Hi Ecigssa members, In this review i take a look at the Simple EX Squonk Kit from VandyVape. The Simple EX Squonk Kit was supplied for the purpose of this review by Ariel from VandyVape.
http://www.vandyvape.com/kit/Simple_EX_kit/124.html
Introduction
The Simple EX Squonk Kit is an alternative to a pod system suitable for high nic and nic saits. The Kit doesn't just give an alternative as already mentioned but also introduces a vaper to both rebuildables and squonking. This is no mean feat has a drawback of squonking devices has been the size with single battery squonk devices being the size of dual battery devices and dual battery squonk devices being the size of three battery devices. This tiny pocket stealth size device is very well thought out but does it deliver on the purpose it's been designed for, i give my humble opinion.
In the Box
Contents:
1 x Simple EX Squonk Kit
1 x QC USB Cable
1 x Stainless Steel Top Cap
1 x PC Drip Tip
1 x Delrin drip tip
1 x Instructional Manual
1 x Spare Parts Bag
2 x Superfine MTL Fused Clapton Coil
Aesthetics and Ergonomics
The Simple Ex Kit came in sample packaging so retail packaging may be different. All the devices are Black but come with different coloured bottle panels and installed matching PC RDA sleeve. I received the Blue panelled version it's also available in Ultem, Pink, Green and Black, all versions also come with an included Stainless Steel sleeve with Black finish. The device is tiny and just gets swallowed up in the hand so perfect for a stealth vape it's ergonomic and pocket friendly. The device according to what i can find on the internet is a combination of ABS, PC and Nylon but the main chassis feels like Zinc alloy, it is very well put together with no rattles whatsoever. The spine has the colour of choice bottle panel fitted with cutout to press the bottle, the panel can also be viewed on the sides of the device with the rest of the sides being Black. The front of the device has a light switch style fire button at the top which is followed by a tinted panel which houses the screen, underneath we have again switch style navigational buttons and finally the micro USB port at the bottom. The base of the device has branding, safety stamps and venting. Moving to the top of the device and to one side we have "SIMPLE EX" etched and to the other a 510 plate. The BF 510 is gold plated and spring loaded.
Simple EX Kit Specs and Features:
Mod Size: 56.5mm*42mm*24mm
RDA Diameter: 21mm
Squonk Bottle Capacity: 4ml
Voltage Level: 3.3V, 3.6V, 3.9V, 4.2V, 4.5V
Coil Resistance: 1.24ohm
Rebuildable Nic salt device;
Small size as a pod system kit;
4ml juice capacity;
Working voltage: 3.2~4.2V;
Working current: <=6.5A;
Output voltage: 3.3~4.5V;
Coil resistance range: 0.8~3.0ohm;
Output mode: voltage mode;
Standby current: <=20uA;
Charging current: 800mA (battery 850mAh);
Material: PC, ABS, Nylon;
Colour: Ultem, Pink, Green, Blue, Black
The Squonk Bottle
The Squonk bottle is a tiny 4ml capacity bottle which is super soft, with this being a low ohm MTL device the 4ml capacity is plenty big enough but the bottle is too soft as very little liquid needs to be squonked at any one time. The softness of the bottle will go down as a dislike as i can only review what i have got but Vandyvape has said the bottle will be stiffer with the retail version so isn't really a concern. The Bottle can be accessed by removing the PC panel which is secured in place with a very strong magnet (very impressed how well the panel fits) now the bottle can be just pulled downwards to detach it from the device. Inside the device there is a short pipe for the tube that protrudes slightly from the top-cap of the bottle to fit onto. The top-cap gets screwed off the bottle to allow for it to get filled (the top-cap has the already mentioned tube that feeds down into the bottle) then simply screw the top cap back onto the bottle. Now the protruding tube can be pushed back onto the pipe in the device and the panel put back into place, it's such a simple design which means there is nothing that can go wrong.
The RDA Sleeves
You receive 2 different sleeves, a PC sleeve that matches the colour of the PC bottle panel and a Stainless Steel Sleeve (which i used) that comes with a choice of 2 drip tips. The drip tips are 510 fitting, one is a long delrin Black MTL nipple style and the other a shorter PC drip tip that matches the colour of the bottle panel.
Something that does need mentioning is the installed PC sleeve is a very tight fit. It took me about half an hour of tugging and turning before eventually i got it off so i do recommend once you manage to get the sleeve off giving the o-rings some lubrication with a bit of e-liquid the higher the VG the better.
