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Help choosing a mod

Fudgey Finger

Silver Contributor
Member For 2 Years
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Hey everyone. I've been doing my research on battery safety and all that and I think I'm ready to try a mech. I like the idea of slight changes in my builds affecting the vape. I like the idea of simplicity and the fact that mechs can last forever. I'm just really not sure where to begin. I mean, I could just get a tube and see how I like it, but since they are so damned expensive I thought it would be a good idea to get some input from the community. There are just so many mechs out there and most of them look like they do pretty much the same thing (especially tubes). I just don't get why one hybrid tube is $130, and then another is $300. Price isn't really a big deal, but I don't want to pay double for something that performs the same as a cheaper counterpart. Though I am completely against the idea of buying a clone (a personal decision, I pass no judgement to people who do buy clones). Would it be a bad idea to start off with a series mod? They seem like they are for a more advanced mech user, but I think I know enough to stay safe with one.

A little info about how I like to vape. I like big chunky coils. I really don't like ramp up time, the quicker it hits the better. I like a warm vape but not hot. Right now I'm running a 0.07 ohm pair of n80 3core aliens at 95 watts if that helps. I much prefer rta's and I usually take 4-6 second pulls. I don't mind if I have to carry around batteries, but if I can avoid it I would like to. I usually go through 25-35ml of juice a day. I chain vape like a motherfucker.

I am leaning towards getting a 20700 hybrid tube because I like the idea of not having as much voltage sag, but I would be open to getting a box if you all think that would be a better option. I would really like to have my first mech be something that I won't outgrow in 2 months, hence why I am considering the idea of a series mod. Thanks to everyone in advance. I'm excited to join the mech users!
 

Neunerball

Platinum Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Member For 3 Years
ECF Refugee
Reading your post, I think, you might like the Cricket 2 (not quite a mech though), which gives you the option of having a serial, or parallel mod. In addition, you can regulate the power, in one of it's mode. I don't remember, which one it is though. Anyways, the mod is fairly small.
Another option would be the Cricket (1), a fully serial mech mod.
For a single 18650 mech mod, I like the Stingray X. I own two clones of them, which I bought at FT (FastTech). One is a Copper, the other is a SS. Both of them came with an option for making it a hybrid mech mod.
 

Fudgey Finger

Silver Contributor
Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
Thanks. The Noisy cricket looks really cool but you can't use anything bigger than a 22mm atty and that's definitely a deal breaker for me. Looking at the stingray x and it looks pretty cool. What makes it worth $240 usd though? I see other hybrid tube mods for half the price and I just don't know enough about them to know why I would spend that much instead of buying a Vgod elite or something. That's a big part of why I made this thread.
 

skt239

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Platinum Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Thanks. The Noisy cricket looks really cool but you can't use anything bigger than a 22mm atty and that's definitely a deal breaker for me. Looking at the stingray x and it looks pretty cool. What makes it worth $240 usd though? I see other hybrid tube mods for half the price and I just don't know enough about them to know why I would spend that much instead of buying a Vgod elite or something. That's a big part of why I made this thread.
He was probably talking about this..

https://www.gearbest.com/vv-vw-mods/pp_426578.html

fits up to a 25
 

Fudgey Finger

Silver Contributor
Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
I see, thanks for the suggestion. I was hoping to get suggestions for mech mods though. The cricket 2 does look like a sweet mod but I already have a VV mod as well as a regulated mod that can be run in bypass mode (full voltage mode). I want to find something that is actually mechanical with no chips that can die. I'm just not sure where to start or why I would pay $240 opposed to $100.
 

fartbubble

Silver Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
From a technical standpoint, materials being used, machining quality and the button design all change the price

For the most part, premium price is in the look & brand. Some brands hold value, some don’t. And the looks is all subjective (though comfortability is a big part of the looks to keep in mind) & depending on what you buy, you can accessorize the hell out of it.
 

