RedEyeDancer's AFS Box-mod Review
Update!! RedEyeDancer PM'd me, apparently the plunger on the unit I reviewed was the wrong one. I will post an addendum to this in a post below this review... thanks
**Prologue**
I have no technical prowess, no concept of physics, math, or electronics. I am a guy that likes to vape. To my knowledge, I have never owned a PV that I hate. Each has its own personality and style.... Thanks to RedEye for trusting me to put together a fair and unbiased review of this new mod ("The Reo" according to WhatAClumsyGirl, her review can also be found here: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...9401-reo-wooden-box-mod-juice-fed-review.html)
I. Initial Impression
A. The Good
B. The Bad
C. The Ugly
II. WaffleStomper's Zombie Apocalpyse/Worst Case Scenario Impressions.
I. Initial Impressions
I was surprised to see this arrive in the mail. RedEye had mentioned a while back that he may ask me to review this mod. To be honest, I had all but forgotten about it. I had previously read Clydes review of a RedEyeDancer box mod (I think this is either a completely new device or a V2), and I remember thinking that it's appearance was very rough, and was not impressed.
The second I opened this box, I immediately thought to myself, "Redeye has really stepped up his game". This mod looked much better than his previous brainchild. Not quite to the Phidius level of woodworking, but who cares, this is lightbeers ahead in the arena of utility.
A. The Good
The first feature that I liked was the back panel. It slides off (like a snuff box) and has a magnet that ensures it will stay there. Wood will wear over time, and this magnet is added insurance.
The button appears to be similar, if not identical to the one on the Woodimus. This was not a bad choice. It depresses easily, is tactile and gives a good solid "Click" that you can feel and hear..in fact this one seems to be a bit "stiffer" than the woody (no pun intended). These are very resilient buttons, and as far as I know, will last years and years under reasonable use.
You'll notice on the picture below, that the Reo has an ominous brass fitting of some sort on top (this is where the atty attaches). It is unknown to me if this is part of the AFS feed or if its some measure to protect the atty when dropped. Either way it is a big honking hunk of metal, but still looks nice when the atty is attached. And it gives me a bit of comfort knowing that I won't break my atty off if its dropped (which has happened on occasion). And for that reason, I'm putting it in the "Good" category.
It should also be noted that adapters were sent with this unit to test the 901, the 801 and 510. Reo takes an 801 native.. so you will need 801->X adapters if it does not come with them.
The AFS is really where this box mod shines for me. It is clean, easy to use and has no giant "Frankentubes" or "NASA" level learning curve to it. It is a simple tube that goes into a bottle with a small plunger on the back that lets you manually feed juice into the atty adapter (more on the plinger in "The Ugly").
Apparently these are stock atties, I see nothing in the way of modification. This mean you can use whatever atty your little heart desires. I have tried LR atties, HV and Stock atties all with positive outcomes. One good pump on the plunger and I was getting 5-8 good vapes on a 901 at 3.7v.
If you over pump the plunger
not to worry. I hit that thing 8 times and that ominous brass fitting acts as a reservoir to collect the juice... I was still able to vape away, with nary a care in the world...and no juice in the mouth so far.
B. The Bad
This is the unfunnest part. Usually Bad doesn't rear his nasty head until a few weeks down the road. So unless a fire breathing dragon riding an oily dark unicorn of hate comes barreling down the road. I'm happy to say this part will be short.
This unit fits an 18650 3.7v battery. Bad news for you HV vapers...maybe. I was able to fit two AW 3.7v cr123a's in there, and it worked like a charm, my Ultrafires, no joy. Once again, use common sense, I know jack and/or squat about electronics, so RedEye will probably be able to answer whether or not the electronics are up to that task. But, in that vein, HV vaping with an AFS is the bee's patellas.
Be careful when refilling/swapping that bottles. Make sure you collect that juice that is going to come out of the tube..or at the very least make sure you clean the stuff of the bottom. I don't see it being able to short out the unit, but better safe than sorry. I purposely did this, and had no problem. This is nothing new to me after using my Juicebox, and this comes nowhere near the mess I had when dealing my CJB.
The size is a bit enormous (that may be overdramatic), its about the size of a CJB and maybe a touch bigger than Woodimus. But to be honest, you have a box mod, with an AFS, that takes an 18650... its not going to be tiny. This does decrease its portability some, this unit would be the one I would have on my desk, or at my chairside for continuous vaping without hassle.
