaxing, not frustrating.

 

[420GypsyGirl]

Seriously? wtf??? Can someone PLEASE explain to me how this ISN'T a design issue??

I could screw an atty onto my Silver Bullet until the damn threads snapped off and it wouldn't affect the operation of the pv! If screwing an atty down too far causes any issue what-so-ever, especially a possible fire issue (8-o), THEN THE COMPANY NEEDS TO RE-DESIGN IT!!!

How is this not obvious to the owners of this company? I'd call a design flaw that dangerous a major lawsuit just begging to happen. Add all the switch issues and the poorly engineered threads... wow. Sounds like one mighty fine looking POS.

I'll be truly surprised if this company isn't out of biz within the year should they choose to ignore such obvious defects in their product.

No doubt. They do have a design flaw. If you screw the atty down to tight kiss the atty goodbye. I lost three that way before I fixed it myself. I no longer even use my Protege'. I ended up making my own mod and it works a thousand times better and the switch I used(which cast all of 45 cents) doesn't stick, doesn't hurt you finger and it works every time. It is very similar to the one you find on a 510 manual.

PS needs to totally redesign their Protege'. I'll never recommend anyone buying one.

 

[asidrave]

im tired of reading about all the same problems with the PS mods.

i wanna read about the problems with the others mods like SB, BB, Chuck, Little Chuck, Sparkplug, Adaptever etc.....