Here’s a look at the latest squonk kit from Wismec. Wismec if you’re not familiar with them are a manufacturer out of China that makes some rather interesting vape products. This latest kit takes some queues from at least a couple of their more popular products and even shares the same footprint as their famed three battery mod series the Reuleaux. While it might seem a bit of an unusual shape I know quite a few people who coveted it which is exactly why we’ve seen several generations of it hit the market. It was pretty much the ideal shape for a squonk mod already so I’m guessing it was a pretty easy decision to make. Here are my honest thoughts on the Luxotic DF from Wismec.

Package contents:

Item Quantity LUXOTIC DF BOX 1 Guillotine V2 1 E-liquid Bottle 1 Mouthpiece 1 Clapton 0.28ohm Coil 2 Cotton 1 QC USB Cable 1 User Manual 2 Warning Card 1 Spare Parts

Listed features & Specs:

LUXOTIC DF BOX

Size: 42.1*54.5*77.2mm

Weight: 190g

Thread type: 510 spring loaded connector

E-liquid capacity: 7ml

Cell type: high-rate 18650 cell

Output wattage: 1-200W

Guillotine V2

Height: 34.3mm

Diameter: 24mm

Weight: 33g

Packaging and contents:

The kit comes packed in a dark coloured cardboard box with an image of the kit on the front and a listing of the contents on the back along with some basic company information. Everything inside is neatly packed with all of the extras safely stowed in a Wismec branded cardboard box and the mod packed in a thick sponge insert. In the kit you get the Luxotic DF mod, a Guillotine V2 RDA, two 7ml silicone squonk bottles(one pre-installed), a micro USB cable, a user manual for the RDA, a user manual for the mod and the box of spares. In the spares box you get an alternate PEI 810 drip tip, a bag of cotton and a bag of extras. In the little extras bag you get three black orings, one silicone oring, an Allen key, two spare hex grub screws, a regular gold plated 510 pin, a spare negative post screw as well as two premade coils that look like fused claptons. The kit is very well equipped and you get just about everything you’d need to get started.

The Mod:

The mod as I mentioned shares the same shape as the Reuleaux series of mods which happened to get their shape from the three battery configuration they use. That three battery config was already the ideal shape to accommodate a squonk bottle by removing one of the three batteries and Wismec managed to implement it in a way that leaves both the batteries and the squonk bottle pretty easily accessible by simply sliding open the bottom cover. Being that it is a dual battery squonk and includes a 7ml squonk bottle it is a bit on the big side. I have fairly big hands and even I find the profile of the Reuleaux a tad on the bulky side for regular everyday carry but I do tend to prefer my gear to be compact and discrete for work so personal taste does play a role. Instead, for me with it’s 7ml capacity squonk bottle this one will be for long haul trips and things like that. It is actually quite comfortable in the hand because of the shape of it and I know this particular form factor does have it’s fans which is why it’s still in use. For me though it’s just a bit too big and heavy to comfortably carry in my pocket. I actually think it’s kind of odd that this device got the Luxotic name as the other devices in the Luxotic line have all been a bit more,, exotic to say the least. With the Luxotic DF it’s really just a re-jigged Releaux so it would have made more sense to call it the Releaux BF. I also thought BF stood for bottom feed but with Luxotic DF I’m no longer so sure what the initials are meant to represent. Dual Feed?!

Starting at the top it’s got a decent looking stainless steel 510 connection that sits under the surface of the mod much like past implementations. I know a few years back some users had issues with the 510 connections on their devices coming loose but hopefully Wismec has that all sorted out and to be fair so far I haven’t had any issues whatsoever with any of my Wismec devices. The threads on the connection are nice and smooth and it’s got a spring loaded and possibly gold plated center pin that’s squared off with a hole running through it for squonking. It’s got a decent amount of travel and while I’ve only tried a few RDAs on it, everything I’ve tried so far has sat flush. One thing to mention about the placement of the 510 is because it’s offset to accommodate the squonk bottle it means the device as big as it is will be restricted to atomizers up to 24.5mm in diameter without overhang. Oddly enough the included Guillotine v2 RDA is 24mm in diameter which fits perfectly but the included beauty rings takes it’s diameter up to 25.5mm which overhangs on the back side of the device so you might not want to use them together. A slight jog in the line would have allowed it to be more centered and accommodate some bigger atties as well as the beauty ring but it could have been too difficult to implement based on the dimensions of the shape. They don’t mention the material it’s made of but I’d assume it’s some sort of zinc-alloy as it doesn’t quite feel as heavy as stainless steel. I got the bright slime green version but it’s also available in blue, black and white. The finish on it feels robust and despite my often reckless treatment of devices it’s held up perfectly so far.

