Wotofo Chieftain; big battery, big performance

What’s up vapers!
SirRisc here with another gear review!

The Wotofo Chieftain was sourced from Wotofo!


Premise.

Wotofo is a brand I’ve always appreciated because of their rather stubborn way of doing things.
Not stubborn in a bad “Fuck you!” kind of way, but rather in a “we’ll do us, you just do you” kind of way.
They’ve been the only company to make a dripper that has lasted in my rotation for well over a year (the Troll V1, in case you’re wondering), and that’s quite an achievement considering I change setups more often than I change shirts (about 6 times a day, setups that is).
But in terms of mods, I’ve never really paid attention to them until they did the collaboration with Twisted420.
A mechanical mod with an edge? Sure… I can appreciate that, but I’m more fond of regulated mods and I do prefer them to have an edge over the others.

The Chieftain has an edge, it might not be the big cloudchucker… but it takes a 26650 battery and provides me with plenty of portability.
Let’s find out how it fares!


Wotofo Chieftain

Specifications.

  • Powered by either a single 18650 (with adapter) or a single 26650 battery
  • 80W maximum power output
  • Temperature control for Ni, Ti, and SS316
  • TCoR functionality
  • Ergonomically shaped
  • Available in black, silver, dark blue, red, green and orange

Packaging.


Performance.

The Chieftain is one of Wotofo’s newest powerhouses.
And when I say powerhouse, I mean it’s a freaking great mod with lots of potential.
Because being powered by a 26650 battery, the mod does have an edge over other single battery powered ones.
The capacity of a 26650 battery is usually higher than an 18650 and that does make the Chieftain a better mod to carry around.

However the battery isn’t the only thing that’s good about this mod, it also has a ton of functionality that you’d expect in a modern mod.
It has a power output of 80W at best, which it does without flinching with a fully charged battery.
Though admittedly there’s some batterysag that may get in the way, depending on your battery of choice.
For reference, I use the mod with an Efest Green 4200mAh battery capable of 20A and tested by Mooch. (It was either an Efest or an MXJO, the MXJO didn’t test well…)

The powermode can be used in two ways; you have the regular powermode which outputs whatever you set it at, or the Out DIY mode which essentially is a customiseable graph.
This is extremely handy if you run exotic coils that have more mass and need a bit more power to wake up.
Setting the curve at 80W for the first half second and then dropping the power gradually for example is perfectly viable and provides a rampup of sorts.
When measuring the output in regular powermode the Chieftain gave me a very accurate 79.8W, which is definitely not bad!

Of course a modern mod also has temperature control, right? The Chieftain has too, and it works very well.
In both SS316 and Ti mode the Chieftain saves the wick from singing without issues, the Ni mode did singe the cotton slightly.
Not enough to burn the cotton though, which does tend to happen with some mods.
No matter which temperature capable alloy you’re using, you can set the mods TCoR yourself if you so choose.
I use mainly SS317L and since most mods use the profile for SS316, the TCoR functionality is more than welcome.
If you’re wondering why I use SS317L, it’s because I bought a 250m spool once and I’m about halfway, throwing it out would be a waste.
When using the TC modes on the Chieftain there’s also the option of using Joules instead of wattages, this doesn’t differ much in regards to performance.

In terms of shape the Chieftain feels a bit like an oversized Innokin Coolfire IV.
This is certainly not a bad thing, the Chieftain is very comfortable to hold and the buttons are placed ideally for both thumb and trigger firing.
The display, which sits in between the firebutton and adjustement buttons, is clear and crisp. Even in direct lighting it stays crisp and easily legible.
Despite the increased girth of the mod due to its 26650 battery, the Chieftain is quite easy to carry and doesn’t look like a big mod. It’s definitely less clunky in comparison with most boxmods.

Other than its size and ergonomical shape, the Chieftain is a very mild mod.
It doesn’t really distinguish itself from the pack other than in performance, and that’s what this mod does best; perform.


Aesthetics.


Pros and Cons.

Pro.

  • 26650 battery powered
  • 18650 battery adapter included
  • Accurate poweroutput
  • TC works well
  • Ergonomical shape
  • Excellent tactile feedback on the buttons
  • Out DIY mode is very handy

Con.

  • Power drops quite heavily when the battery is around 25% (Efest Green 20A, KeepPower 30A used in testing)
  • Batterylife with 18650 is low in comparison with 26650

In conclusion.

I struggled to find anything wrong with the Chieftain or even something I could make remarks on, but I found myself liking the Chieftain a lot.
The only thing I could remark is that the styling of the mod is a bit plain, though the ergonomical shape is really an advantage.
Whether you want to run the Chieftain with a 26650 or an 18650 battery, it’ll perform well and do what it’s supposed to do, though a 26650 battery is really where the fun is at.
Would I replace it if it broke? Yes, immediately. Is it special? Not really, but it works well.

In closing I would like to thank Wotofo for sending out the Chieftain!
Thanks for reading, join me next time as I take a look at the Innokin Kroma! Not quite an AIO device, but very close.


Need to reach me? Head over to my website.
Interested in what I vape daily? Check out my Instagram.
Want to know more about DIY? Head over to ELR.

#staycloudy !

SirRisc disappears in a cloud of honeyglazed cake scented vapor


DISCLAIMER: This review is based on personal opinions and is not intended as a promotion, endorsement or advertisement.
The publisher is not sponsored, affiliated or compensated in any way.

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