SteezeOG

I think I looked at all of them at one point but I've settled on IPV 2 and IPV 3. I have two of the version 2 and will have 2 of the version 3. They work great and the price is not insane for what you get. I've got a darkstar 40 now on preorder since I waited for 4 months on the 30 watt and never got it. They had production issues but I realize it's not a mass produced foreign made thing. It's going to be a slow process and it's about the price of two IPV 3's but I love the sweet carbon fiber finish they offer and it's got the LED screen on the front of the box. Better buttons and of course the evolv chips. Lower power but feature wise I know it's going to be sweet.

I had one on preorder from kidneypuncher.com but they kept pushing back the ship date because pioneer4you was having issues with their case supplier I guess. I decided to get another one that was in stock from a seller on ebay. I didnt really plan on getting two but I had the RDA's already in a pair so I guess it will work out fine. It's cranking out super dense clouds. I know I'll probably not be able to use anything but 3mg nicotine juice with a low build at 100+ watts but that's cool. I'm going to use it for some cloud competitions at a local vape shop. Maybe with some 24g or 22g kanthal I'll be able to push past 100W if I go .2 or lower. The gplat wire though just heats up really quick and hot. It's pushing 5.7V and about all I can handle even with short pulses on the fire button. It's definitely been worth the money so far. Just like the IPV 2 but supercharged. I don't care for the extra size but with the amount of power you have to have 2 batteries. The five preset power options is a nice upgrade if you swap out different RDAs and keep the same builds on them for a while. I dig it though a lot. I don't care much for the new hex style screws on the case but they included two phillips screws with the package so you can swap them out if you want.

When they test the batteries I believe they test for continuous amps anywhere from 2 minutes up to 10 minutes so for vaping purposes any amps you draw below that continuous rating should be no problem whatsoever. I don't know any vapers that can take 2 minute drags off their device. So really the pulse rating is closer to what you can push on it I think. Those go in the 40A-60A range. I'm just becoming a fan of regulated box mods and now that 150-200W ones are out there you really can stick one or two 30A batteries in it and feel safe. I've never even had a battery get warm beyond the heat from my hand. I don't stick them in my pocket so I'm not worried about one firing nonstop in my pants. I always put batteries in the plastic cases too. I think it's mostly just common sense and making sure you don't have shorts in your build and devices. I don't see many people these days using the flashlight 18650's and not using an ohm meter to test their builds so that's good.

If you get better performance out of your Efests than the sony vtc 4's you have then you might have the LG ones. Just going by what I've seen and heard I think those are more common and the general consensus is they hold a longer charge than the ones that are sony. I don't really know I love my efest button tops they last a very long time but that's in low power VV mods. I get decent life out of my VTC5's so I stick with what works. I think if you're building safe and using batteries that are rated for your purpose and not damaged then it's fine no matter what the brand or wrapping. I just wish Efest would rate them the same as the original manufacturer and not mislead people into thinking their 20 or 30A batteries are really able to do 35A continuous when it's not true. People see efest 35A and assume it's going to be safer to do crazy subohm builds than it is on a sony VTC5 and that's just not the case. I just keep my builds above .2 and blow clouds safely. I do use an efest LUC V4 charger. That thing is amazing.

lol well I got 1 of 2 ipv 3's today and this thing is just insane. I've got a copper mutation X RDA on it running mostly wide open on the airflow. 8 out of 9 of the airholes per side and a 26g Gplat dual coil build at .23 ohms resistance. Wicked with rayon cellucotton and a 3mg max VG dripper version juice from vapethedragon.com It spits vapor like an angry beast. It also dries up the wick and juice well in about 3 pulls. It goes through juice like crazy but the clouds are the densest I've ever seen let alone pulled into my lungs. It's kind of scary but also very fun. I can't do more than about two quick one second pulses and I've only got it turned up to 100 watts at about 5 V. I don't really know what else to say it's what I was hoping for but I guess I wasn't expecting it. Cloud competition material for sure.

I couldn't resist doing my own google search. there actually is a ton of info out there and the specifics on which LG batteries were rewrapped by efest. Basically I know sony, LG, panasonic, and I think one or two others actually make battery cells. Any other company buys the cells in bulk and rebrands them. Some people claim they are the ones the company didn't pass for use by their own branding but I don't think that's true. I think they welcome the wholesale and sell in bulk with the same quality. I only thought it was odd that Efest put their own numbers on them for amps which didn't match up with the original manufacturer. Like how LG rates their battery at 20A continuous and then suddenly with a purple efest wrap it's a 35A battery. I think it was a marketing decision so they'd sell better but I have to wonder if that's a little dangerous. Personally I've never seen one vent and not be totally safe so I'd use an efest but I own Sony VTC5 and use them just fine so I have no need to go with the efest. Anyway here's a picture that should give you a little proof. Both a sonyvtc4 and efest 35A battery unwrapped to reveal the same marking and same vtc4 etching.

