timwis Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 Hi Vapor Talk members, In this review i take a look at the Aegis Squonk Kit from Geekvape. The Aegis Squonk Kit was supplied for the purpose of this review by Clay from Geekvape. Introduction When the original Aegis was released their was a bit of a buzz about it, almost indestructible, firing time to rival the Drag and battery options that included a 26650. Then more recently we had the Legend a dual battery version followed by the Mini and Solo giving smaller options with either an inbuilt battery or single 18650. The Aegis range of devices just keep coming with 2 more released simultaneously, the Aegis X which is a dual 18650 200W TC device with full face colour screen and a brand new menu system and this device, yes we now have a Aegis Squonk mod. What next for the Aegis, an Aegis pod mod? well the answer i already know is yes but that's for another day so i'll crack on! ___________________________________________________________________ In The Box Contents: 1 x Geekvape Aegis Squonk Mod 1 x Tengu RDA Atomizer 1 x Squonk Bottle 1 x 510 Drip Tip Adaptor 1 x Battery Door Assist Tool 1 x GV Triangular Tool 1 x 810 Drip Tip 1 x Spare Parts Pack 2 x N80 Fused Clapton Coil 2 x Feather Cotton 1 x USB Cable 1 x L-shaped Hexagonal Wrench 1 x Promotion Card & Warranty Card ___________________________________________________________________ Aesthetics and Ergonomics The Aegis Squonk Kit came in cardboard box with outer sleeve and once opened i was met by the familiar Aegis look despite it being a BF device, in fact if fitting the standard spine (not supplied) it would almost pass as the Aegis Solo. The Aegis Squonk's aesthetics are very busy due to the use of many different durable materials, making the device look as solid as it is. The materials used include, LSR Silicone, Die-Cast Aluminium, Die-Cast Zinc Alloy, Leather (when standard spine is fitted) and Stainless Steel. I received the Black version, it's also available in Gunmetal, Stainless Steel, Golden, Blue and Rainbow, all versions come paired with a Tengu RDA in a colour that suits your colour choice. Looking at the device from the side towards the front we have army grade black silicone, then we have a Metal bracket in the colour of choice which helps secure the leather on the standard spine and when the squonk spine is installed we have the cutout for pressing the bottle instead. The front has an hexagonal fire button with raised rectangular face at the top and at the bottom we have the - and + buttons, between the fire button and navigational buttons we have a large screen. With the face of the device pointing to the left we have a rectangular silicone section bottom left which can be removed to reveal the micro USB port. The base of the device has a battery plate with fold out lever, moving to the top of the device the rear is rounded with grooves for sliding open (this is for filling). Finally towards the front at the top we have a large 510 plate with wide inner silicone raised rim, the uniquely designed BF 510 is Gold plated and spring loaded. The build quality is very good and the device is ergonomically sound, the Aegis Squonk Mod is as solid as the rest of the Aegis family. ___________________________________________________________________ Tengu RDA Specs and Features: Size: 24 x 28.3mm Juice Well Depth: 6mm Drip Tip: 810/510(with adaptor) Unique deck for easy dual coil building Honeycomb airflow for smooth and great flavor With Delrin drip tip and PMMA drip tip Standard 510 and BF squonk 510 pin included Thread: 510 Colours: Black, Gunmetal, Stainless Steel, Golden, Blue, Rainbow ___________________________________________________________________ Brief Description The RDA is 24mm in diameter and quite short with the top tapering smoothly to where the drip tip is fitted, below is a false seam which makes the Tengu look like it's a two piece sleeve but it's one piece as the airflow control ring is a piece fitted internally. On one side of the RDA we have the face of a Tengu etched cleanly in the metal which looks good and i prefer this much more than printed logo's. Either side we have honeycomb style airflow holes which consist of two rows, 6 in the top and 7 in the bottom. The base has etched branding and safety marks and comes pre-installed with a BF Gold plated 510 pin which protrudes enough to make it hybrid safe. The build quality is very good as i always find with Geekvape products, it's a nice looking RDA. ___________________________________________________________________ Tengu's Various Parts The Tengu consists of a one piece sleeve with detachable inner airflow ring, and deck section. Up top we have a ultem quite low profile goon fitting 810, an even lower profile delrin rounded 810 is also included as well as a 510 adaptor. Included are spare o-rings, hex grub screws (flatheads are pre-installed on the posts), a standard pin, hex tool, T-piece tool, cotton and 2 coils. ___________________________________________________________________ The Airflow The Airflow consists of dual sets of honeycomb style holes, 2 rows each side. The top rows have 6 holes and the bottom rows have 7 giving 13 holes each side in total. The airflow control ring you can see pictured fits inside the sleeve and has 2 protruding sections both top and bottom. The top sections fit into grooves inside the sleeve so the sleeve can be turned to adjust airflow, when the protruding sections reach the end of the grooves they act as hard stoppers as the ring is fixed in position lined up with the coils on the deck. The bottom protruding sections slot into same sized notches on the outside of the deck section locking the ring in place and allowing the whole system to work. ___________________________________________________________________ The Deck and Build The deck is similar to a velocity style in the way it works but i found with the negative post holes being tightened with grub screws at an angle rather than side-wards made it even easier to build on only twisting the leg slightly which is easily fixed with a coiling rod. The Gold plated positive post is a raised "T" with the negative