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Innokin iTaste Hunter Kit Review
The first thing that came to mind when I held the Innokin iTaste Hunter was a pair of these Walkie-Talkies I had when I was a kid or a small speaker that I plugged into my Disk Man (no iPods back then) in middle school. The iTaste Hunter appears to be rugged and built for the outdoors but still compact serving as a pocket-friendly device. Most of the chassis is made from Stainless Steel but the spine seems to be plastic. Even though the iTaste Hunter seems indestructible and waterproof at first glance, it’s neither.
Innokin iTaste Hunter Kit – Features, Highlights and Impressions
The Innokin iTaste Hunter Kit includes the iSubV – Vortex Edition and comes nicely displayed. (MyVaporStore – $47.50) I received the Red (with Black accents) but it’s also available in Black, White, Blue, Green and Desert (a cool Tan shade). The mod with a battery installed weighs 210g (163g without a battery) so it feels solid and has some weight to it. The way it’s designed made holding the device very comfortable. Down the spine, the curvy plastic insert was a permanent resting spot for my thumb, providing good grip with either hand for on-the-go vaping.
The Innokin iTaste Hunter is equipped with the ultra-fast AETHON chipset (same board as the Innokin Coolfire4 Aethon Series) with accurate Temperature Control Technology. Right off the bat, Innokin claims the AETHON chip has a feature called VDC output with ClearWave noise cancellation. After doing some research on the Innokin website and most popular search engines, I didn’t find anything explaining what this technology actually does. If it was beneficial to the consumer then Innokin should explain it somewhere; the blank outcome left me asking questions.
The iTaste Hunter has a power output from 6W-75W (which round-robins when you scroll in either direction) with a 7.5V maximum output voltage for the higher-ohm vapers out there. All the common TC wires, Nickel, Titanium and Stainless Steel 316L with a temperature range from 300°F-600°F, are present and seem accurate to my standards. Firing down to 0.07Ω is the limit for the iTaste Hunter or expect a ‘Shorted’ error message if trying anything lower. Granted, 75W is not even in the ballpark range of a low-ohm build of that caliber but nonetheless it can. Switching between Modes takes only a push and hold of the fire and (-) or (+) button.
Other features include ‘Dry Hit Detection and Prevention’ minimizing potential dry hits. If the device detects the cotton is drying out, it will drop its wattage output to Maintenance Mode automatically. I used the included iSubV Sub-Ohm Tank most of the review period so the accuracy of this feature is undetermined. ‘Ultra-low External Heat Generation’ and standby power consumption seemed to work okay since my battery life was good and chain-vaping the full 75W resulted in zero heat from the mod. ‘Precision Resistance Reading’ reads the coil resistance to five decimal points (rather than two or three on most other devices) which serves no real advantage unless you sweat those minute unnecessary details.
Innokin supposedly included PreBoost Ramp-Up Technology in the iTaste Hunter which allows you to preheat your coil faster or slower depending on your preference. In the manual it states to hold the fire button and (-) button for 3 seconds but is actually incorrect. Doing these commands cycles through the different modes and had nothing to do with a preheat option. The manual also states that by holding the (+) and (-) buttons together you can flip the OLED screen orientation; this is also wrong. Holding the two regulatory buttons brings up your coil resistance, estimated battery voltage and puff counter. Please let me know in the comments if either of these functions work for you since both failed with my particular device.
The Innokin iTaste Hunter is powered by a replaceable 18650 battery (not included) by unscrewing the bottom cap (threading is buttery smooth) and sliding your battery positive side in. The cap can only be tightened so far by hand but the cap has an indention that the back of some tweezers or a coin will fit and finish the job. The battery has plenty of room to breathe with a couple vent holes running down the side of the device (which I thought were LED lights at first). The manual included a very extensive battery safety section that gives an uneducated consumer a lot of important information regarding safe battery usage and where to buy authentic batteries. It was worth mentioning as this is the most in-depth manual regarding safety I’ve seen to date!
The circle OLED screen is unique as it’s located on the side of the device out of the way. With slightly Blue-tinted text and possibly the low power consumption option, it isn’t as bright as advertised and very hard to see outside. The battery bar is really small which makes it seem like my battery is lower than it actually is. The large 10.8mm Stainless Steel fire button clicks easily and is in a perfect location for me when trigger firing. It also protrudes enough to blindly find no matter my hand orientation. Innokin states the AETHON chip fires within 0.2 seconds from click to vapor. Even at the full 75W, mine took closer to a half second to get a decent vape. The 4.8mm regulatory buttons are spaced plenty apart and are equally responsive. The fire button is solid but when shaking the device, the (+) and (-) buttons did have some rattle.
