The HotCig ZERO Modz Style 50W Variable Wattage APV Box Mod was sent for review by gearbest, available from
www.gearbest.com/electronic-cigarettes/pp_157518.htmlreduced in price recently, available now for $48.05 for the silver or wood version is currently $44.99
(the wood version doesn't have a sleeve, its all 1 piece and the battery is changed out from the bottom with a battery cap similar to the vapor flasks or sx mini that requires a coin or wide flathead screwdriver. The 510 also appears to be a different one.
Its a 50 watt device that appears to be powered by the yihi sx300 chip with 1 button for firing and getting through the menu with the use of the gravity sensor. The body is stainless steel with covers that can be changed out. The battery compartment is made of wood, and the 510 is spring loaded and made of stainless steel too.
The mod is comfortable in the hand due to the c-frame design and is quite compact but a bit wider than some other mini mods so the larger tanks and rdas will sit flush. Its quite a heavy mod however at 164g without the battery but it feels solid and theres no gaps in the body. The cover slides into place and is held on by the wooden interior with no magnets, it can be quite a tight squeeze but you can bend the cover a bit if its too tight or too loose, I found if it was loose it would also not sit flush so found it better to bend it inwards to keep it looking good. The button is a decent sized one with a ring around it and the button recessed into the ring. It has quite a loud click too it, a bit hollow sounding but it worked fine.
Theres a micro usb port for charging at the side of the mod and a screw at the bottom for creating a connection to the battery that you need to loosen when taking batteries in or out. Its a small screw so its best to just loosen it a bit rather than take it out completely or it could get lost easily. I found the battery to be easy to remove when the screw was loose but the wood inside could in theory expand at some point so its a good idea to keep the wood in good condition and maintain it occasionally.
The mod fires down from 0.2-3.5ohms, and the display has all the main details on it like the wattage, ohms both to 1dp and the voltage applied and battery charge level to 2dp. Theres also a visual battery indicator. The battery voltage seemed to be off by 0.12-0.14 volts however so a fresh battery would show up as 4.32.
To use the mod its quite simple - 5 clicks to switch on then 5 clicks to access the menu. Its also 3 clicks to lock or unlock the mod. When you enter the menu the first option is the watt adjustment that you can do by tilting it left or right. It adjusts in .1 increments and accelerates after a while too. Adjustable from 7-50 watts. Once you have the watts selected, press fire once and it'll display "EXIT ON" then tilt left or right to go back to the main screen with the newly changed wattage. If you want to turn off the mod completely click again after you see "EXIT ON" and it'll display "SYSTEM ON" then tilt left or right and it'll shut down. Another click then cycles back to the watts adjustment screen.
One thing to note is theres a small flathead screwdriver effectively built into the mod on the wooden area which is for loosening the battery screw to take it in and out. On my particular one it was very tightly placed into the mod and even some prying with another screwdriver didn't seem to help so I just used a separate screwdriver when taking the battery in or out and left it there as decoration. Also on the outside of the mod there were no logos or serial numbers to be found.
Specs:
7-50watts
8.5 x 2.6 x 4.8 cm
0.2-3.5ohms
164g
takes 1x 18650
spring loaded stainless steel 510
Pros:
Comfortable mod to hold due to the rounded cover
Small size
Feels sturdy to hold
yihi chip seems accurate
Attys sit flush, even ones with a long screw like the kayfun
Cons:
Tool required to remove battery
The cover may need to be bent inwards if its not sitting flush
Quite heavy
Only 1 button
Battery screw could get misplaced if unscrewed completely many times
Overall its a nice mod, its been out for quite a while and doesn't have all the latest features like temp control but still looks great and works well. Theres alot of versions of the zero modz clones and this seems a good one with the stainless steel cover. Theres other versions around with 3 buttons instead of 1 or with temp control and even ones with different patterns or materials as the main body but use a screw cap for the battery, so its a personal preference which one looks the best.
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