Mod Reviews

Smok Nano One Kit

by VapeMaster
May 24, 2016

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Smok Nano One Kit

New from Smok is the Nano One Kit. This starter package includes an R-Steam Mini box mod which offers up to 80W of power. The device has both Variable Wattage and Temperature Control functionality and has support for Titanium, Stainless Steel and Ni200 wire types. The R-Steam Mini requires a single 18650 battery that can be charged externally or via the included USB cable. In addition the package contains the Nano TFV4 Tank and two included coils.

Features R-Steam Mini

Power Range: 1-80W
Voltage Range: 0.9-9.0V
Zinc Alloy Construction
Dimensions: 82 x 38 x 22mm
Weight: 120g
510 Square Centre Pin (Prevents Spinning)
Spring-Loaded 510 connector
Magnetic Battery Compartment Lid
Micro-USB Charging Port
0.91- inch OLED Screen
Variable Wattage/ Temperature Control
Titanium and Ni200 Wire Support
Firmware Upgradeable
Available In Several Colours
Requires 1x 18650 Battery (Not Included)

Features Nano TFV4 Tank

Stainless Steel and Glass Construction
510 Threaded
2ml Capacity
19mm Diameter
Weight: 48g
Height: 57mm
Top Filling Design
Adjustable Airflow

What’s in the box?

1x R-Steam Mini Box Mod (80W)
1x Nano TFV4 Tank
1x 0.3ohm Micro Fused Clapton Dual Core Coil (Pre-Installed)
1x 0.25ohm Micro Stainless Steel Dual Core Coil
1x Replacement Glass Tube
1x SMOK Vape Band
1x USB Cable
1x User Manual
Spare Parts

R-Steam Mini styling and build quality

Perhaps it is just me but when I took the R-Steam Mini out of its box I noticed an immediate similarity to the Smowell Turbox that I recently reviewed. One might almost say that the same designer was moonlighting between both companies. Regardless of the actual reasoning behind this the R-Steam Mini is a discrete and stylish device. Being entirely constructed from Zinc Alloy means that the device is nice and lightweight but at the same time it still feels somewhat durable.

The R-Steam Mini features a spring-loaded 510 pin and I am pleased to report that all of the tanks and drippers I tried sat flush on this mod. The 510 connector features a cut out design to provide air venting and the pin itself is square to prevent spinning.

The screen is suitably bright and users a decent sized font that is easily readable. All of the typical information is shown: Coil Resistance, Wattage, Voltage and Temperature. In addition the battery life is also displayed as is a Puff Counter. Like other Smok devices the R-Steam Mini can be set to Soft, Normal or Hard vape modes and the current setting is also shown on the display. You would think with all of the information shown that the display would be highly cluttered but it is actually very well laid out!

The three buttons on this device are nicely done and are all square shaped which according to Smok prevents them from ever sticking. They do certainly have a nice soft rubberised feel to them and they do make a satisfying “click” sound.

Located at the bottom front of the device is the Micro-USB Port which allows you to charge the battery or perform firmware upgrades. The R-Steam Mini takes a single 18650 battery (not included) and the compartment itself is nicely done. The correct battery orientation is clearly marked and there is a ribbon to assist with battery removal. The battery compartment door is not so nice and has a very noticeable wobble to it. Funnily enough the battery compartment and door is almost identical to the Smowell Turbox which ironically has much better magnets and no wobble unlike this device.

What does trouble me about this device is the noticeable lack of any form of venting for the battery compartment. There is a slight gap where the top of the battery door fits and I assume this is how the ventilation is provided but this is also what causes the door to wobble in the first place. There are also two half holes in the base but they are so small I don’t see how they could be providing sufficient battery ventilation.

In my opinion the painted finish could be much better than it is. I received the white version for review and I have already noticed some signs of wear. It is mainly on the edges of the device where the painted coating will be much thinner.

Despite these very noticeable shortcomings the overall package is well done and the kit includes both the R-Steam Mini and a TFV4 Nano Tank.

