This is The Joyetech ESPION Silk with NotchCore

Hardware Reviews
1

The Joyetech ESPION Silk with NotchCore Atomizer

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Packaging

I’d like to thank my friends at the Joyetech Company for sending me this device for the purpose of this review.

The ESPION Silk MOD is Extremely Lightweight due to its plastic and hypoallergenic Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) rubber constructed case. It uses a 2800mAh built-in battery delivering 80W. The built in 2800mAh battery must be charged from a PC or wall charger. The MOD’s firmware is upgradeable.

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Espion Silk

The ESPION Silk has a 0.69 inch OLED display screen that is about 1/4" wide and maybe 2/3" long. The menus icons are small and cryptic, but are easy to figure out without the instruction book by just selecting each icon to see what they do.

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Display

Operation:
After turning the device on with the normal 5 clicks of the fire button, pressing the fire button 3 times allows you to select the MOD’s operating mode. Wattage, Bypass, Temperature Ni, Ti, SS, TCR M1, M2 and M3 can be selected.

The directions on how to get into the menu was omitted from my instruction booklet, to enter the menu press and hold Fire and the + key.

Menu Icons:
image Battery Status
image Device Hardware and Firmware Version
image Puff Length Timeout
image Preheat
image Stealth Mode
image Puff / Time / Volts Display
image Exit Menu

If in TC Mode adds:
image Lock Coil

If in TCR Mode adds:
image Set TCR Values

While in TC or TCR mode press + or – to adjust the temperature. If you click fire 4 times you can modify the Wattage applied to the coil for TC or TCR.

While in Wattage mode just press + or – to adjust the wattage.

Link: Joyetech ESPION Silk with NotchCore : http://www.joyetech.com/product/espion-silk-with-notchcore/

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The NotchCore atomizer is made of painted metal with a glass tank tube; it uses a sliding push-to-open top filling design. Slide the top cap to reveal the filling hole. The direction indicator arrow to slide the cap has now been darkened and is easy to see. There is some smooth knurling on the cap making it easy to grasp the tank to open it. The knurling is smooth but still noticeable. The tanks airflow has stops at full open, and full closed, and it can be dialed way down for a Mouth to Lung (MTL) vape. The tank comes in either Red or Black colors. It has an Industry standard “510” fitment drip tip.

Link: Joyetech NotchCore Atomizer : http://www.joyetech.com/product/notchcore-atomizer/


NotchCoilTM atomizer heads are (almost) unlike anything you have seen. The tiny Stainless steel tube coil can be re-wicked, but it is easier to just buy new and change them. The new innovative coils come pre-wicked in a 5 pack and can be found for about $4.00, so they are much more affordable than standard sub-ohm coils. The suggested wattage is 20-30W and the suggested best wattage is just 25W, they are made of type 304 Stainless Steel (SS304). They have a resistance of about 0.45 ohm, I am able to operate the coils using the MODs TC SS316 operating mode, though it seems it is suggested not to in the instructions. The instruction manual states the Temp-SS316 mode is specifically designed for Stainless Steel type 316 only, but the NotchCoilTM coils are made of type 304 Stainless Steel (SS304). TCR set to 105, with 25W and 410F temperature worked well for me. The gold plated atomizer deck is specially designed for Joyetech NotchCoilTM mounted in a horizontal position, no other coil will fit. The airflow in the deck is right in the bottom, if it were slightly raised the coils would be easier to re-wick without causing leaking issues.

Link: Joyetech NotchCoilTM : http://www.joyetech.com/product/notchcoiltm-0-45ohm-head/

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Reset:
Because there is no removable battery there is a well-marked reset hole on the bottom of the mod if needed. The reset button is located in a hole near similar looking vent holes. To reset the device you would need a straightened paper clip, or similar small stiff wire.

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Kit Contents:
1 X ESPION Silk
1 X NotchCore atomizer
5 X NotchCoilTM prewicked atomizer heads (one is pre-installed)
1 X QC USB cable
1 X Manual
1 X Warranty card
1 X Warning card
1 X Package of Spare parts= 4 O-Rings and 1 spare Glass tank Tube

Tank Specs:
Tank Measurements: 22mm dia with 0.5mm knurling X 30.5mm ht w/ +1.3mm rise on cap 43.7mm base to top of drip tip.
Drip tip has 5.9mm inside dia at bottom tapered to 8mm at the mouth end it is about 15mm long.
Drip tip seat is 8.5mm dia narrowing to 6.0-6.3mm at bottom above the deck
Glass Tube: 21.8mm dia X 15.5mm ht.
E-liquid capacity: 2.5ml
Coil type: NotchCoilTM

