timwis Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 (edited) Hi Vapor Talk members, In this review i take a look at the VIY Pod Kit from Vsticking. The VIY Pod Kit was supplied for the purpose of this review by Honyqin from Vsticking. Introduction Vsticking are a relatively new vaping manufacturer who have pinned their colours firmly to using the YiHi chipsets in their products. Their first offering was an excellent value for money dual 18650 TC device called the VK530 which was powered by the YiHi SX530 chipset and offered good build quality for it's price point. Coming soon they will be releasing a portable device featuring YiHi's latest ESS Driver technology and in the meantime we have a pod system called the VIY. The VIY is powered by the YiHi SX270 chipset and offers 2 power levels, anti-burn technology and adjustable airflow. Featuring a physical fire button, fair sized battery and coming in 4 different colours let's give the VIY a look! ___________________________________________________________________ In The Box Contents: 1x Vsticking VIY Pod Kit with Yihi Chipset 750mAh 1x USB Cable 1x Warranty Card 1x User Manual ___________________________________________________________________ Aesthetics and Ergonomics The VIY comes in cardboard packaging with outer cardboard sleeve and on opening we have the device with installed pod in the upper tray with paperwork and USB cable below. I received the Black version, the options are Blue, Red, Black and Champagne, the devices are quite plain but have a large rectangular Silver fire button much the same as on the iPV Aspect which gives it an aesthetic feature alongside it's quite unique form. The device is quite flat and a portable size with most of the tinted pod protruding from the device, the mouth piece flattens towards where it will be between the lips and the pod has one flat edge and one steeply tapered again adding to the overall unique shape. The device for it's small size has quite a bit of weight being made out of Zinc Alloy and the build quality is very good. Bottom left we have a large cutout section which will allow for the use of a lanyard although one isn't included, central bottom on the face of the device we have the Vsticking logo carved into the metal. Above the fire button we have 4 LED's which are for both power level and battery status indication and the reverse of the device is plain apart from 2 visible small screws. Both sides towards the top we have pill shaped cutouts one of which will line up with the adjustable airflow on the pod, on one side underneath the cutout we have the charging micro USB port with a small charging indicator LED next to it. ___________________________________________________________________ VIY Specs and Features: Size: 90.62 x 41.26 x 12.61mm Material: Zinc Alloy Battery: Built-in 750mAh Chipset: Yihi SX270 Chipset 2 Power Modes: 9W(Low Wattage); 9W-12W(High Wattage) Output Voltage: 3.0-3.5V E-juice Capacity: 1.8ml Coil: 1.0ohm SS316 Airflow: Adjustable Portable pod kit with Yihi chipset Compact size and exquisite design Anti-dry burn technology 750mAh Built-in battery and 2 power modes 1.8ml Refillable pod with easy bottom filling Innovative coil with adjustable airflow Colours: Blue, Red, Black, Champagne ___________________________________________________________________ The Pod As mentioned the pod is tinted and has one straight edge and one on a slant which gives it quite a strange look, although the pod is tinted i had no issues seeing the juice level with the pod in or out the device. The pod houses a 1.0ohm SS coil and has a capacity of 1.8ml, but sadly only one pod is included and the coils are not replaceable which just isn't fair on vapers parting with their cash, all pod systems should come with at least 2 pods/coils. Looking at the bottom of the pod we have 2 Gold plated contacts and a silicone section with a flap to one edge of the pod. Lifting this flap up reveals a very generous fill port while the silicone section stays attached to the pod, i had no issues filling the pod whatsoever. Looking inside the pod plenty of cotton is on show so you really do need to let the pod sit once filled for at least 5 minutes before vaping to let it get saturated. On one side of the pod we have a plastic grooved section which can be moved up or down to alter airflow. ___________________________________________________________________ The Airflow As mentioned at the end of the last section on one side of the pod we have a plastic section which moves up or down on tracks (it has 2 positions). The plastic section has grooves allowing you to use your nail to easily move it and it has a hole in it which gets lined up with one of two holes on the pod itself. When the plastic piece is in the down position the hole is lined up with a hole the same size on the pod so the airflow is fully open, when moving the plastic piece to the up position the hole is now lined up with a much smaller hole on the pod for a tighter draw. So only 2 airflow positions but as 90% of pod devices have no adjustable airflow whatsoever a massive pro for it on the VIY! ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Pod Looking inside the pods bay we can see the 2 Gold plated, spring loaded contacts and screws either side which holds the device together. On each outside edge we have a pill shaped cutout which line up with the airflow however this doesn't mean the pod can be fitted either way as the back of the device at the top is slightly pinched which both only allows the pod to be fitted one way and also helps to make it a tight fit. However One of the cutouts definitely is for allowing air to the adjustable airflow while the other is simply matchy, matchy for aesthetic purposes. The pod simply gets press fitted into place with the already mentioned slightly pinched section at the top of the back of the device keeping it a very tight fit, absolutely no movement whatsoever, cracking job! ___________________________________________________________________ Operating The VIY The VIY is 3 clicks of the fire button to turn on and 3 clicks to turn off, when turning on to confirm the 4 little LED's above the fire button light up in turn from left to right, when turning off they light up in turn in the opposite direction. If you press the fire button while off the LED's just flash indicating the device has power but is not switched on. Once on the device is in high wattage mode which gives a constant 3.5V (12W) until the battery no longer can deliver 3.5V and then it becomes a direct output device until it reaches 3.0V. The device does have 2 wattage levels the other one being low wattage which gives a constant 3.0V (9W). To change between wattage modes is 5 quick clicks of the fire button, which need to be quick to bypass the power down feature but i didn't have any issues. The modes just switch with each 5 clicks, when low wattage is chosen which will be indicated by the 2 centre LED's flashing 3 times (which is 9w) the device gives a low constant voltage output. High wattage which is indicated by the first and last LED's flashing 3 times (which is 9w to 12w) and as mentioned limits the voltage output to 3.5v giving 12w until the battery can no longer give 3.5v it then works as a direct output device down to 3.0V. As usual the device has safety protections which are indicated by various flashes of the LED's. ___________________________________________________________________ Protections: Low Voltage Protection Short Circuit Protection Over-Heat Protection Low Resistance Protection ___________________________________________________________________ Battery Status and Charging Indication The VIY has very good battery status indication which again makes use of the 4 LED's above the fire button. While vaping if all 4 LED's light up the battery is between 75% and 100%, when 3 light up it's between 50% and 75%, when 2 light up it's between 25% and 50% and when only 1 light comes on the battery is less than 25%. After pressing the fire button to take a vape the indication light/lights stay on for 5 seconds giving you plenty of time to check the status. The VIY charges via the micro USB port on the side of the device, while charging the little battery indicator light next to the port lights Red, once fully charged the light goes out. It takes about 1 and a half hours to charge which i would like to see a bit quicker but it does support pass-through. ___________________________________________________________________ My Experience Using The VIY I do sometimes think not another pod system but the VIY turned out to be a very good one catering for MTL vapers rather than being more suited for restrictive lung vapers like so many tend to. The adjustable airflow works well with the tighter setting giving a cigarette type draw while fully open it gave a looser MTL but definitely not more suited for a restricted lung vape. Despite all the specs giving the wattage depending on power setting the device is actually operating in temp control and giving anti burn protection which i like a lot. I tried various e-liquids and before changing between different juices i allowed the pod to run dry and the protection kicked in as it should. I tried 50/50 nic salts, some of my 66% VG DIY liquid and a 80VG and all wicked fine but also no flooding with the thinner 50/50. The pod did take a couple of fills though to fully break in but then i did manage about a dozen fills before any noticeable drop off in flavour so more than satisfied with longevity although only receiving one pod which is a big con i could of got a lucky pod i suppose. Absolutely no complaints about the flavour the pod produced as it was easily above average (comparable to other pods). The 750mAh battery goes a long way with such a low powered device but i did find charging longer than i would like but at least it supports pass-through. The pod is a weird shape but actually was very comfortable and i had no issues seeing my juice level. Finally it has one of the best battery status indication set-ups on a pod device giving 4 tiers rather than the usual 3 and evenly spaced out so you pretty much always know exactly how much life you have left on the device. ___________________________________________________________________ Likes Well built device Unique form factor Portable, ergonomic device Metal construction 4 Colour options 2 Power levels Adjustable airflow Anti burn protection Yihi Chipset MTL device (cigarette pull and looser MTL draw) Found filling mess free No issues seeing juice level Worked well with various PG/VG ratio e-liquids Above average flavour Got good pod longevity Excellent battery status indication Pod fits with no movement Good battery life Supports pass-through Cons Only one pod provided Break in period before flavour at it's best Quite slow charging I would once again like to thank Honyqin from Vsticking for supplying the VIY Pod Kit for the purpose of this review. ___________________________________________________________________ Edited October 3, 2019 by Tam Huge banner from supply company removed. 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