Here's the review my our boleh country.. i copy and paste the text over... I'm sure someone had read the review by Jack before.
On to the first impressions.
Looking at it for the first time, My first reaction was that it looks like a Provari. Slightly shorter than the Provari with the 18650 battery in it, while being a little bit thinner around the waist. Weight is a lot less too, which is good when put in a shirt pocket. All of the external surfaces is metal, except for the button and screen cover, which is a long way from the Lavatube with it's plastic endcaps.
Build quality, not bad. Better than other VV mods from China so far, for sure. The battery endcap is a little bit loose while screwing it in, but once it's fully screwed in it sits nicely flush against the main body of the mod. At least you get a full metal endcap, like the one on the Provari, albeit with thinner material. Screwing on the battery cap can be a little intimidating for some, as it does take a little bit of strength to depress the spring against your battery and screw it in. Don't be shy, just manhandle it in, it'll be fine.
Stuck a Joye LR 1.5ohm 510 atomizer on it. Set the voltage at 3.7V, which is what I usually use this atomizer at on other VV mods. Drippity drip a few drops of juice. Press the button.....Suck....
First reaction..... WOW !!!! …...Second drag, second reaction …..... WOW !!!! …..
Stuck the atomizer on my Provari, made sure it was set at 3.7V........ hmmmmmmm......
This is where I explain why I call the Vmax a “Monster”. The reason is simple, and it's also why I went “WOW !!!!”. I got a super hit out of my atomizer on every drag.
To put it in simple terms, I call the Vmax a “Monster” because this thing hits harder than anything I've ever tried at any voltage.. Period.
What I mean by hit, is every cartomizer and atomizer I've used on this thing, runs a lot hotter compared to running them on other VV mods set at the same voltage.....and this includes a Provari V1, Provari V2, an Evercool mod with 6amp limit and a Lavatube. I know the Provari is very accurate when it comes to voltage under load, so this was a surprise. Does that mean that the Vmax is better than the almighty Provari? To put it into perspective, this same Joye atomizer performs best for me on the Provari at 3.7V, but also performs the same on the Vmax, when set at 3.0V !!!! Hmmmmm.....
At least 2 people suggested that the voltage setting in the Vmax is not accurate, and that voltage going to the atomizer is actually higher than what is shown on the LED screen. This would explain the higher heat from the atomizer and cartomizers I was testing it with. I was thinking the same thing, until I actually measured the Vmax under load, and found that the voltage is pretty close to the set voltage,... Example: Set the Vmax at 3.8V, measured under load at 3.79V. Set the Vmax at 6.0V, got a reading of 6.02V under load.
Now, measuring the voltage of the Vmax under load wasn't easy. Vmax uses something called PCM by some people. This means that the voltage is not a constant voltage like you would get direct from a 3.7V battery like a n 18650. What I mean by this is that the voltage goes up and down many times every second. This is usually done on e-cigs which use this feature to reduce power use and if done correctly, the user doesn't even feel a thing. Due to the PCM feature in the Vmax, I had no choice but to find a way to measure it with digital multimeters. The reason for this is that those little meters you see vapers use to screw on the mod and measure the voltage just doesn't work on PCM mods. They would just flash continuously and you won't get any reading at all.
Under use, I managed to get more than a day of vaping on this monster, with a set of 2 x AW IMR 18350 which has 700mah each. Voltage was consistent, stable and hitting hard from start to finish, which was another surprise. Although that's 2 units of 700mah, it's stacked, so the actual practical mah in a stacked system such as this one is.... 700mah. Why 2 batteries? Well, the Vmax doesn't work like the Provari, or the Lavatube, which are what's called booster mods. They take a low voltage of 3.7V, and boosts it up to a maximum of 6V or whatever the system supports. A stacked system like the Vmax uses a voltage regulator of some sort, taking the stacked voltage of up to 8.4V, and regulating it down to 3.0 to 6.0V that the Vmax supports. Is this good, or is this bad?