C. The Ugly
The craftsmanship as far as the woodworking goes, is nice. Not as snazzy as the Woodimus but it is still very clean, precise and professional looking. No frills, fancy scrollwork, decorative blah blah blah... .it is nice wood, beautifully stained, and it is overall very attractive. I do think the appearance would benefit from some type of embellishment, or maybe a choice of stains when it goes live.
The Plunger. The only really "ugly" to me is the plunger. This unit came with black and brass...pick your poison. This thing sticks out about a half inch, you will snag this thing on your pocket (or a chest hair if you vape naked) and it scares the hell out of me that I might drop in and crack the wood panel.
To be perfectly honest, when I opened the package, I had no clue that it was a plunger until I saw WhatAClumsyGirl's review. I thought it was a vent hole. I was priming the atty by drawing air in, and it actually worked fairly well...
I think Redeye could come up with a little less intrusive plunger fairly easily and probably at less cost. I can feed the juice just by depressing the bottle a small amount with the back off, and suction takes care of the rest, not sure if a 1/2" plunger is needed. That being said, it wouldn't be my go-to portable device anyhow, but sitting at my chair, it works great, so I am indifferent.
II. Wafflestomper's Zombie Apocalypse/Worst Case Scenario Impressions.
This part is where the the real test comes in. When the fit hits the shan, will this mod be able to take the heat? Let's hop in my Situationizer5000 and see what happens.
In this scenario, Darth Vaper and friends have arrived and infiltrated the world banks and high government spots...this was easy using mass media and Jedi mind tricks. These communist aliens are hell bent on using us as cattle for food. They have taken our rights and declared martial law....
So what do we do now?
We do what any red-blooded Earthling would do. We round up a few cans of Yoder's canned hamburger, a reverberating carbonizer with mutate capacity (for personal protection) and our vaping stash.
Day 1
Uh oh! The box is too big to fit in our bug out bag so we gotta lose the compass... hell with it.. the magnetosphere is screwed up because of the alien radar jammers anyhow. Problem solved....we broke that plunger off trying to cram it in there, but its cool, later on we can just pop a hole in there and feed the AFS with our thumb.
Day2
So far we are still alive, and have made it to the woods. While hiding in a hollowed out log, we managed to hide from alien patrols... good thing the Reo is made of wood or they may have picked us up with their metal detectors.
I had to eat a bug... a little slimy... better than I expected... had a nutty taste.
Day3
Ran into some ECFers hiding out in a cave up north. Lucky for me they have plenty of atomizers and raw propylene glycol they are flavoring with native gooseberries. We are having to ration it out though. Luckily for me I waste nothing with my AFS, the poor drippers, shaking with hypothermia are wasting juice trying to hit the wick. Meanwhile I am comfortable vaping the nice warm juice non-stop.... some of those others can't vape at all... their frankenhoses have been damaged and the others are unable to drill special holes for their AFS systems....
Tho cold...tho very very cold... got my tongue thtuck on my thtainless thteel Thuper-T tip today.... My tongue hurth...
Day 4
Our batteries are dead, we are trying to make a generator from some baling twine and an old exercise bike....
No food... we had to eat Clyde.... I'm gonna miss that guy.
Day 5
Oh joy! The Aliens have left. Apparently the aliens have a fatal reaction to PG that turns them into Pizza and Beer! All vapers have been given hero status! As such we have all returned to society.... the ban on e-cigs is still pending however... apparently now that it has been used to kill aliens, the ATF is taking over the case.
Summary:
In a Worst-Case scenario situation, this mod will likely stand up to the test where others fail. But it's wooden construction may not stand up to the rigors of alien vs. human combat. If you find yourself in this situation, be sure to bring extra batteries.
All in all the Reo is a great box mod. I have put off buying some of the new AFS box mods, as I hate the Frankentubes... But the quality of this one will likely put it in a higher price range than some of the others... But you get what you pay for.
As it stands now, I would feel very comfortable recommending this box mod to a friend or family member interested in a mod with a quality AFS system. we will see what bugs show up in the future.
Thanks,
--waffle.
EDIT: Did not realize Redeyedancer had a site up, and apparently there will be some different color options available (I had said earlier that some choices would be nice). They can be seen here www.reosmods.com. My apologies for not researching that end of it.