Navigating through the menu is simple enough (besides the features that flat out don’t work) with three clicks turning the device on and off. To adjust the wattage, hold either the (+) or (-) button for a couple seconds and the wattage on the screen begins to flash. Scrolling is very fast and does so in 0.5W increments. At first I didn’t like the extra step of holding a button down to adjust the wattage but ended up not bothering me once I got the hang of it. The Stainless Steel 510 threading is smooth and the Gold-plated 510 pin kept a solid connection. There’s also what appears to be a keychain-type hook to attach a small cord from the device to your jacket, backpack or whatever you carry your device in; I never had a reason to use it.
Innokin iSubV
The Innokin iSubV – Vortex Edition Sub-Ohm Tank is the fifth and newest iSub Tank and is included with the kit (mine was the Black version but colors may vary). It’s 22mm in diameter and made from Stainless Steel which comes with an innovative feature that caught my attention. When screwing down the top cap, it forces the chimney down pushing three small pins to open the three 6.5mm x 2.2mm juice flow holes. Removing the top cap releases the weight on the pins and closes up the juice flow so you can fill your tank eliminating having to close the airflow. This system also makes changing out the coil simple and mess-free without emptying out the tank. Sometimes to get the top cap to start threading, I had to push down and twist several times before it actually grabbed; other times it worked the first time.
The iSubV has a 3ml eJuice capacity with an easy top-fill system similar to the Aspire Cleito. The tank does preserve your eJuice thanks to the lower wattage coils so filling happened a lot less often. The two 12.3mm x 1.8mm adjustable airflow slots, which leaned more towards the restrictive side, were a little too tight for my style of vaping. With provided knurling on the airflow ring, making adjustments was quick and easy and stopped when opened or closed. The removable 12mm Delrin drip tip was easy to vape on and is 510 compatible. Removing the Pyrex glass from the tank to clean it for the second time resulted in the glass cracking down the side with very little pressure! No replacement glass is included in the box but Innokin included a useless Vape Band to make me feel better!
The preinstalled SS316L 0.5Ω BVC (Bottom Vertical Coil) has a 4.8mm ID coil with a spit back screen covering the top of the shell; I experienced no spit back. With a wattage rating of 30W-60W (374°F-473°F in TC Mode), the two large 4mm round wicking holes kept up with the constant 60W violent pulls I put it through. The wattage recommendation was spot on as anything over 60W started that dreaded cotton aroma. In TC Mode, right at 550°F and 55W was just the right amount of warmth with plenty of clouds proceeding right after. The break-in time was non-existent with flavor and vapor being a close tie in regards to performance. After you vape through the first coil (lasted about 5-days of heavy vaping at 60W), Innokin does provide an extra coil head with the kit. The iSubV is also compatible with older version coil heads of the iSub line.
Final Grade – C
“The Innokin iTaste Hunter Kit is Grade-A on paper but with a few of the features not functioning properly, the overall experience definitely swayed my final grade. It’s a good kit ($47.50 at MyVaporStore) if the couple issues I encountered don’t plaque your vape experience. But with the competition heavy on Innokin’s (and everyone else’s) heals, they need to put out something more refined than this to remain on level playing field!”
Available Now at MyVaporStore
Team Spinfuel
Innokin iTaste Hunter Specs
Operating Temperature Range:
150-315 °C 5°C increments
300-600 °F 5°F increments
Operating Wattage Range: 6.0 – 75W .5watt increments
Precision Temperature Control
Direct Current – Steady Power Output
Balanced Even Coil Heat-Up
Ultra-low External Heat Generation
Dry Hit Detection & Prevention
Ultra Low Standby Power Consumption
Technical details – Innokin iTaste Hunter:
Battery: Replaceable 18650 (not included)
Maximum output Wattage: 75W
Maximum output Current: 27.5A
Maximum output Voltage: 7.5V
Atomizer Resistance: 0.1Ω (Minimum)
Temperature Control Mode: Ni (0.1-0.2 Ω), Ti (0.1-0.5 Ω), Stainless Steel 316L (0.2-1.0 Ω) coils are recommended.
Important: Temperature Control is only available with T.C. compatible coils
