The only thing worse than buying a totally crappy clone that doesn't work at all is buying one that has the potential for excellence, but falls short due to a couple of easily avoidable crappy features. Such is the Private V2 clone. I will specify that this is the fasttech version, which may or may not be the same PV2 clone available stateside (if there is one - I really don't know).
Let's talk first about some things I really like. This is a very cool looking mod. The ribs and facets on the stainless steel sleeve and caps are better looking than I thought they would be, and the polished copper lip of the switch housing provides a nice contrast in both color and texture. The ribbing is also very grippy, which is especially important in a bottom-firing device. All stainless pieces are beefy and sturdy, and the mod has a nice balance and middle-of-the-road weightiness that feels good in the hand. The threads are excellent - nary a squeak or rough spot on any of the sections.
While we're on the subject of aesthetics, I will also mention that the sleeve bears the Grand Vapor name and logo. They appear to be painted on and easily sanded off, which I will probably do just on principle. There is also a painted serial number and a very lightly etched "GV" on the firing button.
In terms of conductivity, this mod performs surprisingly well. Although my very expensive screw-in meter thingy broke (grrr), the one reading I was able to get showed an out of the box vdrop of .27 on a 1.2 ohm coil - not too shabby, especially considering the plated contacts. More on that in a moment.
The best feature, in my opinion, is the switch, which features a wide firing button and a short, soft throw that is particularly pinky-friendly and fires every single time. It also has a counter-spin locking ring, which is a great feature in general, but it tends to stick a little on this device. At any rate, you don't need it just to set the mod down; even with the incredibly comfortable throw, it will stand on end without firing or wobbling around like a dancing hula girl on the dashboard of your car.
To sum up, it looks good, it works well and it's easy to use - so why am I still unhappy? Let's start with the plated contacts - and this is more of a rant than a critique of this particular device. Why, why, why is China still doing this? As a group, I think we have made our preference for exposed brass abundantly clear, and it serves no purpose - no cost- or performance-related purpose, anyway - to cover up what they know we do want with what they know we don't want. The more it continues to happen, the more it irritates me, even when, as in this case, the plating does not significantly hinder performance.
For those of you like myself, whose psychological well being depends on it, the contacts on this device can be sanded down to brass. Theoretically. If you can get to them. The threading on both caps is unusually deep. Pushing the firing button in will raise the firing pin up high enough to work on, but be aware that it will rotate as you're sanding it. This could either unscrew the pin from the stem of the firing button, or cause it to screw down too far and drop below the level of the insulating washer. Unless the pin comes all the way off, you can reverse either occurrence by pushing the button in and turning it - clockwise if the pin is too loose, counterclockwise if the pin is too low. As for the contact on the top cap, you will have to get creative. I was able to partially remove the plating from the middle of the contact with a file, but could not get the edges for fear of scratching up the o-ring or washer sealing the head. To be honest, although I can't measure it now (grrr), I haven't noticed enough difference in performance before and after to have made it worth all that effort.
The plated contacts are really just an annoyance. A bigger issue is the fact that the brass telescoping tubes are too short and/or the threading on the top cap is too long. The result is that you can't use an 18650 battery without the threads showing - just barely, but they show. Same with an 18500 and a kick. While you can't do anything to make the tubes longer, you may be able to sand down the threading on the top cap enough to make a better fit for the battery. A millimeter would probably be enough, but I have not attempted it yet for fear of buggering up the threads.
As it turns out, you can't use an 18350 with this mod, either. On this point, I have to admit that the product description clearly states that the device "can be powered with 1 18650 battery or 1 18500 battery." I did not read the product description; my belief that I was buying an 18350-capable device was based solely on all the ^&*&%$$%^^ pictures of the device in 18350 mode. My bad.
Fitment is not the issue; the PV2 will certainly telescope down to a size that will accommodate an 18350 battery, as all the ^&*&%$$%^^ pictures so aptly illustrate. The problem is that doing so requires screwing both telescoping tubes all the way into the sleeve, which seals off the only two vent holes on the mod. So let me rephrase: As it turns out, you can't use an 18350 with this mod without the risk of blowing your face off.
Finally, we come to my biggest disappointment with the mod, for which there is no easy fix (for me) and no acceptable Plan B. Taking a cue from the sigelei #20 playbook, the manufacturers of the PV2 have coupled a shallow 510 connection with a non-adjustable center pin. As a result, nothing will flush mount. Every atty I have tried on it leaves a gap wide enough to read my computer screen through. I can sand down plated contacts and I can use 18500 batteries, but I cannot stand that gap.
An adjustable center pin, like brass contacts, should be the minimum standard in all mechanical mods by now, even cheap, Chinese clones, and we all know why they're not. In a month or so, the PV3 will hit the market, and that version will have longer tubes, brass contacts and an adjustable center pin, but it will only be 20mm in diameter or it will have a tapered top cap or there will be some other niggling little something that keeps it from being exactly what we want. We'll buy it, just like we bought the PV1 and the PV2, but we'll grouse and moan until the PV4 comes out, and then we'll buy that, too. It's a self-perpetuating cycle. In the immortal words of Pogo, "we have met the enemy, and he is us."
