Review of Aegis Solo Mod with Cerberus Tank by Geekvape

This review is dedicated to the fourth (!) Aegis mod, which is released to the market by Geekvape. And it may become the ideal choice for many users from the entire series of previously released protected devices.

It has been two years (two!) since the release of the first IP67 protected device called Aegis (from English protection) by the famous Chinese company Geekvape. Although this model was primarily designed to operate from the dying 26650 battery format, but with the help of an adapter it also functioned from the most popular 18650. The manufacturer was able to further extend the time of the device’s presence on the market by simply adding a cover that allowed the use of the then emerging 20700/21700, but the device, in addition to obvious advantages (shock resistance, dust and moisture protection), thanks to its protection, also had obvious disadvantages: impressive dimensions and heavy weight. It is also worth mentioning that the box mod did not have a USB port for charging the installed battery, and this also scared off some potential buyers. vape devices in canada The second Aegis Legend, released almost a year later, offered users much more power and autonomy due to operation from two classic 18650, already received a color screen and finally the long-awaited connector for charging and firmware updates. True, the rubberized “brick” became even larger and heavier, and some “nuances” in the form of condensation appearing on the protective glass and a loosely closing port plug left many users with a bad impression. The third device, which became the smallest and lightest in the series, was called Aegis Mini and could have become an ideal (for me personally) device, if not for the built-in battery, which is only good for long-term use with cigarette tanks. In general, I was waiting for it, Aegis Solo, with one battery, not so heavy, with a monochrome display and still as protected as the entire line. But after three weeks of active use, I will say that this device turned out to be far from ideal.

Aegis Solo Kit Packaging

I got my hands on the Aegis Solo kit with a complete Cerberus tank, in addition to it, you can also buy a mod with a Tengu RDA dripper, a big plus in the karma of the manufacturer for such a rare choice on the market. The entire package is designed in the signature orange tones, the cover, hiding a black box made of thick cardboard, shows off the exact version of the kit that is inside. From the interesting information on the back, you can see the package, the name of the design (mine is Gunmetal) and check the originality of your purchase by the sticker with a hologram on the manufacturer’s website.

Under the cardboard sleeve, a black box with an embossed Geekvape logo on the lid is sealed with two holographic seals that monitor the first opening.

AEGIS SOLO KIT

Geekvape Aegis Solo Mod battery unit (without battery)

Geekvape Cerberus Tank atomizer (with Super Mesh X2 Coil 0.3ohm evaporator and 5.5ml bubble glass installed);

a special 2ml TPD Cerberus Tank version is released for Europe

Spare Super Mesh X2 Coil 0.3ohm evaporator

Replacement straight glass for 4.0ml

Battery compartment cover opening tool

User manual

Micro USB cable

Replacement o-rings and charging port plug

Under the cover, there was the obligatory pile of waste paper, including a useless warranty card and instructions in several languages with a quite sane Russian machine translation (“press the fire button 3 times in a row”), as well as a rather voluminous set of curious and not so curious spare parts. The micro USB cable for charging is made like noodles and has a short length, it is quite suitable for its purposes, although it can easily be replaced with any other.

Aegis Solo Kit Appearance

At the time of review, the Aegis Solo box mod is available for sale both “solo” (pardon the pun) and in a set with an atomizer. As a “load” in the box, there can be either the Cerberus Tank, which has been on sale for a long time, which will be discussed below, or a fairly new Tengu RDA, which was reviewed on our website earlier.

Geekvape Aegis Solo Kit Colors

If only two kits are available with a dripper (black and gun metal), then with a tank and separately, the choice is much wider: orange, blue, black, green, red and gun metal, which is presented in this review. The variety of colors concerns only the painting of the frame and buttons on the mod, and the O-rings on the tank under the flask. Only in the only version that came to me, instead of a black “leather” insert, winter camouflage was used, for which thanks again to the Sourcemore store.

Appearance and design of the Cerberus Sub Ohm Tank

The Cerberus Tank, which has become a logical development of the Aero Mesh Sub Ohm Tank (the produced evaporators are compatible between these two devices) is a fairly typical representative of the sub-ohm tank family, a common type of atomizers today, which have long and firmly settled on the market: top filling, evaporators on the mesh and two types of glass, one of which is made “bubble” and holds a slightly larger volume, but turns your atomizer into an aquarium. And also a fairly large number of common features with similar devices from other manufacturers. In general, no worse and no better than others, as long as it is included and produces tasty and rich steam. Blowing is adjusted by turning the lower AFC ring with two long narrow slots in a fairly wide range, from a cigarette to a very free, almost drip draw.

Cerberus Sub Ohm Tank Specifications

Materials: stainless steel, glass, delrin

Diameter: 25 mm (with a “pot-bellied” flask: 27 mm)

Height: 37.5 mm (with a complete drip tip: 42.5 mm)

Volume: 5.5 (with bubble glass) / 4 ml (with straight glass)

Used evaporators: on a mesh KA1 Super Mesh X2 Coil 0.3 Ohm (for a power of 30-45 W)

Adjustable lower air intake

Drip tip: 810

The top of the device is decorated with a Delrin O-ring-less drip tip of the 810 format, which is long familiar to sub-ohm tanks, in place of which you can easily install any of your own. But it is the complete one with a narrowed inner diameter, repeating the size of the steam pipe shaft, that remains the best option. Surprisingly, the flat platform practically does not collect condensation on itself, perhaps due to the chamfer, but it perfectly collects traces from the lips. The non-adjustable silver-plated positive pin protrudes above the thread by a decent millimeter, lovers of vaping tanks on hybrid connectors of mechanical mods can not worry about safety. On the top cover and on the bottom plane you can find the name of the tank CERBERUS, at the bottom there are also standard pictograms, proud Designed by Geekvape and the batch number of the released device.

