What's included
- Cylon Mod
- USB cable
- User manual
- Battery wrap warning card
- Warranty card
- Size: 47mm(L) X 32mm(W) X90mm(H)
- Weight 191 grams without batteries
- Dual 18650
- Display: 1.35 inch TFT color screen
- Output range: 1 – 218 W
- Output modes: VW / VW Curves / Temp (Ni, Ti, SS) / TCR / TC Curves
- Resistance range: 0.05 – 2.0 Ohm for Temp / TCR mode / TC Curves 0.1-5.0 Ohm for VW / VW Curves
- Temperature control: 100 – 315°C / 200 – 600°F
- Two different UI available to choose
- Firmware upgradeable (download the file at smoant.com/cylon-update.rar)
- Reverse polarity protection/ Overheating protection/ Low voltage protection/ Overload/Short-circuit protection/ Over-time protection
- Colors: Black, Tarnish
Getting to know the Cylon
I was fortunate to see the prototype of the Cylon (didn't have a name at that time) at the ECC show back in August 2017. At that time I was pretty impressed with where they were going with it, I have to say they went even further, as much as I loved the prototype the production version is much sexier.
The first thing that came to mind when I saw it was an affordable SXmini G Class, one of my favorite mods but about 4 times more expensive than the Cylon. It reminded me so much of my G Class that at least a dozen times or more I went to press the fire button on the front faceplate where the G Class has it's button. It is so reminiscent that a friend of mine who also owns a G Class did the same thing when I handed it to him. The Cylon is more boxy than the G Class though, the G Class is more comfortable in the hand but have to admit that I like the leather on the Cylon better than the G's carbon fiber. The Cylon is heavier, 191 grams without batteries compared to 174 grams for the G Class and it is noticeable.
Here are some comparison pics of the G Class and Cylon
The screens are nearly identical but I tend to favor the Cylon, it is a little more clear
They both have software for updates and changing the wallpaper but the Cylon software is much easier to use, Yihi should really get there act together in that regard considering how much they charge.
The Cylon software link is here: smoant.com/cylon-update.rar it is an automatic download, once you click the link the download begins. There is also a video showing how to use the software, I actually haven't watched it as the software was easy to use but I bet it will be helpful to a lot of people.
The wallpaper function is really cool, here is a pic of my screensaver I installed myself.
Here is another but this time in the working screen, the pic is from the Smoant Family facebook page, a lot of users have uploaded wallpapers there: https://www.facebook.com/groups/smoant/
That is a 30mm tank on there as well, love 30mm friendly mods.
You can control how long the screen stays on for from 10 to 240 seconds. This of course will affect your battery life. I had mine set for 10 seconds and it worked but then the screensaver comes on and stays lit for another 20 seconds, what's up with that? I would love it if Smoant released a firmware update that lowered the screen timeout to 5 seconds and included an option to go into Stealth mode. I know in the past Smoant has not been great with firmware updates, they did release one for the Cylon and Ranker though so hopefully they continue that.
While I have not had any problems with my battery door I do feel it could have been done better. I have had it slip a little but never enough that it opens. There is a lot of play at the hinge as well, not happy about that but it hasn't been a problem.
The 510 is solid and all of my tanks connect and sit flush. It is also sealed which is nice.
The only thing that concerned me when taking off the top was the size of the screws, they only have 0.5mm of thread that screws into plastic.
The screws that attach the 510 to the top plate are the same size but there metal screws which are more secure.
I really would have liked a better connection for the top plate, if you drop it just right there is not a lot holding on and if the plastic nubs break then your SOL. It does feel solid though and I wasn't worried about it until I saw those tiny screws.
Aside from those quibbles though the Cylon is a solid mod, no rattles and the leather has held up beautifully. I actually had a tank dump it's load all over the Cylon, thought for sure the leather may start to peel back but so far so good a week later.
Power performance
I don't have much complaints there, compared to the G Class I didn't notice much difference. The only thing I did make note of is the G Class had a more effective preheat when it was engaged on both mods. I do like a good preheat but with the Cylon I actually preferred it in normal mode. Overall I preferred the G Class in power mode but it is not a big difference, it is just that the preheat mode won out. This is not a fair comparison though, the G is over $200 so it should be better.
The wattage curve mode on the Cylon is easy to setup and works well. I prefer just straight watts generally but the wattage curve was fun to use and one of the most effective I have tried thus far.
One annoying thing, and this is annoying with most mods is the watts change in .1 increments until you get to 100 watts and above, then it switches to 1 watts increments. I wish all mod makers would just make it 1 watt increments or at the very least .5 increments. Is it really going to make a difference to have your watts set to 35.7 watts instead of just 36 watts? All it does is make peoples OCD to fall on an even # go haywire.
TC Performance
I have generally been happy with most of the Smoant mods I have tried for TC, they may not be the most accurate but they’re enjoyable to use. They Cylon is no exception but in SS TC mode it does run hot, about 10 to 20F hot. You cannot change or even see the TCR setting for the SS TC mode but when going into TCR mode I was able to mimic it and believe they have it set to 0.00105 instead of the normal 0.00092 for SS316. It is still a smooth and tasty TC vape, in fact I used it in TC mode for more than half of my review evaluation and enjoyed it very much. I just had to lower my temp a little or switch the TCR mode and dial in a more suitable TCR.
The TC Curve function works great, one of the best I have tried. Just like the Watt Curve it is easy to setup, the only thing is you have to set a TCR, there are no presets like SS, Ti or Ni. Smoant does include a TCR range in the owner's manual and when changing the TCR on the mod it will show if your in Ti, Ni or SS range of TCR. It is a lot better if you know the TCR table though so I have included one here:
I had my TC Curve set at 520F to start and worked my way down to a safe temp to avoid dry hits at the end of my draw at about 420F. This gave me more of a power hit at the beginning but I could still vape my tank dry without any burnt cotton flavor we all hate so much. It is not how I normally vape in TC but have to admit I really like it and used the TC Curve a lot, great feature. I also played around with the TCR in TC Curve mode and found 0.0096 to be where I liked it, nice warm vape and the flavor kicked. It is easy to change the TCR when in TCR or TC Curve mode, just press power and up at the same time to bring up the TCR setting, no need to go into the menu if you want to save time.
The watts are adjustable in TC mode and no restrictions, if you want the full 218 you got it. To adjust the watts press the fire and down buttons at the same time when in TC mode. The watts adjust in 1 watt increments, not .1 like in power mode and round robin as well.