Down the face of the mod it also looks like it’s undergone a slight makeover compared to the most recent Reuleaux now sporting a much wider sort of rectangular and metallic fire button instead of a little round one and the screen has a molded shape to it with the adjustment buttons sort of blending in near the bottom. It appears to be tinted and the screen still shines through fairly bright indoors but there aren’t any settings in the menu to adjust it so you’re pretty much stuck with the stock brightness which I found can be an issue in direct sunlight. The adjustment buttons are actually a rocker style button that is sort of split 30/70 with the left side indicating a negative press and the right side indicating a positive press. They increment the power in 0.1 steps but pressing and holding will speed through quickly enough and above 20w it switches to 1w increments. All three buttons are easy to press without any rattle and have a nice light clicky feel to them with the fire button being easy to find and fire with either thumb or index. If holding it with the screen facing your palm you don’t even need to use the pad of your thumb and can just sort of squeeze it and it’ll fire which makes it even easier to use. Just below the bottom adjustment buttons is the micro USB port for both charging and firmware updates. I didn’t see firmware updates listed as a feature on the product page and in fact details are pretty limited but I did find an update in their download section which is supposed to include some basic enhancements and improvements. It updated it from 1.00 to 1.03 and maybe I didn’t spend enough time with it on the stock firmware but I didn’t really observe any significant changes.

To access the bottle and batteries you slide the bottom cover towards the back and it swings open. For the bottle it’s a sort of odd two part system with a magnetic plate that also covers the bottle on the side but doesn’t really provide full access to it without opening the bottom door. It almost looks like a throwback to previous design that they just left in when they opted for the bottom plate but I get that it was added to help connect/disconnect the hose and slide the bottle out of the bottom it just seems like an extra step. Also if you only want to access the bottle because it’s all in one you have to contend with your batteries wanting to fall out. So just removing the bottle alone entails you opening the bottom cover, holding your batteries in place with one finger, taking off the side magnetic cover, disconnecting your bottle and sliding it out the bottom without letting go with your finger holding the batteries. It’s not quite as complicated as it sounds but again it just seems a bit fidgety and over complicated. The swinging battery/bottle door and inside the device are clearly marked for positive and negative and although it’s not listed anywhere I’m pretty sure the device also has the usual safety protections built-in like reverse battery which I took a chance and tested, it passed. The protruding pin where you connect the tube from your bottle is smooth and easy to connect but there’s a somewhat disconcerting amount of solder on it. It doesn’t affect it’s use at all but hopefully it’s silver based and not lead as it comes in contact with the tube from my bottle. Actually squonking with it is simple and you don’t even need to adjust your hand if you’re thumb firing, just give it a squeeze with one of your fingers and you’re good to go. The kit includes two 7ml silicone bottles which are nice and soft and work well for squonking. They’re easy to fill and I appreciate the spare bottle but I wish they would include a threaded cap for the spares so we can take them with us on the go. Someone needs to invent that if it isn’t already a thing.

