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Eleaf Pico Squeeze with Coral Squonker Kit
If you’re unfamiliar with the world of Squonking and want to get properly acquainted, the Eleaf Pico Squeeze Squonker Kit could be the introduction you’ve been waiting for. Squonking is nothing new and been around for years but has picked up much momentum this past year with devices like the Kanger DripBox 160 and Council of Vapor Wraith (check out our review here). With a few solid choices to pick from, Eleaf released their first Squonk-ready system with a simple one-button operating Pico Squeeze, included the Coral RDA and an easy to learn platform to get you started with simplicity rather than complexity.
The Eleaf Pico Squeeze consulted with the vaping designer JayBo Designs to create a very compact and lightweight Squonking Box Mod, which side by side with the similar Kanger DripBox, indeed it’s smaller (12mm shorter but other measurements are within a millimeter). Staying true to their signature top-loading battery orientation, the Pico Squeeze will ring a similar bell to the previous Eleaf Pico devices but with the included cutout for the Squonk bottle. The entire kit is laid out in a way that makes firing and squeezing the bottle a streamlined process without any awkward movements or uncomfortable hand positions.
The Eleaf Pico Squeeze is a Direct Output Voltage device (like a Regulated Mod in Bypass Mode) that gets power from a single replaceable high-amp 18650 battery (not included) which means the power (voltage) regulates automatically depending on the life of the battery. The higher the battery life, the higher the output voltage is resulting in bigger clouds and a warmer vape. Maximum power is 50W (10W less than the Kanger DripBox) depending on the resistance of your build, your battery choice and charge status. With a charged up Sony VTC5a battery (probably the best 18650 battery to ever be released in my opinion), I definitely feel I’m receiving the full 50W. Unfortunately it’s short lived since the battery does drain pretty rapidly and is noticeable in the vape performance. The Pico Squeeze can read coil resistances as low as 0.15Ω and all the way up to 3.5Ω, so build until your hearts content.
Eleaf’s claims this to be a reimagined Squonk system. There’s nothing innovative to the platform other than loading your battery through the top of the mod and its compact chassis. Unscrew the battery cap, which is easy thanks to some knurling, and slide your battery in place. If you’ve owned an Eleaf Pico device before, this is nothing out of the ordinary. A plus symbol is clearly marked inside the battery tube so you know which way to insert your battery; just in case you install it wrong, there is Reverse Polarity Protection.
The Eleaf Pico Squeeze has a micro USB port around the corner from the fire button for 1A charging (with the correct wall adapter) but the recommended way is always to externally charge your batteries. A small White LED light above the micro USB port illuminates and blinks at different speeds letting you know the life of your battery. The light will stay lit after every pull if the battery is between 60-100% and once it reaches 9%, it will flash fast and continuously. 5-clicks turn the device on, 5-clicks turns it off and the LED will flash five times when each of these actions are initiated. Not much to it but to do it.
I received the Black Pico Squeeze but it’s also available in White, Silver, Grey and Hot Pink (looks more Magenta to me). No display screen or regulatory buttons, just a fire button that’s well placed, easy to click and protrudes enough from the device making it easy to find with your finger. With a fully charged battery, the firing delay is minimal but will increase when the battery starts discharging. No button or battery rattle and feels solid in the hand. With its rounded corners, even though small, holding the device is comfortable, easily portable and definitely pocket friendly.
The Black-tinted, easy to squeeze Squonk bottle fits snuggly inside the housing and is difficult to remove at times; I found that spinning and pulling at the same time works the best. Having the bottle and battery compartment completely separated was a smart decision as I never need to worry about eJuice reaching my battery. The Eleaf website states a 6.5ml eJuice capacity but I was able to fit exactly 8ml without any overflow or mess which is uber-impressive for such a compact kit. Exchanging the bottle only takes a couple seconds by removing the bottom magnetized cap and pulling the bottle out. There are no tubes or caps to deal with. Just fill the bottle, insert into the tube hanging down from the mod and push up! One thing to make sure of is clean out the bottle really good with soap and water before filling with liquid. I rinsed it with water only the first time and it changed the flavor of my eJuice substantially; learn from my laziness and do it the right way.
