It didn't take long after starting with the 510 to realize that I wanted a longer-lasting battery, roughly as long as it took with the Blu to realize that I wanted something better than that. I started looking around for viable options and finally settled on the eGo class of batteries. 650 mah seemed like it'd be adequate for me and I liked the look of the units with the cones and whatnot.
After comparing the eGo, Riva, and T-Rex, I found that all of the units appeared to be virtually identical, with the exception of the T-Rex which won hands down over the others in the aesthetics category which is kind of ridiculously important to me, as a huge fan of industrial design. Given that nearly identical starter kits for all three models could be found for around the same price, I placed an order for the T-Rex kit.
The Kit
The kit itself comes with:
The gift box is nothing to write home about. It's a box and does a great job of holding things. I think the whole gift box thing is a bit dumb. You should never list a box as a feature of a product, in my opinion.
I enjoyed that the starter kit actually included enough stuff for you to have two complete PVs from the moment you open the box. Both batteries are charged enough for use and with two atomizers and cones, you can start double-fisted chain vaping from the moment you get the box open, if you want. I have to admit that I did, in fact, try this. And it was awesome.
The Batteries
The batteries themselves last me almost a full day. I usually have to switch out to the second battery toward the end of the day, what would equate to about 9-10 pm to people with normal schedules. I vape fairly heavily, a little more than I used to smoke, which was just about a pack a day.
I really like the LED ring on the batteries. It was the selling selling point for me between the T-Rex, eGo, and Riva. I wish there were other color options for the LEDs besides blue, but that is a small gripe, as blue would be my second choice anyway (a white LED would've matched my Mac).
The Charger and Adapter
It takes about 2.5 to 3 (closer to 3) hours to fully charge a battery using the provided charger. I've had no issues with either the charger or the adapter, but I find that I get a faster and seemingly better charge from my MacBook Pro's USB ports vs the adapter. This is also true for my phone, so it may just be the high-power USB ports that Apple uses on recent products that creates this difference. I haven't charged it on other computers enough times to be able to say for sure.
If your batteries are dead and you need to run out somewhere, charging it for an hour will probably get you through your errand. In theory, it should last about a third of a 16 hour day, 5 hours, on a one hour charge, but that's not something I've tested. Of course, I don't mean 5 hours of constant use, just 5 hours of the day with normal use. In practice, it'd probably be closer to 3.
The Atomizers
They suck. They mention on their site that they are using a new atomizer design that is supposed to, like all other atomizers on the market, produce more vapor than any other atomizer ever created. They don't, really, and the draw is very, very difficult. Forget direct inhaling - your lungs are not strong enough unless you're Michael Phelps or something. I gave these to my wife to use on her 510s, since the draw on a 510 is kind of airy to begin with and they work ok on those batteries but are, to me, less than desirable.
That's not to say that they don't work, but if you have a favorite brand/type of atty, these probably aren't going to replace them.
The Cones
The threading is a little less than perfect when you first get them. I was scared I was going to cross thread it or something, but after a few days of use, they loosen up quite well. I actually really like the cones. They restrict airflow a little bit and they force the air to come in near the cart/tip and flow past the atty, which heats it up a bit prior to it entering the atomizer, which results in a slightly warmer hit. The human tongue detects flavors better at warmer temperatures, so you get a little more flavor and an overall smoother, warmer vape.
The Cartridges
I drip, so I've barely used these. The actual carts themselves are pretty neat, a two-part design like Volcano sells for it's Magma line, but with a [very] slightly deeper reservoir. The liquid in them isn't very good, but I don't really like tobacco flavored juices very much, so that's a very subjective statement. They work fine though. I don't believe their actual strength is stated anywhere, but I think they are around 16mg. They are supposed to taste like Marlboro Reds, I believe, but I've yet to taste a tobacco flavored juice that tastes anything like a cigarette.
Build Quality
The build quality of these things rather sucks. My kit contained two batteries and one exhibits an issue where it discharges at about double the speed that it should and the other has an issue with the adhesive used to hold the unit together. I was pulling my drip tip off of my atty and the large, metal piece that covers the battery slid apart from the LED ring. It has not completely separated, but I've been concerned that the wiggling was going to mess something up and lately it has been acting a bit flakey.
Kingpin
Today, when I emailed the vendor about the issues I was having with the batteries, they didn't ask any questions, just told me to ship them in with the order number, and they would replace them and refund my shipping costs. I emailed them back to ask if I could ship one in at a time, so that I wouldn't be left without a PV (I 'donated' all of my 510s to my wife, who is out of town for the next week) and they replied, "It's our problem, so whatever works for you is fine." With this type of customer service, I'm honestly not too concerned with the fact that both batteries broke, as I feel confident that they'll take care of me if future issues arise.