Ease of use

The R-Steam Mini is relatively straightforward to use but I am not a fan of how they have arranged the menu. What I don’t like is the way that some menu operations are first displayed as a symbol then they are shown as text when you select them. I would have personally preferred either one or the other and it would certainly help anyone who is getting to grips with one of these devices for the first time. I would say the menu feels a bit like a Mini Kooper and a YIHI mod that have had a child together and that child (R-Steam Mini) can’t decide which parent it wants to take after. To be entirely fair it isn’t so bad once you get used to it.

With a battery inserted click the fire button five times to power on the device.
Click the fire button five times to lock/unlock the device (when switched on).
Click the fire button three times to enter the menu. Cycle through menu functions with the plus/minus buttons and confirm your selection with the fire button.
To swap between Wattage and Temperature Modes firstly select the Mode Symbol then set your desired mode, then your vape strength soft, normal or hard and then finally your wire type, Ni200, Titanium or Stainless Steel.
To switch the device off you have to first select the power symbol, then click the plus/minus buttons to display “System Off” before finally confirming with the fire button.

Performance

To test Wattage Mode I used my Twisted Messes RDA and I had no major problems vaping away at 40 Watts. I did find when vaping at this Wattage that the R-Steam Mini did get rather warm, certainly warmer that some other similar devices and I attribute this to the lack of sufficient ventilation. I suspect that if you were to use this device at its maximum of 80W that it might get quite hot. Of course if you were planning to use this device with something like an Aspire Mini Nautilus at 18W you will likely never run the device hot.

To test Temperature Mode I used my Freemax Scylla which is fitted with a Ni200 coil. The device does ask you to confirm a new coil and that feature seems to work very well. As far as I could tell you cannot adjust Wattage when vaping in Temperature Mode but the device does not seem to have any problems achieving the required temperature that is selected. I noticed no issues when vaping my Scylla and to be honest the vape experience was comparable to any of my other devices that feature Temperature Control.

Battery life is very typical of a single 18650 device with higher Wattage and Temperature Control obviously draining the battery noticeably faster.

I wasn’t much of a fan of the original TFV4 but I must admit I rather enjoyed using the Nano version included in this package. It features the same flip out top cap filling system but the fill hole isn’t exactly huge which is understandable considering the tanks much smaller size. You won’t have any real problems when using standard bottles with nozzles but when using dropper caps you need to take more care because it is quite easy to accidentally get juice down the main chimney. The tank features four adjustable airflow slots but they are not overly large which means that while the tank is still reasonably airy it is nowhere near as in your face as the original TFV4.

The capacity of the tank is 2ml which might not be ideal for some people however the convenience of the filling mechanism limits that problem to a degree. I also noticed when vaping that the Nano TFV4 doesn’t guzzle your juice that much faster than typical Sub-Ohm tanks. Using the pre-fitted 0.7ohm coil I found anywhere from 20-30W was a very enjoyable vape, flavour was especially nice and vapour production was generous given the small size of this atomizer. The Nano TFV4 is primarily a lung hitting tank but you can just about get away with a mouth to lung vape if you heavily close down the airflow but it will probably still be a bit loose for some peoples taste.

Nevertheless if you are after a discrete form friendly tank that has good flavour and decent vapour production then this might suit you very well!

Conclusion

As a complete whole the package is attractive but there are some things that I definitely don’t like about the R-Steam Mini. Firstly the menu operation could be better implemented and the lack of decent battery ventilation is troubling. The wobble on the battery door makes the product feel a little cheap and the painted finish is already showing signs of wear in the short time I have used the device.

However despite this in terms of actual operation the device works well and I can’t fault it in terms of the vape it will give you plus the package does include a decent tank. Another plus point is that the Temperature Control Mode caters to all three popular wire types. The form factor is also excellent and it makes for smart and discrete device.

I suppose the question really is whether R-Steam Mini’s plus points outweigh its shortcomings and if you think you can live with them then it might be worth checking out!

Grey Haze have kindly sent us a Nano One Kit for us to giveaway to one lucky winner so check out our competition here.