Geekvape says “It is designed to be waterproof, shockproof and dustproof by adopting advanced LSR Injection Moulding technology.”
What does this mean? LSR is an acronym for Liquid Silicone Rubber, a standard overmolding method to permanently bond rubber to specific portions of the outside of a product. It is a perfect choice for this mod, adding shock protection to parts of the two-piece metal shell of the Aegis. The rubber doesn’t add to the devices water or dust resistance though, except at the top.
But can this mod survive the actual IP67 and military standard MIL-STD-810G-516.6 shock testing Geekvape says it can?
Geekvape was kind enough to send me an Aegis to play with so I did a few tests. Being a designer of ruggedized, high-reliability electronics I was very curious about the claims for the Aegis. Thank you Geekvape!
The vape product reviewers have done some fantastic testing, putting this mod through some brutal tests, but how might it perform over months of moderate abuse? Are there any weaknesses in the design that might only come out over time?
And what the hell is IP67 and MIL-STD-810G-516.6 anyway?
Let’s get the most important issue out of the way...it cannot be waterproof/shockproof/dustproof. It is however an astoundingly durable device that has significant water/shock/dust resistance and it can take a truly astounding amount of abuse. I was stunned by how much.
So what is IP67?
IP codes are levels of dust and water resistance with specific tests to pass in order to say that the device has that level of protection. The codes are used to differentiate between specific levels of protection instead of using vague terms like “waterproof” or “dust resistant”. Wikipedia has a great entry on the different IP codes: IP Code - Wikipedia.
MIL-STD-810G is a military standard for environmental testing with very specific requirements for the different tests you can do. It covers things like temperature, shock, vibration, immersion, salt exposure, etc. Test Method 516.6 covers shock testing and this specific set of tests is what Geekvape says the Aegis can survive.
There are however eight different “procedures” for shock testing. The manufacturer of the device can pick the appropriate ones to use but Geekvape does not say which ones they selected. The manufacturer is also allowed to select the pass/fail points for some of the procedures, which could also be an issue. We don’t know what the pass/fail points are for the Aegis.
I selected Procedure IV, Transit Drop. It’s one of the most commonly used procedures for consumer device shock testing and is a pretty good duplicator of the typical abuse a device might see. It consists of 26 drops from four feet onto all the surfaces of the device. The manufacturer can divide the drops between up to five devices but I did all the drops with one device.
Bottom line...the Aegis was still fully functional after IP67 and MIL-STD-810G-516.6 testing. The front plate and buttons popped off but were easily put back on (if not lost) and this does not impact its water/dust/shock resistance. Some people would consider this a failure to pass the shock testing, some people wouldn’t. I gave the device a conditional pass for the shock tests. In spite of this it is far, FAR more durable than any mod I have ever seen.
IP and MlL-STD-810G Testing Results Table: https://imgur (dot) com/a/CUpK5
But what happens over time?
Does the battery cap seal degrade after the battery is replaced a few times?
Can this mod survive a large number of smaller shocks that might slowly weaken certain seals, joints, bonds, or solder points?
To find out I did a bunch of tests over four days (see the attached tables), subjecting the Aegis to a variety of abuses. It did well...very well. But there are some minor issues to discuss. See the attached tables for the details of these other tests.
Full Test Results Table: https://imgur (dot) com/a/INLI3
Photos of the Aegis after tests (Part 1): https://imgur (dot) com/a/Ln37G
Photos of the Aegis after tests (Part 2): https://imgur (dot) com/a/AHcxA
Briefly, the tests were...
These were all the tests I had planned to do, and the Aegis survived, so I decided to see how far I could go. I started throwing it against a brick wall. It survived three throws but failed to function after the fourth. The battery was also severely dented and it vented (but it did not go into thermal runaway and burst). The inside top of the battery compartment was covered in battery electrolyte/solvent.
I was stunned the Aegis survived even one throw!
Tearing down the Aegis I found out what caused the failure. An important component on the regulator circuit board, the inductor, had snapped off. It was epoxied on and soldered but these are relatively large, heavy components and are one of the biggest causes of failures due to vibration/shock in power electronics circuits.
The inductor did not snap off though until I subjected to Aegis to extraordinary levels of abuse/shock. I don’t think this would happen in any remotely reasonable abuse of the Aegis, even if you work on a construction site, are hiking, etc.
OK, let’s wrap this up with a few observations and comments:
Thanks for your patience in reading this long test report!
Regards,
Mooch
What does this mean? LSR is an acronym for Liquid Silicone Rubber, a standard overmolding method to permanently bond rubber to specific portions of the outside of a product. It is a perfect choice for this mod, adding shock protection to parts of the two-piece metal shell of the Aegis. The rubber doesn’t add to the devices water or dust resistance though, except at the top.
But can this mod survive the actual IP67 and military standard MIL-STD-810G-516.6 shock testing Geekvape says it can?
Geekvape was kind enough to send me an Aegis to play with so I did a few tests. Being a designer of ruggedized, high-reliability electronics I was very curious about the claims for the Aegis. Thank you Geekvape!
The vape product reviewers have done some fantastic testing, putting this mod through some brutal tests, but how might it perform over months of moderate abuse? Are there any weaknesses in the design that might only come out over time?
And what the hell is IP67 and MIL-STD-810G-516.6 anyway?
Let’s get the most important issue out of the way...it cannot be waterproof/shockproof/dustproof. It is however an astoundingly durable device that has significant water/shock/dust resistance and it can take a truly astounding amount of abuse. I was stunned by how much.
So what is IP67?