I've contacted them a total of three times and have always heard back within two hours.
Edit: I received an email notification of a shipment from Kingpin this morning (which is the day after writing the rest of this). Apparently they just went ahead and sent out the replacements without me first sending in my defective batteries. I like these guys more and more.
Overall
I love my T-Rex. It changed vaping from something that was pretty frakking annoying sometimes to something that was almost pure pleasure (aside from waiting for the mail - but no PV is going to fix the USPS). I love the aesthetics of the unit and while I really wish the things weren't breaking to pieces on me, I'm overall very satisfied with them. They've really served me well for the past four weeks.
I could probably superglue the one that has started falling apart and never worry about it again, but since I have to send the other back, which I think just has a bad battery inside of it or an issue on the IC that controls the charging and discharging, I figured I should go ahead and exchange them both. I feel, perhaps erroneously, fairly confident that Kingpin will take care of this and send me two batteries that are rock solid, based on their expedient responses and apparent dedication to customer satisfaction. I'll update this review once I've received the replacements.
Despite my satisfaction with them, I'm pretty sure I'd be equally pleased with an eGo or Riva and might go that route the next time I order a battery, as the cones and chargers from the T-Rex are all compatible with those models (so they say, at least). If the battery hadn't started coming apart, I don't think I'd feel that way at all. I've heard that these other models also exhibit issues with build quality (specifically that the button is likely to stick in the down position and stay that way for the rest of forever), so I'm not really sure that switching manufacturers would really make that big of a difference. I'm just glad that my issues all popped up before my 30 day warranty expired. If the replacements both perform as I hope they will, I'll probably stick with the T-Rex brand in the future.
Like I said, in general, I really love these things. They feel good in your hand, vape very well, and last all day. You can barely tell when the battery is running low based on the vapor being produced and even if you manage to run both dead, charging one for 10 minutes will give you plenty of battery life to get a vape in before leaving the battery on the charger for a while.
Ratings
Kit Contents: 4/5
Battery Life: 4/5
Looks: 5/5
Quality: 2/5 (so far)
Flavor/VP/TH: 4/5
Customer Service: 5/5 (so far)
After comparing the eGo, Riva, and T-Rex, I found that all of the units appeared to be virtually identical, with the exception of the T-Rex which won hands down over the others in the aesthetics category which is kind of ridiculously important to me, as a huge fan of industrial design. Given that nearly identical starter kits for all three models could be found for around the same price, I placed an order for the T-Rex kit.
The Kit
The kit itself comes with:
- 2 660 mah batteries
- 2 atomizers
- 2 atomizer cones
- 1 400 mA USB charger
- 1 AC->USB wall adapter
- 5 'Marl Bros. High' cartridges
The gift box is nothing to write home about. It's a box and does a great job of holding things. I think the whole gift box thing is a bit dumb. You should never list a box as a feature of a product, in my opinion.
I enjoyed that the starter kit actually included enough stuff for you to have two complete PVs from the moment you open the box. Both batteries are charged enough for use and with two atomizers and cones, you can start double-fisted chain vaping from the moment you get the box open, if you want. I have to admit that I did, in fact, try this. And it was awesome.
The Batteries
The batteries themselves last me almost a full day. I usually have to switch out to the second battery toward the end of the day, what would equate to about 9-10 pm to people with normal schedules. I vape fairly heavily, a little more than I used to smoke, which was just about a pack a day.
I really like the LED ring on the batteries. It was the selling selling point for me between the T-Rex, eGo, and Riva. I wish there were other color options for the LEDs besides blue, but that is a small gripe, as blue would be my second choice anyway (a white LED would've matched my Mac).
The Charger and Adapter
It takes about 2.5 to 3 (closer to 3) hours to fully charge a battery using the provided charger. I've had no issues with either the charger or the adapter, but I find that I get a faster and seemingly better charge from my MacBook Pro's USB ports vs the adapter. This is also true for my phone, so it may just be the high-power USB ports that Apple uses on recent products that creates this difference. I haven't charged it on other computers enough times to be able to say for sure.
If your batteries are dead and you need to run out somewhere, charging it for an hour will probably get you through your errand. In theory, it should last about a third of a 16 hour day, 5 hours, on a one hour charge, but that's not something I've tested. Of course, I don't mean 5 hours of constant use, just 5 hours of the day with normal use. In practice, it'd probably be closer to 3.