Appearance and design of Aegis Solo

The device inherited the general features of its two-year-old ancestor Aegis – rubberized inserts and a rigid frame with a leather insert under the palm – but it no longer resembles a rectangular brick and is visually much closer to the previous device of the series – Aegis Mini. The only bewilderment is caused by the plastic of the front panel, which clearly does not correspond to the “protected” format of the device, as it protrudes beyond the dimensions of the case and is instantly covered with scratches.

The shapes not only please the eye with their rounded edges and curves, but also have excellent ergonomics, the device, thanks to the rubber pad and leatherette insert on the back of the case, is very pleasant to the touch and literally dissolves in the palm of the hand, although it has quite serious dimensions. But the weight of the device has become much more humane, from 200 grams the engineers managed to reduce it to almost a hundred, naturally, without the installed battery and atomizer. The side panels are decorated with the manufacturer’s name and the AEGIS series logo, they are almost invisible, as they are made with relief inscriptions on a rubber insert.

Aegis Solo Specifications

Dimensions: 86.4 x 31.5 x 41.2 mm

Weight: 112 g (with battery: 160 g)

Materials: aluminum alloy, leather (leatherette), silicone

Board: AS-100

Operating modes:

variable wattage

protected mechanical mod

temperature control (nickel, titanium, stainless steel, TCS)

adjustable power supply schedule (VPC)

Output voltage: 0.1 – 8 V

Temperature adjustment: 100 – 315 ° C / 200 – 600 ° F

Input voltage: 3.2 – 4.2 V

Output power: 5 – 100 W

Resistance support: 0.05 – 3 Ohm

Display: 0.96″

Charging: 5V/1.5A

10 s cutoff

IP67 protection

Built-in board protection:

short circuit

overcharge

overdischarge

overheating

high current output

Impressions

Aegis Solo KitI admit frankly that I expected exactly this mod from Geekvape, powered by a single 18650 battery, and not by a huge and useless 26650 can. Well, or at least by a 20700/21700, but I really wanted it to be smaller than the first Aegis brick and much closer in size to the Aegis Mini. And so that it wouldn’t weigh as much as the Aegis Legend with two batteries, because that box mod could easily hammer in small nails. In general, the new Aegis Solo has all this. In addition to reasonable dimensions and light weight, the device is well assembled, looks great, and also fits perfectly in the hand without feeling bulky. The appearance is one of the strengths of the device, brutal, but at the same time not ugly, but a very nice mod with good functionality and modern filling. As for the board operation, I have had no issues with it at all: it works quickly and clearly, only it takes about a second to exit sleep mode before the board starts to supply current to the winding, and further presses occur without delay. There are no complaints about the controls, everything is elementary and already familiar, I think even beginners will have no trouble understanding the simple and clear menu, reminiscent of the eVic Mini board. In general, it is a great device from all sides.

But, as I wrote at the very beginning, not everything is so rosy. First, I would like to touch on the complete Cerberus tank, which the manufacturer offers in the kit with the mod. There are no questions about the atomizer itself, the simple and thoughtful design did not present any unpleasant surprises. But there are some about the operation of the complete Super Mesh X2 evaporator. No matter how I changed the power in the range from 30 to 45 recommended watts, but invariably on the third or fourth puff dry hit was guaranteed to appear, the difference was only in the amount and saturation of the steam before it. Moreover, the liquid was used with the classic composition of 30/70, no Max VG. It seems that the same additional metal ring in the evaporator not only tightly presses the cotton to the mesh, but also hinders the wettability of the wick, which is why pre-hark occurs very quickly. In general, the steam seems to be tasty, but you will have to take long pauses between puffs so that the liquid has time to wet the cotton. The box mod itself also turned out to be far from ideal, and this concerns its “protection”. After experimenting with the Aegis Legend, I no longer risk checking the Aegis mod for waterproofness, which I do not advise you to do without special need. Due to careless handling (although I usually handle my devices carefully, but how can you blow dust off AEGIS?) the device quickly lost its beautiful appearance in a few weeks of active use. The rubber coating is the most noticeable, although not irreversible, let down, as it literally becomes covered with dust and all sorts of debris before your eyes, attracting all this from your pockets or even just standing next to it on the table. This trouble can be easily eliminated: just rinse the device under running water so that all the dirt instantly falls off. But there are elements that suffer forever. First of all, we are talking about the plastic of the front panel, it instantly gets scratched, and when placed next to hard objects, it literally wears off, like sandpaper. Next come the buttons, on the edges of which the paint peels off. And after them comes the frame, which in Aegis mods has long been not metal, but made of painted plastic, which is clearly visible in the photos above. It is clear that the manufacturer tried to reduce the weight, this cannot but be welcomed, but how shockproof will the mod be with such a design? As a result, we get a nice, supposedly “protected” mod, but at the same time it requires careful handling and is not intended for extreme or simply careless use.

In general, there are enough pros and cons here. Perhaps, my complaints will seem subjective to someone, I can even easily agree with this, since I myself am more satisfied with the device than not. The choice, as usual, is yours.