Mod Reviews

Trident by Council of Vapor

The Trident is a Variable Wattage device offering 7-60W of power. In addition it also features Temperature Control functionality and Mechanical Bypass modes. The Trident requires a single 18650 battery that can be charged externally or internally via the devices Micro-USB port. Constructed from Stainless Steel and Zinc Alloy the Trident is a lightweight and stylish device with an excellent small form factor!

by VapeMaster
Feb 11, 2016

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Trident by Council of Vapor

Trident features

Stainless Steel and Zinc Alloy Construction
Requires 1x 18650 Battery (Not Included)
Wattage Output Range: 7-60W
Minimum Atomizer Resistance: 0.05ohm
Temperature Control w/ Wire Detection
Carbon Grade Brush Finish
Soft, Standard & Power Ramp Modes
Multi-Slot Wattage Memory Modes
Mechanical Bypass Mode
Sliding Battery Cover
Overheat Protection Safety
Optional Sleeve (Not Included)
Micro-USB Port
Spring-Loaded 510 Connection

What’s in the box?

1x Trident 60W Mod
1x Micro-USB Cable
User Manual

Trident styling and build quality

In terms of looks the Trident is great and I really like the overall aesthetics. The form factor is excellent and it really does fit the hand well. The mainly Zinc Alloy construction means that this mod is lighter than most others of this size but I still felt that this device would be quite capable of taking a few hard knocks.

For me the only thing that spoils it a little is the lacquered finish which makes it feel slippery to hold. To be fair this can be quickly solved with a wrap which would have to be purchased separately. There may be some people who prefer the Trident’s smoother finish of course, we are all different, but the device does also tend to be something of a finger print magnet.

I think the overall design is elegant and the logos are very tasteful and kept to a minimum. The 510 pin is spring-loaded and while all my atomizers sat flush with this device I did find that I had to press down with a little force when screwing certain ones on. More than likely this is due to a stiff 510 pin and not a major issue because it seems to be quite durable.

The buttons are rattle free and are somewhat “clicky”. The display is notably excellent being both bright and clear! All the relevant information you would expect is suitably displayed: coil resistance, wattage, voltage. In addition the display also shows battery life, temperature (when it that mode) and ramp mode.

The Ramp Mode is just like the feature you get on devices such as the Smok XCube II or the SX Mini M Class and allows you to set a standard, powerful or soft option when vaping. The device features a Micro-USB port which is sensibly located on the front of the mod so you can keep it upright when charging.

Strangely I didn’t notice any actual venting on this device and I assume that is provided for by the very unique battery tray the Trident incorporates. To one side of the device is a little switch that you have to push to one side to unlock the battery tray from the device. It does take a bit of getting used to but I think the design is quite cool!

Sadly there is a price to be paid for this feature and I found that the device often felt like something was wobbling around inside it which was no doubt the battery tray. I would describe it as feeling like the weight of the device was shifting. While it certainly isn’t a major con or anything but I did feel it let down the overall design of this device somewhat. In all fairness you only really notice it sometimes and it might not bother some people at all.

The battery is very easy to fit but there is no ribbon included to assist you with removal. I had no problems with a Sony VTC4 so hopefully other 18650 batteries are just as easy to remove.

I felt that the overall finish of the Trident was pretty good and perfectly acceptable with a very nice aesthetic style. As I said I am not keen on its slippery feel but that is entirely subjective and it probably just means it isn’t really a device for me.

Ease of use

I have already mentioned the battery installation/removal which is very easy to do so there is no point revisiting that here. In terms of actual operation the Trident is a little different to other comparable mods.

Three clicks of the fire button locks and unlocks the device.
The device will go into standby mode and lock itself if you don’t use it for a certain amount of time.
The plus and minus buttons don’t actually adjust the wattage or temperature instead they adjust the ramp mode option between soft, standard or powerful.
To actually adjust wattage and temperature you have to go into the main menu which requires five clicks of the fire button in quick succession. To cycle through menu options use the fire button and to adjust individual options use the plus and minus buttons.
From the main menu you can select Power/Temperature Mode, Wattage/Temperature which adjusts in 0.5 increments with a single click or 1.0 increments when the plus or minus button is held down.
In addition the menu allows the device to be set to Bypass Mechanical Mode as well as changing the display orientation or powering off.

In my opinion the menu has plenty of options but having to go into it every time you want to adjust the wattage or temperature is a little long-winded. However despite this I do think that you will get used to it quickly because everything is very straight forward.

I only have one major criticism and that is the absence of resistance lock when using temperature control so if that is a mode you plan to use a lot then this device may not be for you. Also please note that the temperature control functionality only provides for Nickel coils and will not work with Titanium or Stainless Steel like some other devices. The Trident also features Wattage Memory Modes or Presets that you can make use of if you wish.

Performance

In wattage mode this device works exactly how you would expect. Resistance readings seemed to be accurate and I got a decent vape when using Kanthal builds in my GP Heron 1.5 and my Achilles II RDA. I thought that this device’s method of adjusting wattage would get on my nerves but to be honest I know what I like to run my Heron and Achilles II at with the builds I have in them so once I had set the power to my liking I felt no need to ever adjust it. If you are much the same then I am sure you will be perfectly happy using this device in wattage mode. However if you are the kind of person who wants to continually tweak power settings then it might feel a bit of a pain but it is still something you can live with.

The ramp mode is nice to have whether you choose to make use of it or not and I found myself using Powerful mode with my Achilles II and leaving it in Standard mode when using my Heron.

Temperature Control Mode certainly does work on this device but it has a few flaws so let me clarify. Firstly the device does detect when you fit a new atomizer as you would expect so you simply go ahead and confirm that. The major problem is that the device does not lock the resistance and I saw my Freemax Scylla 0.2ohm Ni200 coil jumping all over the place when vaping. As far as the actual vape is concerned it was a nice enough vape but at times I did get those power spikes you associate with early temperature control devices so you can end up with a very hot vape if you are not careful. I typically vape at 240°C at 40W on my iPV4s but on the Trident that was way too hot and it left me with the impression that the device was not reading the resistance correctly.

Another factor is that there is a certain amount of ramp up time when using temperature control and that is only marginally offset by setting the device to “powerful” mode but once again you have to be careful due to the power spiking.

Another point is that I didn’t see how you set wattage when using temperature control and in the end I assumed it worked based on the wattage you had originally set before switching modes. As temperature control goes it is reasonable enough but I do think to be competitive and work reliably well it needs a dedicated resistance lock.

Battery life was very typical of a single 18650 device with the battery draining much quicker when using temperature control.

Conclusion

The Trident has some good features and some not so great. The temperature control mode could certainly do with a lot more work in my opinion and the distinct lack of resistance lock lets this product down. For regular wattage vaping this a perfectly good device that on the whole has a nice style to it and a good form factor. If you don’t mind the smooth finish (or buy a wrap), menu for power/temperature adjustment and the slight wobble of the battery compartment and you have no real interest in temperature controlled vaping then this might be a reasonable enough purchase.

All I would advise is that you look at all comparable products before making a decision because even though the Trident is not a bad product by any means, it is not really an outstanding one.