eLeaf Pico Squeeze Coral RDA
The Coral RDA is 22mm in diameter and features a replaceable two-post build deck that’s threaded into the base. There’s a single 2mm hole on each post with two Philips screws (Eleaf includes a nice size Blue Philips screwdriver) that do an awesome job trapping your leads and can be tightened down immensely without cutting the leads. The whole RDA does feel cheap compared to the mod but luckily any 22mm RDA with an available bottom-feeding 510-pin will work, sit flush and with no overhang. The deck is designed to be run with dual coils but the deck does separate from the base; maybe Eleaf will include additional options. At least having the deck removable allows for efficient cleaning. The Gold-plated bottom-feeding 510 pin comes preinstalled and the Stainless Steel 510 connection threads on the Pico Squeeze are machined clean with never any leaks or dribble.
The dual 10mm x 3mm adjustable airflow slots offer too much airflow for my style but turning the top section (the 12.5mm Delrin drip tip and top cap are one piece) that’s held into the base tube with double O-rings allows you to adjust it to your liking; halfway open was perfect for me. There are three juice holes under each coil (six in total) which provide plenty of eJuice saturation with only a Squonk or two. Three O-rings surround the base that has an ideal amount of restriction and is very easy to remove the top portion without a struggle. The top cap will get hot but the drip tip only ever gets warm. The airflow slots are high enough to prevent any leaking even if you’re an over-squonker like me!
The pair of Clapton coils that were included in the bag of goodies came out to be 0.24Ω and took some magic making to get them to fit correctly. The coils loved to pop and spit but the flavor was surprisingly good, not fantastic but good. With the airflow wide open, the flavor is almost non-existent. I closed it down over halfway and the whole vaping experience started changing for the better. Make sure you position your coils up higher so they line up with the airflow slots in the base tube since the slots are located high up. If placed too low, the air won’t reach your coils properly and results in a poor vape. Performance depends heavily on battery life as I noticed a quick drop in power as my battery began to drain down. Use the equation: Fully charged battery = higher output voltage and bigger, warmer vapor!
The Eleaf Pico Squeeze with Coral RDA Kit is aimed at the beginning Squonker that wants to learn and get familiar with the process before throwing a bunch of money at something spur of the moment. There are several Squonk-ready devices out there that are more suited for the advanced vaper in mind as the Pico Squeeze will not be enough to get you, or me, out of bed in the morning. It’s impressive how compact the complete kit is and accomplishing it with a replaceable 18650 battery and 8ml of eJuice capacity is a job well done! For $27.95 at Element Vape and is available now.
Final Grade – B
“If you’ve been curious about Squonking and want to start learning the basics, I would highly recommend the ELeaf Pico Squeeze Starter Kit! Geared more towards the beginner, it’s still a good portable Squonker Kit if you’re in the market for one. For what it’s intended to do Eleaf and JayBo get no complaints from me.”
Team Spinfuel
Eleaf iStick Pico Squeeze 50W Starter Kit Features:
- Dimensions: 75mm by 46mm by 23mm
- 6.5mL Juice Reservoir
- Single High-Amp 18650 Battery – Not Included
- Maximum Wattage Output: 50W
- Minimum Atomizer Resistance: 0.15ohm
- Direct Output Voltage System
- All-In-One Design – Rebuildable Squonker-Style Platform
- Top-Loaded Battery Cap
- Bottom-Feed Juice Design
- Squeeze Juice Section for Dripping
- Single Button Operation
- 1A MicroUSB Port
- 510 Connection
Eleaf Coral Squonk RDA Features:
- 22mm Diameter
- Superior Stainless Steel Construction
- Rebuildable and Replaceable Build Deck
- Two-Post, Single Terminal Design
- 2mm Terminal Posts
- Top-Secured via Flat-Bottom Phillips Screws
- 6 Squonk Feeding Ports
- Bottom Dual Adjustable Aiflow – 10mm by 3mm Each
- 10mm Delrin Widebore Drip Tip
- Gold-Plated Squonk 510 Connection
Includes:
- 1 iStick Pico Squeeze 50W
- 1 Coral Squonk RDA
- 1 Refillable Squonk Bottle
- 1 MicroUSB Cable
- Spare Parts and Screws
- Instructional Manual