Most veteran vapers will probably have heard of the following names: Buzz Pro, Infinity Pro, Evercool Mod....just to name a few. These are all, in essence, stacked battery VV mods, which step down the power to a lower voltage. These types of mods have been around for a while, the original Buzz being one of the first variable voltage mods commercially available. Mods like these recommend using suitable batteries, like a quality protected li-ion or safer chemistry batteries like the IMR or LifePO4. Use of any battery that can't maintain the high drain required for e-cigs will basically cause those unsuitable batteries to overheat, and possibly blow up. We should be fine if we use batteries suited to e-cigs like this, and if the mod itself has other safety feature built-in, even better.
For the built-in safety features, I've tested the reverse battery, short circuit, and over-discharge protection. They all work as advertised, by either giving you a nice warning on the LED display, or it just doesn't operate at all. All well and good.j ust works.
My only warnings for new users of the Vmax are as follows:
When changing batteries, the voltage setting defaults to a setting of 5.0V. Make sure you adjust it back down to your normal level or you may burn out atomizers or get a nice burning taste the next time you take a drag.
The LED display is permanently on...There is no way to turn it completely off, so....no stealth vaping for you.
This mod runs a lot hotter than anything most Malaysian vapers are used to. If using anywhere between 3.0 to 5V, try setting it about 0.4 to 0.6V lower than your normal setting and slowly raise it from there. Using the same voltage as you're used to from a Provari or Lavatube is probably going to be too hot for you.
The power button is one of those that are mounted on the main board of the system itself. Although this design is used on most other VV tube mods, knowing China made stuff, try not to use too much pressure to activate the unit...just in case. You never know if excessive pressure will actually shorten the lifespan of this mod.
Only use batteries suited for stacking on e-cigs. Do not use primary cells like lithium batteries for cameras. Only use original, high quality protected li-ion or safe chemistry batteries.
I haven't been able to really push it past it's 5amp limit, but I can certainly confirm that it's able to push a 1.6ohm dual coil cartomizer to the point of getting a burnt taste, at roughly 4.8 to 5.0V.
To end my initial thoughts on the Smoktech Vmax, I must confess that I've not used my trusty Provari for a few days now. This monster has met all my needs well, with a set of batteries easily lasting a whole day of vaping for me, both with LR and HV gear. Most people who know me probably knows that I go through 8 to 10ml of juice a day, so that says something. The shortest running time I had was when using a dual coil cartomizer, measured at 1.6ohm, at 4.5V (which was super hot, like having the same dcc on an evercool mod at 5V), and it still lasted about 13 hours for me with some heavy vaping through the day. It also functions pretty handily as an expensive digital multimeter, just like the Provari. The menu is quite easy to get used to, and it doesn't take long to make any changes by depressing it multiple times brings up the menu. In some ways, it's actually easier to use than most menus of this type, as it also includes numbers on the left to indicate to you where you are in the menu... Number 1....voltage up.....Number 2....voltage down.... and so on.
Is this mod a suitable replacement for the Provari, or any other variable voltage tube mod? I surprise myself by saying that it does show promise and it has done exactly that for me for the past 3 days. My only concern, as with any other China made mod, and any new product that hits our shores, is how long this thing will last, and if there are any problems with this Monster that has not cropped up yet in the few days I've used it. That said, I have these same concerns with any new product, so it's not a big concern any more.
At a listed price of RM400.00, which includes 2 x AW IMR 18350 batteries, a DCC tank, a Trustfire charger and a handy case, I do find that this is a good value, keeping in mind that these accessories alone will run you more than RM120 to 150 if bought separately. Given that the performance is much more stable compared to existing China made VV tube mods, it certainly warrants a slight premium in price over those mods. Although I do wish that it could be even cheaper, I won't mind paying the RM400 for it now, given the superior performance and the better build quality.
For those looking for a VV mod like the Provari, but at lower cost, give this Smoktech Vmax a try....You'll be amazed at how hard it hits. I have a feeling I will miss this thing when I eventually return it....sigh.
