Introduction
The Eleaf iStick was supplied to me by Joe at Smokey Joes in Rugby, from his newly opened store. for the purpose of this review. and is available to buy instore.Presentation.
The istick comes in a simple cardboard box, with the eleaf logo printed on the front. Down the side of the box is the contents indicator, to show which kit you have,
The iStick kit contained the following
- eLeaf iStick 20w
- eGo Threading Adaptor
- Instruction leaflet.
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| iStick Kit unboxed |
The standard kit does not include a charging cable or plug. but if like me, you find that you have loads of micro USB cables at home, from other devices or phones, which will quite happily charge this device. I think this a great way to keep the price point of this device down, rather than you paying for things that you don't need and wont get out of the box.
Features and Spec's
Name : iStick
Manufacturer: eLeaf
Main Material : Aluminum Casing
Atomiser Connection: 510 pin (plus eGo Adaptor)
Output Wattage: 6.4 – 20 Watts,
Manufacturer: eLeaf
Main Material : Aluminum Casing
Atomiser Connection: 510 pin (plus eGo Adaptor)
Output Wattage: 6.4 – 20 Watts,
Output voltage : 3v to 5.5v
Ohms Range: 1ohm to 3ohms
Battery Size: • 2200mAh internal Li-Ion Battery
Firing Mechanism : Microprocessor / electric Switch / CPU
Locking Mechanism: None
Built in Safety : 10s Cut off, Atomizer Short-Circuit Protection, Low Voltage Protection
Mod Dimensions : 75mm x 32.8mm x 21mm
Firing Mechanism : Microprocessor / electric Switch / CPU
Locking Mechanism: None
Built in Safety : 10s Cut off, Atomizer Short-Circuit Protection, Low Voltage Protection
Mod Dimensions : 75mm x 32.8mm x 21mm
Price :
The eLeaf iStick comes in a choice of colours Silver, Blue, Red/Pink and Black, the one I choose, for the purpose of this review was a sweet looking black one.
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| eleaf iStick Colour Choice |
The iStick comes fully assembled, and mine came with a 60% charge, and ready to vape straight out of the box.
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| eLeaf iStick |
The body of the mod is made from what I believe is aluminum, which has then been powder coated in the colour of your choice, it has a really nice matt finish to it, which seem quite scratch resistant, I have been using mine constantly for the last week and it looks as good as the day I got it out of the box.
On the front of the device you have the iStick logo, and on the reverse you have the eLeaf logo, the rest of the device body is clean and uncluttered.
The back edge of the device is nicely curved, which fits comfortably into the hand.
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| Curved Back edge of the iStick |
The opposite edge of the body also nicely curves around leading into the screen and mod controls.
The base plate
The base plate seems to be chrome plated, with a beveled edge running around it, which has been press fitted into the body, and then held in place with two small grub screws.
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| Base Plate and USB Charging Point. |
Set into the base plate is the Micro USB charging socket. which is used for charging the device when required, it can also be used as a pass-through, so can be vaped whilst charging.
510 Connection
The recessed 510 connection located on the top of the device is smoothly threaded, but has not no form of adjustment, of the brass center pin,
There are three air channels running off the 510 connection, should the Atomizer require air-flow from the 510 connection.
Although there is no adjustment to the centre pin, I have had no issue with any of my tanks or RDA'a firing, but I would image over time, you may need to try and lift the centre pin up, if it gets pushed down to hard.
eGo Threading.
The iStick kit that i received came with an eGo Threaded adapter, which can be used to connect all of your eGo style tanks and cartomisers.
The adapter simply screws into place, into the 510 connection. and tightens down. and can be easily removed when not in use.
Controls.
Mounted on the side of the device, above and below the OLED screen are the control buttons.
The top square button, is finished in chrome to match the top and bottom plate, and is slightly raised out from the body, with nice beveled edges.
This button is used to firstly turn the device on and off, by pressing it 5 times. once the device is powered up, it then acts as the fire button.
Once the device is on, if you press the fire button 3 times, it will switch between Wattage mode and Voltage mode.
The two arrow like buttons located towards the bottom of the device are used to control the wattage/voltage up and down. These controls have an auto scroll function. so if you press and hold the button, then release it will continue to scroll through up/down through the wattage/voltage. and you simple press the opposite button to stop it. or you can simply click through point one increments.
There is a slight amount of button rattle, but I didn't find it an issue.