The Airflow
The airflow is typical MTL series of holes, The sleeve has a hole and you simply turn the sleeve to line up this hole with any of the different size holes on the outer of the deck (there are six holes in total). Vandyvape do give a guide to which hole combined with voltage is ideal for different nic salts mg but i will cover that later, the different size airflow holes are 2.5mm, 2.0mm, 1.5mm, 1.0mm, 0.8mm and finally 0.6mm. The only other thing to mention about the airflow for now is the fact the holes in the outer deck is part one of a 2 step airflow intake, the peek insulator also has a line of holes and there is a slight gap between the two walls of holes, as i found out when using this works wonders to stop any leaking through the outer airflow hole.
The Deck and Build
Without doubt the deck has been designed with someone new to building in mind and despite the decks small diameter it's a very easy single coil build. The deck has 2 offset posts with openings at the sides for your legs to slide into. On the opposite diagonals to the posts we have 2 other raised areas that help reduce the chamber but also these have slopes directed to the openings in the posts to help with fitting your coil legs further, also the flat-head grub screws are very large everything that can be done has been done to make securing your coil legs as easy as possible. I also advise using a coiling rod or suitable size screwdriver to hold the coil in position while screwing the grub screws down. Once the coil is in position wicking can be done generously as again despite it's size the RDA has an impressive 9mm juice well. The airflow comes through the side wall of the deck and underneath the coil before being directed upwards to give bottom airflow. If you did wish to use the tiny RDA on a standard device a standard 510 is included.
Using the Simple Ex Device
The Simple Ex is the standard 5 clicks to turn on and 5 clicks to turn off and after that it's a matter of setting your voltage to suit the chosen airflow for your vaping needs. Yes, it's a variable voltage device that is adjusted by using the up and down buttons, the voltage options are 3.3v, 3.6v, 3.9v, 4.2v and finally 4.5v. The display is very minimalist just displaying your chosen voltage and battery status, it's also quite dim due to the tinted cover and although it's fine for indoors seeing the display outdoors is a problem. The battery status indication i really like, it's just 5 vertical lines with a full battery at the top of the screen, as the battery runs down the lines get less so 4 lines, then 3, then 2 and finally 1 and you need to be thinking of charging the device. The device has all the safety features you would expect which are, Overvape protection, No atomizer protection, Low voltage protection, Short circuit protection and over temperature protection, when any of the safety features kick in you are alerted by the battery status lines flashing different amount of flashes depending on the alert.
Using the Device for Nic Salts
Vandyvape do give a guide to how the device should be used for optimal performance with the use with nic salts, their guide is the following:
Device 4.5v airflow hole 2.5mm Purpose Restrictive Lung Hit
Device 4.2v airflow hole 2.0mm Purpose Nic Salts 10mg - 20mg
Device 3.9v airflow hole 1.5mm Purpose Nic Salts 20mg - 30mg
Device 3.6v airflow hole 1.0mm Purpose Nic Salts 30mg - 40mg
Device 3.3v airflow hole 0.8mm Purpose Nic Salts 40mg - 50mg
Device 3.3v airflow hole 0.6mm Purpose Nic Salts 50mg - 60mg
My Experience Using the Simple Ex
I would only suggest using the device on 4.5v with the largest airflow hole open when having a restricted lung hit and indeed it does give a direct lung hit on this setting but it is very restrictive. How the device works with the various recommended settings for nic salts i have no idea as i don't have any nic salts but i used it with high mg Snake Oil e-juice and was impressed with the throat hit. My favourite airflow hole to use was the 1.0mm at 3.9v which gave a quite tight MTL vape but depending on the airflow hole used it gives (as well as the restrictive lung hit already mentioned) anything from a loose MTL vape right down to possibly the tightest airflow i have ever come across with the 0.6mm, during using the device i had no leaking issues whatsoever. The Simple Ex has many advantages over a pod system in my opinion with one of the main advantages being the flavour i got was without doubt better, in fact it's very good. It's good to see the allowed resistance only goes down to 0.8ohm as the device will come into it's own with a 1.0ohm build and above, i used one of the supplied coils which was very good and a big pro that all the coils specs are given on the packet they came in. The 850mAh battery gave good life vaping with the supplied 1.24ohm coil, the device supports vape while charging and takes just over an hour to charge.
Likes
Good build quality
Stealth and pocket friendly
Ideal for high nicotine and nic salts
Very ergonomic
Simple squonk design
Easy to use
Variable voltage
Restrictive lung hit possible
MTL from loose to extremely tight
Good capacity for MTL
Good battery life for low ohm build
Just over an hour to charge
Vape while charging
Good battery status indication
Easy single build
Coils specs given
Very good flavour
Had no leaking
Dislikes
Comes with sleeve very tight (once you get off lubricate o-rings)
Squonk bottle too soft (this is suppose to be resolved for retail version)
Tinted screen cover means display is hard to see outdoors.
