Sigelei ZMax V3 or TMax V5???

[Monotremata]

Ok ECFers need some help with the pros/cons between these two.. Gonna get one of em either today or tomorrow just cant decide..
Ive found both for $25 each (everyone else bought all the $25 ZMax V5s last week dang it!!).

I like that the TMax is basically the ZMax V5 in a box (I love my MVP but dont mind a tube either), but most of the reviews Ive read of it were bad, at least concerning the 510 connector breaking, performance wise it sounds great. I know a couple of you around here have em but I dont see anyone ever talking about them..

The V3 ZMax is obviously a tried and true winner, but I really wanted the newer display of the V5, and well the V3 is almost 2 years old already!! Plus Im pretty sure the TMax is a full kit that comes with an 18650, 18350 and a charger.. Already have an xtar charger but hey the batteries would be nice and for the same price as just the ZMax body???


The other option I was looking at was the KSD eHolly. Itll hit 35w, has the YiHi chipset in it, but its almost twice as much, and well we're broke here! (Plus I still have to put aside $22 of the money I got to buy a KFL from a forum member).. Im not so sure Ill ever need more than 15w anyways, sub-ohming isnt my thing, I just like to keep from smoking and enjoy my homemade juices!

 

[AndriaD]

I have a Sigelei Zmax v3, and I can tell you, it's a marvelous piece of hardware. If you're concerned about that 510 connector in the Tmax, you would definitely do better with the zmax v3, because the eGo/510 threads are stainless steel, and thus, very strong, resistant to damage -- in fact all the threads on the entire device are stainless. Just because something is newer doesn't mean it will be better than this v3; any device would have to go a real long way to be better than the sigelei zmax, whether v3 or v5.

I got my own v3 for $39.95, and that was a terrific bargain; if you can get it for even less, you should SNAP IT UP ASAP. The quality is unbelievable, absolutely solid.

Andria

EDIT: I meant to add -- most of the time, the batteries that come in those pkg deals aren't worth the postage it takes to mail them -- you need IMR hi-drain batteries; the eFest, AW, or some of the others that I'm not familiar with, which provide AT LEAST 10A. You don't want ANY battery that has the word "fire" anywhere in its name.

 

[Monotremata]

Haha yeah in the pics the batteries are labeled Sigelei so who knows what they are!

I just read on VU that the eholly is NOT the real YiHi chip either so that's out.. I am also looking at the Vamo V6 too. Its $10 more than the Zmax but it also goes to 20w. I've heard the Sig can hit that with stacked batteries though.. Not TOO concerned with the extra wattage, more quality between KSD and Sigelei..

 

[AndriaD]

Haha yeah in the pics the batteries are labeled Sigelei so who knows what they are!

I just read on VU that the eholly is NOT the real YiHi chip either so that's out.. I am also looking at the Vamo V6 too. Its $10 more than the Zmax but it also goes to 20w. I've heard the Sig can hit that with stacked batteries though.. Not TOO concerned with the extra wattage, more quality between KSD and Sigelei..

I have a Vamo v2, and although I'm extremely pleased with mine, I've read that a lot of others aren't; the problem seems to be that there are several different manufacturers of "Vamos," and the quality can vary, depending on which manufacturer made the one you end up buying. One thing that's cool about that Vamo v6 is that you can customize the length of time that the button can be effectively pressed, rather than being confined to the default 10 sec timeout. I'm seriously considering getting a v6 sometime in the future for just that reason -- plus I'm very pleased with my v2, so I'll cross my fingers and hope I get a well-made one.

I'm not sure if stacking batteries in the Sigelei can give you 20w; what it gives you is double the volts, so the battery life is *extremely* long -- like, my Vamo, which I use continuously throughout the day, eats an 18650 every day -- but the sigelei, with stacked 18350s, can go two days or even into the 3rd day before you need to change the batteries. Check out Jeremy R's blogs, and maybe Baditude's too, for the battery info -- I know that at one point, Jeremy R posted all the specs for stacking batteries in the Sigelei, in the Sigelei Zmax thread, and I think he blogged those posts.

Overall I'd probably give the Sigelei higher marks for quality, but my personal preference, for hand-feel, is the Vamo; one wouldn't think that 1mm difference in diameter could make that big a difference, but it does; the Sigelei feels "chunky" in my hand, while the Vamo feels slender. I have fairly large hands, long fingers, but a man's hands tend to be larger, so this might be less of an issue for a man -- or the Vamo might feel puny, compared to the Sigelei's 23mm.

Andria

 

[Monotremata]

Its getting tougher and tougher hahahaha!! Im definitely looking at the 'genuine' KSD Vamos so no worries there! Looking at that one over at sweet-vapes.com.
VAMO V6 20 Watt - Kangside VAMO - Electronic Mods
The cool thing is, the darker black chrome one I want is the cheaper of the two!!

As far as quality, Im pretty sure the Sigelei's take the cake here, but as far as durability, Ive probably read just as many stories of bad ZMax's now as I have Vamos. I did come across a thread where a member actually had both the Sigelei V3 and the Vamo V6 and went while he liked his Vamo, he went with the Sig (this was a thread between the Sigelei V5 and the Vamo V5)..

I really like what you said about the battery life using the stacked 350s though.. I have a Smoktech SiD and a 'cheapy' 650 battery but it MIGHT last a day, so I only keep that charged and break it out when the MVP is dead and charging.. Vape-wise, I still feel the MVP blows it away though, so thats why Im looking for a mod that can keep up.. The unreplacable battery is the ONLY thing I dont like about the MVP so I want one that does use one now, which is why I was really looking hard at the TMax too! The 20w on the Sigelei is just like the MVP too. The MVP states it has a max wattage of 11, but if you use it in voltage mode with the right resistance and crank it all the way up, it will put out 12.5w.. I think the Sig works like this too, crank the volts all the way up and it HAS to go higher wattage due to Ohm's law, but youll only get it out of 2 stacked 350s, not a single 650..

