timwis Posted September 15, 2020 Posted September 15, 2020 (edited) Hi Vapor Talk members, In this review i take a look at the RPM160 Dual-18650 Pod Kit from Smok. The SMOK RPM160 Dual-18650 Pod Kit was supplied for the purpose of this review by Ella from Sourcemore. Introduction After a period where Smok went quiet for their usual prolific standards they have in more recent times been back bombarding the market with new products. The dual battery Pod Mod was always a case of when not if and in short succession their has been a trio of them including this the RPM160 from Smok! The RPM160 keeps the successful RPM name yet two versions are available one that takes a new V9 0.15ohm coil which has adjustable airflow and is compatible with the V8 family of coils and the version i received which has just one 0.15 RPM160 coil available for it so neither device actually support the standard RPM coil family. Powered by the !Q-160 Chipset the RPM160 is a simple power only device with a maximum 160 watt output. Coming in 4 different Carbon Fiber finishes and including 2 huge RPM160 mesh coil heads let's give the RPM160 a good look! ___________________________________________________________________ In The Box Contents: 1 x RPM160 Device 1 x RPM160 Pod (7.5ml) TPD (2ml) 2 x RPM160 Mesh 0.15ohm Coil 1 x USB Cable 1 x User Manual ___________________________________________________________________ Aesthetics and Ergonomics The Smok RPM160 comes in the usual cardboard box packaging with outer sleeve that Smok products tend to be packaged in. I received the Red Carbon Fiber version, its available in Black Carbon Fiber, Red Carbon Fiber, Silver Carbon Fiber or 7-Colour Carbon Fiber. On first impressions the combination of very shiny Chrome effect chassis and the lightweight due to the plastic front and back panels in my opinion gives the device a bit of a cheap look and it has a tinny hollow feel but once some weight was added in the form of installing a pair of 18650 batteries it felt much better and fits in the hand nicely. The front and back panels are Carbon Fiber effect in the colour of choice with the rest of the device being a Chrome looking Zinc Alloy. Both top rectangular fire button and smaller lower navigational buttons also match the Chrome Chassis finish, the micro USB port is positioned directly underneath the navigational buttons. We also have a very large screen on the face and on the rear some branding, the sides step to the face to give it a narrower form factor. Both front and back we have a huge airflow slot and above the large transparent pod protrudes with wide bore mouthpiece being part of the same moulding. Finally moving to the base we have the interlocking battery hatch door with grooves for good grip! ___________________________________________________________________ RPM160 Specs and Features: Size: 125×45×28.2mm Battery: 2 x 18650 batteries (not included) E-liquid Capacity: 7.5ml (2ml TPD version) Standby Current: <200uA Input Voltage: 6.4V-8.4V Output Voltage: 0.5V-8.2V Output Wattage: 5W-160W Charging Voltage: 5V+0.2V Charging Current: 1.8A (Max) Charger Output: 5V±0.2V/2A Resistance Range: 0.1ohm-2.5ohm RPM160 Pod coil: RPM160 Mesh 0.15ohm RPM V9 Pod available (compatible with V9 0.15 coil and V8 coils) RDTA Pod available Maximum 160W output with dual 18650 cells Constant power for stable performance IQ-160 chipset with fast firing speed Top filling design with transparent pod for visible e-juice Colours: Black Carbon Fiber, Red Carbon Fiber, Silver Carbon Fiber, 7-Colour Carbon Fiber ___________________________________________________________________ The Pod The Pod is a large rectangular shape that tapers to a protruding front and an all in one moulding so the fixed drip tip can't be removed. The pod has only slight tinting so is perfectly transparent and mostly protrudes outside the device so absolutely no issues with seeing your juice level at all times. Towards the top on the rear of the pod we have a large silicone flap which can be pulled to remove a plug revealing a very generous sized fill port, this section also sits outside the device so filling can be done without removing the pod which is a big pro! Moving to the base of the pod we can see the large round opening for the large coil head and either side a very large rectangular magnet. On all versions apart from the 2ml TPD version the pod holds a whopping 7.5ml of e-liquid! ___________________________________________________________________ The Coil Despite this bearing the name RPM it doesn't actually utilise the vast range of RPM coils instead a new coil has been developed especially for the device which has the same form factor as the RPM coils but just much, much bigger! It's the RPM160 Meshed coil head 0.15ohm which is rated between 40 - 90w with a best at between 70 and 80w. As mentioned in the introduction there is a V9 version of this kit which comes with a pod that accommodates both the new V9 coil and is compatible with the V8 family of coils. This pod also comes with an AFC base which screws onto the bottom of the coils to also give adjustable airflow, personally even if getting this kit i would consider sourcing the V9 pod! ___________________________________________________________________ The Airflow Towards the top both front and back we have a very large airflow slot and also very large airflow intakes on the base of the coil. When looking through the front slot you can actually see straight through the coil intakes and out the rear airflow slot, this is for full on DL vaping, bags of air! As mentioned there is the V9 version and the pod for that can be bought separately to fit this which then gives an adjustable airflow option. ___________________________________________________________________ Available RDTA Pod There is also a dual coil RDTA pod available which i don't have to test but from the picture i have it looks decent! ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Pod Looking inside the pods bay it looks very neat and tidy and both front and back airflow slots are clearly visible. We can see the central spring loaded contacts and a large rectangular magnet to either side which will line up with the corresponding magnets on the pod. These magnets are about as strong as i have come across so absolutely no issues with movement in fact it takes quite an energetic tug to remove it but not complaining! ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Battery The RPM160 accommodates dual 18650 batteries which get fitted via the bottom hatch door. The hatch door is an interlocking design so you need to push outward before lifting up, there are grooves for good grip and once the battery is installed push down and then press inwards to lock securely in place. Orientation is marked in Bright White on the underside of the hatch door and labelled A & B. After locking securely in place there is no movement from the door and no battery rattle whatsoever, cracking job! ___________________________________________________________________ The Display Mixed bag really, it's bright and sharp with good use of colour without going OTT and can't fault the information given including each individual battery as a percentage but this has a large screen and some font is small with no reason has it leaves quite a bit of wasted real estate! At the top we have 2 battery status bars labelled A & B and within these bars the charge is also given as a percentage. The upper central area of the display below the status bars is where we have both a padlock which will be in either a locked or open position and the wattage. Further down to the left we have the voltage and to the right the resistance and then finally at the bottom of the display we first have puffs then underneath the duration of your vape! ___________________________________________________________________ Navigating The RPM160 The RPM160 is a very simple set your wattage and vape device so not really much to go through. The device is the usual 5 clicks of the fire button to turn on and five clicks to turn off and once on you can either lock just the up and down buttons or the whole device. 3 quick clicks of the fire button locks the whole device so it will not fire or alternatively holding down both up and down buttons simultaneously locks just those buttons. The only other feature is the puff counter which can be reset by pressing down and fire together but it only goes up to 999 anyway before automatically resetting. The wattage adjusts from 5 to 160w in 1w increments at a nice fast speed and round robins, and that's it! No TC, curves, settings or the new features like smart wattage, just literally dial in the wattage you want and fire, that's all some people want! ___________________________________________________________________ Protection And Monitoring: Short Circuit Protection Low Battery Warning Atomiser Recognition Over-charge Protection Puff Counter Monitoring 8-Seconds Cut-off ___________________________________________________________________ Charging and Updates Unfortunately the RPM160 doesn't come with Type C USB but does support firmware upgrades and balanced charging at 1.8A max so i suppose averaging at 1.5A. While charging a battery status progress bar is shown for each battery which are labelled A & B and the charge is also shown as a percentage so good feedback, the RPM160 also supports pass through although charging halts while taking a vape before automatically restarting! ___________________________________________________________________ My Experience Using The RPM160 And Thoughts! The look and feel of the device grew on me although i still feel it has a bit of a cheap look to it but it's subjective just finding a lot of a Chrome look can give a tacky appearance while others might like it. The device itself has many things going for it firstly how simple it is to use but while the lack features will be many vapers cup of tea it will be a big con to others. The fire button is really nice and perfectly positioned giving a satisfying click as it fires without delay hitting the set wattage instantly. I was also impressed by despite the fact i was at 70w the battery life seemed as good as i get with other dual 18650 devices vaping at lower wattage's. This kit though out the box is just not for me, with huge 0.15ohm coils. massive airflow slots and no adjustment available it was just full on DL when i prefer at least some restriction. Only having the one coil available (you receive 2 of them) for the supplied pod which although rated between 40 and 90w with the wide open airflow needed 70w minimum and actually gave optimum flavour at 80w which is just not the way i vape. Flavour though was as good as with many of the better sub-ohm tanks although i am now on the second coil so longevity slightly below par. The device does have a puff counter but it only goes up to 999 so already clocked it a couple of times and the capacity of 7.5ml is great! Being both able to see your e-liquid level at all times and also being able to fill without moving the pod are big pros but as explained in the next paragraph you might want to remove the pod anyway to fill so you can check the pod bay! You do get some leaking as is the case with a lot of Pod Mods with press fitted coils so i have included a photo. This is after vaping a full pod of e-liquid although halfway through the pod was also left overnight! This has potential though even for me as the available V9 pod offers compatibility with V8 coils and adjustable airflow that sounds much more versatile, also a decent looking RDTA pod is also available. Of course those that like higher wattage full on DL vaping then this gives a Pod Mod option so some people will love this. ___________________________________________________________________ Likes Comes in 4 colour options A V9 version also available Dual 18650 device Very nice, well positioned fire button Fires without delay with instant ramp up Very simple to use Status bars for each individual battery Battery status also given as a percentage Sharp, bright display Full on DL (if that's your preference) Flavour very good Very secure battery door Orientation labelled in Bright White Available V9 pod (compatible with V9 coil and V8 coil family) includes AFC base Available RDTA pod Can see e-liquid level at all times Nice large filling port Can fill without removing the pod 7.5ml Capacity (not TPD version) Efficient, good battery life 1.8A max balanced charging Good charging feedback given Firmware upgradeable Cons Only one coil option with supplied pod Chrome effect looks a bit cheap (subjective) Some font on display very small No adjustable airflow Unless buying other available items only suitable for full on DL high wattage vapers Some leaking from coil Coil head longevity slightly under par (others experience could differ) No other features other than adjustable power (con for some, pro for others) Mouthpiece fixed, can't use alternative drip tip Not Type C USB I would once again like to thank Ella from Sourcemore for supplying the SMOK RPM160 Dual-18650 Pod Kit for the purpose of this review, thanks for reading and stay safe! ___________________________________________________________________ Edited September 15, 2020 by timwis
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