E-Cig Review: AquaVapor and the eVic!
eVic kit
The eVic, by Joyetech, is a 4 piece advanced personal vaporizer or ecig, consisting of a bottom cap, 18650 sized tube (18350 tubes are available though), a control head and a top cap. The tubes and caps appear to be made from aluminum, and altogether the mod is extremely light. So much so that I have heard other reviewers initial impressions that it was cheap feeling. Mind you, this was only their initial impression 🙂 The finish on this thing is textured aluminum which sort of mimics a brushed aluminum look. It is wonderfully scratch resistant, at least while banging around in my briefcase and pockets, and particularly fingerprint resistant as well, which is a great change of pace from many of my other ecigs.
The control head is black in color – sort of a smoky or tinted cylinder with an OLED display on one side, an elongated slim silver colored (clicky) button on the reverse, a mini USB plug on the side, a chrome twist ring on the bottom, and it’s topped off with a full eGo style conector. The controller boasts not only variable voltage settings from 3 to 5 volts in .1 volt increments, variable wattage in .1 watt increments, but a host of other settings like puff counters, power, sleep and screen time settings, ohm info, editable user/owner info and more, but 1 super important feature which is the ability to actually upgrade the firmware to improve and extend the devices functionality!
One of the reasons this review took so long to complete is due to that firmware. You see, I got the device preloaded with the 1.1 firmware and found out shortly thereafter that v 1.2 was available. Well, this was a boon for me because I do not run windows if I can help it, and the MVR software for 1.1 is windows only. It just so happens, though, the 1.2 also was released for Mac, which I have access to. So, that gave me an incentive to try out the MVR software while upgrading the firmware to 1.2, and then checking out all the new/changed/improved features available with that release. I do want to mention here that while this has been a geeks paradise for me, for those less geeky people, I did run this completely out of the box, with its preloaded config and no tinkering, just fine, for over a week. Just charged the battery and vaped it like it was, and it worked quite nicely at that!
I mentioned the MVR software and that is important because not only does it give you the ability to upgrade the firmware, it gives you access to plenty of interesting charts and graphs about your vaping habits. You also have access there to change the current configuration on your mod and set things like your user info, which you cannot otherwise set. It’s kind of novel to have this information so readily available to you without you having to manually keep track of it. For people who are interested in adjusting their vaping habits, this kind of tool would be invaluable. In my first few revisions of this review I had set my mind on going through all the options you actually have with both the control head and the MVR software, however, after seeing the changes after upgrading the firmware I decided that would just make the review seem dated. Instead let me tell you that I find both the functionality in the control head and the software to be not only useful but potentially very important and quite innovative.
The device was comfortable to use and carry, although I personally found the button placement odd. It sort of lends itself to having either your thumb or finger over top of the OLED display while you are using it. I think that sort of defeats the purpose of having a timed second counter running while the button is pressed. Then again, you could use it with your thumb or finger more extended so you do not cover the display, but that to me does not feel as natural.
No missfires here at all. Each press results in a nice even vape power. The power never felt anemic even when vaping the battery down to nothing. Speaking of power, this mod is pretty unique in that you can charge the internal 18650 via the usb cable! I tested a variety of equipment on the top of this mod including Vivi Novas, Evods, Cartomizers, Clearomizers and various tanks. Everything worked whether it had a standard 510 or eGo connection, without tweaking or adapters. In fact, one thing I was particularly pleased with is a couple times I screwed an eGo style device on a little too tight (Kanger T3) and when unscrewing I noticed I was actually unscrewing the base of the T3 from the tank. I was able to unscrew the top cap of the eVic to gain access to the bottom of the T3 and get everything removed without making a mess. That really came in handy! Speaking of the top cap, you can flush mount your tanks because it also has vent slots in the top.
An interesting note on the aesthetics of this device is that, as far as I am able to find, the original configuration of 18650 sized tube is only available in the brushed aluminum look, however, the 18350 tubes comes in silver or black. There is also a chrome 18650 tube available separately. I have seen other people with various different colored 18650 tubes on their eVics and, as it turns out, the tube from the Joyetech eGo-T 18650 mod, fits the eVic perfectly, and comes in a variety of colors (and it’s usually found for under $20).
Now for the kit. The kit comes with the eVic, a Vivi Nova tank with extra heads, an 18650 battery, a usb cable, a mains adapter, a 10ml bottle of ejuice of your choosing and user manuals, all for $104.25. Again, this is arguably the single most advanced ecig on the market. Top of the line stuff here, and you get absolutely everything you need to go from nothing to vaping in complete style all in this one kit. It’s a deal that is certainly hard to beat, especially considering the great service and swift shipping I always get when ordering from AquaVapor (they have great prices on their DCT cartos btw.)
I love this thing, and it has rarely left my hand since it arrived. I cannot wait to see what the next revision of firmware will release. Will it be extending the voltage limits? Will it be more and different home screen configurations? Extra and innovative menu items I didn’t even know I needed yet? I don’t know but I am excited to find out! In the mean time this thing will, I am sure, still deliver a nice controlled and consistent vape no matter what I have stuck on the end of it, and that is something that matters to everyone.
I should also mention as an aside that AV sent me a pile of juices to review as well – samples of their AquaVMAX American Made juices. I haven’t yet had time to try them all out and this review is already a bit long in the tooth, so I am going to do a juice review later on. What I have tried is nice though, and they all smell fantastic, if that is any incentive 🙂 Check them out while you are over there ordering your eVic today!