By way of introduction I am a former Fifty year two pack a day smoker. I quit smoking and started vaping on 8-19-2009 and have been smoke free since that time. I have been a member of the ECF forum since October of 2009 and I have only posted a little over two hundred times. This is because I usually only post when I am excited about something whether it be a new Mod or Atty or something else that is E-cigarette related. A little over a year ago I decided that a juice feeding mod was the way for me to go. I am basically lazy and wanted the vaping experience to be as trouble free and easy as possible. Last July I did my one and only review comparing the Original Wood REO to another bottom feeding juice box and now a year later I am posting my second review because I am excited about the VV REO Grand.
When evaluating any Mod I think the following five categories are of major importance:
Appearance and Construction
Lets face it when we are talking about the VV REO Grand we are talking about a rectangular box and it must be evaluated in that light. However, Rob ONeil of REOS MODS has brought this to a whole different level. Whether it is his furniture like wood mods or his exquisite aluminum mods they are so finely crafted that they must be termed beautiful. As a matter of fact there are a number of people on this forum who actually collect them for their fine appearance. The VV REO Grand is no exception to this. I have a Silver Vein which is more like a charcoal grey and it is so finely fitted that when you look at it from the front you wouldnt even know that the front door slides up and down. The firing button is recessed on the side and the corners are rounded giving it a very neat and sleek appearance in my humble opinion. The inside of the VV REO Grand is equally impressive. When you slide open the door there are no wires visible. On the bottom right side is the battery spring and the left side is for the juice bottle. Up top in some sort of plastic box is the Variable Voltage chip, adjustment wheel and the On/Off switch. Just a very simplistic and neat appearance.
Juice Feeding System
This is a bottom feed system with a 6ML bottle. The bottle is screwed into a cap that is affixed to the top of the inside of the box and has a long tube that reaches to the bottom of the bottle. Changing and refilling the bottle is a breeze. Just lift the bottom of the bottle out, unscrew from the cap and pull all the way out. Refill and just screw it back into the cap. The juice is fed to the atomizer or cartomizer (both work equally well) by pressing the bottle through a hole in the sliding door. The term sqounk has been coined by REO lovers affectionately known as Reonauts for this function. When depressing the bottle hold for only a second until juice is seen in the vent holes around the atomizer and you are done. This will allow you to vape about six or seven times before a refill is necessary. Another method for filling is Blind Squonking another term invented by the Reonauts that actually works even better for me. In Blind Squonking you first inhale through the atomizer without pressing the power button and then gently press the bottle until you hear a gurgling sound. When this gurgling sound is heard or felt you immediately release the bottle and you have a fully fed atomizer. You can flood an atomizer with the REO but the learning curve is very short and it soon becomes almost intuitive.
I have not experienced any juice accumulation in the catch cup in the week that I have had the VV REO Grand.
Functionality
I have owned many fine REOS over the last two years and what I have always loved about them is that they just work Fill the juice bottle, load the batteries and screw on an atomizer and you have trouble free vaping. With the addition of variable voltage this has been brought to a whole new level of satisfaction. The VV REO Grand has a chip which regulates the voltage to the atomizer to between 3.3 volts and 5.6 volts. It employs two IMR 18350 or 16340 batteries stacked. The absolute beauty of this is that by using the voltage adjustment wheel on the top inside of the box you can regulate and set the voltage to your desired level for the atomizer and juice you are using. This means a consistent vape throughout the life of the batteries. This, for me translates to between six and eight hours and I am a heavy vapor using about 6 to 8 ml of juice each day. When you change the batteries no further adjustment is necessary as the voltage remains fixed. For me variable voltage is fantastic. I no longer have the problem of putting on a fresh battery and the voltage being too hot and using it uncomfortably for a while until I hit my sweet spot and then losing that sweet spot as the voltage drained down. I now just set the adjustment wheel to that sweet spot and just vape.
Durability
REOS have stood the test of time in this category. As I said above I have been using REOS for over two years. In that time both my wife and I have subjected them to a great deal of abuse. I am inherently clumsy and have a tendency to drop things quite often. Both the wood designs and the aluminum mods have withstood this without problem. My original grand has not left my side for over 18 months without a problem, a few scratches sure but no functional problems at all. My wife I affectionately call the Dr. Destructo of mods has actually dropped the original Wood REO off of a moving motor cycle and it still kept functioning. I fully expect the VV REO Grand to continue on this tradition.
Customer Service
Rob ONeil is not only the best E-Cigarette supplier I have ever dealt with he is the finest supplier of any product I have ever known. He addresses any problem whether large, small or imagined immediately and with complete satisfaction. He does this with outstanding patience and courtesy unrivaled in this or any other industry. Truly and outstanding gentlemen.
