Silver Bullet vs Bolt (with Kick)

[Matt M]

Hey guys,

I'm about to enter the world of variable wattage. I don't want to shell out on a darwin - I'm more interested in the kick's ability to automatically adjust voltage to provide a similar vaping experience (wattage) regardless of what atomiser/carto/tank/etc I'm using. I'm also about to try a genesis style atty for the first time, so the kick can make up for any variation in resistances when I change coils etc.

However, I'm undecided on whether I should choose the silver bullet or the bolt? On price, a kicked bolt with batteries etc will set me back £100, while a silver bullet will be more like £140. Do you think the improvements in build standard and finish make the silver bullet worth the extra pennies?

Matt

 

[Nurzrachit]

Why not just get a vv tube mod that will display your resistance and you can manually adjust voltage to taste. Young June Lavatube is inexpensive and can push more watts than the kick.

 

[Matt M]

My sweet spot seems to be around the 6-8 watts anyway having used my other half's ego twist on several different cartos/attys/clearos etc... I don't seem to like it when the vapour gets too warm, it seems to add something to the taste that I don't like. The thing that appealed about the kick was the no-hassle approach to changing attys etc without the need to think about voltage changes.

 

[Croww]

Well the SB takes an 18650, while the Bolt takes a 18500. Adding a kick would equate to an 18500 on the SB and an 18350 on the Bolt...correct? Depends on battery life I suppose.

 

[kiwivap]

If you get two Bolt extensions you can kick an 18650.
Not preferring one over the other - just added that as info.

 

[LTV1]

Why not just get a vv tube mod that will display your resistance and you can manually adjust voltage to taste. Young June Lavatube is inexpensive and can push more watts than the kick.

Agree with this 100%

 

[DeviantDe]

However, I'm undecided on whether I should choose the silver bullet or the bolt? On price, a kicked bolt with batteries etc will set me back £100, while a silver bullet will be more like £140. Do you think the improvements in build standard and finish make the silver bullet worth the extra pennies?

Matt

I'm going to just ignore the kick part here since there are people with far more experience than I have. I have both a Silver Bullet and a Bolt(w/extension for 18650).

I personally prefer the Silver Bullet over the Bolt.

I've had my black chrome SB for over a year, the finish is still in great condition. The finish (also the black chrome) on the Bolt started showing scratches and the finish was wearing off in the 1st few days. I've been wanting to paint it since the end of the 1st week I had it, I've just been too lazy to do so.

The SB is a bit heavier and is far more sturdy. The Bolt is lighter and a bit thinner, to me it really does feel like a cheap knockoff.

The button on the SB is wonderful, smooth, light touch to operate, and because of it being recessed it doesn't get accidentally fired. The protruding one on the Bolt, not so wonderful, it's functional but can be easily fired by accident.

With the SB (from Altsmoke), if you ever have a problem, you can get it fixed. The Bolt is more of a throw it away and get a new one or fix it yourself if you can.

Both function well as designed, so it's really up to how well you want it to hold up versus how much you want to spend.
I personally think the SB is the better bet if you are planning to use it often or for a long time.

 

[Matt M]

I'm not too fussy on battery life, I don't mind having to charge things every night if needs be (though I doubt this would be necessary, even if I was down to a 18350 battery). As long as it lasts the day and the evening I'm happy. My 1100 egos lasts me 2 days if I push it, but I tend to just put it on charge every night.

Thanks DeviantDe, I was hoping that somebody with both the Bolt and the SB would be able to offer some advice. I think you've sold the SB to me. The finish in particular looks much better on that PV.

The only thing I can see that the bolt has to offer over the SB is that with the extension ring on, I dont have to remove the kick to swap the battery. Just screw off below the extension. Maybe the SB with extension ring is the same, correct me if I'm wrong?

As far as VV goes, as I mentioned before. I've tried my other half's twist a number of times and I'm generally floating around the 3.7-4.0v mark with standard resitance cartos/attys/tanks etc... I just dont feel that it's a feature I need to be honest - I'd rather keep it simple. Tbh, I don't find the lavatube to be particularly good looking either.

Thanks for the advice. Any more info/suggestions are more than welcome

 

[Cjax]

A bolt is pretty easy to mod with a better switch and wires. A really cheap 5 or 6 dollar upgrade can put it on par with the SB. Mine's working ok without it for now , though I will definately rewire it, but after I get another mod, just in case I royally screw something up. Shouldn't though, seems really easy. Check the modder's forum for a how-to. There are a few threads about it.

 

[Adam the Aussie]

I'm reasonably confident the people recommending variable voltage devices in this thread have never tried variable wattage.

 

[fenchurch]

I'm undecided on whether I should choose the silver bullet or the bolt? On price, a kicked bolt with batteries etc will set me back £100, while a silver bullet will be more like £140. Do you think the improvements in build standard and finish make the silver bullet worth the extra pennies?

Matt

I assume you intend to purchase the batteries, charger and kick regardless of which device you intend to purchase. I personally would suggest a bolt to start. See how the finish holds up for you. The wiring *should* be of the updated variety.

I agree with others in the thread, a SB is something I would consider repairing, but a critical failure of a bolt I'd opt to replace (would have to be critical, replacing horn buttons do not scare me, others not so sure).

However, once you have the Bolt, should you go that direction, you could save up for a SB at your own pace. Got a buddy that has both, and he likes being able to take the bolt outdoors/hunting/etc and not worry too much about it getting busted or lost, but still have most of the capabilities the SB.

You'll have a pretty decent mod either way, esp. with the kick. Have fun!

 

[Matt M]

Mmmm... decisions, decisions. I so want the SB for its clean looks and the fact that I wont have to adjust anything appeals to me. But then a ProVari Mini (with way more features) is the same price as a Kicked SB. I don't really know if I'll use any of those features though - but will I want them in future? Who knows?

Wish my local vape shop stocked the SB and ProVari so I could compare.

Matt