The Darwin From Evolv

[mutt]

Some have probably read this from another forum I posted it on, but wanted to share it here as well for those who do not travel around to other sites.

First. let me say that I am in NO way afiliated with Evolv. The review and information here is from my own personal experience. Some of the technical info was re-worded by me, from a post made by the manufacturer, but the review is my own.

I was one of the lucky ones to receive a pre-production Darwin to test. If you havent heard of it, The Darwin will be the first power regulated mod. This is not a variable voltage device, but a true power regulated device.

What does this mean? In a typical vv device, the user can adjust the voltage output of the device, usually from a relatively low voltage up to whatever to manufacturer sets the limit at. The Darwin controls both the voltage and the amps, giving the user a steady wattage reading. And steady wattage equals steady heat, and steady heat equals consistent vaping.

I am not a tech head when it comes to electronics, so let me speak in layman's terms here. If you take ANY high voltage mod on the market or homemade, screw on a LR atty, what usually happens? You pop your atty right? Now take the same device, an take 4-5 consecutive drags off of it, what happens? Usually the tip gets extremely hot, the vapor becomes weaker. Why is this? Because as the atty heats up, the resistance of the atty changes, but the device doesnt make any adjustments and just keeps blasting power to the atty.

This is where the darwin differs from anything on the market today. Its actually a smart mod. You can take ANY atty, ANY carto and screw it to the Darwin, set your wattage and it actually reads the resistance, adjusts the amps and voltage, to give the user a steady wattage. Everytime you push the button, the darwin is constantly reading your atty/carto, 1000 times per second, and making slight adjustments to give off a steady power reading.

Adjusting the wattage on the Darwin is simple. Simply rotate the dial to your desired setting. There is an LCD screen that shows you what wattage you are vapping at. Thats pretty much it. No screwdrivers, no pushing and holding buttons down, simply turn the dial.

Now let me give a quick review of the product:

Keep in mind that the unit I received is a pre-production model so the looks are more than likely going to change. What is not going to change is the electrical workings of the device.

Performance wise, the steady power supply makes this device incredible. Never before have I had 100% consistent vape from a device. Every time you push the button, its the same. I can take an LR atty, an 808 carto, a regular 510 atty or whatever else is available, set the watts to 10, and no matter which atty or carto i screw into it, the Darwin delivers a 10 watt vape. Period.

Batteries- The great thing about the Darwin, is there is no more need to buy rechargeable batteries. This device comes with the batteries built in. The manufacturer states that the battery life is good for over 1000 charges, or roughly 3-5 YEARS.

When I first got this, I started using it on a high wattage rating, usually 12.4-12.8 watts and on 1 charge it lasted 13 hours! Thats 13 hours of 100% consistent vaping. No sag in the power, no dropping performance as the battery gets weaker. 13 straight hours of perfect vaping. The unit uses a standard mini usb to charge, so you can use it as a passthru while charging, you can charge and use it while driving with a car charger.

The Darwin for as advanced as it is, is actually extremely user friendly. You have a charge port, a button to make it fire and a rotating dial to adjust the wattage. Thats it. You dont need to be electronically informed to use it, just rotate the dial to the setting that you like best, and push the button to vape. You can adjust the wattage as you are vaping to dial in the perfect sweet spot.

I think that once anyone actually uses this device, sees the difference that being able to have steady power makes, they will have a hard time going back to the run of the mill high voltage device. Variable voltage or not, the same old devices just will not measure up to the Darwin.

I just want to say thanks again to Brandon and Evolv for letting me be one of the lucky to test this unit. When the finished unit becomes available, I will definitely be one of the first in line to pick one of these bad boys up.

Now, lets post a couple pictures of the pre-production model:

[BirdDog]

Thank you for sharing. Very interesting little gadget. Looking forward to follow ups for the final product.

[nana]

I could be interested in something like this. I'll be interested in seeing the finished product. I think I'd like it to be a bit shorter.

[snubber]

This is an interesting device. If it works right it could be awesome.

Have to agree with "nana" tho if it were a little shorter would be nice. And I'm not real crazy about all the etching, could be a little more subtle.

[miatafrank]

I like the swivelling atty. When in the folded position it sits right in front of the controls, so you can put it in your pocket and not change any settings, or make it fire off in your pocket. A lot of thought was put behind this mod.

[DAYVAPE]

About the only thing I like about it is the swiveling atty. It's not the most attractive unit out there... and sure as hell isn't one that's very small in the hand either. But I suppose we trade off some of that for what it actually does for us. Not for me yet...

[Shihzam]

I'm with you Dayvape, the etchings are little too much, not crazy about the propitiatory batteries either. They state that they will last a 1000 charges, but what if they don't? Send it back and have them replaced? 13 hours on a charge sounds good, but I get that from my Buzz too.

I think I'll keep my Buzz and small screw driver handy for a while longer. Still eyeing that Pro-vari though.....lol

[Schizophretard]

Link to manufacturer?

[KaYoTiiC]

Looks very clean... I may give this one a try after a few more reviews are out and of course when it actually comes out.

[DAYVAPE]

Link to manufacturer?

WWW.ONEUGLYMODBIGGERTHANMYTVREMOTE.COM ??

[KaYoTiiC]

LMAO

[DAYVAPE]

I'm sorry... I couldn't resist!

[mutt]

Link to manufacturer?

http://www.evolvapor.com/

The mod as shown is NOT the final looks for the device. The lettering is big for the tester units for any pics taken. The overall size will be smaller as well. What needs to be reviewed is how the thing actually works, not how it looks, which I stated in the first post.

