I didn’t receive this SZX Mechanical Mod free of charge from Sub Ohm Innovations since it got bought, but initially not for the purpose of this review. Regardless of this, it will not color my opinion on this review in any way, shape or form.
Packaging
It comes in a black box where you slide the inside out on one side of the outer shell. On the front it says SOI, SZX and a transparent window in the shape of an X, on the sides you find the SOI logo and on the backside you will find a text about the mod in the box.
The mod itself resides in a cutout in foam. There is basically just the mod, a manual, an authenticity card made out of metal and a couple of stickers and nothing more.
The Tube
It is a 25 mm wide and 96 mm long hybrid mechanical mod made out of SS and, in my case, anodized black, except the switch that is made out of copper and it is intended to be used with 18650 batteries with the positive side downward.
The overall machining is actually really good and I would say that most of the threads are clean and well made, but the switch does take some fiddling in order to make the threads take. It has a hybrid top cap threaded onto it and on the inside of the top cap you will find a thin piece of black Delrin that helps out preventing the battery from making contact with that part of the mod.
If you get the RDA from SOI you can take that top cap off and screw the RDA directly into the tube for a lesser voltage drop and a better hit.
Inside the tube you have a plastic/Delrin tube to yet again prevent the battery from making any kind of contact with the internals in the case of a damaged battery wrap. So I guess the safety thinking has been taken seriously at SOI.
The safety thinking goes on and it has some serious venting holes made to let any gasses out in case the battery vent or go thermal for some reason and the way it is made, it can get rid of a lot of gasses without a problem. It is six kidney shaped holes that are 7x3 mm in size.
It is a mod with interchangeable sleeves and SOI themselves got a few you can order if you feel like mixing things up. If they don’t have what you are looking for, there are other companies that make sleeves for this mod and a lot of other brands as well.
And now onto the switch in this mod which, by the way, is one that you can lock for the times you pocket the mod, and it is spring loaded with a 3-piece clutch contact… The throw isn’t bad at all, it could have been a little shorter, but it still is within reason. The spring, however, is on the mushy side for me and the mod would benefit from a somewhat stiffer spring.
On arrival, the switch it came with was just a disaster if you ask me. I mean, the whole switch had a lot of sideways movement to it and it could lean sideways with as much as 5-10 mm at the top of the mod in any direction when standing on a flat surface.
This got worse after just a few days and I complained to SOI and they shipped me a new switch, and at this point I hoped the switch issue would be over. But to my surprise the new switch that my contact at SOI had told me was in perfect working condition, was basically just as bad as the first one. And me complaining yet again would only lead to me getting yet another crappy switch with the same issues the first and second one are having.
I have taken the first switch apart and to me it has a construction flaw, and a major one, since it can wobble as much as it does. And the fact that it has any sideways movement at all to it is beyond me, and had it been a good construction it wouldn’t have any, or at least very little, movement to it.
The oh so famous or was it infamous German Wackel Dackel
The above animated gif (first time ever for a gif in my reviews and most likely the last time) illustrates how the switch behaves and that it has fallen over while standing on a table more times than I even care to count, and that was in the time I was using it before the new switch arrived. Sure, all tube mods tend to fall over at some point, but the fact how easily this one falls over is just beyond ridiculous if you ask me. And nothing has changed with the new switch in it, it still falls over more often than I care to count… What a surprise…
Another thing I find just ridiculous with the switch, is that you aren’t allowed to open it up to clean it internally, since you will void the warranty. Just by looking at the switch I can tell you that it isn’t sealed in any way and dirt will get into the switch itself and must therefore be cleaned to function as it is supposed to.
The new switch I got suddenly started to misfire on me, and I checked my battery and the connections and everything looked fine, so I decided to void the warranty and open the new switch to see what was going on inside of it. And to my utter surprise it was basically pitch black from being dirty inside and the cloth I cleaned it with was black by the time I was done. How’s that for a switch you’re not allowed to open and clean?
By the way, after that cleaning it fired fine again.
I am actually baffled that a mechanical mod that SOI hype as much as they do, actually have a switch this bad and secondly doesn’t allow its customers to clean it without voiding the warranty. Who does that?
How does it work besides the switch you might wonder… Well, it does hit good and if it wasn’t for the switch, I would even call it a good mechanical mod. But since the switch is the heart of any mechanical mod, I have to say that the mod just suck, plain and simple.
Assessment
It is a nice looking really tall 18650 mechanical mod and the fact that you can change sleeves to alter the appearance is a bonus. Unfortunately there is no way around the poor switch. Every time you fire the mod or every time you put that mod on a flat surface, that switch is a reminder on how bad it actually is and the fact that you void the warranty if you take it apart and clean it, just adds to the insult.
I’m pretty sure SOI themselves refer to their products as high-end, unfortunately with a switch like this in their so called high-end line, I would rather call it low-end if anything, and definitely not worth the money asked for it.
After I realized that this mod has got some serious issues with the switch, I started looking at reviews of it and basically not a single reviewer has brought up the sideways movement and the leaning as a con, and that really took me by surprise. I have seen a lot of pics where SOI themselves hype the mod on FB and IG and I realized that basically every single mod leans on those pics, more or less but they all lean, unless the switch is tightened so it doesn’t stick out.
Can I recommend it to others?
I definitely cannot recommend this one to anyone in the market for a ”good mechanical mod”. At least not for the price asked. A fair price for a mod with a switch as bad as this one would be a lot lot lower than the $140 they ask for it.
Pros
Machining
Hits good
Silver plated contact points
Nice threads mostly
Delrin lined inside
Looks
The Venting holes
Interchangeable sleeves
Customer Service
Cons
Threads on the switch is a bit crunchy
The switch is a disaster
The wobble it has when you put it down on a flat surface
You void the warranty if you open the switch to clean it
Parameters
Width: 25 mm
Length: 96 mm
Black SS, Blue SS, White SS, Red SS, Brass, Copper
Package includes
1 x SZX mechanical mod
1 x Authenticity card
1 x Instruction
You will find it here
Since I’m not gonna recommend this mod to anyone I decided to not put a link up to SOI’s own site or any other place where you can get it.
And before ending this review I want to point out a few things of importance to those new to mech mods and also the seasoned user. Remember to always pay attention to…
Battery safety
Ohms law
Having a hybrid connection you must make sure to have a protruding enough 510 pin on the atomizer
Keeping your mech mod clean at all times. Meaning the connections, switch, threading and internally
Thanks for reading this far and Vape on!
Norseman
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