INTRODUCTION
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Hello Everyone and welcome to Pizza Dave’s Vape Reviews. Today I will be going over the iStick Mix kit by Eleaf. The Mix is the latest mod from Eleaf. It has followed the popular trend of resin panels, but MIXED it up a bit, and has one side covered in a wild pattern of IML (sticker w/ clear plastic over it), so it essentially offers two different mod styles in one. To make this kit complete, Eleaf includes the new Ello POP tank. Let’s get right to it and see what the Mix is all about.
Disclaimer: This device was sent to me by Eleaf for review.
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WHAT YOU GET
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- Available in a bunch of color combos that all have silly names in my opinion. No clue why they went with these fantasy, RPG style names, but here they are.
Hell Witch – Red/blue resin
Seabed Snaker – Blue/orange resin
Glary Knight – Green/blue resin
Skyline Numen – Blue/white resin
Wind Ninja – Black/white resin
STOCK SHOT
PACKAGING
UNBOXED
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MOD OVERVIEW
Like I mentioned in the intro, the iStick Mix is a mashup of a mod which features a resin side panel and another side covered with what they call IML technology. This isn’t the first time I have seen this material on a mod, as Vaptio did it with the Capt’n mod. It is basically a design or pattern which is covered with a durable clear plastic to keep it looking nice for longer. This design basically gives you two different styles mixed up into one mod, and it makes it a bit unique. Other than that, this is your every day dual 18650 mod. It has a max wattage of 160w, has temp control for various metals, and comes with a basic Eleaf display. From my first impressions until the time I wrote this, I felt like Eleaf nailed it with build quality on this. The design may not be for everyone, but it’s built solid and might be one of the nicest Eleaf mods I have handled to date.
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OPERATION
The operation of this device is quite basic. If you have ever used an Eleaf product with the sideways display over the last two years, chances are you know how to operate this mod. It has a few different button combos to remember, but other than that, it is straight forward and easy. These aren’t as simple as mods with large screens and well laid out menu systems with labelling, but this works for what it is.
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BUTTON COMBOS
MENU SYSTEM
The main menu on this is laid out using icons. I included some images in the photo gallery showing all of them and the manual shows them all as well. Here are the basics of what you get here.
LOGO
The mode screen, viewed with 3 clicks of the fire button, is about as simple as it gets as well. This devices offers the following modes.
There you have it. That is about all you need to know about actually operating this mod. It is user friendly and isn’t hard to figure out just by clicking around on it for a bit.
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HOW IT VAPES
So, the million-dollar question is here. I tested this device with the included tank for the majority of testing, but also threw on some rdas to test wattage and temperature control. Wattage response feels accurate during testing and I have no issues with how it works in this mode. It ramps up quickly and feels as it the wattage setpoint is truly put out to the atomizer. I ran mine at 160w with a rda and it felt like I was breathing fire, so it seems to be close to as advertised. I am glad they didn’t slap 220w on it as a false advertisement. My temperature control testing was done per usual, with an RDA and a round wire SS build. First puffs were rough, as they ramped up way too hot. I found that from the factory, the preheat for TC is 160w. I told Eleaf about this, and they said they will address the issue. Once I set it to a more moderate 65w, it was rather smooth sailing. The vapor felt smooth and of the same temperature throughout my testing. It cuts it a bit close on the lower end cut off, but it still tapered power off enough to prevent a massive dry hit when my cotton was dry. Very little browning of the cotton occurred during my testing. Since I spent quite a bit of time testing this mod with the Ello Pop tank, I will talk about it next.
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TANK REVIEW
The Ello Pop…. yes…another Ello tank is here again. This one however, is a bit different than Ellos of the past. The word Pop in the name is in there for the top fill design. The top cap pops up, via a spring-loaded assembly, and slides over to reveal the fill hole. It is a nice design to help prevent accident openings by kids, or when placed in a pocket or bag. I have no gripes with this at all. One oddity that this has is rubber or silicone on the glass. These lines are supposedly there to prevent the glass from cracking when knocked, but they also have a large aesthetic contribution. I don’t particularly like this design and see no point in it. Other than these couple of things, we basically have a tank that performs similar to the Ello Duro. This features the same HW-M and HW-N series of coils. The version two of these, included with this tank, were discussed in my review of the iStick 21700. They feature an insert through the core of the mesh coils which delivers are from the center, right to the mesh surface. It smooths out the draw and boosts the flavor compared to the original HW series of coils. I didn’t find this tank to be good, or bad. The coils perform better than some mesh coils out there, but they are not really amazing. Not sure the difference between the Duro and the Pop, but I also feel that the Duro has a slight advantage on flavor. Air flow on this is rather airy, and I had to shut it down half way and then some. Overall, just an OK tank. Doesn’t excite me too much, but not a terrible tank to have in a kit for someone just getting into their first box mod.
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TANK PROS
TANK CONS
PHOTO GALLERY
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_____________________________________________________________________________________
Hello Everyone and welcome to Pizza Dave’s Vape Reviews. Today I will be going over the iStick Mix kit by Eleaf. The Mix is the latest mod from Eleaf. It has followed the popular trend of resin panels, but MIXED it up a bit, and has one side covered in a wild pattern of IML (sticker w/ clear plastic over it), so it essentially offers two different mod styles in one. To make this kit complete, Eleaf includes the new Ello POP tank. Let’s get right to it and see what the Mix is all about.
Disclaimer: This device was sent to me by Eleaf for review.