Conclusion
This is the finest mod I have even used and is for me the Holy Grail of vaping. Now, if we can get Rob to develop an atomizer Ill truly be set.
When evaluating any Mod I think the following five categories are of major importance:
- Appearance and Construction
- Juice feeding system
- Functionality
- Durability
- Customer Service
Appearance and Construction
Lets face it when we are talking about the VV REO Grand we are talking about a rectangular box and it must be evaluated in that light. However, Rob ONeil of REOS MODS has brought this to a whole different level. Whether it is his furniture like wood mods or his exquisite aluminum mods they are so finely crafted that they must be termed beautiful. As a matter of fact there are a number of people on this forum who actually collect them for their fine appearance. The VV REO Grand is no exception to this. I have a Silver Vein which is more like a charcoal grey and it is so finely fitted that when you look at it from the front you wouldnt even know that the front door slides up and down. The firing button is recessed on the side and the corners are rounded giving it a very neat and sleek appearance in my humble opinion. The inside of the VV REO Grand is equally impressive. When you slide open the door there are no wires visible. On the bottom right side is the battery spring and the left side is for the juice bottle. Up top in some sort of plastic box is the Variable Voltage chip, adjustment wheel and the On/Off switch. Just a very simplistic and neat appearance.
Juice Feeding System
This is a bottom feed system with a 6ML bottle. The bottle is screwed into a cap that is affixed to the top of the inside of the box and has a long tube that reaches to the bottom of the bottle. Changing and refilling the bottle is a breeze. Just lift the bottom of the bottle out, unscrew from the cap and pull all the way out. Refill and just screw it back into the cap. The juice is fed to the atomizer or cartomizer (both work equally well) by pressing the bottle through a hole in the sliding door. The term sqounk has been coined by REO lovers affectionately known as Reonauts for this function. When depressing the bottle hold for only a second until juice is seen in the vent holes around the atomizer and you are done. This will allow you to vape about six or seven times before a refill is necessary. Another method for filling is Blind Squonking another term invented by the Reonauts that actually works even better for me. In Blind Squonking you first inhale through the atomizer without pressing the power button and then gently press the bottle until you hear a gurgling sound. When this gurgling sound is heard or felt you immediately release the bottle and you have a fully fed atomizer. You can flood an atomizer with the REO but the learning curve is very short and it soon becomes almost intuitive.
I have not experienced any juice accumulation in the catch cup in the week that I have had the VV REO Grand.
Functionality
I have owned many fine REOS over the last two years and what I have always loved about them is that they just work Fill the juice bottle, load the batteries and screw on an atomizer and you have trouble free vaping. With the addition of variable voltage this has been brought to a whole new level of satisfaction. The VV REO Grand has a chip which regulates the voltage to the atomizer to between 3.3 volts and 5.6 volts. It employs two IMR 18350 or 16340 batteries stacked. The absolute beauty of this is that by using the voltage adjustment wheel on the top inside of the box you can regulate and set the voltage to your desired level for the atomizer and juice you are using. This means a consistent vape throughout the life of the batteries. This, for me translates to between six and eight hours and I am a heavy vapor using about 6 to 8 ml of juice each day. When you change the batteries no further adjustment is necessary as the voltage remains fixed. For me variable voltage is fantastic. I no longer have the problem of putting on a fresh battery and the voltage being too hot and using it uncomfortably for a while until I hit my sweet spot and then losing that sweet spot as the voltage drained down. I now just set the adjustment wheel to that sweet spot and just vape.
Durability
REOS have stood the test of time in this category. As I said above I have been using REOS for over two years. In that time both my wife and I have subjected them to a great deal of abuse. I am inherently clumsy and have a tendency to drop things quite often. Both the wood designs and the aluminum mods have withstood this without problem. My original grand has not left my side for over 18 months without a problem, a few scratches sure but no functional problems at all. My wife I affectionately call the Dr. Destructo of mods has actually dropped the original Wood REO off of a moving motor cycle and it still kept functioning. I fully expect the VV REO Grand to continue on this tradition.
Customer Service
Rob ONeil is not only the best E-Cigarette supplier I have ever dealt with he is the finest supplier of any product I have ever known. He addresses any problem whether large, small or imagined immediately and with complete satisfaction. He does this with outstanding patience and courtesy unrivaled in this or any other industry. Truly and outstanding gentlemen.
Conclusion
This is the finest mod I have even used and is for me the Holy Grail of vaping. Now, if we can get Rob to develop an atomizer Ill truly be set.