Using the device is pretty simple and most vapers will feel comfortable with the way it works. The menu actually looks the same as previous releases like the RX Gen 3 and RX 20700 as I’m sure it’s using the same chip to power it with the mode listed at the top, followed by power or temp and then three hex shaped cells containing additional info like volts, amps, resistance etc. depending on the mode. Below the three cells are two simple battery bars. The usual five clicks turns it on and off. When it’s in it’s ‘Off’ state pressing fire and the right adjustment button brings up the TCR settings menu where you can set the TCR values for three TCR mem slots, while in this mode you can press the up adjustment button to cycle to the pre-heat setting where you can set a power and duration for pre-heat. Pressing left and fire brings up the current individual cell voltage for both batteries. Holding both adjustment buttons will allow you to flip the screen but it seems kind of pointless having the screen upside down. When the device is ‘On’ pressing fire three times highlights the mode and pressing right lets you cycle through the three major modes Power, TC and TCR. Selecting any of the modes you can then press left and make changes to the on screen elements. When in Power mode you can select between puff count, puff time and amps to be displayed in the bottom cell. When in TC mode you can select between SS, NI and Ti, you can set the max wattage, lock the resistance and also select between puff count, puff time and amp. In TCR mode you have the same options as TC but instead of Ni, Ti and SS you have the choice of three TCR mem slots. Holding both buttons with the device on will lock the adjustment buttons.

The RDA:

I’ve actually reviewed the Guillotine V2 already as it shipped with the Luxotic MF kit so I won’t go over it again in great detail. It’s a decently built 24mm diameter stainless steel dual post/dual coil RDA that can also be used for squonking. The black version it comes with is fairly modest in design and separately it’s available in a few different finishes but it looks like with this kit it only ships in black. It comes with a low profile yet very comfortable ultem or PEI 810 drip tip and in the kit they include an alternate tip which is much taller if the low profile one is too short for your liking. It uses guillotine style clamps and after having spent a bit more time with it I realize it’s a bit better at handling the flatter builds like fused claptons and aliens then it is with straight wire as it sometimes had trouble gripping multiple straight wires cause of the teeter totter effect the clamps can encounter. Spacing your wires out a bit usually solves it but it’s something novice builders should be aware of. It’s a pretty beefy RDA so it can definitely handle the bigger builds and for me I found it even needed a fairly substantial build to get the most out of it. Luckily they include some pretty decent fused claptons that out of the box will work well enough for most. It’s pretty easy to build on with the guillotine style posts but sometimes you might find yourself turning it upside down to get the post clamps to play nice when fitting a new build.

One thing I failed to notice in the initial review with the top cap which is a three part top cap is the barrel can actually be flipped to switch between side airflow to almost bottom airflow. By almost bottom I mean airflow will come in through cutouts in the lower edge of the RDA and be channeled upward so it hits your coils on the bottom from about a 45 degree angle. The upper part of the top cap which you can turn to adjust airflow is two part an outer metal ring and an internal threaded thermal plastic insert which is what actually closes off the airflow when you turn the upper part of the cap. Flipping the barrel changes how high the two cyclops style slots sit and if you flip them so they are high airflow will hit your coils directly at about a 90 degree angle. Flipping the barrel also changes how the airflow is adjusted and if it’s in bottom airflow mode you turn the barrel to adjust it not the upper cap piece. It’s a pretty straightforward RDA that works quite well as a standard RDA or as a squonker. It’s well built but might cater a bit more towards the advanced builders than it does the novices.

Likes:

Ease of use

Build quality

Paint/finish

Bottle capacity/spare bottle

Dual battery

Lots of extras in the kit

Good flavour and vapour with the right build

Dislikes:

Big/bulky

Overhang over 25mm and with included beauty ring

No brightness adjustment and tinted screen

Bottle access is fidgety

Overall:

While I’m not the biggest fan of the form factor of this one I still found it to be a well built and solid working squonk kit. The included RDA is pretty standard but works well and is easy to use while the device itself and the chip that powers it is pretty much proven at this point. I know for a fact the Reuleaux series has it’s fans who I’m sure will be quite excited to see the Luxotic DF as an option. I think this one would be better suited to the more advanced vapers who appreciate both bigger bottles and battery capacities but would also be a decent kit for a more intermediate user just looking to get in to squonking. It’s nice to see Wismec continuing to build on a proven platform and it will be interesting to see what they do with it next!!