I would once again like to thank Ariel for supplying the Simple EX Squonk Kit for the purpose of this review.
http://www.vandyvape.com/kit/Simple_EX_kit/124.html
http://www.vandyvape.com/kit/Simple_EX_kit/124.html
Introduction
The Simple EX Squonk Kit is an alternative to a pod system suitable for high nic and nic saits. The Kit doesn't just give an alternative as already mentioned but also introduces a vaper to both rebuildables and squonking. This is no mean feat has a drawback of squonking devices has been the size with single battery squonk devices being the size of dual battery devices and dual battery squonk devices being the size of three battery devices. This tiny pocket stealth size device is very well thought out but does it deliver on the purpose it's been designed for, i give my humble opinion.
In the Box
Contents:
1 x Simple EX Squonk Kit
1 x QC USB Cable
1 x Stainless Steel Top Cap
1 x PC Drip Tip
1 x Delrin drip tip
1 x Instructional Manual
1 x Spare Parts Bag
2 x Superfine MTL Fused Clapton Coil
Aesthetics and Ergonomics
The Simple Ex Kit came in sample packaging so retail packaging may be different. All the devices are Black but come with different coloured bottle panels and installed matching PC RDA sleeve. I received the Blue panelled version it's also available in Ultem, Pink, Green and Black, all versions also come with an included Stainless Steel sleeve with Black finish. The device is tiny and just gets swallowed up in the hand so perfect for a stealth vape it's ergonomic and pocket friendly. The device according to what i can find on the internet is a combination of ABS, PC and Nylon but the main chassis feels like Zinc alloy, it is very well put together with no rattles whatsoever. The spine has the colour of choice bottle panel fitted with cutout to press the bottle, the panel can also be viewed on the sides of the device with the rest of the sides being Black. The front of the device has a light switch style fire button at the top which is followed by a tinted panel which houses the screen, underneath we have again switch style navigational buttons and finally the micro USB port at the bottom. The base of the device has branding, safety stamps and venting. Moving to the top of the device and to one side we have "SIMPLE EX" etched and to the other a 510 plate. The BF 510 is gold plated and spring loaded.
Simple EX Kit Specs and Features:
Mod Size: 56.5mm*42mm*24mm
RDA Diameter: 21mm
Squonk Bottle Capacity: 4ml
Voltage Level: 3.3V, 3.6V, 3.9V, 4.2V, 4.5V
Coil Resistance: 1.24ohm
Rebuildable Nic salt device;
Small size as a pod system kit;
4ml juice capacity;
Working voltage: 3.2~4.2V;
Working current: <=6.5A;
Output voltage: 3.3~4.5V;
Coil resistance range: 0.8~3.0ohm;
Output mode: voltage mode;
Standby current: <=20uA;
Charging current: 800mA (battery 850mAh);
Material: PC, ABS, Nylon;
Colour: Ultem, Pink, Green, Blue, Black
The Squonk Bottle
The Squonk bottle is a tiny 4ml capacity bottle which is super soft, with this being a low ohm MTL device the 4ml capacity is plenty big enough but the bottle is too soft as very little liquid needs to be squonked at any one time. The softness of the bottle will go down as a dislike as i can only review what i have got but Vandyvape has said the bottle will be stiffer with the retail version so isn't really a concern. The Bottle can be accessed by removing the PC panel which is secured in place with a very strong magnet (very impressed how well the panel fits) now the bottle can be just pulled downwards to detach it from the device. Inside the device there is a short pipe for the tube that protrudes slightly from the top-cap of the bottle to fit onto. The top-cap gets screwed off the bottle to allow for it to get filled (the top-cap has the already mentioned tube that feeds down into the bottle) then simply screw the top cap back onto the bottle. Now the protruding tube can be pushed back onto the pipe in the device and the panel put back into place, it's such a simple design which means there is nothing that can go wrong.
The RDA Sleeves
You receive 2 different sleeves, a PC sleeve that matches the colour of the PC bottle panel and a Stainless Steel Sleeve (which i used) that comes with a choice of 2 drip tips. The drip tips are 510 fitting, one is a long delrin Black MTL nipple style and the other a shorter PC drip tip that matches the colour of the bottle panel.
Something that does need mentioning is the installed PC sleeve is a very tight fit. It took me about half an hour of tugging and turning before eventually i got it off so i do recommend once you manage to get the sleeve off giving the o-rings some lubrication with a bit of e-liquid the higher the VG the better.
The Airflow
The airflow is typical MTL series of holes, The sleeve has a hole and you simply turn the sleeve to line up this hole with any of the different size holes on the outer of the deck (there are six holes in total). Vandyvape do give a guide to which hole combined with voltage is ideal for different nic salts mg but i will cover that later, the different size airflow holes are 2.5mm, 2.0mm, 1.5mm, 1.0mm, 0.8mm and finally 0.6mm. The only other thing to mention about the airflow for now is the fact the holes in the outer deck is part one of a 2 step airflow intake, the peek insulator also has a line of holes and there is a slight gap between the two walls of holes, as i found out when using this works wonders to stop any leaking through the outer airflow hole.
