7’s Power Kit – Starter Kit Review

A few weeks back someone shared a URL with me that led to an e-Cigarette company I’d never heard of called 7’s, or Choice 7’s, I still can’t figure which one it is. Since there are literally hundreds to choose from, it wasn’t that much of a stretch to hear about one I’d never seen before. Still, I clicked the link to take a look.

Website

On first inspection I was impressed. The website is, to me, of award-winning caliber design with top-notch web technologies and a proper sense of design. I love their use of white space too. The photography is impeccable, beautifully lit, properly composed. This alone provided enough incentive to contact the company and ask them about a review. Could the actual product line live up to the sophisticated design elements of the website? I would soon find out.

Contact

It took several days for 7’s to get back to me. Instead of asking what I wanted to review I was given a store credit so I could shop for whatever we decided to review and it would ship to me. So, I looked around and chose two items to review, both of which arrived two days later. Since there was no indication on the order form that the products were for review purposes I was both impressed with the time it took to arrive, as well as the packaging itself. These guys appeared to be the real deal.

Products to Review

I ordered what they call the Power Kit for $99.95, and the Hybrid Kit, also $99.95. The two products are at opposite ends of the product lines, one is a cig-a-like product and the other is a 650mAh battery with a very strange delivery device, which I’ll go over in part two.

Power Kit – $99.95

The Power Kit Starter Kit contains the following components:

  • (1) Power Pack Charging Case or PCC
  • (2) Micro Lithium-Ion Rechargeable Batteries with Amber LED
  • (16) Cartomizers
  • (1) USB Cable
  • (1) USB Wall Adapter

(1)         Compartmental Storage Box

Everything you receive in the Power Kit comes neatly packed in the Compartmental Storage Box. This is an idea that I wish a lot of good companies would copy. The box, made of sturdy cardboard, has two storage units, a top “drawer” and a bottom “drawer”. Pull out the top drawer for access to the two batteries, the PCC (I ordered the pink one, naturally), and a couple of 2-pack Cartomizers (more on them in minute). The bottom drawer contains the rest of the Cartomizers (in 2-packs) and the USB charger cable and wall adapter.

The PCC – $49.95 if purchased separately

7’s Power Charging Case is the size of a traditional pack of cigarettes. The PCC charges two batteries at a time, so not only do you have a fully charged battery, you can actually have two fully charged batteries at the ready. I like that.

The batteries drop down into the case and begin charging, you do not have to screw the batteries into the case. It worked well.  The case holds 2 batteries, both charging away, and 6 slots for Cartomizers. The only negative thing about the case is that it is made of hard plastic with a glossy finish, not the smooth, rubbery texture like the one that Blu Cigs offers. I do not see that as a deal killer though, and Blu doesn’t charge but one battery at a time.

The charging case can charge up to 8 battery charges, which isn’t bad. It takes about 2 hours to charge a battery in the case. That’s more than acceptable to me.

Lastly, the charging case comes with a replaceable battery pack. What this means is that if the battery pack goes bad it can be replaced instead of forcing you to buy a new PCC. The internal battery costs $14.97. To replace the entire PCC you get with the Power Kit will set you back $49.99. In addition, if you’re going on a trip you can carry along an additional PCC battery and use it if the other depletes.

2x Pack Cartomizers – $6.50

This is also something I’ve not seen before, 2 Cartomizers that come in a thick plastic tube and sealed with rubber stoppers. It is a quality pack. 7’s call them Micro Cartomizers for some reason. 7’s claims the 2-pack Cartomizers are equivalent to 1000 puffs, or 500 puffs per cartomizer. Unfortunately that 1000 puff claim is way off. I used a total of 4 cartomizers and never got more than 150 puffs from any of them. Granted, they may have a way to count the puffs that I don’t recognize, but you would have to be a small bird toking on one of them to get anywhere near 500 puffs.

Additionally, the micro cartomizers are not refillable. You would think that since every cartomizer you’ve seen before now are most certainly refillable, these are not. The construction of the cartomizer prevents you from popping off the top because, well, there is no top. It’s a one-piece cartomizer.

To make matters worse (in my opinion) 7’s uses a non-standard threading for their batteries and cartomizers. Instead of going with an industry standard or 510 or 808, they chose the RN4081 threading. This is the same threading chosen by NJOY Pro and SmokingEverywhere Gold. I’m not saying the cartomizer is any better or worse than any other, it’s just as readily available as the 510 or 808.

