In this review i take a look at the Mag Grip 100W TC Kit with TFV8 Baby V2 from Smok. The Smok Mag Grip 100W TC Kit with TFV8 Baby V2 was supplied for the purpose of this review by Cortana from the Healthcabin.
It’s a while since we saw the release of the dual 18650 Mag and i’m quite surprised it’s took so long for Smok who are known for flooding the market with product to release a single battery version. Here it is the Mag Grip and they have got the name spot on as i have been finding it the most comfortable device in the hand bar none. The Mag Grip is a very well thought out device not just allowing the accommodation of an 18650, 20700 or 21700 battery but also allows you to tell the device which battery you are using so it can change to an 85w device if choosing an 18650. It also has a raised slanted top screen and the build quality and finish is impressive. Like the original Mag the battery magazine and release mechanism is very durable and sturdy, my Mag i have had since it was released and used it as my main device for 8 months and it still looks as if it came straight out the box, don’t believe everything you read most negatives of recent Smok products are made from a past reputation and not from people actually using the devices!
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Contents:
1 x Mag Grip MOD
1 x TFV8 Baby V2 Tank (5.0ml)
1 x Baby V2 S1 0.15hm Single Mesh Coil (Pre-installed)
1 x Baby V2 S2 0.15hm Quadruple Kanthal Coil
1 x Replacement Glass Tube
1 x 18650 battery adaptor
1 x USB Cable
1 x User Manual
Spare Parts
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Aesthetics and Ergonomics
The Mag Grip Kit came in the usual cardboard box with sleeve packaging that Smok products come in. On opening i was met by a device that’s shape is ergonomically superior looking than any other device i have looked at, i also was surprised by it’s large size for a single battery device. I received the Black and Red version, the other versions available are Black and Prism Chrome, Red and Black and Prism Blue and Black, all versions come with a Baby V2 in a colour that suits the device, i received a Black tank. The device is shaped like a gun handle but also has been made very rounded for added ergonomics, as you would expect for a device with this form it has a trigger style fire button. The front curves inwards from the bottom before protruding outwards where it houses the already mentioned square trigger style fire button. The spine curves just like a gun handle before protruding quite extremely at the top (this is the area of the top that houses the screen and navigational buttons). The sides have identical shaped what i assume are stickers with honeycomb design, on one we have “MAG Grip” printed, on the other “SMOK”. The base of the device is the bottom of the battery magazine and has printed safety stamps. Moving to the top and towards the front of the device we have a massive 510 plate with Gold plated, spring loaded 510, the rear of the top slants downwards and houses a raised screen and navigational assembly. The front, base and navigational buttons all have a shiny Red finish while both sides, the spine, fire button and top have a matte black finish which does feel like a rubberised paint. The build quality is impressive with this device from Smok and as i’ve already mentioned the ergonomics are great.
TFV8 Baby V2 Specs and Features:
Size: 30.0mm x 54mm
Capacity: 5ml
Body Material: Stainless Steel
Tank Material: Pyrex Glass
Patented Locking Mechanism
Better Airflow System
16mm V2 Baby Exclusive Delrin Drip Tip
Antibacterial Medical Cotton
Top Refill System and Leak-proof
New Baby V2 Coils A1/A2/A3
Thread: 510
Colours: Stainless Steel, Red, White, Prism Blue, Matte Black, Gold, Green, 7-Colour
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TFV8 Baby V2 Overview
The TFV8 Baby V2 is the long awaited update to the TFV8 Baby that seems to of been around forever. I am not going to go into great detail as the TFV8 Baby has been reviewed so many times i really only see it necessary to point out the changes to the tank. The top of the tank has had a lot of work done to it with a lock mechanism added like we have on the prince, the seal has also been moved to the underside of the top-cap and the fill port is far bigger, so far so good. At the bottom of the tank we now have tri airflow slots and they are very wide, the protruding 510 is Gold plated and non adjustable. The tank comes in a mini version which has a straight glass making the capacity TPD compliant, the bulge glass that takes the standard version to 5ml bulges out quite far, i actually like the look. I am not a fan of the drip tip, it’s a sleeve that fits over the central protruding section on top of the tank, this section has o-rings to secure the sleeve. The drip tip is comfortable enough but i like the option of using my own which isn’t possible. The two coils included are actually coils designed for the Baby V2 when using on stick devices which work at lower wattage’s but work very well with single battery devices. Pre-installed is the S1 which is a 0.15ohm single mesh coil which is rated between 40w and 80w with a best rating of between 60w and 70w. The other included coil is the S2 which again is 0.15ohm and is a quadruple coil rated between 30w and 70w with a best rating between 45w and 60w.