Let's talk first about some things I really like. This is a very cool looking mod. The ribs and facets on the stainless steel sleeve and caps are better looking than I thought they would be, and the polished copper lip of the switch housing provides a nice contrast in both color and texture. The ribbing is also very grippy, which is especially important in a bottom-firing device. All stainless pieces are beefy and sturdy, and the mod has a nice balance and middle-of-the-road weightiness that feels good in the hand. The threads are excellent - nary a squeak or rough spot on any of the sections.
While we're on the subject of aesthetics, I will also mention that the sleeve bears the Grand Vapor name and logo. They appear to be painted on and easily sanded off, which I will probably do just on principle. There is also a painted serial number and a very lightly etched "GV" on the firing button.
In terms of conductivity, this mod performs surprisingly well. Although my very expensive screw-in meter thingy broke (grrr), the one reading I was able to get showed an out of the box vdrop of .27 on a 1.2 ohm coil - not too shabby, especially considering the plated contacts. More on that in a moment.
The best feature, in my opinion, is the switch, which features a wide firing button and a short, soft throw that is particularly pinky-friendly and fires every single time. It also has a counter-spin locking ring, which is a great feature in general, but it tends to stick a little on this device. At any rate, you don't need it just to set the mod down; even with the incredibly comfortable throw, it will stand on end without firing or wobbling around like a dancing hula girl on the dashboard of your car.
To sum up, it looks good, it works well and it's easy to use - so why am I still unhappy? Let's start with the plated contacts - and this is more of a rant than a critique of this particular device. Why, why, why is China still doing this? As a group, I think we have made our preference for exposed brass abundantly clear, and it serves no purpose - no cost- or performance-related purpose, anyway - to cover up what they know we do want with what they know we don't want. The more it continues to happen, the more it irritates me, even when, as in this case, the plating does not significantly hinder performance.
For those of you like myself, whose psychological well being depends on it, the contacts on this device can be sanded down to brass. Theoretically. If you can get to them. The threading on both caps is unusually deep. Pushing the firing button in will raise the firing pin up high enough to work on, but be aware that it will rotate as you're sanding it. This could either unscrew the pin from the stem of the firing button, or cause it to screw down too far and drop below the level of the insulating washer. Unless the pin comes all the way off, you can reverse either occurrence by pushing the button in and turning it - clockwise if the pin is too loose, counterclockwise if the pin is too low. As for the contact on the top cap, you will have to get creative. I was able to partially remove the plating from the middle of the contact with a file, but could not get the edges for fear of scratching up the o-ring or washer sealing the head. To be honest, although I can't measure it now (grrr), I haven't noticed enough difference in performance before and after to have made it worth all that effort.
The plated contacts are really just an annoyance. A bigger issue is the fact that the brass telescoping tubes are too short and/or the threading on the top cap is too long. The result is that you can't use an 18650 battery without the threads showing - just barely, but they show. Same with an 18500 and a kick. While you can't do anything to make the tubes longer, you may be able to sand down the threading on the top cap enough to make a better fit for the battery. A millimeter would probably be enough, but I have not attempted it yet for fear of buggering up the threads.
As it turns out, you can't use an 18350 with this mod, either. On this point, I have to admit that the product description clearly states that the device "can be powered with 1 18650 battery or 1 18500 battery." I did not read the product description; my belief that I was buying an 18350-capable device was based solely on all the ^&*&%$$%^^ pictures of the device in 18350 mode. My bad.
Fitment is not the issue; the PV2 will certainly telescope down to a size that will accommodate an 18350 battery, as all the ^&*&%$$%^^ pictures so aptly illustrate. The problem is that doing so requires screwing both telescoping tubes all the way into the sleeve, which seals off the only two vent holes on the mod. So let me rephrase: As it turns out, you can't use an 18350 with this mod without the risk of blowing your face off.
Finally, we come to my biggest disappointment with the mod, for which there is no easy fix (for me) and no acceptable Plan B. Taking a cue from the sigelei #20 playbook, the manufacturers of the PV2 have coupled a shallow 510 connection with a non-adjustable center pin. As a result, nothing will flush mount. Every atty I have tried on it leaves a gap wide enough to read my computer screen through. I can sand down plated contacts and I can use 18500 batteries, but I cannot stand that gap.
An adjustable center pin, like brass contacts, should be the minimum standard in all mechanical mods by now, even cheap, Chinese clones, and we all know why they're not. In a month or so, the PV3 will hit the market, and that version will have longer tubes, brass contacts and an adjustable center pin, but it will only be 20mm in diameter or it will have a tapered top cap or there will be some other niggling little something that keeps it from being exactly what we want. We'll buy it, just like we bought the PV1 and the PV2, but we'll grouse and moan until the PV4 comes out, and then we'll buy that, too. It's a self-perpetuating cycle. In the immortal words of Pogo, "we have met the enemy, and he is us."
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