posts being under each of the vertical protruding sections. The bottom of the "T" is hollowed with 2 small holes (one each side) so when the BF pin is installed the juice enters the deck through these holes. Your coil legs get fastened into place by the grub screws in the positive post being tightened down from above and they are tightened at an angle on the negative posts. There is plenty of room for trimming your legs so they don't need pre-cutting, just slot one leg in a positive terminal and the other in the opposite negative and when the coil is where you want it fasten down and trim your legs, then just repeat the process with your other coil. Then you can use a coiling rod or fit for purpose tool to manoeuvre the coils into the perfect positions. You can take the airflow control ring out of the sleeve and place it over the deck to check the position of the coils in relation to the airflow, i set mine where the top row would be giving side airflow and the bottom row would be skimming the bottom of the coils. Wicking is a doddle, you can be quite generous with the cotton as the Tengu has a deep open well, just tuck your cotton into the well. This was quite a long write up for this section but actually dual builds really don't get much easier and the Tengu would make a great first dual coil RDA. ___________________________________________________________________ Aegis Squonk Mod Specs and Features: Size: 87.7 x 30.9 x 53.5mm Liquid bottle capacity: 10ml Input voltage: 3.2V-4.2V Output voltage: 0.1V-8V Minimum voltage: 3.3V Longest vaping time: 10s Resistance range: 0.05ohm-3ohm Charger voltage: USB Micro 5V 1.5A Battery specification: 18650 (single battery) Display screen: 0.96inch (black and white screen) More powerful and excellent TC Kit from classic Aegis family 100W max power by single 18650 batteries Upgraded AS 100 chipset for fast and accurate operation 0.96 Inch screen for vivid display Switch between Squonk or Standard device Flawless and leakproof Squonk system Waterproof/Dustproof/Shockproof Design Thread: 510 Colours: Silver, Green, Black, Chameleon, Blue, Red ___________________________________________________________________ Waterproof, Dustproof and Shockproof Like the other Aegis devices It's a very durable mod and although no-one including Geekvape will suggest going diving with it or throwing the device from a 9th floor window you would have to go some to break the device by accident. Made from many different durable materials (6 in total) including army grade silicone it will take some knocks. The device is IP67 waterproof which means it will withstand being immersed in water up to 1 meter in depth for up to 30 mins and there's some clever ways the Aegis Squonk Mod is a fully operating device yet waterproof. When looking at the device you might think well water will get in there, there and there etc but there is a way it is kept sealed everywhere. ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Battery The battery gets fitted via the bottom of the device, which has a removable plate with lift up lever like we have seen before on the original Aegis, Aegis Solo, Sigelei Evaya and Jackaroo to name four devices. Unscrewing the plate and screwing back on does take a bit of time that impatient people might not like but i like this method of fitting batteries as it's very secure and no risk of damaging your battery wrap and the threading is also shorter on the Aegis Squonk mod than the other mentioned devices. The plate has a fitted o-ring to complete the watertight seal, battery orientation is clearly marked both inside the battery tube and on the underside of the screw plate so a really good job all round! ___________________________________________________________________ Navigating the Aegis Squonk Mod The Aegis Squonk Mod is the usual 5 clicks to turn on and 5 clicks to turn off and it has a large bright screen with a very clear layout, it does have a tinted cover which although didn't make viewing the screen impossible outdoors it was more difficult. Their are some combination key press functions which are, + and fire together increases the brightness of the screen, - and fire together decreases the brightness of the screen and - and + together locks the device. The screen displays the mode at the top, under this the wattage (temperature when in temp control), under this the battery status bar, then the resistance, under this the amps (wattage when in temp control), then the volts (TCR value when in temp control) and finally puffs which when you vape changes to time vaped and then goes back to puffs afterwards. Pressing the fire button 3 times highlights the mode which now can be changed. When highlighted each press of the + button takes you to the next mode and if you overshoot the - button takes you back, the modes are Power, TC-Ni, TC-SS, TC-Ti, TCR, VPC (variable power curve, usually called CCW) and Bypass. If you use temp control then when the mode you want is highlighted each press of the fire button takes you to the next item on the screen you can alter, you can lock resistance and set wattage. The interface is very uncomplicated and those that have the original Aegis, Mini, Solo or Legend will be very familiar with it. The only thing i personally am disappointed with is that Geekvape stuck to the mono screen of the Mini, Solo and Original rather than reverted back to the colour screen of the Legend. ___________________________________________________________________ Protections 10's Cut-off Protection Short Circuit Protection Over Charging and Discharging Protection Over-heat Protection Over-current Protection ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Standard Spine There is a standard spine that was in my sample box but will be a separate purchase so if you no longer want to use the Aegis as a squonk device or just want to use it as a standard regulated device for a while you can switch spines. Of course any squonk device can be used as a standard device anyway but this is still a good idea because removing the entire squonk back section and replacing it with a much slimmer spine shrinks the device down to a more portable device, in this