Well you could always try google for that proof. It doesn't matter to me either way but I have seen emails from efest to curious customers that eventually led to them stating that yes they buy batteries unwrapped in bulk from other manufacturers and test them first and rate them and wrap them with their wraps. It only came up because vapors were taking off the wraps after testing them and finding them to not be rated how efest was rating them then finding both sony and LG identifier markings on the actual battery bodies. It's not really uncommon. Only a handful of companies actually make batteries and the rest buy in bulk and rebrand them. It's no different than a lot of electronics. Doesn't make then inferior. I still use their button top batteries. They work great in my VV devices. I just prefer the sony because it's what I know and am happy with in my mech mods and box mods. I'd have no problem using efest if I had some. It's just kind of weird when you see sony rate a VTC 4 at 30 amps and then you see an unwrapped efest with the same sony markings and efest has 35A on their wrapper. I think a lot of them are LG anyway that's why they hold a longer charge. I do know they rewrap and don't actually make their own. What they are is always different I think. If you need to find proof on that I'm sure there is some. I've seen it on various vapor groups but I don't have anything saved on it just for that reason. Probably out there in google land though.

Yeah since getting my two IPV 2 50 watt boxes I haven't really used any of my mech mods at all. Maybe for an hour one or two days. I do dual coil builds anywhere from .4 up to 1 ohm and usually 40-50 watts. They just create massive clouds and work great. That's why the IPV 3 and all it's potential is really got me excited.

Some mods don't like certain batteries. I use only the VTC 5 in my box and mech mods but it's because I have a lot of them and good results. They aren't always the best for every mech mod though. I stopped using my clones but a lot of them just don't adjust well for the sonys and gave me issues like you're talking about. I do know the efests are just rewrapped batteries though. Many are just a Sony VTC4 with the purple wrapping and others are LG batteries that were rewrapped. Most people do get a longer charge and life out of the Efest so those are probably the LG ones I don't know. The sony are pretty safe and work great for me but they don't hold that charge as long as I want sometimes. Not really an issue for me I have 4 pairs and a efest luc v4 charger. I just swap them out and enjoy.

Since I've been waiting on my darkstar 30 forever I finally got an email saying they are going into production on a darkstar 40 presumably with this chip. I don't know for sure but I asked. If not I'll probably cancel my order unless it's going to be quick. If it is this chip I might wait another month or two and still get it. It's intriguing at least.

It's not just the wattage. It has dual 18650 batteries. The chip fires down to a .1 resistance. That's basically a cloud chasing regulated beast that you could only get with a mech mod before and even then you're getting about an hour of battery life before you start getting voltage drop. Regulated box mods don't have that issue. So I know I've said it already in this thread but I'm curious what can be achieved with a gplat dual coil build around .2 or maybe some 22g kanthal builds with fewer wraps and really high watts. With the right airflow, juice, and drip tip I think the cloud chasing potential for the high watt box mods are going to be pretty sweet. Just because a device goes to 150 watts doesn't mean you have to run it at 150 watts. I can build to .3 on my IPV2 and crank it up to 50 watts and it's basically like a mech mod with no battery drop off. It's cool and all but that's all it really is. Now you take a chip that can go down to .1 and you can crank that wattage up to still deliver 6+ volts to your coils then you're talking about massive clouds on a regulated device that can double or even triple your battery life before swapping out. That's awesome. The days where you have to build non sub ohms on a box mod to really get the high volts and enjoy it are coming to an end. With one device that can fire .1 all the way up to 3 ohms at 7w up to 150W is a do it all device. Clearo tank, rebuildable tank, rebuildable dripper for flavor, or even a drilled out dripper for cloud chasing. All those possibilities on one device. Anyway I'm still waiting on it. I know it's not really kidneypuncher's fault but the lack of communication from them is pretty lame. No emails and now it's saying 10/31 for shipping. Over a month from the original date when I paid. I've found one in stock on ebay that I should have by the 22nd. I'll have a pair of them to go with both my copper mutation X's. Looking forward to playing with the builds.

So now this is pushed back to the 17th. Almost a full month later than it was supposed to be. They are claiming the maker of the cases are having issues filling their need. I understand there are 50k preorders for the device but I'm sick of these manufacturers opening up preorders so early and not being certain they can meet the demand on time. Have at least all the parts so if anything it only gets pushed back because of assembly and things out of your control. Not having the cases to make the mods is not an acceptable excuse. If my unit doesn't ship by the 17th I'm just going to cancel it. I want a good product but this is not waiting for that. This is bad planning on their end and wanting people's money to fund production and then making excuses on delivery.

I've never vooped. I leave my devices out of the bathroom. Not on purpose or any thinking about it before hand but I was also never that smoker who light up on the toilet and ashed between his legs either. I guess I just do my business and scroll through my phone apps instead.

Was watching the movie Reclaim the other day with John Cusack and he was vaping but I don't remember the setup. Just looked like an ego style battery and clearo tank.

I'll update once I get it. It was pushed back to ship on Oct. 1st now so that stinks but it happens with preorders all the time. I've got a new copper mutation X RDA and cherry vape cloud chaser tip for it when I get it. Probably do a 26g GPlat dual coil build on it to hit right about .2 ohm and crank it up to 100 W or so and see what she does. I like the .5-.7 sweet spot for the IPV2. Right around 40-45 watts but this new one will be a hardcore cloud chasing setup I think. Loving the mutation X for builds and airflow options. Don't think I've ever seen a box mod in a cloud chasing competition but I think that's going to change soon. With the right airflow and juice I think it will be hard for any mech mod to compete once these new box mods are out and can support the .1 or .2 builds.