Let’s talk price. If you are a regular reader of Spinfuel, or a cig-a-like user that’s been around the block than you know that $3.25 per filled cartomizer is a lot of money. A 5 pack of prefilled cartomizers should run no more than $10, max, $20 for 10, or $2 a piece. 7’s sells a 20 pack of Cartomizers (2 to a tube) for $59.95. That’s two and a half times more than some of our favorite brands.

Are they worth it? In a word? No. $3.25 apiece is expensive for any cartomizer. But damn, the packaging is really cool! I can see myself collecting the tubes and using them for a million different things. I’m only half kidding here.

Blank Cartomizers

This is where they show their cards…

You can buy blank Cartomizers and fill them yourself, which is a nice way to go if you wind up buying a kit. A 10-pack costs $9.99, and when you place that cost next to the cost of 10 prefilled Cartomizers (2 in a tube) the price of the e-liquid is enormous.

10 prefilled Cartomizers can be purchased for $31.95, meaning the cost of 10ML of e-Liquid used to fill 10 cartomizers is a whopping $21.95. Something is seriously out of whack here. (I am giving 7’s the advantage by using 1ML of e-Liquid per cartomizer.)

If you own one of these kits now, and you like it, then by all means start buying the blank micro cartomizers and filling them with whatever e-Liquid you want.

A quick Google search for cartomizers in this size reveal that AquaVapor is blowing out their inventory of prefilled cartomizers for $3.95 for a pack of 5 (low resistance). A standard resistance prefilled pack is $8.95.  VaporKings is running a sale right now for blank cartomizers, $8.95 for a pack of 5.

Batteries in the Power Kit

The batteries look like traditional cigarettes. White, lined paper, slightly thicker than most, they also have an amber light at the end. They are slightly longer than average.

The batteries are 180mAh and last about 2 or 2.5 hours before needing to be recharged. This is average for the industry at this level. Additional batteries are $19.95, about $7 dollars more than Halo or Triple 7 batteries. Again, too expensive.

Tobacco Flavored Prefilled Cartomizers

The e-Liquids sold by 7’s are also made by 7’s, and packaged by 7’s. While I really liked the e-Liquids I received with the Hybrid Kit, I didn’t like the prefilled e-Liquid, which was their Tobacco Flavor. I was relieved to find out that their e-Liquids are American Made.

Most of the e-Liquids are available in only two strengths, High (18mg) and None (0mg).  The bottled e-Liquid is on the expensive side at just over a dollar per ML.

Some Real World Impressions

Had I paid $99.95 for this starter kit, and if I were a new Vaper, I wouldn’t feel like I had been ripped off at all. It is an attractive starter kit. The batteries were nearly fully charged when I received them but I charged them up anyway. Despite being larger than most of the cig-a-like batteries I’ve used recently I didn’t find the battery or cartomizer too big.

The batteries are automatic (they don’t offer manual) and it takes a few puffs to prime the system before getting a decent amount of vapor. The “draw” is hard, harder than most, but that wasn’t a problem either. But the taste of the tobacco flavor was surprisingly dull. I found that to be extraordinarily disappointing because the two e-Liquid bottles I received with the Hybrid kit was delicious. (Mango and Coconut). The difference in the flavor “quality” leads me to believe that the prefilled cartomizers are a different e-Liquid, perhaps of Chinese manufacture.

I reached out to my contact at 7’s over the weekend and pushed out publishing this review until Tuesday afternoon. I haven’t heard a word back, so I have no idea if the e-Liquid is the same as the e-Liquid they sell in bottles. I will update this review when I find out. In the meantime, if you’re inclined to buy this kit order something other than Tobacco.

The Power Kit and the Bottom Line

Slick packaging can take you a long way…at first. The beautifully designed website, the high-end tech used on the site, and the excellent choices for their storage boxes and the thick plastic tubes with rubber end caps for their 2 pack Cartomizers, and all the rest, are just great. This is not a fly-by-night company and the fact that they make their own e-Liquids is huge plus. The major drawback is pricing and limited nicotine strengths.

I don’t have a serious problem with the cost of the Power Kit. $99.95 for what you get is only slightly higher than most reputable companies, and I believe this company is a reputable company as well. But the cost of the prefilled cartomizers and e-Liquid bottles, plus the premium price for additional batteries, just put them too far out price-wise for me to make a positive recommendation. I think the overall quality is fine, and I like the PCC, and the compartmental box for storing is inspired. Hey, if price doesn’t matter to you, and you plan on sticking to 18MG nicotine, then this might be something you will want to consider.

Bottom Line? You could do worse than 7’s Starter Kits. And, you could do much better as well. But wait to make up your mind until you read the second part of my review where I review their Hybrid kit.  That will be posted on Thursday.

Julia Barnes