Fudgey Finger

Silver Contributor
Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
From a technical standpoint, materials being used, machining quality and the button design all change the price

For the most part, premium price is in the look & brand. Some brands hold value, some don’t. And the looks is all subjective (though comfortability is a big part of the looks to keep in mind) & depending on what you buy, you can accessorize the hell out of it.
Ok thanks. So if I were to get a hybrid tube it would give me pretty much the same vape and performance, wether it was a cheaper mod or expensive one? So it seems like the performance is tied closer to the battery, is this correct?

I'm making this assumption because the hybrid tube has the battery make direct contact with the cell. So it seems quality wouldn't affect the performance because there are no wires or anything in the mod to be of quality or not.

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Cozymods

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
On a tube it's all about the contacts and the battery (in my opinion) And if you go with a series mod go take a look at Dragons Den Vapor they have the best series mods I've seen so far.. As for a tube, go check out RNV Designs, Purge Mods, Kennedy Vapor, Vaporz cloud and Avid Lyfe.. I'm sure there are a lot more i can't think of right now that are good, but any of those will be good. ;) Check out EVcigarettes.com they have the best selection of most tube mechs I've seen so far.. I like RNV Designs the most out of all of those, in fact i just received my Katana Fire Copper edition from them, i love it.. (Edit: Also the EL Thunder is really amazing from what I've heard)

25039364_173964930006323_223604256651870208_n.jpg
 

Fudgey Finger

Silver Contributor
Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
I finally pulled the trigger. Just went to a b&m shop. I picked up the vc tech switch vcm2 hybrid tube mod and 3 vtc5a batteries.

I thought this would be a good start. If I decide that I prefer mechs further down the road I can upgrade to something a little fancier but hopefully this will be a good I intro to mechs.

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Cozymods

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
I finally pulled the trigger. Just went to a b&m shop. I picked up the vc tech switch vcm2 hybrid tube mod and 3 vtc5a batteries.

I thought this would be a good start. If I decide that I prefer mechs further down the road I can upgrade to something a little fancier but hopefully this will be a good I intro to mechs.

Sent from my LGL164VL using Tapatalk

Good Choice! pretty rare find aswell.. Also good batteries ;)
 

Fudgey Finger

Silver Contributor
Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
Good Choice! pretty rare find aswell.. Also good batteries ;)
Thanks. I didn't realise that I would need to adjust the button and insulator to use it though. How far am I supposed to screw this button in?

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Cozymods

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
I finally pulled the trigger. Just went to a b&m shop. I picked up the vc tech switch vcm2 hybrid tube mod and 3 vtc5a batteries.

I thought this would be a good start. If I decide that I prefer mechs further down the road I can upgrade to something a little fancier but hopefully this will be a good I intro to mechs.

Sent from my LGL164VL using Tapatalk

Btw, if you got the copper version and want to clean it, i use ketchup in a zip lock bag and put my contacts, tube, and the button in there and seal it up for 20 minutes - 1 hour (depends on how dirty it is) and wash it off with just water and let it air dry or use a microfiber cloth to dry it completely.. Best method I've used to-date. ;)
 

Fudgey Finger

Silver Contributor
Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
Thanks I'll make sure to watch it before I use the mod.

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Zohmbiebuilds

Silver Contributor
Member For 3 Years
If you like low ohm builds parallel mods. Series are what us regulated mod users use. I was looking at the geekvape mech pro. It's wired in parallel. The only reason I am hesitant is the fact that with mech mods it seems like your always going to be working against yourself. Parallel don't ramp up as fast as series. Series you don't want to build under .4. now I'm starting to see for me personally I'd get a parallel, then a series. I have heard really really good things about the noisy cricket 2. It's both, it runs both and is cheap enough so that if you decide regulated is more your deal ( as it is mine) than scrap it.

I had my buddies mech pro all day yesterday. I like it alot. I wouldn't however switch from regulated to unregulated. I like regulated devices much better. But they both have there problems, and they both shine bright in certain areas.

I used my buddys Sebone, and realized how much I hate single battery mods and stacking mods is ugly as fuck. So the only kind of mech I'll ever use it buy is a mech box.

I think I'll end up building one once I get start classes and have a little bit of money to play around with.

