Query ; suggestions for a couple new reliable box mods.

[carbonbegone]

Seven years & running, my old Protovapor 20w & Vapor shark mini still work well.
Both of these are out of production, sadly.
Bought a vaporesso Armour pro & a eleaf Invoke to have in rotation as everyday gadgets.
Amour pro still works, not so much the Eleaf ..
Thing is ; neither of the 2 more recent mods worked as well as the older ones, both the Proto vapor & the shark produce thicker flavor at identical wattages, assume that they just handle power more efficiently ? dna chips & likely heavier wire gages in both of those.
So .. looking for recommendations from the collective for one or 2 more 'everyday' devices.
Don't need lots of power or temp control, using Dvarw's @ 12-13 ish watts mostly.
Not been paying much attention to what's available these days, so hence the inquiry from those who know.
Reliability beyond a year or 3 & efficient power at comparatively low wattages are the attributes I'm seeking, not price sensitive if a device meets criteria.

Thanks in advance for any wisdom on the subject !!

.

 

[AngeNZ]

The Jac Vapour Series-B DNA 75w has a lot of fans. It's a compact 23mm 18650 mod:
SERIES-B DNA 75W 23mm Box Mod

There's a long running thread on it here, if you have any questions:
JAC Vapour Series-B DNA 75w

 

[Plumes.91]

You can still get your DNA chip in a well made body. The bodies have come a long way from the darwin, and your vapor shark mini. We've been seeing more quality mods coming out of china, utilizing the DNA chip in their bodies. You might want to look into chinese brands like Dovpo/Signature Tips, & Lost Vape. They've got models featuring the newest Evolv DNA chips & the bodies are generally accepted as being built well as compared to specialty manufacturers like your vapor shark.

 

[DPLongo22]

If you like the Armour Pro, the Innokin Kroma R is a much higher quality build with a very similar look & feel.

 

[Mordacai]

The ZQ Essent DNA75C single 21700 mod looks interesting for a lot of folks.

ZQ ESSENT Box Mod with Evolv DNA75C

Would be interesting to know if they could be dismantled though, as that's what you need if you want to replace components.

 

[Mordacai]

Ecigone in the UK has a time and stock limited sale on SXmini T Class mods with Hakutaku Sub Tank for approx £40, all I do know is that it works out at less than $70 to US.

SXmini T Class SX580J 200w + HAKUTAKU Sub Tank

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

Make sure the Armour Pro isn't on soft mode and if it is put it on normal or hard mode. And if it is just increase the wattage. Seeing how you were using a 20W mod you should have plenty of room to increase the wattage.

 

[DPLongo22]

...and I don't know how you feel about the Side-by-Side mods, but the one on the right brings some unique features to the table, mainly in the weight category. It's only 47 grams, naked, and may be the lightest 18650 on the market. If not "The", certainly one of...

It's also quite compact.

It's a Shift by Hummingbird Mods (here in the states). DNA60 and works marvelously well as a pocket mod (IMO).

Hummingbird SHIFT 18650 - 21700

 

[carbonbegone]

Thanks folks ! ECF always delivers.
Liking the Jac Vapor as an all rounder.
Hummingbird shift looks like a winner, like the idea of light weight but apparently not in stock @ vaping art currently. Mod is listed but price is zero ?

Also looked at the SXmini MX class 18650, are the YiHi chips/devices typically well regarded & reliable ?
Vaping art has 'em for 70 bucks ... from original 150.
Grab one ?

 

[Mordacai]

YiHi do make some really decent chipsets @carbonbegone, the SXmini SL Class is another nice mod as well.

 

[DPLongo22]

Thanks folks ! ECF always delivers.
Liking the Jac Vapor as an all rounder.
Hummingbird shift looks like a winner, like the idea of light weight but apparently not in stock @ vaping art currently. Mod is listed but price is zero ?

Also looked at the SXmini MX class 18650, are the YiHi chips/devices typically well regarded & reliable ?
Vaping art has 'em for 70 bucks ... from original 150.
Grab one ?

They run about $150-180 if I remember correctly. VA will probably have their stock updated soon, and the modder is reachable (IF that's something you wanted to pursue).

The JACs are great too!

 

[Mordacai]

@DPLongo22, I wonder if those ZQ Essent mods will outsell the Jac Vapour?

 

[carbonbegone]

In keeping with the usual & customary impatience regarding the vaping community & their hardware ; I ordered one of the Jac DNA 75 devices.
The deciding factor was the kind of 'old school' straightforward design, lots of 18650's on hand & the DNA chip.
Truth ; my 7-8 year old Protovapor XPV still has the original Panasonic battery & holds up to all day use, I can only attribute that to the build quality of the gadget & the DNA chipset.

Thanks AngeNZ & everyone else for offering suggestions, saved me a lot of time on youtube ...
I'll be curious to see if the Jac survives being treated like a rented mule for nearly a decade.
CBG

 

[DPLongo22]

@DPLongo22, I wonder if those ZQ Essent mods will outsell the Jac Vapour?

That certainly might be an interesting study if we were ever privy to the info.

 

[Mordacai]

Just that it either one of those or a Dovpo Odin Mini DNA75C, of which I'm not a fan of it's looks.

 

[DPLongo22]

Just that it either one of those or a Dovpo Odin Mini DNA75C, of which I'm not a fan of it's looks.

Me neither. Dovpo's not been knocking me over with their recent designs. That "Collage" SbS is...

The Cs are naturally larger than I normally prefer though, so that may be coming into play for me. I'd rather have a smaller mod than a color screen. I have TVs.

 

[Mordacai]

Non C chipsets have also been proven for a definitive TC experience, no ideas why the C chipsets are no way near as good. Unless they sacrificed TC performance to bring folks a colour screen?

Which I too could do without, a nice high DPI OLED display that you can read in direct sunlight works for me. Even in monochrome you can also have animated effects and or events.

 

[HigherStateD]

Non C chipsets have also been proven for a definitive TC experience, no ideas why the C chipsets are no way near as good. Unless they sacrificed TC performance to bring folks a colour screen?

Which I too could do without, a nice high DPI OLED display that you can read in direct sunlight works for me. Even in monochrome you can also have animated effects and or events.

My uneducated guess is the color can preheat to 100w, and has a greater voltage output range, so less refined granularity in precision.

 

[carbonbegone]

Follow up ; 2.5 months using the Jac S-B 75w device.
What a terrific device, thoughtfully designed & just a joy to use.
The design & build quality exceed expectations for a 70 dollar gadget.
5 stars ; design, size, battery door, fire button, fast charging .. & a great vape.
The nicest around the house device one could imagine, if I were compelled to assign any slight negatives they would be that it's a bit heavy for pocket carry, but only a bit & that same attribute makes it just about perfect in-home because despite it's small size ; it's stable on da table.
Was very pleasantly surprised that the fire button is nearly silent (comparatively) & requires only the slightest pressure. Such a light pressure button will have it occasionally activate in-pocket though unless it's turned off.
Overall a great device with outstanding design, build quality & the presumed reliability of a DNA chip.
Will likely order another as a spare ..

 

[Mordacai]

@carbonbegone, you can lock the fire button.

It may well be looking and asking in the series B on how to do it, as I'm not that familiar with the DNA75 chipset.