e-Grip-VT
I was mighty excited on the e-Grip-VT which appeared to be an excellent stealth vape
device with its unusually small form factor. Also major attraction was that it would fit in the palm of my hand. So I pre ordered my unit despite reading the negative
reviews on the previous models of the OLED CS and CL variants and dived headlong. As a first detailed review of this unit to my fellow vapers and hopefully to any
joyetech employee who is trolling our blog, I hope I do not miss out on too many aspects and provide sufficient feedback to enable you to make an informed decision on this unit.
In a nut shell
PROS
1. Excellent form factor with its tiny size
2. Packs 30W with Temperature Control incorporated
3. Can use existing coils of ego series
4. Spare gaskets and silicone rings
CONS
1. Terrible manual which does not tell you anything
2. Very inconvenient filling hole which only works with a syringe tank
3. Does not work with the eGrip RBA base (a Huge disappointment)
4. Cannot vary wattage in the VT mode.
5. Cannot work below 0.2 Ohms
6. Cannot lock resistance
Technical Specifications.
1. 30W device with Variable Temperature (VT) function and Variable Wattage (VW) function.
2. Pre-programmed for both Nickel (Ni) and Titanium (Ti) coils
3. 1500 mAh battery
4. Up to 600 Deg F in temperature mode
5. 3.6 ml tank capacity.
In the Box
1* eGrip mouthpiece
1* eGrip VT Body
1* eGo ONE CL 1.0 Ohm Head
1* eGo ONE CL-Ni 0.2 Ohm Head
1* eGo One CL-Ti 0.5 Ohn Head
1* eGrip CL Base
1* 1A wall adapter (EU Plug)
1* USB Cable
1* Warranty card and user manual
1* Plastic packet with gaskets and spares
Observations for the first time use:
A simple open fill and use to start with as it comes with the standard 1.0 CL head preinstalled. Ok to fire up and use in the VW mode, battery also came almost fully charged. It has a tiny screw at the base which allows you to regulate the air flow.
First thing I noticed that the needle fill port though a good idea was extremely small and does not work well for most of the e-liquids, even Joyetech’s bottles was an effort. Read in reviews later on that you could fill from the base by unscrewing the coil to refill.
After a few hours vaping with the VW mode, I wanted to migrate to the preferred use with the Variable Temp which is why I bought this unit in the first instance. Figuring that I would prefer to go with the CLR head I tried to put the CLR unit inside. Immediately noticeable was the iffy and vague threading which kept me wondering if I had secured the CLR coil correctly. Convinced that I had I tried to screw back the base into the body. Was a terrible fit with about 1 mm still left to screw in, unbelievable and extremely frustrating. After many attempts and scouring through the internet looking for a trouble shooter or guide to tell me what I was doing wrong, found a review which spoke of a silicone cap to be placed on top of the head to prevent leakage. Could not for the life of me remember if the original 1.0 CL head had the cap or not
. I hunted like crazy around my desk and it was still not found
.
I looked into the spare gaskets accessories packet and sure enough found something that resembled a cap which appeared to sit correctly on the head, so I put this on and screwed it up. NO CIGAR, it was still a bad fit and when I unscrewed the base the blasted cap was cut into two pieces!!!!!!
Just Brilliant…
I then pulled out a standard 0.2 Ohm Ni Head and fitted it up to find that the fit was perfect and the Coil base screwed up flush with the unit. This time I charged up the tank from the rear avoiding the central funnel, this works just fine. Screwed the base back on and let the unit stand for about an hour or so to ensure that it wouldn’t leak considering I still didn’t know if you needed the silicone cap or no above the coil head. I found no such leaks from the base.
I guess there is no head silicone cap as reviewed elsewhere
0.2 Ohm Ni coil fires well and gives a good cloud as well a vapour. I also realised that using the VT mode one cannot adjust the wattage which is fixed at 30W for this operation. I simply cannot understand why, however if didn’t bother me much as I find the same with my eVic-VT. I also realised that you cannot lock the resistance.
When it ask if new coil up it means you turn the dial clockwise it no you need to turn counter clockwise, this too had no mention in the manual, I had to learn this.
I tried to mount the eGrip RBA base into this unit, doesn’t work. Which is a bloody shame as it was a good way to be able to rebuild your coils and/or re-wick which doesn’t seem possible at present.
FINAL WORD:
Seems like a hurried creation of the VT model in the eGrip. Care could have been taken so it could use the better features of the original eGrip like the RBA base integrated into this unit as well.
I would say this is a unit is good with its form factor and light weight and an attractive alternative for persons who go for meetings etc. and is scary to have a monster MOD with you, apart from that at present
there appear to be far too many niggles to make it really worth a buy. For the present I am just happy having this unit as my “carry to meetings” MOD and have sufficient spares of eGo CL coils so as to make do which discourages constant use.
I can now safely confirm that it doesn't leak and that the silicone caps over the coil heads are not required
Breaking news however is that the unit is now dead... hardly used it twice....