The Atomizers
They suck. They mention on their site that they are using a new atomizer design that is supposed to, like all other atomizers on the market, produce more vapor than any other atomizer ever created. They don't, really, and the draw is very, very difficult. Forget direct inhaling - your lungs are not strong enough unless you're Michael Phelps or something. I gave these to my wife to use on her 510s, since the draw on a 510 is kind of airy to begin with and they work ok on those batteries but are, to me, less than desirable.
That's not to say that they don't work, but if you have a favorite brand/type of atty, these probably aren't going to replace them.
The Cones
The threading is a little less than perfect when you first get them. I was scared I was going to cross thread it or something, but after a few days of use, they loosen up quite well. I actually really like the cones. They restrict airflow a little bit and they force the air to come in near the cart/tip and flow past the atty, which heats it up a bit prior to it entering the atomizer, which results in a slightly warmer hit. The human tongue detects flavors better at warmer temperatures, so you get a little more flavor and an overall smoother, warmer vape.
The Cartridges
I drip, so I've barely used these. The actual carts themselves are pretty neat, a two-part design like Volcano sells for it's Magma line, but with a [very] slightly deeper reservoir. The liquid in them isn't very good, but I don't really like tobacco flavored juices very much, so that's a very subjective statement. They work fine though. I don't believe their actual strength is stated anywhere, but I think they are around 16mg. They are supposed to taste like Marlboro Reds, I believe, but I've yet to taste a tobacco flavored juice that tastes anything like a cigarette.
Build Quality
The build quality of these things rather sucks. My kit contained two batteries and one exhibits an issue where it discharges at about double the speed that it should and the other has an issue with the adhesive used to hold the unit together. I was pulling my drip tip off of my atty and the large, metal piece that covers the battery slid apart from the LED ring. It has not completely separated, but I've been concerned that the wiggling was going to mess something up and lately it has been acting a bit flakey.
Kingpin
Today, when I emailed the vendor about the issues I was having with the batteries, they didn't ask any questions, just told me to ship them in with the order number, and they would replace them and refund my shipping costs. I emailed them back to ask if I could ship one in at a time, so that I wouldn't be left without a PV (I 'donated' all of my 510s to my wife, who is out of town for the next week) and they replied, "It's our problem, so whatever works for you is fine." With this type of customer service, I'm honestly not too concerned with the fact that both batteries broke, as I feel confident that they'll take care of me if future issues arise.
I've contacted them a total of three times and have always heard back within two hours.
Edit: I received an email notification of a shipment from Kingpin this morning (which is the day after writing the rest of this). Apparently they just went ahead and sent out the replacements without me first sending in my defective batteries. I like these guys more and more.
Overall
I love my T-Rex. It changed vaping from something that was pretty frakking annoying sometimes to something that was almost pure pleasure (aside from waiting for the mail - but no PV is going to fix the USPS). I love the aesthetics of the unit and while I really wish the things weren't breaking to pieces on me, I'm overall very satisfied with them. They've really served me well for the past four weeks.
I could probably superglue the one that has started falling apart and never worry about it again, but since I have to send the other back, which I think just has a bad battery inside of it or an issue on the IC that controls the charging and discharging, I figured I should go ahead and exchange them both. I feel, perhaps erroneously, fairly confident that Kingpin will take care of this and send me two batteries that are rock solid, based on their expedient responses and apparent dedication to customer satisfaction. I'll update this review once I've received the replacements.
Despite my satisfaction with them, I'm pretty sure I'd be equally pleased with an eGo or Riva and might go that route the next time I order a battery, as the cones and chargers from the T-Rex are all compatible with those models (so they say, at least). If the battery hadn't started coming apart, I don't think I'd feel that way at all. I've heard that these other models also exhibit issues with build quality (specifically that the button is likely to stick in the down position and stay that way for the rest of forever), so I'm not really sure that switching manufacturers would really make that big of a difference. I'm just glad that my issues all popped up before my 30 day warranty expired. If the replacements both perform as I hope they will, I'll probably stick with the T-Rex brand in the future.
Like I said, in general, I really love these things. They feel good in your hand, vape very well, and last all day. You can barely tell when the battery is running low based on the vapor being produced and even if you manage to run both dead, charging one for 10 minutes will give you plenty of battery life to get a vape in before leaving the battery on the charger for a while.
Ratings
Kit Contents: 4/5
Battery Life: 4/5
Looks: 5/5
Quality: 2/5 (so far)
Flavor/VP/TH: 4/5
Customer Service: 5/5 (so far)
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