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MOD Specs:
Size: 29.5 X 40.0 X 120.0mm
Colors: Black on Red, Orange on Black, Brown/Tan on Black.
Construction: Hypoallergenic TPE rubber pads on a Plastic body.
Battery: Internal
Battery capacity: 2800mAh
Kit weight: 141.8g or just 5oz
Screen: 0.69 inch OLED display
Output: 1-80W
Modes: POWER / BYPASS / TEMP (NI/TI/SS) / TCR (M1/M2/M3)
Resistance range: 0.05-1.5ohm for TEMP/TCR mode and 0.05-3.5ohm for VW POWER mode
Temperature Range: 200 - 600F / 100 - 315C


Colors

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Coil Specs:
Coil: Proprietary NotchCoilTM 0.45ohm Head
Material: SS304
Resistance: 0.45ohm
Design power: 20-30w (best at 25W)
Each coil is about 8.2mm long with 15mm long cotton pre-wicked.
The cotton is protruding about 3.3mm on each side of the NotchCoil.
The outside coil diameter is about 4.2mm at the ends, and 3.5mm outside at the middle.

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I really like this idea; it’s a super lightweight MOD with all the features you find in all the larger Vw / TC MODs. It’s easy to grip, pocket friendly, and has really good flavor with absolutely no coil break-in necessary. What I dislike about the SILK with NOTCHCORE is its current list price, the least expensive kit I could find is about $53.20 and with its lightweight construction I just don’t think it should be priced that high, even with the low cost coils and technology built in to it. This device is on pre-order and the high price is subject to change even before its July release date, let’s hope the price settles to about $20-$25 then it will be a perfect transition kit for someone wanting to move up from their 1 button no display basic pen or pod starter kit to a device with the advanced functionality and performance of the more advanced regulated box Mods on the market.

Release date Early July, 2018

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Thanks for the review. Looks like an interesting device but it would be even more interesting if you had other options than the ones from Joyetech.

You want that for mod and tank together or just the tank? I’d probably give the tank a try for that price.

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Thanks for your comment, The MOD was designed around the NotchCore Atomizer, but it would easily handle any tank around 22mm dia. So a Smok Baby Beast tank fits well on the MOD, and the 1-80W Silk pushes it with no problem.
As far as the price goes my $20-25 price is just wishful hoping, and I was hoping to get both the MOD and Tank for that. But your right the tank alone is probably worth that. So maybe i’m a little low on my wish.

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Very informative review.Thanx!
Maybe I missed it but what’s the lifespan of those coils?

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I’m still working on mine, mainly because of testing coil life using the Notch Coils on this particular mod. But, I totally agree with you! The whole marketing scheme here seemed to be economical + hypoallergenic coating. I can’t for the life of me figure why this would be in the $50 range. Marketing this as a budget kit would have been so perfect, so perfect. It has enough coils to last a good while, and the flavor is actually really nice. This is the perfect kit if you have a family member that doesn’t quite know how to rebuild, but needs something simple and long-lasting. One thing I love here, is that display is the basic I-Stick display, which my 30w is still going strong years later. I always liked that display style. Hopefully this kit falls under $30, because that would be it’s greatest selling point.

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BTW, this was stellar @CosmicTruth! I loved it :wink:

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For me coil longevity was not great, I spent most of my time though trying to figure out how to re-wick them. So I was changing them too soon.

Thanks for commenting @Silhouette and @TorturedZen, I’ll pop in a new coil and get back with you on Longevity.

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@CosmicTruth Very well written, and the notch thing does look interesting.

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Thanks Bro…
Yes it is interesting, RiftCore DUO is definitely better for testing e-liquid. This one may settle into its niche. We know it will take a year for the new to wear off and the price to drop, that might be a better time to buy.

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The coils produce good taste. and last a pretty long time, here is the coil after 6 days:

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it is no where near degraded in flavor enough for me to want to change, so I just put it back together. I’m not too picky about my coils, I vape for the nicotine :slight_smile: this is about the time I think many would want to change coils, as I can detect an ever so slight change in flavor. 1 week, cotton still good, a little carbon on the SS coil.

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Good stuff @CosmicTruth, I always enjoy reading your reviews. I agree with both you and @Silhouette though, priced way too high at $53, in the $40 range would be more like it to start then dwindling down to the $30 range after it has been out a while. Solid review as always!

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Thanks mjag
A Joyetech representative responded to me about the price of the device and said:

"Thanks for your review.
About the price, our boss told us that the process of the silk is double coloured plastic injection.
So the silk is a little expensive."

Its that hypoallergenic plastic/rubber. I’m still thinking if the device drops to a little more affordability it will be a tremendous intermediate device, $40 would be good :slight_smile: . The cheapest one I could currently find is $57.99 at MyVaporStore
https://www.myvaporstore.com/Joye-Espion-Silk-Kit-p/joye-esn10.htm

$51.70 at vapesourcing


click apply discount button

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The coils do pretty good, I think it would have lasted more except I inspected the coils a couple of times so it began leaking. It still went about 3 weeks with moderate to heavy use using it about half the time.

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Not sure how I missed this one!! Great Review!!!

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Thanks Bro

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