I think I may just jump on the ZMax since its a special sale. The Vamo is that price all the time so I could always grab one later if the Sig doesnt do it for me, but I have a feeling it will.. For now! I can pick up the Sig plus a new AW 2000mah 650 for the same price I could get the Vamo for, and with the one battery I have, I probably need a better one to get more out of it, that SiD SHOULD rock, but it just doesnt have the ooomph my MVP does..

What 350 batteries do you use just curious?? Im going by mah here, and that single 650 has 2000, and the AW 350s are only 700mah so id actually be losing some vape time it looks like by going with 2 stacked 350s as opposed to 1 650?? I realize the voltage differences with the stacked but isnt that still a way shorter battery time?? Same site that has the Sig also has the purple Efest 350s for $5 each, but then theyve also got the older red 650 thats 2000mah for 4.49! Hmmm.. Its gonna be a long night hahaha!

 

[AndriaD]

Its getting tougher and tougher hahahaha!! Im definitely looking at the 'genuine' KSD Vamos so no worries there! Looking at that one over at sweet-vapes.com.
VAMO V6 20 Watt - Kangside VAMO - Electronic Mods
The cool thing is, the darker black chrome one I want is the cheaper of the two!!

My v2 is the 'black chrome' (gun metal) also, and it was also cheaper than the others -- and I can see a *little* wear on the chrome finish, mainly on the bottom around the edge, and at one spot on the body where my wedding ring hits it if I vape left-handed -- which I often do at the computer, since the right is usually busy with the mouse. But I think the finish is a bit hardier than I was led to believe. I got mine to match my gun-metal cartotank and gun-metal drip-tip. The guy at my local B&M sez "most people buy tanks to match their mods"... to which I replied, yep, but I got my Vamo for $17 !! From Vapor Break, if you care -- china, but it's a "good" version of the Vamo, no problems whatever, so I got a real deal. Figure if the chrome finish does get unsightly, I'll get a wrap for it; I've seen some NICE Vamo wraps.

As far as quality, Im pretty sure the Sigelei's take the cake here, but as far as durability, Ive probably read just as many stories of bad ZMax's now as I have Vamos. I did come across a thread where a member actually had both the Sigelei V3 and the Vamo V6 and went while he liked his Vamo, he went with the Sig (this was a thread between the Sigelei V5 and the Vamo V5)..

I really like what you said about the battery life using the stacked 350s though.. I have a Smoktech SiD and a 'cheapy' 650 battery but it MIGHT last a day, so I only keep that charged and break it out when the MVP is dead and charging.. Vape-wise, I still feel the MVP blows it away though, so thats why Im looking for a mod that can keep up.. The unreplacable battery is the ONLY thing I dont like about the MVP so I want one that does use one now, which is why I was really looking hard at the TMax too! The 20w on the Sigelei is just like the MVP too. The MVP states it has a max wattage of 11, but if you use it in voltage mode with the right resistance and crank it all the way up, it will put out 12.5w.. I think the Sig works like this too, crank the volts all the way up and it HAS to go higher wattage due to Ohm's law, but youll only get it out of 2 stacked 350s, not a single 650..

I think I may just jump on the ZMax since its a special sale. The Vamo is that price all the time so I could always grab one later if the Sig doesnt do it for me, but I have a feeling it will.. For now! I can pick up the Sig plus a new AW 2000mah 650 for the same price I could get the Vamo for, and with the one battery I have, I probably need a better one to get more out of it, that SiD SHOULD rock, but it just doesnt have the ooomph my MVP does..

I think that's right about Sig slightly edging out the Vamo on quality -- though not by much. My 18650s are 2250mAh (Efest) so that's pretty close to the MVP's 2600 mah. I run my Vamo at about 10w, but I use 3 ohm cartos, so that saves battery life a little, and the 18650 is good for the whole day. The sigelei goes up to 15w, not sure on volts, I never run in voltage mode, but I think that's right about only getting the max wattage/voltage if you're using stacked batteries -- seem to recall something like that, from the Sig Zmax thread.

What 350 batteries do you use just curious?? Im going by mah here, and that single 650 has 2000, and the AW 350s are only 700mah so id actually be losing some vape time it looks like by going with 2 stacked 350s as opposed to 1 650?? I realize the voltage differences with the stacked but isnt that still a way shorter battery time?? Same site that has the Sig also has the purple Efest 350s for $5 each, but then theyve also got the older red 650 thats 2000mah for 4.49! Hmmm.. Its gonna be a long night hahaha!

I have the regular Efest (red) 18350s; they say "800 mAh" but I'm told that's an inflated estimate, that they're really no different than the AW 700mAh. I bought what I thought were AW 18350s, but they turned out to be counterfeit, so I stuck them in the drawer for "extreme emergency" use only, since I really have no idea what they are. They could be one of the "FIREinyourhouse" brands for all I know. The Efests are fine for use in regulated mods; the main caution with stacking batteries is always keep together and charge together the batteries that are going to be used that way, and rotate them, each use -- don't always put the same battery in the same position -- so labelling them would be a good idea so you can tell them apart.

Andria

 

[Monotremata]

Well.. Was pretty much dead set on the 20w Vamo v6, but what do ya know, yesterday Varitube got rid of the v5 and now has the 40w v7. And it just so happened that today, payday, it was the "deal of the day" for $35!! Picked up a couple of the purple Efest 18350s too for stacking (I gotta try 40w once just to see haha). Hope its all here by Saturday!!!

Thanks for the help Andria!!