Geekvape Aegis Eteno
GeekVape have brought out a newly updated member of the classic Aegis range, the Aegis Eteno E100i Kit. It could be the best winter vaping survival kit to date
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by Si Davies
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GeekVape Aegis Eteno E100i Kit
Supplied by GeekVape for review
https://www.geekvape.com/aegis/geekvape-e100.html
$53.50 GeekVape Store Price
This review is going to be easy as the Aegis range of products have always been superb and just get more refined with each release, the E100i ETENO has that traditional Aegis Mod tri-proof design, but this time has a pod instead of a Zeus tank which should make it more appealing for new vapers.
- Dimension: 39.56*33.00*134.50mm
- Output Mode: SMART / POWER / BOOSTING / VPC / TC-NI / TC-TI / TC-SS / TC-TCR
- Output Power: 5W~100W
- Charging Port: Type-C Port
- Resistance Range of Cartridge: 0.1ohm - 3ohm
- *Battery Specification: Internal 3000mAh Cell
- Display Screen: 1.06 inch, TFT colour screen
- Top Airflow Leakproof Design
- IP68 Rating
The E100 comes in two different versions, the E100 is an external 18650 battery mod and the E100i has an inbuilt 3000mAh cell, other than the battery loading of the E100, they are the same all round.
Unboxing
The E100i kit comes in the now standard big orange/black sturdy box which has an outer sleeve displaying your colour choice, with the specs and contents on the rear.
GeekVape’s packaging has always impressed me and it’s probably the most postie-proof box out there. Along with the mods shock-proofing, I would be amazed to ever found one damaged in transit. The two-piece black box has a top layer holding the E100i mod in foam, underneath that is the pod/tank and a box of accessories.
In total you get the mod, the pod/tank, 2 x P Series Coil (Pre-installed:0.2Ω 60~70W,Spare coil:0.4Ω 50~60W), a USB-C charging cable, a bag of spare seals, and the documents.
First Impressions and Overview
Considering I highly dislike black vapes as I think they look dull and flat, the E100i kit was a little bit different and appealed to me more than expected. The rubberised body has a slightly charcoal colour to it and shows off the styling much better, and the styling is superb with a modernised Aegis sculp. When you compare it to the old-aegis-pensioner original, you can see just how far the mod has progressed.
GeekVape are the originals when it comes to the exo-skeleton and they have refined it to be more stylish, the leather quality has also improved, but the main improvement is the rubber compound, the old one has that ugly rubber sheen to it and was a huge dust magnet, this new silicone is so much better looking, feels better and is no longer a lint roller.
As mentioned earlier; the difference between the two versions is the battery option, the E100i has a 3000mAh internal battery and is capped off with a metal seal, the E100 18650 has a threaded cap instead. The E100i weighs 196g.
One of the reasons I don’t like black is down to my photography background, black absorbs the light and looks flatter so the styling doesn’t look as good as in real life, I’ve done the best I could but it looks much better in the hand with everything fitting together tightly with no gaps anywhere, I’m a picky sod but I couldn’t find a single thing I would improve on.
Aside from the looks, it’s once you hold it that you really appreciate some of the subtle details that make it gel into your hand comfortably. I think the E100 is the most comfortable Aegis I have held so far, it’s quite chunky but in a way where your grip is just right, it just feels natural.
As you can probably tell by now; I love the actual mod, but will the pod impress me? Personally I much prefer an old-school 510 tank but GeekVape already have plenty of options for that. This is a pod/mod kit and GeekVape have done well to make it look like something in-between.
On its own it looks pretty much like a normal tank but with the 510 base missing, it strips down simply like a pod but with two notable differences; it’s top fill like a tank and most importantly, it is a top-airflow pod, this alone makes the pod a winner already as it prevents e-liquid leaking into the mod. Bottom airflow pod/mods are renown for leaky bottoms.
The drip-tip is an 810 (no O-rings) fitting so you can change it to your own if preferred. The coils are the Geekvape P Series (Pre-installed:0.2Ω 60~70W,Spare coil:0.4Ω 50~60W) and sit in the mid to high range for single battery sub-ohm cloud machines, they visually tick all the boxes with large bores and large wicking ports, and both won’t thrash the mods battery life too much.
I almost forgot to mention the size; the pod is quite wide at 28mm diameter, that should be a bad thing in a pod/mod, right? But not in this case, GeekVape have nailed it as it suits the mod perfectly and dare I say it; it looks better than a 510 tank as the height is reduced to sit into the mod. The result is a vape kit that looks like one piece, this design isn’t that uncommon but it’s the best combination I’ve seen. The only thing I didn’t like was the clear plastic as I just prefer glass.
Replacing the coils is a simple affair; they are a press fit which push in easily. Removing them is a little harder though as they can be quite tight, GeekVape include a little spanner in the retail version so you can pry them out easier.
Filling the pod is pleasing for old-school tank fans as it fills exactly like the top-fill Zeus tanks, unscrew it a third to reveal the large kidney shape fill ports, there are two fill ports with plenty of room to avoid airlocks. There was one strange quirk though, the clear plastic section has internal ribs for strength but these hinder filling a little, especially when your e-liquid is cold and thicker, you get an uneven fill but alternating ports solves that.
Controls
The E100i (and E100) has a full blown chipset with a ruck of power modes: SMART / POWER / BOOSTING / VPC / TC-NI / TC-TI / TC-SS / TC-TCR, which appears like over-kill for a stock coil pod/mod. Most users will only benefit from SMART or BOOSTING at a push, the rest of the modes will become useful if you purchase the 510 adaptor to use your own RTA/RDAs which make the mod far more appealing to experienced users and also novice users can progress without needing a whole new mod.
