I have had my Provape-1 in stainless steel for a week now.
This is my first review and since I am not exactly the most photogenic, I will keep this in print only. Besides, some people still like to read I am told.
I ordered this unit on a Friday afternoon and did not expect it to be shipped until Monday at the earliest. Being anxious to replace the Protege lost a few weeks earlier and having a less than satisfying experience with several other mods, I sent an email on Monday inquiring about the shipping date.
Phil replied that the unit had shipped that day (8:30 pm reply) and replied to a remark about the switch as well in another response at 9:30 pm. This guy keeps late hours.
The next day I received a shipping notice and then later an apology from Phil that shipping was backed up and it did not go out on Monday as he had told me. He said that he was sending some juice samples to make up for it. Minor ding here, as the samples were listed on the ordering page as included with the Provape unit anyway. BTW, I ordered some juice samples (3x10ml) at the same time to see what the juice is like. That is a different review. Order page states that the juice ships from the East Coast and will arrive separately. I also ordered several LR 510 attys, a LR 901 atty along with the 901 adapter, and 5x510 LR cartomizers. Got the AW 14500 as well. Oh yeah, I ordered a ProTip drip tip too.
The ProVape-1 arrived in my PO box on Thursday along with the juice order sent from Georgia if I remember correctly. BTW, I am in Southern California. 2 day shipping I can deal with. USPS Priority shipping was included since the order was over $100.
The items were well packages as others have stated. Minor ding for the juice samples included with the PV as leaking enough to make the labels run. Only 2 of 5 were readable. Ding rescinded since the juice was in a well sealed small zip and nothing else was wet. Again, juice is another review.
Well built unit with nice thick SS wall. Nice deep threads that work very smoothly. It seemed to already have some Noalox or other grease on the threads. Good touch. Everything is very well finished and the QC is certainly first rate. The tube has what I think of as a bead or media blasted finish that feels silky to the touch as does not show fingerprints. The battery end cap and the atty adapters are made of nicely polished aluminum with the round divots cut into them for easier grip. I like the look of this as opposed to the knurling some other modders use. Plenty of photos elsewhere so I will not post more.
It is quite heavy for a mod of this size, but I like that. It feels substantial in the hand. The button is well placed for my thumb or first finger. The button has a very nice action, not too hard (Protege) not too soft. Would be nice if it was SS like the body, but it does not bother me too much that it is not. It has a slightly rounded top surface that is comfortable to push. I have not had button thumb like I always had with the Protege. It has fired every time I have pushed it. I saw in another review that the switch is rated at 6A although I have not seen that listed on the ProVape site. (the .5A switch in the Chameleon was a weak spot for me, also too small for my thick fingers) I do not know if the switch is user serviceable. There is a small set pin flush with the body directly opposite the button. Visible, but just barely felt with the finger. Again, a nice finish job. A plus as well for the vent hole in the bottom cap.
It seems to give more vapor with the same atty than the Indulgence at 3.7v. That could be a battery issue since the Indulgence uses an18350. Some of the LR 510 cartos I received from Provape work on the Indulgence and others do not. Regular 510 cartos purchased from IkenVape do not work on the ProVape. Iken's 2.0 attys in 510 and 901 work fine. When I first got the ProVape, a 2 day old Iken 2.0 510 stopped working after vaping for about 2 puffs. Then a ProVape LR 510 lasted less than 24 hours and stopped as well. Phil sent some replacements and a post paid mailer to return them to him for review. I like that response. He did send cartos instead of attys, but he may have misread my email. Benefit of the doubt on that.
All in all I am very happy with this mod. I have 2 minor quibbles.
I would like the top and bottom end caps offered in SS. Just a preference. Where I set the PV on the desk, the bottom is already starting to show some scratching. Anodizing perhaps? The other thing is that I think the juice well on the top is a bit too narrow. If I over drip an atty or over top off a carto, the size of the drop is such that it does not go into the narrow well, but bridges the gap and drips down the side of the adapter. This is specific to the 510 and not to the 901 which sits lower and has a wider gap in the well.