The Deck and Build
Without doubt the deck has been designed with someone new to building in mind and despite the decks small diameter it's a very easy single coil build. The deck has 2 offset posts with openings at the sides for your legs to slide into. On the opposite diagonals to the posts we have 2 other raised areas that help reduce the chamber but also these have slopes directed to the openings in the posts to help with fitting your coil legs further, also the flat-head grub screws are very large everything that can be done has been done to make securing your coil legs as easy as possible. I also advise using a coiling rod or suitable size screwdriver to hold the coil in position while screwing the grub screws down. Once the coil is in position wicking can be done generously as again despite it's size the RDA has an impressive 9mm juice well. The airflow comes through the side wall of the deck and underneath the coil before being directed upwards to give bottom airflow. If you did wish to use the tiny RDA on a standard device a standard 510 is included.
Using the Simple Ex Device
The Simple Ex is the standard 5 clicks to turn on and 5 clicks to turn off and after that it's a matter of setting your voltage to suit the chosen airflow for your vaping needs. Yes, it's a variable voltage device that is adjusted by using the up and down buttons, the voltage options are 3.3v, 3.6v, 3.9v, 4.2v and finally 4.5v. The display is very minimalist just displaying your chosen voltage and battery status, it's also quite dim due to the tinted cover and although it's fine for indoors seeing the display outdoors is a problem. The battery status indication i really like, it's just 5 vertical lines with a full battery at the top of the screen, as the battery runs down the lines get less so 4 lines, then 3, then 2 and finally 1 and you need to be thinking of charging the device. The device has all the safety features you would expect which are, Overvape protection, No atomizer protection, Low voltage protection, Short circuit protection and over temperature protection, when any of the safety features kick in you are alerted by the battery status lines flashing different amount of flashes depending on the alert.
Using the Device for Nic Salts
Vandyvape do give a guide to how the device should be used for optimal performance with the use with nic salts, their guide is the following:
Device 4.5v airflow hole 2.5mm Purpose Restrictive Lung Hit
Device 4.2v airflow hole 2.0mm Purpose Nic Salts 10mg - 20mg
Device 3.9v airflow hole 1.5mm Purpose Nic Salts 20mg - 30mg
Device 3.6v airflow hole 1.0mm Purpose Nic Salts 30mg - 40mg
Device 3.3v airflow hole 0.8mm Purpose Nic Salts 40mg - 50mg
Device 3.3v airflow hole 0.6mm Purpose Nic Salts 50mg - 60mg
My Experience Using the Simple Ex
I would only suggest using the device on 4.5v with the largest airflow hole open when having a restricted lung hit and indeed it does give a direct lung hit on this setting but it is very restrictive. How the device works with the various recommended settings for nic salts i have no idea as i don't have any nic salts but i used it with high mg Snake Oil e-juice and was impressed with the throat hit. My favourite airflow hole to use was the 1.0mm at 3.9v which gave a quite tight MTL vape but depending on the airflow hole used it gives (as well as the restrictive lung hit already mentioned) anything from a loose MTL vape right down to possibly the tightest airflow i have ever come across with the 0.6mm, during using the device i had no leaking issues whatsoever. The Simple Ex has many advantages over a pod system in my opinion with one of the main advantages being the flavour i got was without doubt better, in fact it's very good. It's good to see the allowed resistance only goes down to 0.8ohm as the device will come into it's own with a 1.0ohm build and above, i used one of the supplied coils which was very good and a big pro that all the coils specs are given on the packet they came in. The 850mAh battery gave good life vaping with the supplied 1.24ohm coil, the device supports vape while charging and takes just over an hour to charge.
Likes
Good build quality
Stealth and pocket friendly
Ideal for high nicotine and nic salts
Very ergonomic
Simple squonk design
Easy to use
Variable voltage
Restrictive lung hit possible
MTL from loose to extremely tight
Good capacity for MTL
Good battery life for low ohm build
Just over an hour to charge
Vape while charging
Good battery status indication
Easy single build
Coils specs given
Very good flavour
Had no leaking
Dislikes
Comes with sleeve very tight (once you get off lubricate o-rings)
Squonk bottle too soft (this is suppose to be resolved for retail version)
Tinted screen cover means display is hard to see outdoors.
I would once again like to thank Ariel for supplying the Simple EX Squonk Kit for the purpose of this review.
http://www.vandyvape.com/kit/Simple_EX_kit/124.html
