What’s up vapefam!
SirRisc here with another gear review!
I know, I know… I’m very late to the party. The iStick 100W has been reviewed before, but I only got it in a few weeks ago.
Regardless I want to share my opinions on it, because you can never have enough opinions, right? RIGHT! I think…
The iStick 100W was sent to me for the purpose of this review by Gearbest.com!
Premise.
We all know that eLeaf has a bit of a bad trackrecord so far, they’re a controversial brand that keeps putting out mods that are cheaper than others, effectively catering to the low budget market.
Starting with the iStick 20W which had a terrible 510 and an awful way to limit the power, moving to the iStick30 which had a spontaneous combustion feature, to the iStick50 which had the same combustion feature with added sparkles.
And now we have the iStick40TC which is proving to be not-so-accurate about temperatures, the new iStick 60TC which can be customized with sidepanels in all kinds of colors, and this beast… the iStick100.
A 100W mod with dual 18650 batteries, from the same company that brought us so many ~explosions~ iSticks already.
For the people who are reading this review on a phone or don’t want to see the photos in order, here’s a link to the gallery on imgur.
Considering the fact that I’m still publishing this review, it’s safe to say I still have all my fingers and haven’t exploded just yet.
Grab a vape, and let’s see why…
Specifications.
- Dual 18650 battery
- 5W to 100W or 2V to 10V power output
- 0.15ohm to 5.0ohm (Yes, that is five point zero ohm, not a type-o)
- Springloaded 510 connection with brass plated pin
- Aluminium body, chrome plated top and bottom section
- USB charging port (1A)
- Magnetic batterydoor
- Available in silver and black
Packaging.
The iStick 100W comes in a white cardboard box, which looks clean and fairly simple.
On the front is a depiction of the mod, with the name next to it. On the back you’ll find some text about the iStick 100W and the list of parts in the box.
Inside is a foam insert which holds the mod itself, and has a ribbon to the side to pull up the foam insert.
Under the foam insert is a small box with the USB charging cable, an EGO adapter, and the usermanual.
A couple of photos…
Performance.
The iStick 100W is the newest addition to the iStick family and is the most powerful yet.
Boasting a poweroutput of 100W or 10V, you’d expect this mod to output an effective 100W, right?
Well, it doesn’t. It says 100W on the screen, but putting a multimeter to the mod you’ll find it outputs slightly less than 100W.
In fact I got a maximum of 96.8W out of the mod when I had a 0.2ohm dual coil build on it, with freshly charged VTC4 batteries.
Accuracy still isn’t a strong point with eLeaf but for the price you’ll pay for this mod, you really can’t expect it to be as accurate as for example a Sigelei 100W+.
The 100W is also the first iStick to have exchangeable batteries, and eLeaf chose to have the 18650 batteries in such a way that you’ll be able to fire the mod even with a single battery… which I wouldn’t advise on doing.
Safetywise this would mean that a 0.2ohm coil would be able to fire at 100W and draw ±22A, but it also means the balancing board has to work very well when sporting two batteries.
Other than firing a bit too low, the mod does perform alright.
Locking the mod is as easy as holding the + and - button for a few seconds, at which point the display will show LOCK.
Unlocking will be the same and show UNLOCK.
3 clicks of the powerbutton will switch the mod into voltage mode and another 3 clicks will switch back to wattage mode.
5 clicks will turn the mod off, and 5 clicks again will turn the mod on. It won’t show a fancy logo or anything, it’ll just turn on.
To adjust the power in 0.1W increments, you hold the + or - button and it will start running.
If you press twice and hold the button, it will jump by 0.5W increments.
It’s all very basic, which is honestly fair for the price of the mod.
At USD35.99 / EUR31.55 it’s a good deal for a dual 18650 mod capable of ±100W…
Aesthetics.
The display is nice and bright, very easy to read even in sunlight and shows all the basic info you need like batterystatus, poweroutput and resistance of the coil.
The buttons, though very rattley, are very tactile and placed very well.
The rattling is a problem though, I can’t stand hearing it when I reach for the mod.
Which brings me to the formfactor of the mod… It’s big, make no mistake about that.
But it’s also ergonomic, the rounded edges make it fit in your hand perfectly (unless you have very small hands).
The silver finish is fairly strong and doesn’t seem to chip easily. However if you scratch it, the scratches go deep and will show very easily.
The top and bottom are made from the typical chromed look as the previous iSticks, which attracts fingerprints and also scratches like crazy unfortunately.
On the bottom is a USB charging port capable of charging at 1A. However considering the trackrecord of the iStick series and charging, I would stay clear of charging the mod via USB.
A few more photos…
Pros and Cons.
Pro.
- Cheap!
- ±100W
- Dual 18650
- Easy to use, basic menus
- Ergonomically shaped
- Lightweight for such a big mod
Con.
- Rattling buttons
- Doesn’t fire the full 100W
- Chrome scratches easily
- Battery door tends not to fit 100%
- Bulky and big, it’s not easy to carry around
- Feels rather cheap
In conclusion.
Honestly, I don’t hate the iStick 100W… but I’m also not in love with it.
The fact that it doesn’t seem to push the power it advertises is a bit of an issue, but I can get passed that.
It’s the way eLeaf has built this mod that irks me, the rattling buttons make it feel cheap, it’s all very basic, it’s all very “thrown together”.
For approximately the same price (well, a few dollars more <-- old school western reference!) I would rather go for the IPV D2 at this point, which I’ll admit has a lesser batterylife but does sport more functionality.
If you’re in a financial pinch and you’re looking for a dual 18650 mod though, it’s a decent buy. Overall I’d give it a rating of 6/10.
In closing I would like to thank Gearbest for sending me the iStick 100W for review!
And of course all of you who read my reviews, thank you for sticking with me!
I’m always looking for more opportunities to review! Do you think your stuff has what it takes? Get in touch!
I can be reached on my website, via DM on Instagram, on the Facebook page, via DM on Reddit, or via DM on ELR.
#staycloudy !
SirRisc disappears in a cloud of vanilla scented vapor
I also have the 50w and I haven’t had any issues nor did I know about any eleafs exploding?? (A google search would of helped I suppose)