Thanks for a well designed and produced mod.
This is my first review and since I am not exactly the most photogenic, I will keep this in print only. Besides, some people still like to read I am told.
I ordered this unit on a Friday afternoon and did not expect it to be shipped until Monday at the earliest. Being anxious to replace the Protege lost a few weeks earlier and having a less than satisfying experience with several other mods, I sent an email on Monday inquiring about the shipping date.
Phil replied that the unit had shipped that day (8:30 pm reply) and replied to a remark about the switch as well in another response at 9:30 pm. This guy keeps late hours.
The next day I received a shipping notice and then later an apology from Phil that shipping was backed up and it did not go out on Monday as he had told me. He said that he was sending some juice samples to make up for it. Minor ding here, as the samples were listed on the ordering page as included with the Provape unit anyway. BTW, I ordered some juice samples (3x10ml) at the same time to see what the juice is like. That is a different review. Order page states that the juice ships from the East Coast and will arrive separately. I also ordered several LR 510 attys, a LR 901 atty along with the 901 adapter, and 5x510 LR cartomizers. Got the AW 14500 as well. Oh yeah, I ordered a ProTip drip tip too.
The ProVape-1 arrived in my PO box on Thursday along with the juice order sent from Georgia if I remember correctly. BTW, I am in Southern California. 2 day shipping I can deal with. USPS Priority shipping was included since the order was over $100.
The items were well packages as others have stated. Minor ding for the juice samples included with the PV as leaking enough to make the labels run. Only 2 of 5 were readable. Ding rescinded since the juice was in a well sealed small zip and nothing else was wet. Again, juice is another review.
Well built unit with nice thick SS wall. Nice deep threads that work very smoothly. It seemed to already have some Noalox or other grease on the threads. Good touch. Everything is very well finished and the QC is certainly first rate. The tube has what I think of as a bead or media blasted finish that feels silky to the touch as does not show fingerprints. The battery end cap and the atty adapters are made of nicely polished aluminum with the round divots cut into them for easier grip. I like the look of this as opposed to the knurling some other modders use. Plenty of photos elsewhere so I will not post more.
It is quite heavy for a mod of this size, but I like that. It feels substantial in the hand. The button is well placed for my thumb or first finger. The button has a very nice action, not too hard (Protege) not too soft. Would be nice if it was SS like the body, but it does not bother me too much that it is not. It has a slightly rounded top surface that is comfortable to push. I have not had button thumb like I always had with the Protege. It has fired every time I have pushed it. I saw in another review that the switch is rated at 6A although I have not seen that listed on the ProVape site. (the .5A switch in the Chameleon was a weak spot for me, also too small for my thick fingers) I do not know if the switch is user serviceable. There is a small set pin flush with the body directly opposite the button. Visible, but just barely felt with the finger. Again, a nice finish job. A plus as well for the vent hole in the bottom cap.
It seems to give more vapor with the same atty than the Indulgence at 3.7v. That could be a battery issue since the Indulgence uses an18350. Some of the LR 510 cartos I received from Provape work on the Indulgence and others do not. Regular 510 cartos purchased from IkenVape do not work on the ProVape. Iken's 2.0 attys in 510 and 901 work fine. When I first got the ProVape, a 2 day old Iken 2.0 510 stopped working after vaping for about 2 puffs. Then a ProVape LR 510 lasted less than 24 hours and stopped as well. Phil sent some replacements and a post paid mailer to return them to him for review. I like that response. He did send cartos instead of attys, but he may have misread my email. Benefit of the doubt on that.
All in all I am very happy with this mod. I have 2 minor quibbles.
I would like the top and bottom end caps offered in SS. Just a preference. Where I set the PV on the desk, the bottom is already starting to show some scratching. Anodizing perhaps? The other thing is that I think the juice well on the top is a bit too narrow. If I over drip an atty or over top off a carto, the size of the drop is such that it does not go into the narrow well, but bridges the gap and drips down the side of the adapter. This is specific to the 510 and not to the 901 which sits lower and has a wider gap in the well.
Thanks for a well designed and produced mod.