OLED Display
The iStick features a bright white on black OLED display, running up the side of the device between to two buttons.
This will display the current power setting of the device, along with the ohms of the connected atomiser, and the voltage required to deliver the set wattage. it also has a small battery indicator. which will flash when you get to less 10% power remaining.
The display will also indicate a number of error message, as to why your device is not firing.
These messages are written in plain English rather than error codes,
- Lock - Displays when the device needs charging.
- No Atomizer - when you dont have the Atomizer connected properly.
- Atomizer Short - if you have a short in the Atomizer.
When you fire the device it switches from the standard display, to a stopwatch style timer which display how long you have fired the device for.
You will be able to fire the device for a maximum of 10 seconds, before the device shuts off.
Atheistics and Build Quality
I love the look of this device, and its dinky size, which is deceiving, considering the amount of power it can put out. It has a real quality feel to it, with all the edges beveled off. The chrome top and bottom cap add to the overal look of the device
It is very solidly made and put together, apart from the slight rattle from the buttons.an feels great in the hand.
I really cant fault the Astheistics and build quality of this little pocket rocket.
Performance & Real World Experiences
I was really excited to get my hands on the eLeaf iStick, as I had heard a lot of good things about it, and having used it constantly, I have not been disappointed. I did find the power settings that it runs at a bit strange, compared with other mods I have used and reviewed. I started off using it with the Plume Veil, with a dual coil fitted, and turned it up to 20 watts, and vaped away happily, being very impressed with its performance, with quite a heavy build on. then i switched out the RDA to my Brass Monkey, with a single 7 wrap coil, and started to vape and noticed after i had vaped it, that the wattage had reduced down to 14.2 watts. So thinking i had knocked the power down switch, i turned it back up to 20watts, and tried again. and once again it reduced down to 14.2 watts.
After a bit of research it seems that the device is regulating its self, depending on the ohms of the atomizer. and although the device states that it is a 20watt device, it will determine its power setting depending on what Atomizer you connect. Which i do feel has the users safety in mind. As what i feel is a safety feature it wont allow you to connect any device to it and try and push 20 watts through it.
I have tried a number of builds on my Plume Veil RDA, with varying resistances, and got the iStick to fire at the following wattage (this is no way scientific, and just my little test)
- 1.0ohms - 20 watts
- 1.5ohms - 20 watts
- 2.0ohms - 15 watts
- 2.5ohms - 12 watts
- 3.0ohms - 10 watts
Like i say this is no way scientific, and to the every day vapor using this device, will make no difference to there vaping experience, it will just mean that the device will regulate its power output depending on what atomizer you put on it.
After i figured out the power settings, i made sure that i built my coils to suit, and found that the iStick had a stella performance, with no noticeable drop in performance as i went through the battery life, right up to the point the it stopped firing, and displayed 'Lock' on the screen, indicating that it needed charging. I found that the a full charge a 20watts, medium usage lasted about a day and a half.
The Plume Veil RDA, was my Atomizer of choice, that i found myself using on the iStick, I think they matched up well. although you do get a little bit of over hang from the 22ml RDA, on the front edge. which did'nt bother me.
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| iStick with Plume Veil RDA fitted. |
I also tried the iStick with a number of other atomizers, to see how they looked and vaped.
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| iStick with the iClearX1 and Smok Cartomiser |
They both fitted and performed really well, i loved the look and feel of the Carto on it, shame they done do a shorter version, which would look even sweeter.
Pro's
- Price
- Size and Weight.
- Battery Life
- 20watts Power (at 1 to 1.5ohms)
- Built in Saftey
- Both 510 & eGo Threading
- Ohms Reader.
Con's
- Slight overhang off 22ml Atomisers.
- USB charging slot on the base, have to lay it down to charge.
- None Adjustable 510 Connection Pin.
- Slight Button Rattle.
- Wont fire below 1.0Ohm
Recommendation.
I would with out doubt recommend the eLeaf iStick, to new and old vapors alike, it has the every day power that is needed to run self built RDA's combined with the right level of protection for the newer vapors looking to upgrade from their eGo style battery. I just fell in love with the size to power ratio that this device brings.
MVR RATING
Build: 9 /10
Features : 8/10
Finish: 10/10
Threading: 8 /10
Switch: 8/10
Aesthetics: 10/10
Performance : 8/10
Overall: 9 /10
Supplied by : www.smokeyjoes.biz