The screen is large, clear, uncluttered and bright, it’s one of the few I don’t need reading glasses for. By default, the screen brightness is 85%, I forgot to increase it for the photos but you can expect it to look much brighter once you whack it up to 100% (Fire & Up).
There is no menu, instead you simply click 3 x Fire to activate the mode selection and cycle through the options with the Up/Down buttons and long press Fire to confirm.
- 5 x Fire = Turns Device On/Off
- 3 x Fire = Enables Mode Selection (Up/Down to cycle & Fire to confirm)
- Press Up/Down together = Cycle through Colour Schemes *ONLY IN POWER SELECTION MODE
- Press Fire and Up/Down = Adjusts Brightness 0 – 100%
- Press & Hold Fire/Up/Down together = Turn display On/Off
- Slide Side Switch Up/Down = Locks/Unlocks all buttons
That’s a skinny version of the controls, there are far more expansive operations within the manual, such as the TC/TCR functions and puff reset and more besides.
There was only one niggle with the controls, and that was the lack of an option to lock the adjustments (Up/Down) only option to prevent you from accidentally changing the wattage during use, I loved the physical locking switch but that locks everything.
My next niggle is the limited battery status bar, there’s no percentage, just a simple 5 bar battery icon. For some reason this is common with a lot of GeekVape devices, this also applied to the charging screen.
Performance
I will go in a bit more depth later but let me just say this; The E100i ETONOS is the best cloud lobbing DL ‘pod’ kit I have experienced from GeekVape, especially that beast of a 0.2ohm coil. I had a lot of fun filling my garden with fog testing this out and chain vaping in sub-zero sub-ohm cloud-fest.
I kicked off by using the 0.2ohm coil and let SMART do its thing at 65 watts but I did eventually settle at the top-end of 70 watts to see how it performed, it handled 70 watts easily with no hint of a dry hit or burn, I think it could handle a few more watts if you really wanted to push it in WATTS mode.
The flavour was superb, and the airflow was very airy. I had to close it down quite a bit for my tastes, but it’s one of the airiest pods I’ve experienced. The vapour production was surprisingly high for such a small coil, too much vapour for me to indoor vape with it so I had to use it outdoors only.
The 0.4ohm coil is a pretty good compromise, it’s twice the resistance but that didn’t mean it gives you half the vape. At 55 watts it gave me near the same flavour, a touch warmer but less vapour production, it still lobbed big clouds though. This would be my coil of choice if I wanted a longer battery life, for sheer vape pleasure then the 0.2ohm is a no brainer.
BOOSTING mode was quite something, I think it gave a higher wattage preheat and tapered off to normal which resulted in a much warmer, intense vape. It was pretty good, but I reckon it could only shorten the coil lifespan so I switched back to SMART, but if you want to engulf someone in clouds then this is your mode!
Using the device itself was a simple pleasure, the silicone and leather cover didn’t feel too cold in this chilly snap, better still I found that I could easily operate it with thick gloves on. I was even able to slide the locking switch with gloves on, this is going to be my pocket winter vape for sure.
Winter Weather Warning
There was one snag to the pods design in extreme cold weather though, in chilly conditions 70VG/30PG e-liquid thickens up, and this effected how it flowed in that ribbed plastic tank as it settled uneven. This was a problem when your e-liquid is running under half way as it didn’t fully cover the wicking ports, but after a few long puffs, the e-liquid warmed up, thinned out, and behaved normally. It’s no problem in normal temperatures and it would be harsh to class it as a con, just something to be aware of in the winter.
The E100i is simply the best of both worlds.
“Once Try, Forever Eteno.”
Erm… what does that mean? I have no clue what Eteno is, Google didn’t help much, so… ‘I can’t gEteno satisfaction’ and it’s just going to be called the E100i for me.
Conclusion
This black beauty won me over all-round, the style, the ergonomics, the performance, and the vape quality were equally superb. The niggle of the wattage lock turned out not to be an issue as the buttons were out of harm’s way and I never accidentally adjusted the wattage.
The IP68 proofing makes it a rugged kit for those that need a set up that will accept a fair amount of abuse, and that added top-airflow leak-proofing gives it even more protection.
Novice vapers don’t need to do a thing other than fill it up and let it prime, by default the SMART mode is all you need. I’m very experienced but I still get value from SMART mode, fire and forget pocket reliability.
Pros
- A pod as good as a tank
- Superb flavour and vapour production
- Latest lint resistant silicone covering
- Possibly the most comfortable Aegis
- Absolute refinement
- Beginner friendly
- IP69 proofing
- Top Air-flow leak resistant
- It just oozes quality
Cons
- Bah Battery Bar Badness
And perhaps a niggle with the lack of adjustment locking, not ideal, but it didn’t turn out to be an issue during actual usage.
Final Thoughts and Score
GeekVape keep on banging out more new Aegis kits and they just keep getting better, I’m not the biggest fan of ‘pod/mods’ but I’m a fan of this one and it will be my ‘Winter Soldier’.
Score: 9/10 – New Aegis – I don’t like old stuff, does that make me Aegist?
Si Davies
Reviewer at POTVMy background is Engineering and Professional Photography. Mostly from POTV users knowledge I learned so much about pretty much all styles of vaping and equipment, Cloud Chasing, Squonking, Mouth To Lung, Direct To Lung, Pods, Mechs, Rebuild-able tanks and atomisers etc, and have experience with many many devices and atomisers, it's become a hobby and enjoy trying out the latest gear. I like to think my reviews are plain speaking and informative without getting too technical, if I have to resort to reading the manual then I don't consider it user friendly!
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