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WHAT YOU GET
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- Eleaf iStick Mix 160w mod
- Ello Pop tank w/ 6.5ml bubble glass
- 6.5 ml Spare bubble glass without rubber lines
- 1 HW-M2 .20-ohm coil
- 1 HW-N2 .20-ohm coil
- USB-C 3.0 cable
- Spare Parts
- Paperwork
- Available in a bunch of color combos that all have silly names in my opinion. No clue why they went with these fantasy, RPG style names, but here they are.
Hell Witch – Red/blue resin
Seabed Snaker – Blue/orange resin
Glary Knight – Green/blue resin
Skyline Numen – Blue/white resin
Wind Ninja – Black/white resin
STOCK SHOT
PACKAGING
UNBOXED
_____________________________________________________________________________________
MOD OVERVIEW
Like I mentioned in the intro, the iStick Mix is a mashup of a mod which features a resin side panel and another side covered with what they call IML technology. This isn’t the first time I have seen this material on a mod, as Vaptio did it with the Capt’n mod. It is basically a design or pattern which is covered with a durable clear plastic to keep it looking nice for longer. This design basically gives you two different styles mixed up into one mod, and it makes it a bit unique. Other than that, this is your every day dual 18650 mod. It has a max wattage of 160w, has temp control for various metals, and comes with a basic Eleaf display. From my first impressions until the time I wrote this, I felt like Eleaf nailed it with build quality on this. The design may not be for everyone, but it’s built solid and might be one of the nicest Eleaf mods I have handled to date.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
OPERATION
The operation of this device is quite basic. If you have ever used an Eleaf product with the sideways display over the last two years, chances are you know how to operate this mod. It has a few different button combos to remember, but other than that, it is straight forward and easy. These aren’t as simple as mods with large screens and well laid out menu systems with labelling, but this works for what it is.
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BUTTON COMBOS
- 5 clicks of the fire button will turn the device off and on.
- 4 clicks of the fire button (when in TC mode) will enter the preheat wattage setting.
- 3 clicks of the fire button enters the mode selection screen.
- Pressing the fire button and + will enter the main menu.
- Pressing the + and – together will lock the adjustment buttons, but the mod will still fire.
MENU SYSTEM
The main menu on this is laid out using icons. I included some images in the photo gallery showing all of them and the manual shows them all as well. Here are the basics of what you get here.
LOGO
- Boxes – Allows you to adjust what all is displayed on the vaping screen
- Ghost – Stealth mode
- Vapor waves – Adjusts power and duration limitation
- Logo – Allows a custom logo on startup
- V – Shows version of firmware and hardware
- Battery logo – Shows voltage of both batteries
The mode screen, viewed with 3 clicks of the fire button, is about as simple as it gets as well. This devices offers the following modes.
- Wattage
- Memory 1
- Memory 2
- Memory 3
- TC Ti
- TC Ni
- TC SS
There you have it. That is about all you need to know about actually operating this mod. It is user friendly and isn’t hard to figure out just by clicking around on it for a bit.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
HOW IT VAPES
So, the million-dollar question is here. I tested this device with the included tank for the majority of testing, but also threw on some rdas to test wattage and temperature control. Wattage response feels accurate during testing and I have no issues with how it works in this mode. It ramps up quickly and feels as it the wattage setpoint is truly put out to the atomizer. I ran mine at 160w with a rda and it felt like I was breathing fire, so it seems to be close to as advertised. I am glad they didn’t slap 220w on it as a false advertisement. My temperature control testing was done per usual, with an RDA and a round wire SS build. First puffs were rough, as they ramped up way too hot. I found that from the factory, the preheat for TC is 160w. I told Eleaf about this, and they said they will address the issue. Once I set it to a more moderate 65w, it was rather smooth sailing. The vapor felt smooth and of the same temperature throughout my testing. It cuts it a bit close on the lower end cut off, but it still tapered power off enough to prevent a massive dry hit when my cotton was dry. Very little browning of the cotton occurred during my testing. Since I spent quite a bit of time testing this mod with the Ello Pop tank, I will talk about it next.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
TANK REVIEW
The Ello Pop…. yes…another Ello tank is here again. This one however, is a bit different than Ellos of the past. The word Pop in the name is in there for the top fill design. The top cap pops up, via a spring-loaded assembly, and slides over to reveal the fill hole. It is a nice design to help prevent accident openings by kids, or when placed in a pocket or bag. I have no gripes with this at all. One oddity that this has is rubber or silicone on the glass. These lines are supposedly there to prevent the glass from cracking when knocked, but they also have a large aesthetic contribution. I don’t particularly like this design and see no point in it. Other than these couple of things, we basically have a tank that performs similar to the Ello Duro. This features the same HW-M and HW-N series of coils. The version two of these, included with this tank, were discussed in my review of the iStick 21700. They feature an insert through the core of the mesh coils which delivers are from the center, right to the mesh surface. It smooths out the draw and boosts the flavor compared to the original HW series of coils. I didn’t find this tank to be good, or bad. The coils perform better than some mesh coils out there, but they are not really amazing. Not sure the difference between the Duro and the Pop, but I also feel that the Duro has a slight advantage on flavor. Air flow on this is rather airy, and I had to shut it down half way and then some. Overall, just an OK tank. Doesn’t excite me too much, but not a terrible tank to have in a kit for someone just getting into their first box mod.
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TANK PROS
- Good coil life
- Good capacity
- Pop up top cap prevents accidental opening
- Matches mod nicely
TANK CONS
- Flavor is just ok
- Ribbed glass doesn’t do it for me aesthetically
PHOTO GALLERY
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