Pod System Reviews

Hotcig RDS 80W TC Pod Kit

We take a look at the Hotcig RDS Pod Kit, a fantastic kit which punches well above it's price would suggest! Plus it is very purple (which Si may not have appreciated as much I as I do!)

by Si Davies
Feb 11, 2021

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Supplied by Heaven Gifts for review purposes.
https://www.heavengifts.com/product/Hotcig-RDS-Pod-Kit.html
£34.40 (A serious billy bargain!)

I can tell you right off the bat that I really rate this bit of kit from Hotcig highly, the looks appealed to me and everything else won me over during testing.

Purple Haze

I’m not a fan of the colour purple for vape mods and this colour option would have been my last choice, however I have put this to one side and reviewed the kit for what it is and ignored the colour. Some people will love this colour and I’ve not let it affect my review.

Specifications

Size (mm): 130mm x 41.5mm x 25mm
Material: Stainless Steel+PCTG
Battery: 1 x 18650 battery (NOT Included)
Output power: 5-80W
Vape Modes: Power/Volt/Bypass/Temp/Pod/MOD
Display: TFT 0.96-inch Colour Screen
Capacity: 4.2ml (with DL Drip Tip)/4.5ml (with MTL Drip Tip)
Resistance: DL (RMX 0.15Ω/RM1 0.3Ω/RM2 0.6Ω) MTL (RM3 1.2Ω)
Charging: Type-C 5V/1A

Features

Lightweight PCTG construction
Dual system of Pod and 510-MOD
Single 18650 with 80W output
Power/Volt/Bypass/Temp/Pod/MOD modes
MTL and DL drip tip attached
Simple side filling design
Type-C mainstream charging system
510-thread adapter for most 510 tanks

Hotcig RDS 80W Pod Mod Kit with box

Unboxing

The unassuming outer sleeve doesn’t show your colour choice, it’s when you slip the sleeve off that the pleasure starts. The presentation and extras really peaked my interest and showed early signs that the RDS was going to be something a bit special.

Hotcig RDS 80W Pod Mod Kit unboxing

I was especially pleased to see that it offers MTL and DL options of coils and 510 drip tips, better still there was a free 510 adaptor to use with your own tanks.

Hotcig RDS 80W Pod Mod Kit extras

The paperwork was a bit of overkill but the manual was well written and clear. They also include a cleaning cloth and a sticker to pop onto your wheelie bin.

Hotcig RDS 80W Pod Mod Kit colours

There’s four different colours available, all are transparent but the clear one shows off the internals better. They all come with matching pods, drip tips and 510 adaptors.

First Impressions

Already off to a good start with the generous bundle and presentation, I began to examine everything. The mod is incredibly light without a battery but it feels solid and well-constructed, the seams were flush and there were no annoying edges. One thing that immediately jumped out was the ergonomics; this thing sits in your hand perfectly. It’s one of the most comfortable mods/pods I’ve held. The rotary fire button is intuitively positioned.

Hotcig RDS 80W Pod Mod Kit all angles

Branding is kept discrete and minimal on the bottom plate. The battery screw cap sits nice and flush so there’s no rocking when stood up. A nice touch I appreciated was that the screen was recessed deep so it’s well protected and this also prevents fingerprints.

Fitting the battery is old-school screw cap style but simple enough to do but Hotcig need to put the dunce cap on and stand in the corner for omitting the battery positive/negative markings. You need to insert the positive end in first (negative to the cap). It won’t mess things up if you put it in the wrong way round as its protected, it just won’t turn on.

Hotcig RDS 80W Pod Mod Kit battery tube

With the battery fitted, it still felt remarkably lightweight. With a full tank and battery fitted, it weighed in at 136g which is impressive.

The shape of this kit is so well sculpted, it really feels good in your hand in multiple position and it is so smooth. I was expecting it to be a fingerprint magnet (especially as they include a cleaning cloth) but this wasn’t the case, naturally it will need a wipe now and then but not as frequent as a lot of other shiny kits.

Hotcig RDS 80W Pod Mod Kit break down

Podantic

Lightweight was the goal of the pod and they certainly achieved that, even with a coil and full of juice it feels so light. It reminds me of one of those Freemax disposable tanks, but it really suits the kit when assembled and the matchy-matchy 510 drip tips are superb. I especially like the MTL one as it’s very comfortable.

Hotcig RDS 80W Pod Mod Kit purple pod

The coils are a simple press fit and are easy to pop in. They are a little harder to remove so beware if you have long fingernails.

Hotcig RDS 80W Pod Mod Kit pod and coils

Here’s comes a minor niggle, the silicone bung has a REALLY thin tab which I fear might perish over time. It does make it easier to open and close snuggly but it’s best to treat it with care when refilling. This leads me onto another niggle, I really think Hotcig should have supplied a spare pod in this kit, I know they already gave a generous bundle but I would have happily paid another couple of quid for a spare.

Fitting the pod isn’t just a case of popping it into the housing, it has a location notch due to the airflow control. It’s still easy enough to fit, just make sure you rotate it until it sits flush.

