Vsticking VK530 200w Box Mod by Tim

Hi Vaping Insider members, In this review, I take a look at the VK530 200w Box Mod from Vsticking. The Vsticking VK530 200w Box Mod was supplied for the purpose of this review by Cortana from the Healthcabin.

Introduction

Vsticking are a new vaping manufacturer who like iPV use YiHi technology in their devices. They have just released a portable squonk device which utilises the new YiHi ESS Driver technology and have also released a pod device but here we have their first device the Vsticking VK530 which has such a similar look and form factor to the G-Class right down to the Joystick (common on YiHi devices) but at a fraction of the cost. Powered by the YiHi SX530 Chip the Vsticking VK530 delivers both accurate wattage and temperature control and for those that like uncomplicated devices can be used in Novice mode, let’s have a look!

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In The Box

Contents:

1pc VK530 200W Box Mod
1pc Micro USB Cable
1pc User Manual
1pc Warranty Card

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Aesthetics and Ergonomics

The VK530 came in cardboard box packaging with a cardboard outer sleeve with a picture of the boxed colour/design version. I received the J-Graffiti Golden version which has a Golden colour top, base, back plaque and facial surround and a graffiti style design on the main body. The colour/design options are Camouflage Gunmetal, White Deity Silver, J-Graffiti Golden, J-Graffiti Silver, Skull Silver, Mesh Black and Carbon Black. The material used i believe is aluminium which once the batteries are fitted gives the device a really nice weight in the hand. The main body has a thick coating of a material which feels really nice and allows for the design to be raised giving the device a tactile feel (if anyone knows what the material is please spill the beans).
The form factor is very rounded and almost identical to the G-Class, this curved form factor and really nice weight makes it very comfortable in the hand despite being quite a large dual 18650 device (21700 size?). On the face of the device we have a frame which houses a protruding round fire button top followed by a round colour screen. Further down we have a Silver Joystick followed by the micro USB port. The back of the device has a central indented plaque with “VSTICKING” embossed into it, being indented shows how impressively thick the outer mysterious coating is. The base is the battery hatch door which has a sturdy catch, we also have branding and safety marks. Moving up top we have a central large 510 plate with Gold plated, spring loaded 510. The device is made very well, is aesthetically pleasing (subjective) and we have no rattles whatsoever.

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Vsticking VK530 Specs and Features:

92.5: Height(mm) 48.3: Width(mm) 34.6: Depth(mm)
Powered by YiHi SX530 chip
TFT IPS HD Screen
Output power: 5W-200W
Output voltage: 1.0V-8.0V
Replaceable dual 18650 batteries
Firmware update/ charging via USB cable
Temp control. Anti-dry burning tech
Temp. control with SS316L/ Ni200/ Ti 01/ SX Pure/ Manual TCR
Flavor mode: Powerful Powerful+ Soft Standard and SXi-Q-S1
New innovative tech.: SXi-Q control system–customize your own taste
Customize your own wallpaper; Connected the SXi driver
5-10 wallpapers can be customized for this machine
Output joule: 10J-120J. 212-572℉/100-300℃
Standard resistance: 0.1ohm-3.0ohm
Joule mode resistance: 0.05ohm-1.5ohm
TCR value: 0.00050-0.00700
Low Voltage & Resistance protection. High Input Voltage protection. Temp over
heat protection. Output Short Circuit protection. Reverse Battery protection
Colour/Design: Camouflage Gunmetal, White Deity Silver, J-Graffiti Golden, J-Graffiti Silver, Skull Silver, Mesh Black, Carbon Black

I weighed the device with and without batteries installed:

Just Device = 143g
Device with batteries installed = 239g

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Fitting The Batteries

The VK530 will accommodates dual 18650 batteries which are fitted via the bottom hatch door. The hatch door is faultless, just slide the catch and it springs open and when fixing back in place just push down and it locks in position. The door is solid and very secure with no rattles like the rest of the device i even don’t get to moan about the labelled battery orientation with this device as orientation is clearly marked both at the bottom of the tubes and Black on Silver on the underside of the hatch door, cracking job!

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The Display

The display is very bright (this can be adjusted) and sharp, the device comes with 10 wallpapers (you can replace with your own) that really shows off the quality of the display. The default display has a upper half circle speedometer type graphic with moving dial that displays the watts or Joules depending which mode you are in. At the bottom of the left side of the half circle we have which ever temp control wire has been set up (default is Ni200) and this displays even when in wattage mode as it’s not saying you are in temp control but simply informing you if you go to temp control that is the current wire selected. At the bottom of the right side of the half circle we have the preheat or it will say novice instead if you have put the device in novice mode, between the two pieces of information i have already described we have your wattage, joules or temperature depending on which mode you are in. Underneath the wattage, joules or temperature we have a square that will display one of 5 memory settings then to the left of this we have input voltage and to the right output voltage. Finally underneath the the input voltage we have just one battery bar with no percentage and underneath the output voltage we have the resistance. One thing that does need mentioning is some of the fonts used are on the small size and those with poor eyesight might struggle to read some of the information.