Hope this helps fudgeyfinger my buddy. How have you been? Merry Christmas

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Fiddleback

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
You already picked a mod, but if you’re still interested in a 20700 as you said you were, I’d get a back to basics V3 by Purge. There’s a website that puts all their mods on sale 20% off a couple times a month, and a copper b2b v3 is around 130 bucks, a fucking steal for a mod that won’t be outperformed by any tube mod out there. Infamousvapes is the site. I got a lot of gear from them, when those sales pop up. Purge mods are the shit, and 130 bucks for a copper 20700...? My humble opinion
 

Fudgey Finger

Silver Contributor
Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
You already picked a mod, but if you’re still interested in a 20700 as you said you were, I’d get a back to basics V3 by Purge. There’s a website that puts all their mods on sale 20% off a couple times a month, and a copper b2b v3 is around 130 bucks, a fucking steal for a mod that won’t be outperformed by any tube mod out there. Infamousvapes is the site. I got a lot of gear from them, when those sales pop up. Purge mods are the shit, and 130 bucks for a copper 20700...? My humble opinion
Wow thanks for the heads up. I might have to get that asap. I absolutely love love love my vcm2 so I am eager to try a tube with a 20700. I've heard purge is the shit. There's an rda that isn't much cheaper that I'm thinking about buying. Now I have to make myself choose between the two.

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zephyr

Dirty Pirate Meg
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Member For 4 Years
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Wow thanks for the heads up. I might have to get that asap. I absolutely love love love my vcm2 so I am eager to try a tube with a 20700. I've heard purge is the shit. There's an rda that isn't much cheaper that I'm thinking about buying. Now I have to make myself choose between the two.

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0.07 ohms is low for a tube mech imo... Did I misunderstand or miss something? A 0.2 ohm build pulls about 20 amps from a battery full (4.2 volts), 0.1 ohms pulls 42 amps (!!!) so just... Be careful.
 

Fudgey Finger

Silver Contributor
Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
0.07 ohms is low for a tube mech imo... Did I misunderstand or miss something? A 0.2 ohm build pulls about 20 amps from a battery full (4.2 volts), 0.1 ohms pulls 42 amps (!!!) so just... Be careful.
Thanks for looking out but I haven't used anything less than .14 on my single 18650 and I wouldn't feel comfortable going any lower than that. Unless I was using a regulated mod of course.

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zephyr

Dirty Pirate Meg
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Just wanted it to be said in case anyone new to tube mechs was reading this! :shades:
 

NineNine

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Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
Unlisted Vendor
Reading your post, I think, you might like the Cricket 2 (not quite a mech though), which gives you the option of having a serial, or parallel mod. In addition, you can regulate the power, in one of it's mode. I don't remember, which one it is though. Anyways, the mod is fairly small.
Another option would be the Cricket (1), a fully serial mech mod.
For a single 18650 mech mod, I like the Stingray X. I own two clones of them, which I bought at FT (FastTech). One is a Copper, the other is a SS. Both of them came with an option for making it a hybrid mech mod.
Learning a lot from you, thanks for your share.
 

mach1ne

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
There are just so many mechs out there and most of them look like they do pretty much the same thing (especially tubes).
yeah any single battery mech, from tubes to squonkers all work the same regarding your builds and the vape you get.

Would it be a bad idea to start off with a series mod? They seem like they are for a more advanced mech user, but I think I know enough to stay safe with one.
its not a bad idea any more than a tube or any other mech imo. if you understand ohms law then they all follow the same rules. just remember that your batteries amps are the limiting factor, at a given resistance...so a single 20 amp battery can do about a .2 ohm build, a dual parallel box can get closer to .1 and a series box is .4 because of the increased voltage. people push those 'limits' and i dont want to get into that here because it will start a big debate...just be smart and actually know what/why/how this works, and you can properly assess the risks and rewards of doing whatever you like imo.

I like big chunky coils. I really don't like ramp up time
you might prefer a series setup then. i tend to use single battery mechs for more mellow setups with smaller coils and higher battery life. i have a squonker build (micro fused claptons) thats ~.2 ohm and a single battery can last for about 7ml of juice. nice for going into town for the afternoon without pockets full of vape stuff. i save the bigger coils for parallel or series setups.