(As with any of my reviews I write, my views can change as I continue to use a particular product. Early impressions never really tell the full story. As time goes by, I will update any other findings. I will be making references to other VV mods through the review, as it is impossible to review something like this, without making comparisons to other mods we've seen so far)
UPDATE: 23 April 2012
It's been a week of using the Vmax. A few more things to add about it.
If you're a fan of LR gear, like LR atomizers and cartomizers....you can forget about them. Haha... Who needs them when you've got the Vmax. I did find that any atomizer from 1.5 to 1.7ohm is slightly on the hot side when used with the Vmax, even set at 3.0V, which is the lowest setting. Those who like atomizers, I would suggest using anything from about 1.8 ohm and up, as this will give you a bit more flexibility to play around with higher or lower voltages.
As for cartomizers, for Boge cartos, try the standard resistance ones with around 2.4ohm and up. LR ones are going to run a bit hot, but if you're the type that likes heat, you're gonna love LR boges on this thing.
The Vmax loves DCCs....slap a DCC at around 1.6 or 1.7ohm on this thing, and you will see it rock at around 3.7V and up. Go even higher, and it's going to blow your mind. DCCs are notorious for needing higher voltage to really get it to perform, and the Vmax just brushes it aside like it was nothing.
THE REASON THE VMAX IS ABLE TO HIT SO HARD
After days of research, measuring voltages, amps, calculating watts....I've finally found out why this thing feels like it's running at higher voltage than it actually measures out at. It's all due to the PWM, or pulse width modulation (btw, I had mixed this up with PCM in the early part of the review).
There's usually 2 ways PWM is implemented in e-cigs. Original Ego, and most of the Ego clones uses a PWM that maxes out at the voltage it is regulated at. The Akston SVR is a mod that uses PWM in this way. Example: if you set a mod with PWM at 5V, every time it pulses the power, the maximum it will go is 5V, then it goes back down to zero. This happens many times a second, so you won't feel it. Using this method, there are some cases where the performance will be a bit lower than an equivalent mod like the provari which provides constant, continuous voltage. This all has to do with the duty cycle, which is another story altogether. If done correctly, you could get almost the same performance as a constant voltage device, while reducing power consumption and giving you more vaping time on a single battery.
Anyway, the Vmax, uses a slightly different PWM method, where every time it pulses, the maximum voltage is actually slightly higher than the voltage you have set. Once the pulse goes back to zero, the next pulse will come along and the whole cycle repeats itself. What this means is, if measuring with simple equipment, you will find that the average voltage is close to the voltage you have set on the mod. If measured with something like an oscilloscope, you're gonna see the voltage going up and down multiple times every second. The average voltage is surprisingly constant from the time you stuff a freshly charged set of batteries into it, to when it's about to shut down and you're needing to change the batteries out. How high is the maximum voltage? Well, that's gonna be answered in the days to come, as I have a friend overseas who is trying to get it measured with more sensitive equipment and print out a report.
One of the disadvantages of a PWM system is that it sometimes generates a lot of electromagnetic interference. I haven't found this here, as I've not had it emitting enough EMI to actually interfere with any of my usual electrical equipment like mobile phones, computers, televisions, radios...etc. Your average mobile phone has loads more EMI, imho, as most of us have seen it making your car radio make funny noises, I'm sure, but I haven't found this happening through a whole week of use.
What does this mean to the average vaper.....well, not much, except if you're a tech head. It's just going to manifest itself as a mod that seems to operate with the same performance as another VV mod set at an even higher voltage. If done right, this is one method of increasing the performance of VV mods to the point that it can provide loads of power, while still giving you decent vaping time, as a system like this is more efficient than a constant voltage system.
The average vaper just cares about how well the mod works with his/her preferred atomizer or cartomizer. The Vmax works for me very very well so far. My provari is feeling a bit left out in the last week, I'm afraid. Some vapers who have tried it out calls the Monster a "wierd" mod...coz it seems to perform a lot hotter than any other VV mod. For vapers who are finding that setting the Vmax at the lowest voltage setting at 3V is still too hot, just use a higher resistance version of your preferred atty or carto.