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Mag Grip Specs and Features:
Size: 67 x 38 x 91mm
Power Range: 1W-85W(18650 Battery)/1W-100W(21700/20700 Battery)
Outpiut Voltage: 0.5V-9V
Standby Current: ＜220uA
Temperature Range: 200℉-600℉/100℃-315℃
Resistance Range: 0.1 – 2.5ohm (VW) / 0.05 – 2ohm (TC)
Micro-USB Port: Charging / Firmware Upgrades
Battery: 1 x 18650/20700/21700 battery (not included)
Screen: 0.66-inch OLED display
Exquisite trigger-like fire key
Lock-n-load design for battery installation
Multiple protections with firmware upgrading
Comfortable holding with ergonomic design
Thread: 510
Colours: Black and Red, Black and Prism Chrome, Red and Black, Prism Blue and Black
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Fitting The Battery
The device will accommodate either an 18650 (with supplied adaptor), 20700 or a 21700 battery and uses the same magazine style release system as the original Mag. On the side of the device their is a Silver release button which when pressed shoots out the magazine from the bottom of the device. You simply put your battery into the magazines tube (with adaptor if using 18650) and then load the magazine back into the device until it locks into place with a satisfying click. The whole system is sturdy and locks very securely, an impressive job has been done. Also with a pet hate of mine being poor visibility of battery orientation markings, i am delighted to point out that the orientation is marked in Bright White on Black.
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The Display
The Screen is on the top of the device but on a slant at an ideal angle to read, the assembly which includes the navigational buttons is also raised to prevent any leaking e-liquid getting into the device. The display is bright, sharp and old school in nature just displaying the most useful information. At the top we have the wattage (or temperature when using TC), then to the right of this we have the unit and preheat setting (when using TC this will be wire type), to the very far right at the top we have the battery status bar. Underneath everything described we have the resistance to the left and voltage to the right, finally at the bottom of the display we have a time vaped progress bar.
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Navigating The Mag Grip
The device is the usual 5 clicks to turn on but to turn the device off is done via the menu system. When the device powers up it first asks you to choose between 18650 or 21700 batteries (if using 20700 i personally would choose 18650), if you choose 18650 the device will only go up to 85w but if you pick 21700 top wattage is 100w. Once on you can lock the device two different ways, whichever way you use to lock the device the device won’t fire when locked. Left and Right together locks and unlocks the device and so does pressing the fire button 5 times, the weird thing is you can mix and match the two methods so for example if you lock the device by pressing the left and right buttons together then as well as pressing the left and right again to unlock it pressing the fire button 5 times will also achieve this. You can change between modes by simply pressing the fire and left buttons together this allows you to change modes using the navigational buttons, the options are Wattage, Ti, Ni or SS, when in wattage mode pressing the fire and right together allows you to choose preheat between Normal, Hard or Soft, the same button combination when in temp control allows you to set wattage for temp control. To enter the menu system is 3 clicks of the fire button which brings up the first option which is mode then each additional click or by using the navigational buttons it takes you to the next option, the choices are Mode, Puffs, Settings, and Power. To select when going through the options is a hard press of the fire button, mode is like what can be accessed just by pressing the left and fire together as already described but it’s more in depth, when choosing wattage it then asks you what preheat you want before going back to the main screen, when choosing one of your temperature control wires first it will ask you to set wattage and then will give you the option of entering a TCR value. Puffs brings up how many puffs you have taken it also gives you the options of setting a puff limit or resetting. Settings gives you the options of Stealth (which is actually where you adjust screen timeout), Contrast (adjust), Adj ohms (you can tweek the resistance) and Download which you use when upgrading the firmware. The final option in the menu is Power which you can choose between on or off, choosing on takes you back to the main screen choosing off powers the device down. Like a lot of Smok devices it’s very easy to use and more than one way of doing most things.
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My Experience Using The Mag Grip Kit
As ever i need to point out that i do not vape using temp control and don’t have access to data so review products simply from my experience using them. However i don’t usually watch or read reviews of products before i review them because i don’t want my experience to be clouded by what i’ve heard, but as i didn’t think i would be reviewing the Mag Grip i can inform temp control users that it’s not that great for using in temp control. The device fires with no noticeable delay and certainly all wattage’s i tried seemed accurate. I used the device using a 21700 battery and did try it at 100w and it seemed to be doing the full whack, if choosing 18650 on the device for 18650 and 20700 batteries again i’m pretty confident it will do the full 85w. As i have already pointed out ergonomically the device is as good has it gets, it feels so good in the hand and so natural to fire. I have tried both supplied coils before on the Stick V9 max and then i was impressed with the S2 but the S1 although giving good flavour at 60W (The V9 max top wattage) it was a cool vape and the flavour suffered with the drop off of the direct output device. Different story using the Baby V2 with the S1 on the Mag Grip, now using the coil at 75w it gave great flavour with a warmer vape. The Mag Grip will accommodate atty’s up to 35mm in diameter without overhang and is fully firmware upgradeable.
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Likes
Very good build quality
Aesthetically pleasing (objective)
Very Ergonomic
Trigger style fire button
Slanted screen
Top screen and navigational button assembly raised
Top wattage depends on battery used (and some honesty)
Accommodate 18650, 20700 or 21700 battery
Battery Magazine
Magazine release and lock mechanism very secure and durable
Fires without noticeable delay
Not under-powered
Performed great in wattage mode
White on Black marked orientation
Baby V2 5ml capacity
Both S1 and S2 coils gave good flavour
Other available coils
Top-fill with locking mechanism
Spare straight glass
Easy to navigate
Will accommodate up to 35mm tanks without overhang
Firmware Upgradeable
Cons
Large for a single battery device
Doesn’t work well in temp control
Can only turn the device off by going into menu system
Proprietary drip tip
I would once again like to thank Cortana from the Healthcabin for supplying the SMOK Mag Grip 100W TC Kit with TFV8 Baby V2 for the purpose of this review.