case it basically gets turned into an Aegis Solo (very similar). The 2 screws that need removing are done up very tight, are not the best quality and the allen tool provided is only just fit for purpose so this combination could quite easily cause one or both screws to get stripped when trying to undo for the first time which means you can't get the squonk spine off not just to switch spines but also for cleaning or replacing the bottle. I did tell Geekvape about my concerns and i have a feeling i'm not the only one with either a concern or have had stripped screws as they said they were aware of it and the retail version would have much better quality screws fitted. ___________________________________________________________________ The Squonk Assembly The squonk assembly is the entire back end of the device that can be removed by removing the top screw each side on the bracket. The whole spine removes along with the bottle and sliding top-fill section. Looking inside the device towards the top we can see a small horizontal protruding spout that leads to the plumbing under the 510, looking at the squonk assembly we can see a corresponding circular indented section that the spout fits into so the liquid will flow from the bottle to the 510 when the bottle is pressed. The Aegis has a unique BF 510 as the liquid doesn't get fed through a central hole but instead feeds around the 510, we then have deep cross hair grooves on the 510 that act as 4 channels to the centre and then up through the atomizers BF pin as usual. With the assembly (back section) fitted to the device it has a fill method to rival the Topside, in fact it's better and quicker but only if thin bottles are used which is it's downfall. To fill you simply slide the top open and then fill through a self sealing membrane but if chunky bottles are used then a fitted RDA stops the nozzle reaching the port so you need to remove the RDA to fill, for this reason i think it would of been a good move for Geekvape to of supplied a large but thin bottle to decant to. When it comes to the bottle nothing to complain about, it has a nice tension, you get a spare and it has a whopping 10ml capacity. ___________________________________________________________________ Cleaning The Squonk Section Cleaning is the biggest pain with the Aegis Squonk device as you need to first remove the spine before removing 2 silicone bungs and then a couple more screws. Removing the bottle is also awkward and time consuming but if you are like me and just tend to run your juice down and then add more liquid even if it's a new flavour and only look to clean it occasionally it's fine but those that often change flavours and like to thoroughly clean each time they will not like this at all. I have heard a couple of people offer a quick clean suggestion but after trying this method of just putting water into the bottle through the membrane seal when the spine is still attached and squonking to flush the system out and then try to get out all the water through the membrane again while the assembly is fitted i realised those making the suggestion haven't actually tried it because it's even more of a pain than cleaning it properly with not as good results. ___________________________________________________________________ My Thoughts As far as how the device performs taking the squonking aspect out of the equation? well just like the Aegis Solo and the menu system and chip is exactly the same so very happy, it performs well. If i was to have one gripe it is this surprisingly for an Aegis device is not heavy and isn't large for a single battery squonk device so i wouldn't of minded it being just slightly bigger to accommodate a 21700 battery so getting the full 100W wasn't in question and increasing the battery life which is slightly below average for a single 18650 device possibly just down to the 3.3v cutoff. As far as the screws are concerned if Geekvape say the screws on the retail version will be much better quality i believe them as Geekvape is one of the manufacturers i fully trust so there shouldn't be any issues there. The Aegis Squonk works great as a BF device and i love the top-fill method, large capacity and unique 510 feed method, however you can't use chunky bottles without removing the RDA and the thick silicone band around the 510 to stop any liquid leaking causes a gap between the device and the atomizer that may bug some people. The major con though is the pain of removing screws and seals when cleaning which isn't much of an issue if like me you would only clean it occasionally but those that have higher standards will find it a pain. Having a separate standard spine available to replace the squonk section is a great idea, yes some people will say just get an Aegis Solo also but some people are on a tighter budget so having one device that can be converted will be a real win for them. I do like this despite it being far from perfect, i hope the idea is revisited because a version 2 with just a few small changes could potentially be the best squonking device available. ___________________________________________________________________ Likes Very good build quality Waterproof, Shockproof, Dustproof Nice size and weight Plenty of colour options Performed very well (same chip as Aegis Solo) Worked great as a BF device 10ml Capacity Unique BF 510 feed Quick slide open top-fill method Tengu very good RDA Can buy standard spine to swap for squonk assembly Complete squonking section can be removed Spare Bottle Plenty of spares, tools coils etc Power, Curves, Bypass, TC and TCR modes Silicone seal around 510 Supports upgrades Cons Pain to clean thoroughly If filling with chunky bottles need to remove RDA Gap between RDA and device Would be much better with 21700 battery Battery life slightly below par Issues with screws but should be addressed I would once again like to thank Clay from Geekvape for supplying the Aegis Squonker 100W TC Kit with Tengu RDA for the purpose of this review. ___________________________________________________________________ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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