Cigstar Greek Temple 230W Box Mod Review

For all the pontificating I do about vape mods, it was my wife who came up with the best line to describe the Cigstar Greek Temple 230W – “That thing is about as Greek as a taco.” Fair enough, I suppose, because after two weeks of playing, testing and investigating, I can’t for the life of me explain why Cigstar named it this way.

I also can’t explain why this standard, dual-18650 vape mod costs what it does, when there are so many others on the market that do the same things (often better), for half the price. It’s not that the Greek Temple is a bad device – it’s definitely a good mod – but there’s just no rhyme or reason to any of the decisions behind it.

Let’s dive in and see if we can get to the bottom of this baffling device.

Can anyone here tell me a story about snakes and Greek mythology? I suppose Medusa had snakes for hair, but beyond anything resembling “Clash of the Titans” where did the leather-like snakeskin boot design come into play during the design meetings?

That’s not to say the Greek Temple isn’t attractive. I actually liked the supple leather-esque grip, and the way it complemented the gunmetal framing. And, as the grip “broke in” a bit, the leather began to feel even better in the hands. Strange, for sure – but comfortable too!

When you get past the aesthetics, you’ll find the Greek Temple to be decidedly average. With a size and shape that reminded me of 100 different vape mods that arrived in the wake of the SMOK Alien boom of 2016 – most notably the Sigelei Fuchai 213. Now, there were some good-looking devices to come from that boom, so there’s certainly nothing wrong with the Greek Temple’s appearance. But for what is being positioned as a “higher-end” device, the look left me a little flat.

My feelings about purposeless LED light enhancements are well-documented throughout the pages of Spinfuel VAPE, but the lights seem particularly out of place here – yes, even on a mod wrapped in snakeskin pleather. Thankfully, there’s an option to turn them off – an option I’ll take almost every time.

But the stellar, full-color TFT display is a standout. It’s not QUITE as smooth as some of SMOK’s latest offerings, such as the X-Priv format, but the Greek Temple is much easier to use and read than most of today’s supposed “hi res” displays. Is it a LITTLE gaudy? Sure. But considering the Greek Temple also has column-shaped lights and cowboy boot looks, I guess the sky’s the limit.

My first complaint? The decided lack of theme and wallpaper options. As of this writing, there haven’t been any firmware updates on Cigstar’s website (actually, it looks like Cigstar’s website hasn’t been updated since we were arguing about Boge cartomizers, but I digress). The stock selections are fine, but all play off palette-swaps of the same design; I was expecting a little more from a mod in this price range.

My second complaint about the Greek Temple is a little more serious – the bottom battery door on my test model was either loose or warped, and never once stayed closed. As a result, the mod also never sat comfortably on my desk, and would repeatedly tip over at even the slightest knock. I realize this is probably just a one-off defect, it’s still pretty alarming.

Loose battery doors can lead to bigger battery issues in the wrong hands. Safety first, Cigstar.

I realize I probably shouldn’t repeatedly discuss price points, but in 2018, when most companies are releasing vape mods at lower average prices, the Greek Temple is shockingly expensive. Not like DNA territory, mind you. But way closer than a dual-18650, two-button operation mod ever should be in this day and age.

And to be honest, it bugged me. The standard two-button control scheme does its job. Pulling up menus is easy. The menus are navigable. Nothing is out of place. But even when flipping through my selections and adjusting on the fly, I couldn’t help but feel this antiquated experience was a little low-rent and boring. There are easier ways to do these things now, and I would have expected that from the Greek Temple.

(Physically, the buttons themselves are a highlight – firm, clicky and ultra-responsive. I just wish there were more of them!)

Under the hood, the Greek Temple is pretty impressive. The proprietary V80 chipset brings 230 watts of power, standard temp control and TCR settings, and even an onboard customizable heating curve that works surprisingly well for what it is. But you may not need it, since the Greek Temple is the latest in a growing line of dual-18650 mods that ramp incredibly quickly.

Lastly, the onboard 2-amp charging was a highlight during the preview, but I’ve cooled on it a bit, because the Greek Temple did the opposite. After three or four charges, the once-chill mod suddenly got warmer and warmer the longer it stayed connected to the USB. While a certain amount of heat is to be expected, this was a little much, even for me.

When taking the device’s price point out of the equation, I have to say, I mostly enjoyed vaping the Cigstar Greek Temple mod. It was punchy, lightweight, comfortable to hold, and a solid all-around vape device.

It fascinates me how far vaping technology has come of late – just a few years ago, most 200+ watt dual-battery mods barely came close to those numbers. Today? It’s more surprising when they don’t. The Greek Temple is no exception, hitting the 230-watt mark with relative ease. Was there a SLIGHT amount of pulsing above 200 watts? Yes, but nothing that interfered with the experience, nor did it get uncomfortably warm.

Temperature control was also a highlight, with laser-precise temp sensing, accurate coil recognition, and locked-in ohm readings. Plus adjusting wattage after setting a temperature was remarkably easy using the onboard navigation.

The only mildly tricky operation was setting the custom preheat curve – while it works really well once dialed in, it’s not the most intuitive process. This is to be expected using an onboard system, but after being spoiled with similar mechanisms on other devices, the Greek Temple was a little behind the curve here (no pun intended).

Still, beyond the minutiae, the Greek Temple killed it, performance-wise. Regardless of which tank or dripper I attached, draws were smooth and powerful, and even my lowest-resistance builds ramped in record time. Plus, despite the “love it or hate it” design, most all of my atomizers looked sharp on the mod, and all sat flush on the springy 510 pin.

Battery life was also pretty darn good on the Greek Temple, averaging about 5 hours on a fresh set of 18650s, depending on how much tinkering I was doing, and whether or not I used the LED effects.

What can I say? For the most part I loved the Cigstar Greek Temple mod. It’s comfortable, vapes great, and looks unique in my collection. But it also has a weird LED lightshow, limited display themes, and an antiquated control scheme that shouldn’t even be a part of the discussion on a brand new $100+ vape mod.

All in all, the Greek Temple does its job. But so do a million other vape mods at half the price, and with fewer gimmicks, to boot. If you want a dual-battery device that’s gaudier, they’re out there. If you want one that ramps quickly, there’s a ton to choose from. If you want one wrapped in leather, I can recommend a few hundred of those, too.

My point? The Greek Temple is a great mod. But there’s nothing here that you can’t find anywhere else, in more cohesive packages, for less than half the price. I may still use the Greek Temple from time to time, but I’ll never be able to justify the cost.