IP codes are levels of dust and water resistance with specific tests to pass in order to say that the device has that level of protection. The codes are used to differentiate between specific levels of protection instead of using vague terms like “waterproof” or “dust resistant”. Wikipedia has a great entry on the different IP codes: IP Code - Wikipedia.
MIL-STD-810G is a military standard for environmental testing with very specific requirements for the different tests you can do. It covers things like temperature, shock, vibration, immersion, salt exposure, etc. Test Method 516.6 covers shock testing and this specific set of tests is what Geekvape says the Aegis can survive.
There are however eight different “procedures” for shock testing. The manufacturer of the device can pick the appropriate ones to use but Geekvape does not say which ones they selected. The manufacturer is also allowed to select the pass/fail points for some of the procedures, which could also be an issue. We don’t know what the pass/fail points are for the Aegis.
I selected Procedure IV, Transit Drop. It’s one of the most commonly used procedures for consumer device shock testing and is a pretty good duplicator of the typical abuse a device might see. It consists of 26 drops from four feet onto all the surfaces of the device. The manufacturer can divide the drops between up to five devices but I did all the drops with one device.
Bottom line...the Aegis was still fully functional after IP67 and MIL-STD-810G-516.6 testing. The front plate and buttons popped off but were easily put back on (if not lost) and this does not impact its water/dust/shock resistance. Some people would consider this a failure to pass the shock testing, some people wouldn’t. I gave the device a conditional pass for the shock tests. In spite of this it is far, FAR more durable than any mod I have ever seen.
IP and MlL-STD-810G Testing Results Table: https://imgur (dot) com/a/CUpK5
But what happens over time?
Does the battery cap seal degrade after the battery is replaced a few times?
Can this mod survive a large number of smaller shocks that might slowly weaken certain seals, joints, bonds, or solder points?
To find out I did a bunch of tests over four days (see the attached tables), subjecting the Aegis to a variety of abuses. It did well...very well. But there are some minor issues to discuss. See the attached tables for the details of these other tests.
Full Test Results Table: https://imgur (dot) com/a/INLI3
Photos of the Aegis after tests (Part 1): https://imgur (dot) com/a/Ln37G
Photos of the Aegis after tests (Part 2): https://imgur (dot) com/a/AHcxA
Briefly, the tests were...
- Kicking the device down 200m of concrete sidewalk.
- Unscrewing and firmly screwing back on the battery cap 100 times and then dropping the device into 1m of water for 30 minutes to check for battery cap seal wear/damage.
- Uncovering/resealing the USB upgrade port and then dropping the device into 1m of water for 30 minutes to make sure the seal stayed intact after an upgrade.
- Freezing the device in a block of ice overnight...just because.
- Dropping the device from a 2m height, random orientation, onto a concrete sidewalk 20 times.
- Washing it in warm soapy water to test the seals with a lower surface tension liquid.
- The front plate and up/down buttons popped off. Once this happened it was hard to keep the plate and buttons from popping off again. I could not find the up/down button actuator after it popped off during the 2m drop tests.
- The screws holding on the decorative metal “bumpers” around the leather popped out during the 2m drop tests and were lost.
These were all the tests I had planned to do, and the Aegis survived, so I decided to see how far I could go. I started throwing it against a brick wall. It survived three throws but failed to function after the fourth. The battery was also severely dented and it vented (but it did not go into thermal runaway and burst). The inside top of the battery compartment was covered in battery electrolyte/solvent.
I was stunned the Aegis survived even one throw!
Tearing down the Aegis I found out what caused the failure. An important component on the regulator circuit board, the inductor, had snapped off. It was epoxied on and soldered but these are relatively large, heavy components and are one of the biggest causes of failures due to vibration/shock in power electronics circuits.
The inductor did not snap off though until I subjected to Aegis to extraordinary levels of abuse/shock. I don’t think this would happen in any remotely reasonable abuse of the Aegis, even if you work on a construction site, are hiking, etc.
OK, let’s wrap this up with a few observations and comments:
- This mod is permanently sealed, no servicing is possible.
- This mod’s water resistance depends on the hand sealing of the front clear plastic underplate with an RTV-type substance. I’d like to see a gasket used instead as it allows for more consistent sealing and faster assembly. This isn’t an issue with good enough QC and post-assembly inspection/testing though.
- A possible issue could be the battery that is being used, inspect it after any hard drops. If the top or bottom are dented in then replace the battery.
- I’d like to see a more spring loaded top contact for the battery, perhaps with a rubber stopper to prevent overtravel in case of severe shock, that could help prevent indentation of the top and/or bottom of the battery.
- To increase this mod’s impact resistance even further the regulator circuit’s inductor would need to restrained further, perhaps by using additional epoxy or even a frame of some type.
- While a good portion of the mod is protected by the rubber shell the decorative metal frame pieces offer no shock protection. I’d love to see the rubber overmolding everywhere. This mod is astoundingly durable as is though.
- A different method to connect the decorative metal bumpers to the device might be needed as the screws holding them on could eventually weaken their grip over time, even with just an accumulation of the effect of numerous smaller impacts.
- The lightweight cast metal shell held up very well. It is a single piece except for the battery compartment threads which are in a small steel (I think) cylinder pinned into place at the bottom of the mod.
- I did not test the user interface for the software or the durability of the 510 connector. The user interface has been covered by several of our favorite YouTube reviewers and I didn’t have the spare atomizers needed for the 510 connector testing as they would certainly be ruined by the abuse I put this mod through.
Thanks for your patience in reading this long test report!
Regards,
Mooch
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Extremely well done review! 