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Navigating The Device From The Main Screen

There is a menu system that allows you to change between wire types, adjust brightness etc but i will explain that in the next section as once the device is set up how you want everything can be navigated on the main screen.
The device is the usual 5 clicks to turn on but turning the device off is done via the menu system. 3 clicks of the fire button locks everything so the device also will not fire, three clicks again unlocks the device. You can set the device to novice mode which is done by holding the joystick to the left for three seconds, where it did have what preheat (flavour mode) you were in now display novice and all you can do is press the joystick which allows you to adjust the wattage by moving the joystick up and down. When in novice mode it doesn’t allow you to change the wattage to joules or temperature or alter preheats making it as simple as a device can get to use (you can still go into the menu system).
Pressing the joystick again to the left for 3 seconds puts the device back into standard mode and now everything on the device can be accessed. Each short press of the joystick to the left moves through the memory slots we have 5 each for wattage, joules and temperature, it will always be on a memory slot but any adjustments you make overrides it. Each short movement to the right with the joystick cycles through the preheats or flavour modes which are Standard, Powerful, Powerful +, SXi-Q-S1 and Soft. Pressing down the joystick for 3 seconds re-reads and locks the resistance which just leaves the modes.
As mentioned if you press the joystick down it allows you to alter wattage but if when you click it down you click down a second time it takes you to joules which like wattage can be altered by moving the joystick up and down, a third click of the joystick takes you to temperature which can be altered the same way.

Note: One more thing that i missed, when you hold the joystick downwards for 3 seconds the mode changes to Bypass.

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The Menu System

To enter the menu system is 5 clicks of the fire button which allows you to scroll through the options by moving the joystick up and down, pressing the joystick selects. The options are System Off (allows you to turn the device off), Adjust Time and Date, Adjust temp (adjust temp here although it can be done on the main screen) and Adjust Unit (choose which temperature unit to use). Next we have Select coil ( select temp control wire type), Setting TCR (input TCR value) and Compensate temp (too advanced for me). Next we have Standby Time, Brightness (most people will head to this to adjust as the screen is very bright), Wallpaper select (choose between 10 different wallpapers) and finally Exit.

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Using Temp Control and Joules?

I religiously use Replay when using DNA devices but other than that i just have never got on with temp control apart from with YiHi devices which is bizarre as i still don’t fully understand exactly what Joules equates to. Despite this, i find setting up and using the temp control straightforward and have always had a great vaping experience.
I do understand that Joules is a sort of unit of work so it’s saying how much work the device is doing but i only understand it in this way and not as a setting. So a joule is equal to 1w for a period of 1 second so if i vaped at 30w for 2.5seconds that equals 75 Joules but that doesn’t help me understand what’s going on with setting a fix joule setting in temp control where time is no longer part of the equation.
Luckily i have found despite not fully understanding Joules i don’t need to (although i would like to) and just set up temp control the same way on a YiHi device every time and get excellent results. When i first get the device i always set the temperature in the menu to 440F and choose SS316 wire type as this is the only temperature control wire i use. When i use SS316 wire i don’t need to worry about temperature as that is now set i simply initially set joules to 40 and vape, from there if needed i adjust the Joules until it gives me the vaping experience i am after, it’s that simple!

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My Experience Using The VK530

This is where i normally say i don’t vape using temp control but although i did use the device in wattage mode i mainly used it in temp control and it performed excellently. Also in wattage mode all the wattage’s i vaped at seemed very accurate and the device fires instantly, all the flavour modes (preheats) worked as they should and ramp up is impressive. I fully tested the temp control and even when using an RTA vaped until the device stopped and displayed “no liquid” and every time when studying the cotton it was white and bone dry, i had no hint of a burnt hit just the last few vapes were quite dry. Everything scrolls very quickly but in point one increments that i don’t like, i would of much preferred point five increments. I found the device was very ergonomic in either hand especially thumb firing and the raised artwork gave a nice tactile feel in the hand. I really like the joystick for navigation but that’s subjective and although much more can be done from the main screen and it navigates a bit different than most devices it was very uncomplicated to use. The device is efficient (or i used it efficiently) as battery life seemed better than expected for a dual 18650 device. 30mm atty’s will sit on top with ease and although i don’t recommend it the device supports on-board charging. The device is fully firmware upgradeable and the software to my understanding also allows you to upload your own wallpapers.

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Likes

Nicely made device
Plenty of colour/design options
Very ergonomic
Nice coated finish
Raised design gives nice tactile feel
Nice weight
Bright, sharp colourful display
10 pre-installed wallpapers
Fires instantly
Performed with no issues and accurately in wattage mode
preheat (flavour modes) worked as they should
TC Mode worked great
Navigational Joystick (subjective)
Aesthetically pleasing (subjective)
Can set to Novice mode
Once set up can swap between modes just using main screen
Very secure battery door (clearly labelled orientation)
Can easily accommodate 30mm atty’s
Supports on-board charging and is fully upgradeable

Cons

Some of the fonts on the display are quite small
Scrolls in point one increments
I feel it’s size warrants being able to accommodate 21700 batteries
Battery status only given as one battery bar rather than two

I would once again like to thank Cortana from the Healthcabin for supplying the Vsticking VK530 200w Box Mod for the purpose of this review.