Update!! RedEyeDancer PM'd me, apparently the plunger on the unit I reviewed was the wrong one. I will post an addendum to this in a post below this review... thanks
**Prologue**
I have no technical prowess, no concept of physics, math, or electronics. I am a guy that likes to vape. To my knowledge, I have never owned a PV that I hate. Each has its own personality and style.... Thanks to RedEye for trusting me to put together a fair and unbiased review of this new mod ("The Reo" according to WhatAClumsyGirl, her review can also be found here: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...9401-reo-wooden-box-mod-juice-fed-review.html)
I. Initial Impression
A. The Good
B. The Bad
C. The Ugly
II. WaffleStomper's Zombie Apocalpyse/Worst Case Scenario Impressions.
I. Initial Impressions
I was surprised to see this arrive in the mail. RedEye had mentioned a while back that he may ask me to review this mod. To be honest, I had all but forgotten about it. I had previously read Clydes review of a RedEyeDancer box mod (I think this is either a completely new device or a V2), and I remember thinking that it's appearance was very rough, and was not impressed.
The second I opened this box, I immediately thought to myself, "Redeye has really stepped up his game". This mod looked much better than his previous brainchild. Not quite to the Phidius level of woodworking, but who cares, this is lightbeers ahead in the arena of utility.
A. The Good
The first feature that I liked was the back panel. It slides off (like a snuff box) and has a magnet that ensures it will stay there. Wood will wear over time, and this magnet is added insurance.
The button appears to be similar, if not identical to the one on the Woodimus. This was not a bad choice. It depresses easily, is tactile and gives a good solid "Click" that you can feel and hear..in fact this one seems to be a bit "stiffer" than the woody (no pun intended). These are very resilient buttons, and as far as I know, will last years and years under reasonable use.
You'll notice on the picture below, that the Reo has an ominous brass fitting of some sort on top (this is where the atty attaches). It is unknown to me if this is part of the AFS feed or if its some measure to protect the atty when dropped. Either way it is a big honking hunk of metal, but still looks nice when the atty is attached. And it gives me a bit of comfort knowing that I won't break my atty off if its dropped (which has happened on occasion). And for that reason, I'm putting it in the "Good" category.
It should also be noted that adapters were sent with this unit to test the 901, the 801 and 510. Reo takes an 801 native.. so you will need 801->X adapters if it does not come with them.
The AFS is really where this box mod shines for me. It is clean, easy to use and has no giant "Frankentubes" or "NASA" level learning curve to it. It is a simple tube that goes into a bottle with a small plunger on the back that lets you manually feed juice into the atty adapter (more on the plinger in "The Ugly").
Apparently these are stock atties, I see nothing in the way of modification. This mean you can use whatever atty your little heart desires. I have tried LR atties, HV and Stock atties all with positive outcomes. One good pump on the plunger and I was getting 5-8 good vapes on a 901 at 3.7v.
If you over pump the plunger
not to worry. I hit that thing 8 times and that ominous brass fitting acts as a reservoir to collect the juice... I was still able to vape away, with nary a care in the world...and no juice in the mouth so far.B. The Bad
This is the unfunnest part. Usually Bad doesn't rear his nasty head until a few weeks down the road. So unless a fire breathing dragon riding an oily dark unicorn of hate comes barreling down the road. I'm happy to say this part will be short.
This unit fits an 18650 3.7v battery. Bad news for you HV vapers...maybe. I was able to fit two AW 3.7v cr123a's in there, and it worked like a charm, my Ultrafires, no joy. Once again, use common sense, I know jack and/or squat about electronics, so RedEye will probably be able to answer whether or not the electronics are up to that task. But, in that vein, HV vaping with an AFS is the bee's patellas.
Be careful when refilling/swapping that bottles. Make sure you collect that juice that is going to come out of the tube..or at the very least make sure you clean the stuff of the bottom. I don't see it being able to short out the unit, but better safe than sorry. I purposely did this, and had no problem. This is nothing new to me after using my Juicebox, and this comes nowhere near the mess I had when dealing my CJB.
The size is a bit enormous (that may be overdramatic), its about the size of a CJB and maybe a touch bigger than Woodimus. But to be honest, you have a box mod, with an AFS, that takes an 18650... its not going to be tiny. This does decrease its portability some, this unit would be the one I would have on my desk, or at my chairside for continuous vaping without hassle.