I am leaning towards getting a 20700 hybrid tube because I like the idea of not having as much voltage sag, but I would be open to getting a box if you all think that would be a better option.
i personally think its best to try them all. they all have ideal usage situations for me. if you are in to building its good to be able to learn how to build for all three styles (single, parallel and series) too. building for a mech will teach you more about coils than learning to make aliens and stuff.

Noisy cricket looks really cool but you can't use anything bigger than a 22mm
they make a 22 and 25 mm version. its a great choice and i pimp it out to anyone who will listen. in unregulated series and parallel modes it is functionally the same as any other mech mod. it would be a good way to learn to build and decide what you like before you go to dragonsden and drop $300 on something imo. in regulated series its basically a hexohm so you can try that out too and see if a hex is your thing...all in a $40 indestructible box. its also a good beater so you dont have to take your $300 series box outside to crawl under the car or dig up the garden (or whatever situations you find yourself in that a $300 mod could get wrecked).

What makes it worth $240 usd though?
usually its just marketing shit like hype, limited quantity runs, brand recognition etc that will jack the prices up. i will usually try a clone before i get an authentic, and there are times where the clones are impossible to distinguish, and other times where they feel like junk from the moment you pick them up...so there is something to be said for high quality craftsmanship and materials, and another thing to be said about price gouging when the clone is equal to the authentic for 1/10th the price...

So if I were to get a hybrid tube it would give me pretty much the same vape and performance, wether it was a cheaper mod or expensive one? So it seems like the performance is tied closer to the battery, is this correct?
yeah your battery is the key element, but depending on materials and craftsmanship, some mods have more efficient circuits/less v drop. i wasnt really convinced that any tube would 'hit harder' than another until i got a broadside and it is very noticeable. not sure if that would be a factor in future purchases, but i am convinced now that its possible to feel the difference from a good tube to a great one.

:cheers:
 
Last edited:

Zohmbiebuilds

Silver Contributor
Member For 3 Years
I got myself a ncii25. Fucking amazing. What an amazing mod to learn everything about mechanical building. Parallel series. What more could I ask for. I got it for a trade brand new. Still in box. Tarded a movkin desguiser for it.
6d649f135a5591b6517ca02fdca34f9d.jpg


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Cozymods

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
You already picked a mod, but if you’re still interested in a 20700 as you said you were, I’d get a back to basics V3 by Purge. There’s a website that puts all their mods on sale 20% off a couple times a month, and a copper b2b v3 is around 130 bucks, a fucking steal for a mod that won’t be outperformed by any tube mod out there. Infamousvapes is the site. I got a lot of gear from them, when those sales pop up. Purge mods are the shit, and 130 bucks for a copper 20700...? My humble opinion

I have the Purge v3 in copper, and i gotta say it does preform really well.. But for me it's really pretty big and heavy to carry around compared to my fired Copper Katana from RNV Designs, and i have to clean it every 3 days because it patinas like hell, but if you don't mind any of those subjective cons then it's probably one of the best tube performers you can get atm. Also i have the medium silver spring and it makes the throw so much better in my opinion, it's nice and soft.. It's gotta be one of the best switch throws I've ever pressed on a tube. That being said i am selling it (i don't really want too, but i gotta pay my car insurance bill soon lol) so if anyone is interested contact me and I'll give a good deal on it. (it'll come with 1 joy 5 legged 20700, a Copper Druga RDA, also a charger for the 20700). ;) @Fudgey Finger
 

NineNine

Bronze Contributor
Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
Unlisted Vendor
Thanks for looking out but I haven't used anything less than .14 on my single 18650 and I wouldn't feel comfortable going any lower than that. Unless I was using a regulated mod of course.

Sent from my LGL164VL using Tapatalk
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C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\Tencent\Users\3286854965\QQ\WinTemp\RichOle\94V_)MK6W%KB%UZWW[AP6]9.png

From a technical standpoint, materials being used, machining quality and the button design all change the price

For the most part, premium price is in the look & brand. Some brands hold value, some don’t. And the looks is all subjective (though comfortability is a big part of the looks to keep in mind) & depending on what you buy, you can accessorize the hell out of it.
up to you!
 

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