Hotcig RDS 80W Pod Mod Kit screen

510 Adaptor

Huge props to Hotcig for including a 510 adaptor, this makes the kit so versatile. It takes up to 24mm tanks without overhang and if your tank takes a 510 drip tip then you can even match it up using one of the pods' drip tips. This really appealed to my OCD.

Hotcig RDS 80W Pod Mod Kit 510 adaptor and tanks

The adaptor is colour matched and fits securely as the recess is nice and deep. There’s a little location tab you need to line up when fitting so the adaptor doesn’t spin once fitted.

This is truly a proper pod/mod to me, and I love the option of quick changing between tank and pod in seconds. The clever part is the chipset in the mod which recognises each option and remembers your settings, this feature was so damn handy. Say you have a DL tank at 40 watts and an MTL pod at 12 watts, no problem as the mod simply flips settings accordingly.

Operation

You may have noticed that there are no adjustment buttons, this is due to the all in one fire button dial which works extremely well. It’s one of the most impressive controls I’ve tested in a long time.

5 x Fire = Turns device on/off
2 x Fire = Locks/Unlocks dial adjustments
3 x Fire = Enters menu (rotate dial to navigate)

In POD mode you choices are limited to COLOURS or choosing MOD which opens up a lot more features, but in pod mode I found it perfect as was so only changed my colour scheme.

It also auto selects the right wattage for your chosen coil. I found this to be spot on, you can increase or decrease if you wish but it will have set limits. To override this, you need to select MOD mode in the menu.

Once you pop a tank onto the mod, the chipset automatically recognises this and displays MOD on the screen. The controls are the same but you now have many more options in the menu.

Hotcig RDS 80W Pod Mod Kit controls

I would advise double clicking the dial to lock your wattage once selected though as you can accidentally adjust it while firing, no biggie just a good habit to get into.

The screen is nice and bright, but boy is it busy!

POD/MOD
Ohms
Applied Voltage
Selected Wattage
Lock Symbol
Puff Counter
Puff Time
Sub Mode

It is less busy in MOD mode though as the labels don’t appear. I struggled to read the smaller info, but the main info I needed to know was larger and easier to read.

Performance

Possibly due to ignorance, I have never considered Hotcig to be a leader in coils so I wasn’t expecting too much. I was in for quite a pleasant surprise though, the MTL 1.2Ω option especially as it really chucked out some intensely saturated flavour. It potentially is the best flavour I have had from a stock coil or pod. I pitted it against my very best and it is right up there, coil life was equally impressive, two weeks of heavy use and still no signs of it packing in. The airflow was also a surprise, usually too much air gets in around the pod for this style of airflow to give a decent MTL draw, fully closed off it was more than acceptable. It wasn’t quite cheek pulling tight but definitely a MTL draw.

The DL 0.3Ω mesh coil didn’t disappoint either. I was less surprised by this one, it was on par with most of the best 0.3Ω coils I currently use. It was very similar in flavour to the GTX coil which I love and use a lot. The airflow wasn’t as open as I would have preferred though, a little restrictive, somewhere in-between DL and RDL when fully open. RDL was a different story though, the airflow was superb for that, and the adjustment refined it to my ideal RDL draw.

Hotcig RDS 80W Pod Mod Kit purple and clear

As for the mod, it performed flawlessly and really was a pleasure to use. It rarely left my hand (I’m actually typing this review with it firmly gripped), I love the fire dial.

From unboxing and right through testing, I felt there was something special about this kit. For a plastic mod, it didn’t look or feel cheap, and the light weight made it an ideal jeans pocket kit.

Conclusion

If you like the look of it and there’s a colour you like, just buy it! For under £35 I’m even more impressed (I didn’t know the price until writing the review and I thought it was a 60 quid jobby).

With the amount of pods and kits I test, I almost never buy new coils as they go to waste as I’m always testing the next thing, but as soon as I’ve finished writing this review, I am off on the hunt to find replacement 1.2Ω coils which should give you an idea how much I love how this vapes. I honestly only intended to use up the included one and just use it as a mod after that, but the pod is awesome.

Due to its easy swap, I will also be using it as a mod with my Berserker V2 while I’m out and about.

Pros

Ultra-lightweight
One of the most ergonomic mods I’ve held
Dual fire/control dial works a charm
Value for money
RM3 Mesh Coil 1.2ohm is one of the very best
Nice matching drip tips
Bright screen
Included 510 adaptor doubles its uses

Cons

No battery orientation markings
Flimsy silicone fill bung
No spare pod

Final thoughts

The cons are minor and nowhere near deal breaking, I could have added more pros but the review covers everything I like. This kit has been a delight to review and has found itself firmly in my MTL rotation.

I’ve managed to ignore the colour throughout my review but I have plans to give this one away and buy myself a Clear version along with a spare pod and coils ASAP.

Score: 9/10 – Just Superb

Hotcig RDS 80W Pod Mod Kit double trouble

Si Davies

Reviewer at POTV

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My 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!