I received this Hive Squonk Box Kit free of charge directly from HeavenGifts for the purpose of this review. Regardless of this, it will not color my opinion on this review in any way, shape or form.
Packaging
This comes in a square black box with a honeycomb pattern printed all around it and on the front you will find the name of the device together with who designed it. On the backside you will find all kinds of info about the Swedish Vaper, who designed this device. On one of the sides you will find info on what the package contains.
It opens up like a drawer and when you have it opened up you will see the mod sitting in a cutout on the left with the Dinky on the right, and a spare button underneath it. Underneath it all you will find the goodie bag with all its content.
The Hive
This is a mechanical squonk mod made out of plastic and it has a honeycomb pattern on the panel as well as under the button, which also is made to look like a honeycomb.
My first impression when I took it out of the box is that it is a well made mod and it does look good the way it is designed. The size of it is just a tad higher than an 18650 battery, so it is actually a tiny mod. And yes, it is made for the use of 18650 batteries only.
It got a Stealthvape Source SQ 510 which is spring loaded and it does work really good. The RDA’s I have tried on it all sit nicely on top of this mod. The only issue I do have, is that they don’t sit flush on one side, meaning the 510 isn’t sitting perfectly straight on the mod, it does lean a little. It isn’t much and you don’t see it when you look at it at first but when you hold it up against the light you will notice it. And for all I know it could just be on mine.
The contact plates inside are all silver plated for better conductivity and I must say that it works well, since the mod does hit really hard when I have an RDA with my normal build attached to it and press the button. Furthermore I can’t see any arc marks either, meaning that it’s got really good contact on the contact points it has. Haven’t experienced it getting hot either, which to me is really good.
The bottle itself has a pretty tight fit in the mod and it can be a bit finicky to get it out to refill and put back in again, which could lead to leakage, but that problem is easily solved by using one of those refill bottles used for refill through the 510 you can get for squonk mods today. I have used one of those to fill the bottle and therefore had no issues at all.
The panel or the door fits nicely into the mod and has barely no movement at all to it. It does move a tiny bit when I put some pressure onto it and try to move it around, but that is something I would get from almost any mod on the market.
The button however, does have a lot more movement to it, but the contact plate does put enough pressure onto it so I don’t get any rattle from it, which I do appreciate a lot.
On the 510 on the inside of the box you got a little white plastic thingy used to lock the button when that is needed for the times you might pocket the mod, and I must say that it does work really well and it is also real easy to use. Good thinking there.
The Dinky
This here is a tiny 3-piece 17 mm MTL or DTL RDA for the use with a single coil. It can hold anything from a micro coil up to a 3.5 mm coil without any problem. During the testing I have been rocking it with a 3 mm fused clapton.
Despite its small size and therefore tiny deck, you got a lot of space for your build thanks to the posts sitting on one side of the deck leaving you with basically all the deck to fiddle around on. And the deck is gold plated for better conductivity.
It is really easy to build on and equally easy to wick and you got a lot of space for the cotton in this one. The Swedish Vaper does recommend you to fill the deck with more cotton than you think you will need. My guess to why he says that is that you make the space in it a lot more constricted and therefore increase the flavor even more.
The juice well is actually pretty deep for such a small RDA, it is 5 mm deep, meaning it will hold more than enough liquid to make anyone happy.
The barrel has 3 holes on one side of it and corresponding holes on the top cap leaving you with a few options on airflow adjustment. And the top cap made of Ultem does also have a cutout in the length of the 3 air holes on the other side. It is easy to adjust the airflow and to find a setting that will fit you. It is also possible to actually make it so restricted that you can do a MTL draw on it.
It uses a 510 sized drip tip and this means that you can use your own custom ones if you would like to. I have tried a few of the ones I have and they all fit nicely. The O-rings on the deck do hold the barrel nicely in place, but the one holding the top cap is a bit to loose for my liking.
Assessment
All I got to say is that this kit has me surprised, to be honest. The mod itself is a good mod that hits hard with no actual drawbacks. The little Dinky is what surprises me the most with it delivering such a good flavor as it does. I know I know, the size is what does it of course, but it is truly a flavor RDA without a doubt.
Can I recommend it to others?
If you are into squonking and more so into mechanical squonk mods, I definitely think this one is for you. And the little Dinky is for sure a flavor RDA that I think most will appreciate. The whole kit is priced fairly, and that makes it even more attractive for a lot of people.
Pros
Machining
No button rattle
Good small size
Silver plated contact plates
Comes with a spare bottle
Additional panel and button in white
Good flavor
Lots of build space (can hold up to 3.5 mm ID coils)
Ultem top cap prevents it from getting too hot
5 mm deep juice well
Cons
A bit sharp on the edges (would have liked to see them rounded out more)
Finicky to get the contact plate out when you wanna take it out and clean it
Also finicky to get the bottle out and in (solved by using a refill bottle made for squonk mods)
O-ring that hold the top cap a bit on the loose side
Parameters Hive
Width: 25 mm
Height: 74 mm
Length: 49 mm
Black/Yellow with a spare white panel and button, Amber with a spare Nightwasp panel and button
Parameters Dinky
Width: 17 mm
Height: 26 mm with the drip tip
Colors as a standalone RDA: Black/Ultem, Gun Metal/Ultem, SS/Ultem, Red/Ultem
Package includes
1 x Hive Squonk Mod
1 x Dinky RDA
2 x 8ml Squonk Bottle
1 x Non squonk pin
2 x Extra post screws
2 x SS coils
1 x Pad of cotton
1 x Allen key
O-rings
1 x Manual
You will find it here
Hive Squonk Kit for $59.90 at the time I wrote the review.
And before ending this review I want to point out a few things of importance to those new to mech mods and also the seasoned user. Remember to always pay attention to…
Battery safety
Ohms law
Keeping your mech mod clean at all times. Meaning the connections, switch, threading and internally
Thanks for reading this far and Vape on!
Norseman
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