Comparing the Darwin to any other vv device is like comparing a Ferrari to a ford focus. The Darwin is actually a "smart mod". While a vv device will change the voltage and at the same time change the amps, the Darwin controls the voltage and the amps independently, giving the user a steady wattage, and steady wattage equals steady heat.

Another thing a standard vv device doesnt do, is take into account the resistance of the atty/carto. The Darwin checks resistance and makes adjustments, 1000 times per second. All of this adds up to a consistent vape for the user. You can take any vv device with fresh charged batteries, vape on it moderately and you might get 13 hours use from it. But, the vape you get from the device will NOT be the same from beginning to end. The Darwin, set on full power lasted me 13 hours. And that was using the device with 0 nic juice for the most part because I only set the device down while I ate dinner.

Another thing to take into account is the ease of use for the owner. With some vv devices you need a screwdriver and some you have to hold a button for 6 seconds and push the button again to increase or decrease the voltage. With the darwin, the dial can be adjusted easily, even while midvape. What this does is allow the user to start at a low wattage, and rotate the dial while inhaling until you reach the desired level. Once its reached, dont turn the dial. This is a nice feature, especially for someone like myself who is constantly changing flavors.

[DAYVAPE]

Oh I'm sure it will be a huge seller once it's all done. To me, however, it would be kinda nice to have a fairly certain feel for what its going to look like when done... especially if people are supposed to get hyped up about it. I have a feeling that this is at least a wee bit important to quite a few folks... the overall appearance of their kickin' new device. So, what exactly DO you expect it will look like when its all done? Will there be another "coming out" of her new look for us to see when any changes are made prior to production? That would be kinda sweet if it happened like that before they went up for sale.

Edited December 1, 2010 by DAYVAPE

[Schizophretard]

http://www.evolvapor.com/

The mod as shown is NOT the final looks for the device. The lettering is big for the tester units for any pics taken. The overall size will be smaller as well. What needs to be reviewed is how the thing actually works, not how it looks, which I stated in the first post.

Comparing the Darwin to any other vv device is like comparing a Ferrari to a ford focus. The Darwin is actually a "smart mod". While a vv device will change the voltage and at the same time change the amps, the Darwin controls the voltage and the amps independently, giving the user a steady wattage, and steady wattage equals steady heat.

Another thing a standard vv device doesnt do, is take into account the resistance of the atty/carto. The Darwin checks resistance and makes adjustments, 1000 times per second. All of this adds up to a consistent vape for the user. You can take any vv device with fresh charged batteries, vape on it moderately and you might get 13 hours use from it. But, the vape you get from the device will NOT be the same from beginning to end. The Darwin, set on full power lasted me 13 hours. And that was using the device with 0 nic juice for the most part because I only set the device down while I ate dinner.

Another thing to take into account is the ease of use for the owner. With some vv devices you need a screwdriver and some you have to hold a button for 6 seconds and push the button again to increase or decrease the voltage. With the darwin, the dial can be adjusted easily, even while midvape. What this does is allow the user to start at a low wattage, and rotate the dial while inhaling until you reach the desired level. Once its reached, dont turn the dial. This is a nice feature, especially for someone like myself who is constantly changing flavors.

Thanks. I'm glad someone is trying to make a device like this.

[mutt]

Oh I'm sure it will be a huge seller once it's all done. To me, however, it would be kinda nice to have a fairly certain feel for what its going to look like when done... especially if people are supposed to get hyped up about it. I have a feeling that this is at least a wee bit important to quite a few folks... the overall appearance of their kickin' new device. So, what exactly DO you expect it will look like when its all done? Will there be another "coming out" of her new look for us to see when any changes are made prior to production? That would be kinda sweet if it happened like that before they went up for sale.

I am with you...I want to know what the final design looks like as well. I believe, that for the most part, the basic design, long and skinny and flat will be close to the finished version. Other than that I have no idea.

And to be 100% honest, up until I tried the Darwin, I had my device and hardware picked out....I still love my GLV's, I only use cheap 808 cartos cause to me they are the easiest to use, and my juice is always the same... same company, same pg/vg ratio etc etc. the only change I have had is my nic level, and I am finally down to 0 nic.

I am very happy with the GLV's I own, lets face it, hard to beat a lifetime warranty on a product. The only flaw in the GLV is the batteries, and thats not GLVs problem but the battery manufacturers problem. I am not a huge fan of vv devices cause I use all my devices at full power (even the Darwin)

What really got me excited about the Darwin, is that for the very first time I finally have a high voltage device that has consistency that lasts for a solid 13 hours on full power. its the same from the first inhale on fresh charged to the last inhale when the device finally just shuts down. To me thats incredible.

[DAYVAPE]

Congrats on getting to 0 nic ! I hope to be there soon as well...

[mutt]

[mutt]

[DAYVAPE]

SEXY LITTLE BEAST SHE IS!! Is that the finished version or just another option?

[Brian]

That's pretty slick looking! Wonder what the price range is going to be on this???

[Jeffb]

Its really looking purdy. I needz one.

[Brian]

Its really looking purdy. I needz one.

Just send your ProVari to me and get you one of these instead! LOL!

[Jeffb]

Just send your ProVari to me and get you one of these instead! LOL!

Thats Brian for ya. Give Give Give, never take, always Give.

[mutt]

That is the final design. Everything but the button. The finished button will have 4 sides not just 2.

As far as price goes, I believe Evolv will be releasing that information between Christmas and New Years. I also believe the release date to be sometime in the next 2 weeks. (give or take a couple days due to the holidays)