C. The Ugly
The craftsmanship as far as the woodworking goes, is nice. Not as snazzy as the Woodimus but it is still very clean, precise and professional looking. No frills, fancy scrollwork, decorative blah blah blah... .it is nice wood, beautifully stained, and it is overall very attractive. I do think the appearance would benefit from some type of embellishment, or maybe a choice of stains when it goes live.
The Plunger. The only really "ugly" to me is the plunger. This unit came with black and brass...pick your poison. This thing sticks out about a half inch, you will snag this thing on your pocket (or a chest hair if you vape naked) and it scares the hell out of me that I might drop in and crack the wood panel.
To be perfectly honest, when I opened the package, I had no clue that it was a plunger until I saw WhatAClumsyGirl's review. I thought it was a vent hole. I was priming the atty by drawing air in, and it actually worked fairly well...
I think Redeye could come up with a little less intrusive plunger fairly easily and probably at less cost. I can feed the juice just by depressing the bottle a small amount with the back off, and suction takes care of the rest, not sure if a 1/2" plunger is needed. That being said, it wouldn't be my go-to portable device anyhow, but sitting at my chair, it works great, so I am indifferent.
II. Wafflestomper's Zombie Apocalypse/Worst Case Scenario Impressions.
This part is where the the real test comes in. When the fit hits the shan, will this mod be able to take the heat? Let's hop in my Situationizer5000 and see what happens.
In this scenario, Darth Vaper and friends have arrived and infiltrated the world banks and high government spots...this was easy using mass media and Jedi mind tricks. These communist aliens are hell bent on using us as cattle for food. They have taken our rights and declared martial law....
So what do we do now?
We do what any red-blooded Earthling would do. We round up a few cans of Yoder's canned hamburger, a reverberating carbonizer with mutate capacity (for personal protection) and our vaping stash.
Day 1
Uh oh! The box is too big to fit in our bug out bag so we gotta lose the compass... hell with it.. the magnetosphere is screwed up because of the alien radar jammers anyhow. Problem solved....we broke that plunger off trying to cram it in there, but its cool, later on we can just pop a hole in there and feed the AFS with our thumb.
Day2
So far we are still alive, and have made it to the woods. While hiding in a hollowed out log, we managed to hide from alien patrols... good thing the Reo is made of wood or they may have picked us up with their metal detectors.
I had to eat a bug... a little slimy... better than I expected... had a nutty taste.
Day3
Ran into some ECFers hiding out in a cave up north. Lucky for me they have plenty of atomizers and raw propylene glycol they are flavoring with native gooseberries. We are having to ration it out though. Luckily for me I waste nothing with my AFS, the poor drippers, shaking with hypothermia are wasting juice trying to hit the wick. Meanwhile I am comfortable vaping the nice warm juice non-stop.... some of those others can't vape at all... their frankenhoses have been damaged and the others are unable to drill special holes for their AFS systems....
Tho cold...tho very very cold... got my tongue thtuck on my thtainless thteel Thuper-T tip today.... My tongue hurth...
Day 4
Our batteries are dead, we are trying to make a generator from some baling twine and an old exercise bike....
No food... we had to eat Clyde.... I'm gonna miss that guy.
Day 5
Oh joy! The Aliens have left. Apparently the aliens have a fatal reaction to PG that turns them into Pizza and Beer! All vapers have been given hero status! As such we have all returned to society.... the ban on e-cigs is still pending however... apparently now that it has been used to kill aliens, the ATF is taking over the case.
Summary:
In a Worst-Case scenario situation, this mod will likely stand up to the test where others fail. But it's wooden construction may not stand up to the rigors of alien vs. human combat. If you find yourself in this situation, be sure to bring extra batteries.
All in all the Reo is a great box mod. I have put off buying some of the new AFS box mods, as I hate the Frankentubes... But the quality of this one will likely put it in a higher price range than some of the others... But you get what you pay for.
As it stands now, I would feel very comfortable recommending this box mod to a friend or family member interested in a mod with a quality AFS system. we will see what bugs show up in the future.
Thanks,
--waffle.
EDIT: Did not realize Redeyedancer had a site up, and apparently there will be some different color options available (I had said earlier that some choices would be nice). They can be seen here www.reosmods.com. My apologies for not researching that end of it.
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